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Review
3.5 stars
The first book in the Shadowlands series, this is a light fantasy novel with a great heroine, a broody hero, a murder mystery, and a complex romance. It’s the beginning of what could be an epic story, and I really enjoyed it!
Carys’s boyfriend, Lachlan, has disappeared without a trace, and she’s desperate to find him. She travels to Scotland to track down his brother, Duncan, in her search for answers and discovers a whole world that she thought existed only in fairy tales. Duncan takes her through a portal to another world, populated by the ‘twins’ of human on earth, and where magic exists along with all manner of fantasy creatures. Lachlan is actually Duncan’s twin from the Shadowlands, and it turns out that that wasn’t the only secret he was keeping from Carys.
I don’t want to give away spoilers, because you just want to dive in and experience this one, but wow, what a wildly complicated dynamic Carys finds herself in! It’s so clever, and I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next as the story unfolded. Complicating matters, Carys discovers that she has a bit of magic of her own when she finds herself bonded to a dragon that was previously bonded to her own twin, who was murdered a few years previously. Humans aren’t supposed to bond with magical creatures, and Carys quickly finds herself swept up into this new world, desperate to uncover what happened to her twin, and wrestling her complicated feelings for Lachlan, who lied to her, and Duncan, who may be broody, but who supports and protects her without question, and who definitely had my heart fluttering.
“You never liked me from the beginning. If you ever give me a chance, Carys Morgan, it’ll be because I earned it.”
Elizabeth Hunter is so great at world building, and she’s done a fantastic job creating this world. It’s rich and magical and the way it’s set up creates some fantastic complexities for Carys. And there’s a fabulous bunch of characters that she encounters along the way – special shout out to her dragon, Cadell, who is able to shift into a human form and who is awesome in every way.
I really enjoyed this book. It didn’t suck me in quite as much as I was hoping, but I’m definitely invested, and with more mysteries to be uncovered and the romance only really hinted at, I can’t wait to see how the story progresses from here.
“You walk through this world thinking you leave no footsteps, Carys Morgan. But your path here could change everything.” He pulled back and stared into her eyes. “Everything.”
3.5 stars.
Shadowlands
