The Shadow Reader

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

There is something shocking about McKenzie Lewis, the protagonist in THE SHADOW READER by Sandy Williams. She’s not a super woman/warrior goddess/magical titan capable of destroying the universe with a wink. Nope, unlike many urban fantasy heroines these days, McKenzie is pretty normal. She does have one ability that sets her apart from the rest of us; she’s a shadow reader, someone who can watch a fae ‘fissure’ (instantly teleport from one location to another) and know exactly where they will reappear. A highly coveted skill when there is a fae civil war going on, which is why McKenzie finds herself being sought after by both sides.

Where do I start with all the things I loved about THE show more SHADOW READER? The fae mythology wasn’t overly complex, but it was unique and perfectly suited to this world. I especially loved the idea of chaos lusters, tiny, visible lightning bolts that dance over the skin under certain circumstances like when fae touch humans. And speaking of touching, the tug-of-war going on with McKenzie’s heart was nothing compared to what I felt. How do you choose between the honorable warrior Kyol loyal to the fae king and the determined rebel leader Aren?

Another highlight for me was the constant cloud of doubt I was kept in. I was thrown back and forth suspecting first Kyol then Aren and back again so many times that I got dizzy. Just like McKenzie, I never knew who to fully trust, who to love, or who to align with. And just when I’d think I ‘d finally figured it out, something would happen and raise the questions all over again. The action was relentless and the
emotions kept so sky high that I couldn’t decide until the very end.

THE SHADOW READER is a fantastically fun urban fantasy! One of the best debuts of the year and easily my favorite fae urban fantasy since Karen Marie Moning’s Darkfever series. Wonderfully integrated mythology that flowed naturally in the story without needing lengthy explanations, a to die for love triangle, and a relatable non-super woman protagonist who relies on her brain and bravery to fight for what she wants. This is a book that checked off all my urban fantasy wish list boxes and I can’t wait to read the sequel.

Sexual Content:
Kissing. References to rape show less

Originally posted at http://ufreview.com/2012/02/02/the-shadow-reader-mckenzie-lewis-1/

Review:

This is the first book in the McKenzie Lewis series and I found it creeping around on Goodreads, I find lots of great books there and this was no exception. I don’t expect much when starting a new series and since the last two books I read were so awful that my expectations for The Shadow Reader were probably lower than normal so I was pleasantly surprised when not only did it not suck but it was actually really good. McKenzie is a human who is not only able to see the Fae but she can track them when they “fissure” out for the last ten years she has been working with the Fae King against the rebels in the Fae civil war. McKenzie is also show more trying to live a normal human life and graduate college and this is where she is when the rebels capture her. The rebels try and get McKenzie to see there are two sides to a conflict and everything may not be what it seems with the King and Fae she has trusted and she must pick a side.

This book had me hooked from the first five pages and since I started at night it kept me up way later than I should have been awake…4am is sooo not a good look for me. The world building was incredible, intertwining he Fae worlds and ours. You get to see both sides of the war and realize most people are neither wholly good nor wholly evil. A lot of the book is centers around the love triangle between Kyol, Aren and McKenzie. Although the whole love triangle thing has been done to death this one didn’t make me want to hurl and it wasn’t as in your face, the war was the priority for them and romance took a back seat if there were battles to fight.

I really liked McKenzie, she isn’t the typical asskicking heroine despite the misleading book cover. She is not a fighter and she knows it but she still fights tooth and nail to escape captivity. She is fiercely loyal almost blindingly so and stubborn as a mule also nicely snarky. McKenzie doesn’t always do the right thing and you can see that it bothers her along with the caualties of the war. She even questions whether she has Stockholm Syndrome when she starts to have feelings for Aren and starts sympathizing with the rebels. If you prefer action to romance there is plenty of that here and if you like romance then the well written love triangle should suit you just fine. Even though this is the first book in a series in doesn’t end on a cliffhanger while leaving you waiting to see what’s next. The only thing I didn’t like about the book was the stupid cover…yeah yeah I know don’t judge and all that.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 4.5/5 I couldn’t put it down. show less

Before I picked this book up, I had so many great feelings about it. Partly because of all the dazzling reviews it has received from my most trusted GR friends, and partly just because it is sold as exactly the kind of urban fantasy I love: strong heroine, hot supernatural men, "cataclysmic civil war" between the fae... I admit that I was excited enough to buy this book before reading the 4/5 star reviews.

Okay, so what exactly was my problem? I exhale a great big shuddering sigh as I say - for the umpteenth time - this was just never anything special to me. This genre, the urban fantasy genre, is easily one of my favourites when I find a book/series that really appeals to me; they have a way of dragging you into their world and making show more you care about the characters and lust after the hunky men. But countless times I come across the same old pattern. [b:The Shadow Reader|10765906|The Shadow Reader (McKenzie Lewis, #1)|Sandy Williams|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1316820446s/10765906.jpg|15677347] will undoubtedly be loved by hardcore UF fans who actually read these books for that same old pattern that I mentioned. Some people love this format and I'm sure that's why books continue to be written in a very same-y way.

For me, I made the inevitable comparisons to the Fever series and this novel just couldn't compete at all. I'm still waiting for a fae novel that can and I've been starting to believe I won't ever find one. Mckenzie is definitely a strong heroine, but at the end of this book she doesn't feel as well-developed to me as Mac did halfway through [b:Darkfever|112750|Darkfever (Fever, #1)|Karen Marie Moning|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320533920s/112750.jpg|108558]. The thing I loved most about Mac is that she was a normal young woman, in fact she first appears far more ditzy than most. She doesn't stroll in, sword swinging, and she hasn't been trained for the situation she finds herself in. And yet, she shows that even the ditziest, blondest young women can turn kick-ass if the moment calls for it. This is one thing I love about that series which is very difficult to find in others. PNR heroines are often sappy and pathetic, UF heroines tend to be factory-manufactured warriors. I want to see regular girls and women - like myself - showing that they don't need super powers to be awesome.

I didn't even bother comparing either Kyol or Aren with Barrons because they are a million miles apart in every way. But looking at them on their own they still seem to be rather boring, Kyol's the nice guy and Aren's the bad one. Mckenzie has known (and secretly wanted) Kyol for years, she has known (and secretly wanted) Aren for a couple of weeks. Guess who she chooses here?? Yet another Twilight-style love triangle it would seem. ZZZzzzz....

Yes, so sorry to the people who loved this, I'm not sure why I feel guilty for not loving it too, but I do. The only thing I will say in its favour is that this book reminded me how much I need to re-read the Fever books, so I thank [a:Sandy Williams|969638|Sandy Williams|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1309403925p2/969638.jpg] for that. show less

Overall the story wasn't bad. I am just not into the romance-y type books. When I had started this one, I did not think there was going to be as much as there was. The storyline itself was interesting, and I like how there were separate realms between the Fae and Humans. Also how Humans were able to see through illusions of the Fae, and other aspects that affect fae/humans when in opposite realms. I could have done without the personal conflict the main character has between two opposing fae, and falling in love with both of them, and not being able to make a choice .... ugh. I don't care for romance stories. But the rest of the book was fine.

Sandy Williams debut book is a fun, action packed, emotionally charged adventure. I was intrigued when I saw the blurb for this on Goodreads and bought and read it the same day - any book that grips me so much that I stay up half the night reading is a keeper for me.

McKenzie is a human woman with a talent that makes her invaluable to the fae. Not only does she have the second sight which enables her to see through Fae glamour, she is a shadow reader, which means that when a fae teleports, she can map where that fae has traveled to. King Atroth recruited her when she was barely sixteen and ten years later she is still called upon.

Determined to lead a normal life, which is not possible when Fae are popping in unexpectedly wherever she show more goes, and it's affecting her life, her family thinks she's crazy, her school is running out of patience with her, and her crush on Kyol Taltrayn-the King’s sword-master, is going nowhere. But when McKenzie is abducted everything she thought she knew is turned upside down and she doesn't know who to trust.

Mckenzie unlike most urban fantasy heroines isn't strong, brave or amazingly powerful, she's just a normal girl who happens to have a talent for tracking. She relies on her wits to help her escape rather that her powers and manages to keep her head when all around everyone is losing theirs.

I'm not normally fond of love triangles but this was so well done and the characters so real that it didn't bother me at all, I found both Kyol and Aren intriguing and the romance was built gradually that it felt natural, though I do admit the end felt a bit 50s love scene. Apart from a few minor niggles which are barely worth mentioning as I was having too much fun reading, I found The Shadow Reader a enjoyable book and look forward to reading more from this author. show less

The best urban fantasy debut I’ve read in a while – though, just to be snarky about it, pickings have been thin for the past few months – with a vivid, sympathetic heroine who deserves the love of the two handsome fae trying to win her loyalty.

So McKenzie is a human with a particular skill. When one of the fae teleports, she can read the traces of their passage and determine where they’ve gone. That makes her sort of like a living instrument of military intelligence. For about a decade, she’s worked for the Court and suffered through a star-crossed love affair with Kyol, the King’s sword-master.

McKenzie thinks she understands the Fae and her place in their world. It’s probably not a good sign that she’s decided, given show more that knowledge, that she wants out: she’s about to quit and try living a normal human life when she’s kidnapped by the fae rebels, who want to make use of her skills…or at least keep the Court from continuing to benefit from them.

The rebels, and her protector/captor Aren, make McKenzie reconsider everything she’s ever learned abut the Fae. Williams handles this very skillfully, and seeing how McKenzie negotiates her place among the Fae – who, at Court, don’t think very highly of humans – was one of my favorite parts of the book. The most tempting thing about the Rebels is that they treat humans more like equals, inviting McKenzie to learn their language and understand their motivations, instead of just ordering her around. It’s not easy for her to learn that the prejudice against humans, and against cross-species romance, might be strongest – not weakest – at the Court.

The greatest thing about McKenzie – and I’m not the first reviewer to notice this – is that she always tries to do the right thing. She’s been loyal to the Court for a decade, but she’s still open-minded enough to hear new information and reconsider her preconceived notions. At the same time, she’s no flip-flopper, and her loyalty is a powerful thing. Even though has no survival skills or supernatural powers, I was constantly amazed by her strength. She’s got grit. Even her doomed, reckless escape attempts made me like her more.

My main problem with THE SHADOW READER is that McKenzie chooses between her two love interests, Aren and Kyol, by the end of the book and…no spoilers…she doesn’t pick the guy I liked best. I can think of a whole slew of other series (Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy books and the Twilight series spring to mind) where I was similarly unhappy with the heroine’s choice of hero. This is really frustrating for me, now that it’s starting to seem like a pattern. show less

I bought this book after seeing it got an honourable mention on Paul Allen’s list of the best paranormal/urban fantasy releases of 2011. I liked the look of his list so I thought it would be fun to fill in the gaps. I still have a long way to go to finish the list, especially since I haven’t started some of these series (and am way behind on others), but I’m determined to get through as much as I can.

The Shadow Reader is a phenomenal debut. Sandy Williams has created something amazing with this world and these characters. McKenzie is a scrappy heroine with a rare gift: the ability to figure out where the fae go when they “fissure” from one spot to another. For a few seconds, she’s able to draw their destination and, based on show more her knowledge of geography in our world and the fae realm, determine where the fae has gone. McKenzie’s been using her ability to help the fae king capture rebels since she was a teenager, making her a previous resource that the rebels are determined to remove from the king’s side, one way or another. This idea really sets The Shadow Reader apart from other books for me, because it’s a type of power I don’t remember reading about before. We don’t often see new ideas -- just fantastic new takes on preexisting ones -- and I found it very interesting. And this is just one part of the outstanding worldbuilding in the series!

McKenzie is a wonderful main character. Despite her gift, she just wants to be a normal person with a normal life, which is why she’s trying to get a university degree. I really liked this aspect of McKenzie’s personality -- her desire to take care of herself and live a regular life. It shows how independent she wants to be, despite the fact that the king provides for her. On the other hand, though, McKenzie is incredibly dependent on Kyol, the king’s swordmaster and her forbidden love.

And this brings me to my favourite part of the novel: the romantic storyline. Sandy Williams has created an authentic and emotionally charged love triangle between Kyol, McKenzie, and Aren. Both of the guys are wonderful characters and you can completely understand why McKenzie is drawn to them: Kyol is her first love, he protects and cherishes her, he’s loyal and capable and strong, and Aren is new, charismatic, charming, and dedicated to his cause, and he wants McKenzie to have a full understanding of the fae world. Don’t get me wrong, both men have negative traits, too. Kyol, for example, hides his feelings for McKenzie because his friend, the king, has forbidden relationships between humans and fae. As for Aren, he meets McKenzie for the first time when he’s trying to kidnap her, which is not the most auspicious beginning for any type of relationship. But over the course of the novel, you can really see the push and pull as McKenzie tries to decide what side of the war -- and what man -- she wants to choose.

Although I was completely absorbed by the romantic part of the novel, the other plot lines are just as compelling. There are some really gripping action scenes, a host of well-developed secondary characters, and a lot of nuance in the writing. And the cover really fits the story, though I must warn you that McKenzie doesn’t actually run around with a katana.

The next book, The Shattered Dark, doesn’t come out until November so you all have plenty of time to get acquainted with McKenzie before her next adventure. For myself, I’m very much looking forward to what comes next.

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