Book Review: Shadowlands by Kate Brian

Shadowlands by Kate Brian
Release Date: January 8, 2013
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Pages: 336
Received: ARC from publisher
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads Page

Summary

From Goodreads:

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?

Review

What I thought before I started the book

Shadowlands is a contemporary, so of course I wasn't totally sold on the idea of reading it. I mean, ok, yes, there's a serial killer on the loose, and witness protection, and other tense stuff. But I wondered if that was going to be enough to keep me hooked.

But I had nothing to fear because Shadowlands kept me hooked from page one straight through to the gut-punching end. 

What I thought before I finished the book

Shadowlands starts out with a bang, wasting no time in throwing you in right as Rory is getting attacked. That's my kind of book. Tension is kept decently high in the beginning as Rory's family deals with the police and they discover just how involved the killer was in their life (super creepy).

And then the witness protection part started. I know how much Ruby loves witness protection stories, so it's hard to admit this but I sometimes struggle with them. I know there's usually something that shatters the safety of the program (so, yay action), and I do love mentally playing with the idea of taking on a new identity, but it's the whole "protection" part of it that I don't like. I don't want my characters to be protected, all safe and snug in their new identity. I want them facing constant peril.

So I was worried I'd start to doze off as soon as Rory and her family arrived at their quaint little island refuge. And I totally would have if it hadn't been for this mysterious something that simmered just beneath the surface.

A lot of time is spent on Rory going to the island's parties and wondering which guy is more interested in Rory (because, of course, two of them are). Objectively, I didn't much care about any of this. I didn't get why either guy was interested in Rory, and neither guy was particularly appealing.

But I still couldn't tear myself away. In this case, the fact that I didn't get why the guys were interested in her was actually intriguing. I got the feeling they were interested in her for some other reason. There was something going on in that little town and I couldn't shake the feeling that nothing was what it seemed. I was 100% committed to figuring out what was really going on.

What I thought after I finished the book

I would have loved Shadowlands when I was a tween/early teen. That was during my Lois Duncan phase and this book would have fit right in. Extra points would have been given for the startling ending I never would have predicted.

But I'm not a teen anymore, and I've read enough books to have had a pretty good idea where everything would end. I had two major theories about where this was all heading, and one of them proved right (thankfully, the one I was hoping for. Seriously, I was crossing my fingers and praying they weren't a secret cult of vampires).

That's ok though. Despite my theories, Kate Brian did a good job of dropping clues at just the right points to keep me hooked and guessing until the very end.

Extras to note

The mystery hogged most of my attention, but Kate Brian does also spend a lot of time developing the relationships between Rory, her father, and her sister Darcy. I was interested in seeing how each relationship deepened and changed through the course of the book.

That might not sound like a ringing endorsement, but I'm a very issue-phobic reader (there was the specter of a dead mother here, and NOT the literal ghost kind!), so coming from me that's pretty high praise.

Bottom line

Shadowlands ends pretty neatly (though abruptly), with a few threads left dangling. When I finished the book I was under the impression it was a standalone and I was perfectly happy with how it ended. The ending again reminded me of the books I read as a teen when most books were standalones and not everything was wrapped up with a bow and a twenty page epilogue.

But Shadowlands is not a standalone. It is part one of a trilogy (series?), and I am kinda disappointed. I don't see where the series has to go at this point, but I'm curious to find out (especially in light of the Big Reveal at the end). Not personally, maybe, as I'm not sure I'll be tuning in for the sequel, but I'll at least read reviews to find out what direction it takes.

But that's mostly because character building (these were pretty thin) and fantasies are more my thing. Fans of contemporary thrillers should enjoy Shadowlands (particularly readers who didn't spend their teen years marinating in Lois Duncan thrillers). The attractive cover, short chapters, and fast-paced mystery should make Shadowlands an appealing pick for YA readers.

Explanation of rating system: Star Rating Key 

Do you have any questions about Shadowlands that I haven't addressed? 
Feel free to ask in the comments!

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