Name: Shadow
ISBN: 9781621841753

Kara Swanson

Shadow

Heaven Adore

FINALLY FINISHED! Oh my goodness, it was so good! I'm really glad that I was able to get a hold of it shortly after it released. Certainly waiting until July was well worth the wait. Full review to come!

Libby Kowitz

So... I meant to only read the first chapter, and ended up reading the entire book in one sitting... my bad. This is a very fast-paced book, and I really didn’t feel okay setting it down at any point because I needed to know what happened next.

I really LOVED Hook’s character development in this story. He was an intriguing villain from start to finish, and I did love his relationship with Paige. I also really enjoyed Peter’s character arc, and the intersectionality of him being both abused and an abuser. There were points where I was worried he would either be forgiven too quickly, or wouldn’t be forgiven enough, but I was thrilled with his character arc in the end. The only issue I really had with any character was with Claire, mostly because she kept trusting people she knew better than to trust. 

I also wasn’t a fan of how Paige’s arc resolved. I just felt like, for as intricate as the book was in its discussion of darkness and mental illness (which was done phenomenally well), it seemed like a strange character ending to me, and I wish it would have been different.

Like I said, the book was very fast-paced, but for the first 30%, I really wished the scenes were more developed. At times, it felt so quick I wasn’t getting a good idea of what was happening. After the midpoint, the plot evened out and, while it was still fast-paced, the scenes felt more developed. This could also be because it was the first time Claire and Peter were on the page together, and I did miss their chemistry from the first book.

The writing was clear and concise. Some of my favorite scenes included: Paige using Claire’s dust (it was emotional and raw), Claire and Peter’s adorable fall in the hanging villages (😏), and that adorable epilogue. 

BUT OKAY BEFORE THE EPILOGUE? THAT WAS UNNECESSARILY PAINFUL. 

The world-building in this was beautifully done; there was never a moment when I didn’t understand what was going on in the book. Overall this is a fantastic end to a thrilling duology.

***I did get an ARC in exchange for an honest review, and all views reflected above are my own.

Peter Pan has crash-landed back on Neverland. But this is not the island he remembers. Desperate to rescue Claire and the fractured Lost Boys, Peter must unravel what truly tore his dreamland apart. But with each step, he is haunted by more of his own broken memories. Not even Pan himself is what he seems. Claire Kenton is chained to a pirate ship, watching the wreckage of Neverland rocked by tempests. When she finally finds her brother, Connor is every bit as shattered as the island. Claire may have pixie dust flowing in her veins--but the light of Neverland is flickering dangerously close to going out forever. To rescue Neverland from the inescapable shadow, the boy who never grew up and the girl who grew up too fast will have to sacrifice the only thing they have left: each other.

Shadow

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