Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Book Review: Shadowlands by Kate Brian




Title: Shadowlands
Author: Kate Brian
# Of Pages: 336
Publisher: Hyperion
Publication Date: January 8th 2013
Source: Library
Level: Young Adult
Rating: 4 Hearts





Synopsis

(From Amazon.com)

Rory Miller had one chance to fight back and she took it.  Rory survived … and the serial killer who attacked her escaped. Now that the infamous Steven Nell is on the loose, Rory must enter the witness protection with her father and sister, Darcy, leaving their friends and family without so much as a goodbye.

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?

My Verdict

I’ve never devoured a book of this size so fast in my life! It took me just over four hours, and had me flipping pages like a lunatic.

The action starts right on the first page as the book opens with main character, Rory, being watched by a serial killer. For the first ninety pages or so I was absolutely terrified and almost stopped reading because I wasn’t sure I could handle it. As I was trying to decide whether or not to keep going, I did something I’ve never done before: I read the last page! =O (I know, I know, shame on me!) Anyways, that sealed the deal, I HAD to finish reading.

The chapters from the killer’s perspective SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME! Seeing inside his dark and twisted mind left me with a dark, unsettled feeling that I wasn’t too fond of. Luckily, as the story went on his chapters became far and few between, with the majority of the story told from Rory’s point of view.

While it was both terrifying and riveting, there were also a number of instances that were highly unlikely and plain unbelievable. For example why would the police send you into protective custody without so much as one officer to escort you? Once at said “safe house” why is there no alarm system, body guards, etc. AND if you had just survived an attack by a crazed serial killer, why on earth would you a)  Go out for a jog by yourself b) sneak out in the middle of the night to go to a party! SERIOUSLY?!? Locking herself  in a room and never leaving again would be more realistic, but I guess that would make for a pretty boring book, huh?

I have to admit that when it ended I was still really confused and unsure of what was going on. After scouring Goodreads for spoilers, I sat there in shock when I found out the truth. So if you’re like me and finish the book not knowing what happened, email me and I’ll let you know ;) 

7 comments:

  1. whoa, sounds like a great read! thanks for the review!

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  2. OMG those plot points bothered the heck out of me too. I watch a lot of crime shows and such and there is no way any of that would have went down in that manner with the witness protection. lol But I overlooked it for the mystery of what what happening. We don't have a lot of answers yet, so who knows if that all happened for a reason... Great review!

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    1. I watch a lot of crime shows too and there is no way!! The FBI would have definitely escorted them to the safe house and be constantly swarming that place, haha! I can't wait to find out more of what's going on from book two!!

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  3. Just bought this - thought you should know your review swayed me at the bookstore!

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    1. This comment made me so happy!! I'm so honored you thought of my review when shopping and decided to grab a copy of Shadowlands! =D

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  4. Just finished it and I dont get it!! How did it go from a thriller to what the final sentence was??? I'm totally confused... can you tell me what's going on?
    {pinkpolkadotmichelle@yahoo.com}

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