For the last review of this week's Mark This Book Monday, I have an ARC review of a book requested via NetGalley that was a very pleasant surprise, and that I'm sad to say it hasn't got much word out there.
The Darkness of Shadows by Chris Little
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I got an ARC of this book on NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.
I wasn't very sure what the book was about, if it was paranormal, urban fantasy and I got a little bit more confused with the beginning of the book. I'd recommend experiencing the book without much knowledge about it too, cause I think it's better to discover things at the same time the main characters does, so in a way my review can have a few spoilers.
Natalie is a woman that had an awful and traumatic childhood, with parents that abused her and threatened her constantly. She was taken in by another family and has worked to try to live with the emotional and physical scars that she has. She built a life and a great baking business, but all is at risk when her father returns to her life, with demands she can't understand but the usual threats to those she care about, the family that took her in. She prepares to run away to protect the Guerreros and, if possible, hide from her father. But her father finds her and after a disturbing and strange demostration leaves her severly injured.
After that beginning you start getting all the paranormal hints popping up here and there. The story is very well built, with a big focus on their personal relationships and deals with abuse and its victims, in the midst of a setting of a paranormal and hidden world. Natalie has to find a way to either get rid of her dad or hide away, and she's trying to protect Mrs Rita Guerrero, the woman that took her in and showed her what a family should be, and Valerie Guerrero, her best friend since childhood. There's so much more to Nat's past than what either she or Val know, and while they try to figure out a plan to get rid of Nat's dad, they end up finding out about the past and the present and a whole hidden world out there that they had no idea about, and also find out they are right in the middle of it!
The paranormal of this world has a few twists on the usual topics of the genre, there are references to vampires, weres, sprites... but everything is slightly different from the usual, the author managing to introduce her own twist to well known creatures, while also building her own different kind of mythology. I don't want to give any details so I won't spoil the discoveries any more!
Despite all the paranormal facets of the book, it really is a story of recovery from abuse, of learning how to trust and accept help from others and how to face the hard truths we sometimes refuse to see.
A very well deserved 4 stars.
View all my reviews
The Darkness of Shadows by Chris LittleMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I got an ARC of this book on NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.
I wasn't very sure what the book was about, if it was paranormal, urban fantasy and I got a little bit more confused with the beginning of the book. I'd recommend experiencing the book without much knowledge about it too, cause I think it's better to discover things at the same time the main characters does, so in a way my review can have a few spoilers.
Natalie is a woman that had an awful and traumatic childhood, with parents that abused her and threatened her constantly. She was taken in by another family and has worked to try to live with the emotional and physical scars that she has. She built a life and a great baking business, but all is at risk when her father returns to her life, with demands she can't understand but the usual threats to those she care about, the family that took her in. She prepares to run away to protect the Guerreros and, if possible, hide from her father. But her father finds her and after a disturbing and strange demostration leaves her severly injured.
After that beginning you start getting all the paranormal hints popping up here and there. The story is very well built, with a big focus on their personal relationships and deals with abuse and its victims, in the midst of a setting of a paranormal and hidden world. Natalie has to find a way to either get rid of her dad or hide away, and she's trying to protect Mrs Rita Guerrero, the woman that took her in and showed her what a family should be, and Valerie Guerrero, her best friend since childhood. There's so much more to Nat's past than what either she or Val know, and while they try to figure out a plan to get rid of Nat's dad, they end up finding out about the past and the present and a whole hidden world out there that they had no idea about, and also find out they are right in the middle of it!
The paranormal of this world has a few twists on the usual topics of the genre, there are references to vampires, weres, sprites... but everything is slightly different from the usual, the author managing to introduce her own twist to well known creatures, while also building her own different kind of mythology. I don't want to give any details so I won't spoil the discoveries any more!
Despite all the paranormal facets of the book, it really is a story of recovery from abuse, of learning how to trust and accept help from others and how to face the hard truths we sometimes refuse to see.
A very well deserved 4 stars.
View all my reviews
Thanks for the ARC review Pili, I haven't heard of this book before but it sounds mostly like this one blends in the topic of abuse about it. Glad there was something deeper behind the book. Great review!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jeann!
DeleteHm, I generally try to avoid stories that involve abuse, especially in my urban fantasies that I read solely for fun, but this sounds too good to miss. Natalie seems to be an interesting character and I love that there's such a strong focus on interpersonal relationships.
ReplyDeleteGreat review.
Thank you, Maja! You're my UF referent, so I'd love to hear your opinion if you read this one!
DeleteNot sure if I would like it, but it does sound amazing :D I'm glad you enjoyed it a lot. <3 thank you for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteI really like that cover...but I'm not crazy about abuse books so I'll probably skip this one. I have so much trouble with bad childhoods :-( I'm so happy that you enjoyed it though.
ReplyDelete