Secrets and Shadows

Delany's second book in her 13 to Life series picks up where the last left off a couple months down the line. Things go from barely tolerable to intolerable remarkably fast. With the CIA watching their every move, and the Russian Mafia still hanging out there waiting to pounce, the Rusakova Werewolves have more than the usual growing pains to handle.

All of the questions I had, in regards to character motivations and development of secondary plots, are pretty much answered or given enough time to flesh out to the point where it satisfied me (for the moment). Derek's interest in Jessie, Wanda's sudden 'I know things!', even Max's weird fascination with Amy, they're all given plenty of time to develop and mature. Sadly other things change show more as well. Growing increasingly uncomfortable with the amount of harm he continually puts Jessie in, Pietr tries to put distance between them, but like any boy he doesn't explain this to Jessie.

I felt wretched for her. Nothing is working out for her, no matter how hard she tries to please everyone they just aren't happy enough. Delany keeps the pace high-strung throughout most of the novel. She builds upon the first book's hints and winks about Junction, as well as pushing along the trauma of high school itself.

Some was a little rushed feeling, like Cat's choice to test a concoction that Alexi makes. Her reasoning is well laid out throughout the book, but it was so reckless. She's kind of taken to task for it, but in the end its largely overlooked for far more pressing concerns. Like Derek. Knowing the secret behind his smile made me look back at his actions in 13 to Life differently. Small things, that seemed so off in the first book (which I even remarked upon), made so much more sense.

On a slightly less supernatural side (though I have my doubts on this score) the tenous connection Sarah seems to have with reality further snaps and we get to see just what kind of shrew she was before the accident.

The end of the novel had me clenching my jaw. My first reaction was to cry out in horror because it just seemed so wrong after everything that had happened...but at the same time it felt almost right. The book was leading towards a more drastic solution to the problems Jessie's dad thought she had, so it made sense. Her dad didn't understand--neither she nor Wanda felt a need to explain to him the exact particulars of their lives--all he saw was the aftermath. The aftermath which was pretty bad and could easily lend itself to unwise presumptions.

Book 3: Bargains and Betrayals is due out in August. Which seems much farther than it is. I can't wait to see how Jessie gets out of her predicament and what sort of answers the Rusakovas find. The tantalizing two sentence synopsis, tied with the title has me biting my nails already in worry however. show less

I diagnosed the first 13 to Life book as having Trilogy Syndrome, and the sequel is as good an opportunity as any to raise awareness of this crippling narrative disorder. Trilogy Syndrome occurs, appropriately enough, in three phases: Phase one is ADD: throwing out a lot of ideas and plot hooks and not following up on a lot of them, leaving the development and resolution for further books. Phase two is ennui: Having set up everything, and needing to put off the resolution until the big finale, the patient winds up meandering around and getting nothing much accomplished. Phase three is mania: running around half-crazed trying to tie up all these plot threads before you hit the wordcount limit. 13 to Life had a bad case of phase 1. show more Secrets and Shadows has moved on to phase 2, but the series' condition is being treated with an injection of wit and character, and I'm pleased to say that the patient is responding to treatment rather well.

Read the full review at Lupines and Lunatics show less

Secrets and Shadows takes us deeper into Jessie and Pietr's worlds. Jessie is a believable main character, and I can relate with her reactions, emotions and decisions.
Pietr is still desirable but ever so frustrating. I can understand where he is coming from when more of his reasoning and story comes out, but still!!!!
Max and Cat play more in this story and I like them as much as Jessie.
S&S has same issue of taking a bit to pick up as I remember with 13, but I know that before halfway in I was eager to turn the page, wanting to find out what happens next. There is somewhat of a conclusion, but I am already itching to get my hands on the next book.

This sequel was twice as good as the first in the series. I found the first book to grasp my attention, while this I could barely keep myself away from reading. Pietr and Jess are teenagers who believe they understand how to protect one another. Pietr thinks Jess is better without him, while Jess is thrown all over the place trying to step in danger any chance she gets just to protect Pietr. This breath-taking sequel left me dying for the third novel. Just as Pietr and Jess finally made the decision that they are truly stronger as one, they are yet again ripped apart but unexpected forces. What twists will be thrown at them next?

After re-reading the first book and enjoying it, I couldn’t wait to get into this one. Unfortunately I didn’t like it as much as the first one. I still enjoyed it, but there was something missing. I went into the first book expecting not to like it and I enjoyed it. I went into this one with higher expectations. So maybe it wasn’t missing something. Maybe my expectations were just too high for this one.

I don’t think I mentioned in my review of 13 to Life that Max is my favorite character, so I will just say it now. Even though I know when he’s around I will be rolling eyes at the stuff he says, I just can’t help myself. He is kind of a dork and I love him for it. He just always makes me laugh. I laughed out loud a lot while show more reading this book.

I did have a problem with the fact that there is a character that keeps forcing himself on Jessie. Well, my problem is more with what happened after that. Not to mention a character that has an abusive boyfriend. It just didn’t seem like it was really handled well in this book. These things happen and then nothing. We basically hear nothing about the abusive boyfriend again. Hopefully there is more about it in the third book. It came out of nowhere, and then went nowhere. I’m rambling and probably not making much sense.

Other than those problems, I enjoyed it. Most likely because it made me laugh so much. If it wasn’t for the funny parts, I would probably have rated this book two stars. show less

I didn’t think it was possible for me to love this book series anymore than I already did, and then came along Secrets and Shadows. I loved 13 to Life so much, but Secrets and Shadows blew my mind. Shannon Delany has written an amazing sequel that will leaving you wanting more!

There is so much I want to say about this book but just do not know how to put into words. Shannon Delany literally takes you on such a ride on this book. The story picks you up and does not let go until literally the last page. And boy, does she know how to play with your emotions, especially when it comes to Pietr and Jess’s relationship. I literally loved every minute of reading this book. I could not put it down until I got to the end.

So much happened in show more this book that I felt was extremely important to the series as a whole. I do not want to spoil anything that happens but a lot of big stuff goes down. Like A LOT! Even though a lot happened in this book, it did not feel like so much happened that it was impossible to comprehend everything going. Every thing flowed so well that when things were revealed they just clicked into place. The story flowed so well, it felt like I was reading for such a short amount of time when I got to the end but really hours had passed I was so engrossed in the story.

I have to say, I loved the character progression in this book. All the characters from the first book all grew and more of the secondary characters in the first book became major players in this book. I really liked learning more about each of the Rusakovas, especially Max. I became a huge fan of Max after this book. In the first book, I loved Pietr, I still love him to death, but Max really grew on me in this book and I love him for other reason than I love Pietr. I really loved what Shannon did with Derek, he became a very important person in this book, and not just because Jess liked him. And Sarah. Ugh. I never really liked her in 13 to Life, but in this book, she is just horrible. I do not want to talk to much about Jess and Pietr because I feel I will let something spoilery slip and I don’t want to do that. But I love their relationship, I was really glad Jess finally admits that she does not like Pietr being with Sarah. There are some really great scenes between Pietr and Jess, even if they are not what I wanted to occur.

There were so many great scenes in Secrets and Shadows, but my favorite has got to be the Halloween/Birthday party at the Rusakovas’ house. This scene was just perfect. A lot of great things happened, their was tension, and Max being, well, Max. Definitely my favorite scene in the entire book.

AND THE ENDING! Boy. Does Shannon Delany know how to write an ending that leaves you wanting more. I’m not always a fan of cliff hanger endings, but this one got it completely right. I was literally in shocked speechless by the end of the book.

This book was awesome. I was so involved and so engrossed in reading it. I wanted to laugh, scream, cry, and hug parts of this book. This book far surpassed anything I was expecting. I am completely in love with it, even more so then the first book. Even though I have a signed ARC of this book, I’m still going to be picking up a finished copy of Secrets and Shadows when it is released. In fact, I have it pre-ordered. Now if only it were August so I could read Bargains and Betrayals show less

Ever feel like you're missing something? I was constantly reminded that I'm not a Twi-Hard by the never-ending references to the Saga, especially [b:Breaking Dawn|1162543|Breaking Dawn (Twilight, #4)|Stephenie Meyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1275614256s/1162543.jpg|2960529] (I think). How can the author refer to things imprinting -something to do with cementing a relationship? and not explain them enough for me, someone who only made it half way through [b:New Moon|49041|New Moon (Twilight, #2)|Stephenie Meyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1275698709s/49041.jpg|3203964], to understand what the heck you're talking about.

I got the feeling that the editors went over this with a fine tooth comb so as not to have any lawyers show more screaming and suing. Referencing Meyer herself will probably stop them from shouting "Plagiarism!". It's all very well tipping your hat to a favourite book ([b:Twilight|41865|Twilight (Twilight, #1)|Stephenie Meyer|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1275613536s/41865.jpg|3212258] and [b:Blood and Chocolate|30324|Blood and Chocolate|Annette Curtis Klause|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266454879s/30324.jpg|895781]) and movies ([b:The Princess Bride|21787|The Princess Bride |William Goldman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266452791s/21787.jpg|992628]) but you shouldn't really base your book on another where you're constantly referring to it -we usually save that sort of thing for non-fiction, essays and reviews.

Despite similarities to "that damn series" this was a fast and easy read due to the engrossing writing. I can't be too positive about all of the characters though. I don't like Pietr, he's Edward in Jacob's werewolf body, ugh. The whole pulling away to keep you safe thing -gimme a break. The change in Derek's character was interesting but I'm finding it hard to reconcile his character in the two books because they're so different even though they're supposed to be. Was there any indication of what he is and what he was doing in the first book? Because I don't remember there being any. It kinda threw me but it made for good reading.

The characters I like are: Max -I loved his undiscovered depths. Everyone assumes he's a man-whore but he's an adorable hero-in-the-making, Amy -the physical abuse by her boyfriend and the effect it had on her was very well done, Cat -her straightforwardness and her bravery, and Sophia -she's become really helpful and I'm guessing she'll be needed in the final instalment.

As for Jess, I got annoyed with her for not putting things together faster even though her memories/actions/emotions were being manipulated. The clues were so obvious. Hello? Derek, derek, derek. Blood, blood, blood. Simple.

Dr. Jones was odd at the end. It was stupid for Jess to spill her guts like that to a stranger when she knew there was stranger-danger. I'm guessing Dr. Jones is pretty high up in The Company if even Wanda was shocked by her roughness. Why not tell her sister instead? She's a smart girl who isn't asking questions, and why not? Plenty of suspicious activity going on around her and she doesn't notice? Hmm. Hopefully she and her father will finally be clued into the situation in the next book.

I'm so glad [b:Bargains and Betrayals|9339970|Bargains and Betrayals (13 to Life, #3)|Shannon Delany|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1298847303s/9339970.jpg|14223288] is coming out in August, I hate unfinished stories. Thankfully this is a trilogy which is good because I really dislike the near-cliffhangers. show less