This book turned out to be quite the surprise. I can’t think of the last time I’ve gone from completely disliking a book to practically inhaling it. When I first picked up The Shadow Reader, I made it to page 30 before I finally gave up and set it aside. It was over a month before I picked it up again, and the only reason I did was because I wanted it off my reading queue.
I can’t say I was eager to dive back into it after disliking the beginning so much. One of my main complaints was the writing style. I was extremely turned off to find that this was in First Person, Present Tense, which was a huge strike against it. I know the POV is author’s choice, but I will never understand the draw of that style. It’s like nails on a chalkboard for me and the story has to be damn good to get me past that. The other thing that bothered me was how stilted and awkward I found the beginning. It was a little confusing being dropped into things like that, but I could have overcome that it if I had felt more of a spark. It just all combined into a generally bad experience.
And then something happened. I don’t know what. Either it got better or I was more prepared the second time around. I didn’t bother going back and rereading the first 30 pages—which I’m sure helped—I just jumped straight back in at Chapter Four. And I was hooked. The writing style still felt like a pebble in my shoe, but I found myself reluctantly intrigued by the heroine, McKenzie. I liked that she actually wanted to escape. To the bitter end this girl fought for her freedom. Even when she knew it was doomed for failure, she still got up and tried.
I have to appreciate that. Even when she found herself starting to question her loyalty to the Court and slowly becoming attracted to Aren, she didn’t stop. She knew that she couldn’t trust her decisions in a situation like that. When she started muttering to herself about Stockholm Syndrome I had to smile. It was refreshing to find a character that behaved in such a logical way. I don’t have anything against captive/captor relationships, but I find the willingness to trust someone who kidnapped you and who wants to use you pretty hard to swallow. Once they’re out of the situation and able to look at the situation objectively? Sure. But it’s hard to believe during the actual captivity since there’s such a big power imbalance between them. That’s why I loved McKenzie’s attitude. Even when she irritated me, I still liked her for being so believable.
When I sat and reflected on this book, I was pretty surprised to realize that it was not very action filled. It was actually pretty slow going. A lot of time is spent on the day to day of McKenzie’s captivity and Aren’s attempts to sway her to their side. But somehow it didn’t feel slow or mundane. The author packed too much emotion and conflict into the story for that. She was also smart to make her action scenes intense enough that they nicely balanced out the slower sections. Williams did a great job showing the disjointed, scattered feel of an actual fight. And she wasn’t afraid to give McKenzie some hard knocks. Quite a few times my eyes were like saucers, wondering if the author was actually going to go there. (The scene on pages 144 – 145 comes to mind) She made McKenzie’s captivity feel very real and uncertain, despite what was growing between her and Aren.
Speaking of the bond between them, I was impressed with how the author handled her feelings for both men in her life. I suppose it’s still a love triangle, but it was handled in a completely different way than UF’s usually do. I actually enjoyed it–*gasp!* McKenzie did not dance back and forth between the men, and when she made a decision she didn’t dither, despite how much it hurt. I completely respected the choice that she made. It may have taken her a while to gain the self respect she needed to take a hard look at what she deserved, but she did it. It was so refreshingly healthy! I’m hopeful that the author is going to stick with this and not feel the need to play the usual love triangle game with future books.
I am pleased to report that despite this being a series, the author resisted the urge to leave us on a cliffhanger. The plot of this book is resolved and so is the relationship, although there is still room for another book. Yay! I am really stoked about that. I am so sick and tired of cliffhangers. Besides, it wasn’t necessary to hook me into the second book. I am already wishing it was November so I could find out what happens next. If you haven’t given this book a try yet, I recommend you run out and get yourself a copy. 
Favorite Quote:
My eyes shoot open when Kyol grabs my arm. Aren holds on a moment more, his lips and hands lingering as if this is his last breath. As if this is the only breath in his life that has ever mattered. Then his eyes lock with the sword-master.
“You have competition now.”
Rating: A-
The Shadow Reader by Sandy Williams
October 25th 2011 by Ace
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I’m intrigued by the sound of this story – I do think it sounds quite good. Love the quote you picked out, too!
I’m glad you liked the quote!
Huh…’makes note* Might dislike it but good things come later
Thinking about giving it a try?
Totally agree. I have a hard time with 1st person present tense POV, and that was my big hang up with this novel, which is a shame, because it’s excellent. I can’t wait to read the sequel!
I can’t wait, either! I was pleasantly surprised by how good this turned out to be.
Wow, that is awesome! You come >< this close to DNF'ing a book and end up giving it an A! I love it.
I totally agree with you about first person, present tense. I dislike. It's rare that I'll read a book written in this style.
I can’t believe the 180 it did! I was very unimpressed in the beginning, but ended up absolutely loving it. That kind of turn around does not happen to me very often.
It’s already on my wishlist, glad you loved it so much!
I hope you end up loving it too!
I have no problems with the tense, but I seem to be the only one. I thought the pacing was incredible and loved that the author kept me guessing right until the bitter end. But this was definitely an ‘all plot, no character development type of book’. The main character was incredibly bland and everything she did was driven by external elements. Her personality never came through, which was frustrating for me. Again, it’s like the tense thing. Either it bothers you or it doesn’t. I need character development to really love a book.
I also really hated that she had to make a choice between the two men, when neither one seemed suitable. It made me think the character was rather pathetic. In my mind, if she had any self-respect, she would have said no to both. I get that the lure of both men was integral to moving the plot along, I just don’t get why the choice between the two was somehow synonymous with the choice between which side of the rebellion to be on. That part left a pretty bitter taste in my mouth.
But despite the fact that Mckenzie goes down as one of my least favourite heroines ever, I really can’t say enough about the tension and the pacing of this book.
“I get that the lure of both men was integral to moving the plot along, I just don’t get why the choice between the two was somehow synonymous with the choice between which side of the rebellion to be on.”
I didn’t like how closely those two choices were linked either. I would have preferred them to be more separate. I, personally, didn’t mind who she ended up with because I felt their was enough growth and objectivity on her part to convince me that she was making a rational decision. Although I don’t think that I would have been convinced if she had been in the same mindset she was in the beginning.
Your thoughts on first person POV told in present tense are interesting. I can’t tell you if I like that POV or dislike it because quite honestly, I can’t recall any books I’ve read with this POV other than Divergent (which I loved). I already have The Shadow Reader on my TBR list and will keep this in mind when I get around to reading it.
Great review and I’m glad you ended up enjoying it
I think people either love that writing style or they hate it. I hope you enjoy it when you end up reading it!
That seems to be the case. Obviously it doesn’t bug me or I would have noticed it. LOL
True! Lol!
I got a copy of this from a blogger friend of mine who loved the story. I’m sorry that you didn’t like it in the beginning but I’m glad something clicked for you later on. Now I’m excited to read this story even though it might be a little confusing in the beginning.
Thanks for the great review.
I really hope you enjoy it too!