Review: Shadowlands by Kate Brian

Publisher: Hyperion
Series: Shadowlands #1

Pages: 336

Received: Received a copy from Hachette Book Group Canada in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: January 8, 2013
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Goodreads Synopsis:

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?

My Review:

Wow, this book definitely took a completely different turn than I was expecting. The synopsis gives readers the feeling that this will be a creepy book, and Brian definitely delivered on the creepy factor with this one. I found myself quickly turning the pages and yet also slowing down at times because I was disturbed at what was happening.

I found that this book was heart pounding right from the beginning, making it almost impossible to tear yourself away from the story, I needed to know what would happen next with Rory. What really made this a creepy read is how Brian inserts chapters from Nell's perspective in between chapters, reading his thoughts gave me goosebumps. These added chapters made me want to look over my shoulder more often. I love when authors are able to add in the mind set of someone who has problems like Brian did.

I really found that Brian did a beautiful job bringing out Rory's feelings. If something like that had ever happened to me, I would be paranoid and always scared for my life. Everything Rory goes through is so realistic that you feel it yourself as you're reading. I really wanted to cry as Rory dealt with losing her mother again as she must leave her childhood home. Brian really hits an emotional side of things with this story, and not only goes out of her way to creep out her readers but also to really make them feel everything Rory does.

I do admit that I had one minor issue with this book and that was the relationship between Rory and her sister Darcy. I understand having problems getting along with a sister who is completely different from you, but I felt that Darcy was too over the top with her judgements. A lot of the time I felt that whenever Darcy was in a scene it was awkward, she was selfish and inconsiderate of how Rory was feeling after her encounter with Mr. Nell. I wanted her to be more supportive and understanding of why Rory was scared all the time.

There was an interesting mystery behind the town of Juniper Landing, all the people there were a bit weird and I wanted to know more about what kind of secrets they were keeping. When everything is revealed at the end of this book, you definitely get the feeling of "What did I just read?" It completely takes you by surprise and makes you want more from the story. This book gets you hooked right from the beginning and it is easy to finish in a day, needing to know the mystery. If you like a good creepy read, I suggest picking up SHADOWLANDS.