Tori's Review: The Shadow Reader by Sandy Williams

Released: October 25, 2011
Paperback: 320 pages
Price: $7.99
Publisher: Penguin
Source: Publisher
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: McKenzie Lewis
Buy: Amazon

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There can only be one allegiance. It’s her time to choose.

Some humans can see the fae. McKenzie Lewis can track them, reading the shadows they leave behind. But some shadows lead to danger. Others lead to lies.

A Houston college student trying to finish her degree, McKenzie has been working for the fae king for years, tracking vicious rebels who would claim the Realm. Her job isn’t her only secret. For just as long, she’s been in love with Kyol, the king’s sword-master—and relationships between humans and fae are forbidden.

But any hope for a normal life is shattered when she’s captured by Aren, the fierce and uncompromising rebel leader. He teaches her the forbidden fae language and tells her dark truths about the Court, all to persuade her to turn against the king. Time is running out, and as the fight starts to claim human lives, McKenzie has no choice but to decide once and for all whom to trust and where she ultimately stands in the face of a cataclysmic civil war.

My Rating:

This book has received the Faerie of Honor rating (what's this?)

My Opinion:
Sandy Williams is a talented author with a wonderful imagination that I am both thankful for and envious of. She has taken an overused concept in YA literature (the love triangle) and has done something extraordinary with it in the adult genre.... And with a heroine who is in my age group, to boot!

I won't go into the details regarding the plot, but I will say that the driving force in this novel is the love triangle's conflicts. Some may find this to be obnoxious--particularly the jaded love triangle readers--but I think that most, like me, will appreciate that for once, the love triangle was done right.

I, for one, was just as torn about which hero I wanted to "win" as McKenzie was. Both men had their strengths and weaknesses, and they each summoned different reactions in our heroine that either made me swoon, or made me scowl (depending on the situation).

Each man was as realistic as a human being vying for the affections of someone they wanted to be with, and I never, at any point, believed that McKenzie was leading the guys on. I could feel that she was genuinely torn, and I appreciated the realistic element more than I could ever explain in words.

TSR is a unique story overflowing with rich world building, characters that get under your skin, and a plot that kept me glued from the first page all the way to the last. It is one of my absolute favorites that I have had the pleasure of reading in 2011, both in the adult genre, and out of all my favorite YAs. I highly recommend that all readers--whether you are an adult fiction junkie or a YA fan who adores love triangles done right--to check out Williams' story... You will not be disappointed.


Book Order:
1. The Shadow Reader