Author: Kate Brian
Publisher: Hyperion
Page Count: 336 pages, Hardcover
Date Published: January 8th 2013
Find it on Goodreads: Shadowlands
Source: Purchased
Starting over in a new town with only each other is unimaginable for Rory and Darcy. They were inseparable as children, but now they can barely stand each other. As the sisters settle in to Juniper Landing, a picturesque vacation island, it seems like their new home may be just the fresh start they need. They fall in with a group of beautiful, carefree teens and spend their days surfing, partying on the beach, and hiking into endless sunsets. But just as they’re starting to feel safe again, one of their new friends goes missing. Is it a coincidence? Or is the nightmare beginning all over again?
Shadowlands started off great. The first few chapters were intense and filled with action as they were when Rory is first being stalked/attacked/moved. I really liked where Brian was going with it and it seemed like this was going to be a great story, filled with intensity and action. And then it went a bit down hill.I didn't really understand why the FBI would just let the family leave, on their own, with the stalker still on the loose. Maybe I'm just not thinking it through, but this is a dangerous man who is very intelligent and has killed a large amount of people.... Why would you let his next target go while he was still out there?
Another thing that really bothered me was how the author added in a couple random little chapters in the mind of the serial killer, with nothing to show it was him other than the fact that it wasn't in first person anymore, it was written in third person. There were a few that I had to cock my head at because it just wasn't making much sense.... But it did at the same time. I don't know, I'm so confused...
Ok, so the family arrives to their new home and it's all mysterious and a bit ominous and there's this weird group of kids who all have the same bracelets and I started to get bored. I put the book down for three days before finally sitting down and making myself finish it. There were so many introductions to branches off of the main plot, if that makes sense, but not much development. There was a hint to some sort of romantic attraction, but NOTHING happened. And there was some sort of hint another romance-involved dramatic happening, but nothing really happened with that one either. I felt like this was only the first three quarters of a book. There were so many pages where I just zoomed through and didn't really read it. Because nothing was happening. Too much world building and not enough world experiencing. (Hoping that makes sense....)
I really, really wanted to love this book. It looked so good and sounded so good and I was super excited for it. But it did disappoint, so I'm pretty upset about that. I'm hoping the next book will be better, because I do want to see where this series goes. Shadowlands left off on what was probably supposed to be a huge cliffhanger, but I guessed it around the middle, so it was just kind of a
Happy reading!
~Kristy
The cover looks great but I think it doesn't fit the story. The synopsis sounds good though.. Thanks for your very honest review! :)
ReplyDelete