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erezende's review
4.0
Okay so this book is typical and I know its been done a thousand times over. 1. Guy is enemy 2. They fall in love with eachother "you're not who I thought you were" yada yada romance blah 3. second man is introduced who is kind and girl has slight interest 4. Kind man is REALLY the enemy 5. Girl saves the world from kind guys evil plan. BUT I LIKE THE CLICHE OKAY I DONT WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT GEEZ. All in all this book was very predictable but also a nice light read to pass the time.
sunnyunicorns21's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
hurrikanekathrina's review
4.0
Actual rating 3.8 stars
I picked this up, because I wanted more Marie Rutkoski after my Winner's Kiss hangover and was really interested in what else she's written. Parallel universes sounded great to me, and so I picked this up on a whim.
The first 70 pages or so, it had a serious High School vibe going, featuring a female MC that was bordering on being a special snowflake (always sarcastic, only wears black, artist, outsider and so different) but then spots a hot guy and instantly obsesses over him before even the first words are spoken between them. But I kept going, because there was the promise of interdimensional action and, well, it's Marie Rutkoski. After about 70 pages, the book took a complete turn-around and left its high school setting completely, and from then on, the characters got a lot more interesting and complex and we could dive into all the parallel universe fun.
The female lead, Darcy Jones, turned out to be a likeable enough character, and I enjoyed reading from her perspective, as I enjoyed her together with Conn. I liked both of them, though I didn't love them like I did some other of Marie's characters ( *cough* Arin *cough* Kestrel* )
I thought that the writing, and the world building of the alternative Chicago was really great and I loved exploring the parallel world along with Darcy. Also, the idea of the Shades was very original, as they are not your typical fantasy creatures but a completely new creation. The sanctuary and the secret society that they were living in was very intriguing, and I wished we could have more time to get a hang of the world.
My biggest complaint is that everything felt a little rushed toward the end. Both main characters have some interesting, tragic backstories and I would've liked to dive into that more, as I would have loved more character development between Darcy and Conn. They really had potential for a great relationship, but so many things were happening towards the end of the book, that everything only got scraped on the surface. What about Orion's character suddenly turning so sinister? There wasn't even a showdown between the main protagonists and the antagonist. What about Darcy's past? We got a little clearance, but there are still many questions left unanswered. As is with Conn. We know the basics of what happened to him, but really diving into that would've helped me getting some grip on his character.
And there were so many great supporting characters (Lily, Raphael, Taylor, Jims) that had so much potential, but weren't explored enough to really develope strong emotional connections to them. And of course, the end itself was very anti-climatic, with about one page of problem solving and Conn just conveniently managing to convince the Shades to help the IBI.
The book was bursting with good, original ideas and lots of potential, and there were so many things woven into the story, that it almost didn't fit into a book of this length. I think this book would've done better as a duology, with more time and detail going into the subplots and characters. This way, it all felt a little crammed in and deprived the reader of the possibility to really become emmersed in the world, despite the world being super interesting.
I picked this up, because I wanted more Marie Rutkoski after my Winner's Kiss hangover and was really interested in what else she's written. Parallel universes sounded great to me, and so I picked this up on a whim.
The first 70 pages or so, it had a serious High School vibe going, featuring a female MC that was bordering on being a special snowflake (always sarcastic, only wears black, artist, outsider and so different) but then spots a hot guy and instantly obsesses over him before even the first words are spoken between them. But I kept going, because there was the promise of interdimensional action and, well, it's Marie Rutkoski. After about 70 pages, the book took a complete turn-around and left its high school setting completely, and from then on, the characters got a lot more interesting and complex and we could dive into all the parallel universe fun.
The female lead, Darcy Jones, turned out to be a likeable enough character, and I enjoyed reading from her perspective, as I enjoyed her together with Conn. I liked both of them, though I didn't love them like I did some other of Marie's characters ( *cough* Arin *cough* Kestrel* )
I thought that the writing, and the world building of the alternative Chicago was really great and I loved exploring the parallel world along with Darcy. Also, the idea of the Shades was very original, as they are not your typical fantasy creatures but a completely new creation. The sanctuary and the secret society that they were living in was very intriguing, and I wished we could have more time to get a hang of the world.
My biggest complaint is that everything felt a little rushed toward the end. Both main characters have some interesting, tragic backstories and I would've liked to dive into that more, as I would have loved more character development between Darcy and Conn. They really had potential for a great relationship, but so many things were happening towards the end of the book, that everything only got scraped on the surface. What about Orion's character suddenly turning so sinister? There wasn't even a showdown between the main protagonists and the antagonist. What about Darcy's past? We got a little clearance, but there are still many questions left unanswered. As is with Conn. We know the basics of what happened to him, but really diving into that would've helped me getting some grip on his character.
And there were so many great supporting characters (Lily, Raphael, Taylor, Jims) that had so much potential, but weren't explored enough to really develope strong emotional connections to them. And of course, the end itself was very anti-climatic, with about one page of problem solving and Conn just conveniently managing to convince the Shades to help the IBI.
The book was bursting with good, original ideas and lots of potential, and there were so many things woven into the story, that it almost didn't fit into a book of this length. I think this book would've done better as a duology, with more time and detail going into the subplots and characters. This way, it all felt a little crammed in and deprived the reader of the possibility to really become emmersed in the world, despite the world being super interesting.
fallingwings's review
2.0
Why didn't I enjoy this? I wanted to enjoy this so much, especially since the premise sounded so intriguing.
Cons:
× The entire "love at first sight" thing. Ugh. Characters do not have to declare love at first sight for it to be love at first sight. And I'm talking legit, she never saw him before, looked at him for a few seconds and had an instant connection at first sight thing. I kept reading about how she had felt drawn to him, waiting for some reasonable explanation (god, I would have even accepted the mates trope), but uh...nope. Just your typical YA female heroine falling for a guy in 0.5 seconds.
× Darcy trusts the "new hot guy" because -- even though her gut is telling her not to -- "she feels a connection to him" without knowing anything about him.
× I literally could not tell you why Darcy and Conn are attracted to one another or why they fall for each other. Other than their love for poetry, and Darcy's constant need to tell us about the unexplained "connection" between them, there is literally nothing between them. No chemistry, no sparks, I don't even think they're physically attracted to each other (hell, in the beginning, Darcy admits he's good looking but not what she goes for in physical appearances). I personally love the enemies to lovers trope, but it really doesn't work here. You can't just take two enemies, give them a similar hobby / interest, have them interact off and on, and then smoosh them together. When they finally did things outside of the mission, I just didn't feel or understand what drew them together.
× Freaking Orion, good god I hate the cliche that was his character.
× Darcy keeps saying how much she hates Shades when didn't even know about them until recently. Considering she hates them so much, I'm surprised. She also agreed her parents were "evil", which don't get me wrong, what they did was awful and horrible. But she seemed to genuinely love them and knew what they did before her incident (she even wanted to help them!). So Darcy kind of pissed me off with her high and mighty act when it came to shades vs humans, believing humans were "better" or the "good guys" in the grand scheme despite everything she had experienced and learned firsthand. Because no one was really "good" here. This was literally just two species who couldn't get along or were fearful of the other, which led them to do awful/horrible things to each other. It's almost like the story is supposed to be morally gray but the main character is trying to force her belief of "humans good, shades evil" down our throats repeatedly.
× After getting over half way into this book, I kind of kept losing interest to keep picking it back up. This is something of a problem I have with books over 400 pages, because they either drag out the plot or have the MC just run around doing idle things that don't add much overall to the plot. Now, I don't feel the plot drags here per se, but I don't think I would feel like anything was genuinely missing if this story had been roughly 100 or so pages shorter.
× We have three guys pining after Darcy. One of those guys we don't even learn about him being infatuated with her until the near end.
× I skimmed the last few chapters or so and I know I may have missed something, but what happened to Orion and the others? And what about the peace treaty that the other Shades were trying to do?
× True wuv saves the day. Literally.
Pros:
× That cover. I would die for that cover, it's gorgeous.
× Interesting concept. I liked the parallel worlds and how things were the same yet also different.
× Darcy's friends and adoptive mother were awesome and deserved more screentime. I'm sad they didn't get more of a role in the story.
× It was nice to have the heroine be the supernatural one where the guy is just a regular human.
× This is a stand alone book (I don't know why goodreads lists it as the first book in a series).
This book is sadly a miss for me. I really thought I would enjoy it more, especially since I really loved this authors The Midnight Lie, but I guess not.
Cons:
× The entire "love at first sight" thing. Ugh. Characters do not have to declare love at first sight for it to be love at first sight. And I'm talking legit, she never saw him before, looked at him for a few seconds and had an instant connection at first sight thing. I kept reading about how she had felt drawn to him, waiting for some reasonable explanation (god, I would have even accepted the mates trope), but uh...nope. Just your typical YA female heroine falling for a guy in 0.5 seconds.
× Darcy trusts the "new hot guy" because -- even though her gut is telling her not to -- "she feels a connection to him" without knowing anything about him.
× I literally could not tell you why Darcy and Conn are attracted to one another or why they fall for each other. Other than their love for poetry, and Darcy's constant need to tell us about the unexplained "connection" between them, there is literally nothing between them. No chemistry, no sparks, I don't even think they're physically attracted to each other (hell, in the beginning, Darcy admits he's good looking but not what she goes for in physical appearances). I personally love the enemies to lovers trope, but it really doesn't work here. You can't just take two enemies, give them a similar hobby / interest, have them interact off and on, and then smoosh them together. When they finally did things outside of the mission, I just didn't feel or understand what drew them together.
× Freaking Orion, good god I hate the cliche that was his character.
Spoiler
Was it so hard just to keep him as the supportive new friend she makes instead of the guy-turned-creep who gets jealous and nasty when she rejects his advances?× Darcy keeps saying how much she hates Shades when didn't even know about them until recently. Considering she hates them so much, I'm surprised
Spoiler
she doesn't have self loathing problems because, you know, she's a shade× After getting over half way into this book, I kind of kept losing interest to keep picking it back up. This is something of a problem I have with books over 400 pages, because they either drag out the plot or have the MC just run around doing idle things that don't add much overall to the plot. Now, I don't feel the plot drags here per se, but I don't think I would feel like anything was genuinely missing if this story had been roughly 100 or so pages shorter.
× We have three guys pining after Darcy. One of those guys we don't even learn about him being infatuated with her until the near end.
× I skimmed the last few chapters or so and I know I may have missed something, but what happened to Orion and the others? And what about the peace treaty that the other Shades were trying to do?
× True wuv saves the day. Literally.
Pros:
× That cover. I would die for that cover, it's gorgeous.
× Interesting concept. I liked the parallel worlds and how things were the same yet also different.
× Darcy's friends and adoptive mother were awesome and deserved more screentime. I'm sad they didn't get more of a role in the story.
× It was nice to have the heroine be the supernatural one where the guy is just a regular human.
× This is a stand alone book (I don't know why goodreads lists it as the first book in a series).
This book is sadly a miss for me. I really thought I would enjoy it more, especially since I really loved this authors The Midnight Lie, but I guess not.
8lueminn0w's review against another edition
3.0
«But what if I did like it best because you do? That would only mean that you've changed the way I see something. Isn't that . .. isn't that what friends do? They change our perspective on the world. Part of why we care about them is because we love that feeling. The feeling of being changed.»
3.5 ⭐️
3.5 ⭐️
alyssaindira's review
3.0
*no spoilers were harmed in the making of this review*
"Do I dare disturb the universe?"
Hey guys, so I finished The Shadow Society (The Shadow Society #1) by Marie Rutkoski. It was a pretty quick and easy read, if I do say so myself, which I do. Ha, okay. The storyline was not difficult to sink in to. I liked how short most of the chapters were. I could seamlessly breeze through one chapter, then another, then another. Then without realizing it, I'm almost at the end of the story. I almost think I read this story too fast and didnt give myself enough time to really sink into the story and really feel for what was happening in this book. But maybe...eh, I dunno. Regardless,I did like this story for the most part. Especially the mystery behind who she was and that whole subplot. It was interesting to see how that part of the novel played out in the novel and influenced other elements of the novel. The plotline was nice and interesting enough for me. I mean, I liked experiencing this world and learning about this world with the MC. She was nice enough I suppose. It was a good storyline all together, just enough action and stuff. It was a good book. However, the one thing I disliked about this book was the romance. Alright, alright, I did like the main love interest in the beginning. But then he went whacko and I lost all respect and slight affection for him. No matter what he did for her after that, I was just like nope. He was dead to me. But apparently not for the MC. GAH. But then O appeared and I thought that was a potential yes. And then...*sighs* So yeah, the romance, not really a fan. SO, aside that, it was a good book about finding yourself and figuring out who you are and what you want. It was about the power of friendship and the power of loyalty. And about how everything is not always what it seems. There are illusions everywhere. And everything that you think you know, can be turned upside down in an instant. Ha, the MC learned this first hand. Alright, honestly, I dont really know what else to say about this book, other than it was a good and enjoyable read. As always, if you guys have any questions or comments, drop em below. Till next time. Bye
"Do I dare disturb the universe?"
Hey guys, so I finished The Shadow Society (The Shadow Society #1) by Marie Rutkoski. It was a pretty quick and easy read, if I do say so myself, which I do. Ha, okay. The storyline was not difficult to sink in to. I liked how short most of the chapters were. I could seamlessly breeze through one chapter, then another, then another. Then without realizing it, I'm almost at the end of the story. I almost think I read this story too fast and didnt give myself enough time to really sink into the story and really feel for what was happening in this book. But maybe...eh, I dunno. Regardless,I did like this story for the most part. Especially the mystery behind who she was and that whole subplot. It was interesting to see how that part of the novel played out in the novel and influenced other elements of the novel. The plotline was nice and interesting enough for me. I mean, I liked experiencing this world and learning about this world with the MC. She was nice enough I suppose. It was a good storyline all together, just enough action and stuff. It was a good book. However, the one thing I disliked about this book was the romance. Alright, alright, I did like the main love interest in the beginning. But then he went whacko and I lost all respect and slight affection for him. No matter what he did for her after that, I was just like nope. He was dead to me. But apparently not for the MC. GAH. But then O appeared and I thought that was a potential yes. And then...*sighs* So yeah, the romance, not really a fan. SO, aside that, it was a good book about finding yourself and figuring out who you are and what you want. It was about the power of friendship and the power of loyalty. And about how everything is not always what it seems. There are illusions everywhere. And everything that you think you know, can be turned upside down in an instant. Ha, the MC learned this first hand. Alright, honestly, I dont really know what else to say about this book, other than it was a good and enjoyable read. As always, if you guys have any questions or comments, drop em below. Till next time. Bye
mollywetta's review
3.0
Vampires. Werewolves. Zombies. Even mermaids. There’s countless young adult novels that tell the stories of these supernatural creatures. It’s refreshing to encounter a wholly original take on the paranormal.
When I was a child, I was absolutely fascinated with my shadow. I’d periodically check to see if it was still following me and sometimes wondered if it ran off to make mischief the way Peter Pan’s does. If I was as clever as Marie Rutkoski, I’d have turned that into an idea for a story.
The Shadow Society is the story of Darcy Jones — at least that’s the name given to her by the uninspired Department of Children and Families social worker when she’s found outside a Chicago firehouse when she’s five years old. Ever since, Darcy has been shuffled between foster families and group homes. Now that she’s sixteen, she’s finally found a cozy home, a group of friends, a part-time job, and a passion for art. But she still feels like a freak. When she’s paired with the mysterious new boy at school, Conn, on a school project, she slowly realizes that there may be a reason for that.
As Darcy and Conn try to unravel the question presented by T. S. Eliot in “The Love Poem of J. Alfred Prufock”: Do I dare/Disturb the universe?” for their English class assignment, she becomes increasingly attracted to the enigmatic and slightly dangerous boy who rides a motorcycle and seems to have a secret.
Turns out, he does. When she kisses him, he slaps firecuffs on her and arrests her for being a Shade. Conn is an officer for the Interdimensional Bureau of Investigation and has been sent to capture this rogue Shade. Thus begins Darcy’s journey to find out where she comes from, who her parents are, and what exactly she is that takes her into an alternate Chicago where the Great Fire didn’t happen, and those with the ability to “ghost” — or become their shadow selves — are at odds with the human race. Darcy certainly does more than disturb the universe; she sends two into upheaval.
I enjoyed this book, but it wasn’t without it’s faults. I felt it lacked a clear villain and I didn’t feel like the concept of Shades as a terrorist organization was every completely realized. At times, the familiar tropes—a protagonist who is an outsider, forbidden love, orphans—overshadowed the original world. Though I don’t normally read a lot of middle-grade novels, I might have liked this better without the romance component and with more focus on Darcy and her friends.
I appreciate a unique idea and especially liked the realistic depiction of life in foster care. Rutkoski has taken a great concept and a quirky cast of characters and woven them into a highly readable story that fans of her Kronos Chronicles will enjoy as they graduate from middle grade reads into young adult fiction. Full of snappy dialogue and fast-paced action, the story moves so quickly I found myself wanting more time for world-building and getting know Darcy’s friends — and enemies — better. Still, readers will love exploring the Chicago of this alternate dimension where you can find a copy of Jane Austen’s long lost novel Reservations and the United States had its first female president in the 1970s, not to mention the strange shadows that may be lurking in your own.
Note: A copy of this book was provided by the publisher to my library. Marie Rutkoski’s The Cabinet of Wonders was our children’s selection for Read Across Lawrence. A slightly different version of this review also appears on the library website and my blog.
When I was a child, I was absolutely fascinated with my shadow. I’d periodically check to see if it was still following me and sometimes wondered if it ran off to make mischief the way Peter Pan’s does. If I was as clever as Marie Rutkoski, I’d have turned that into an idea for a story.
The Shadow Society is the story of Darcy Jones — at least that’s the name given to her by the uninspired Department of Children and Families social worker when she’s found outside a Chicago firehouse when she’s five years old. Ever since, Darcy has been shuffled between foster families and group homes. Now that she’s sixteen, she’s finally found a cozy home, a group of friends, a part-time job, and a passion for art. But she still feels like a freak. When she’s paired with the mysterious new boy at school, Conn, on a school project, she slowly realizes that there may be a reason for that.
As Darcy and Conn try to unravel the question presented by T. S. Eliot in “The Love Poem of J. Alfred Prufock”: Do I dare/Disturb the universe?” for their English class assignment, she becomes increasingly attracted to the enigmatic and slightly dangerous boy who rides a motorcycle and seems to have a secret.
Turns out, he does. When she kisses him, he slaps firecuffs on her and arrests her for being a Shade. Conn is an officer for the Interdimensional Bureau of Investigation and has been sent to capture this rogue Shade. Thus begins Darcy’s journey to find out where she comes from, who her parents are, and what exactly she is that takes her into an alternate Chicago where the Great Fire didn’t happen, and those with the ability to “ghost” — or become their shadow selves — are at odds with the human race. Darcy certainly does more than disturb the universe; she sends two into upheaval.
I enjoyed this book, but it wasn’t without it’s faults. I felt it lacked a clear villain and I didn’t feel like the concept of Shades as a terrorist organization was every completely realized. At times, the familiar tropes—a protagonist who is an outsider, forbidden love, orphans—overshadowed the original world. Though I don’t normally read a lot of middle-grade novels, I might have liked this better without the romance component and with more focus on Darcy and her friends.
I appreciate a unique idea and especially liked the realistic depiction of life in foster care. Rutkoski has taken a great concept and a quirky cast of characters and woven them into a highly readable story that fans of her Kronos Chronicles will enjoy as they graduate from middle grade reads into young adult fiction. Full of snappy dialogue and fast-paced action, the story moves so quickly I found myself wanting more time for world-building and getting know Darcy’s friends — and enemies — better. Still, readers will love exploring the Chicago of this alternate dimension where you can find a copy of Jane Austen’s long lost novel Reservations and the United States had its first female president in the 1970s, not to mention the strange shadows that may be lurking in your own.
Note: A copy of this book was provided by the publisher to my library. Marie Rutkoski’s The Cabinet of Wonders was our children’s selection for Read Across Lawrence. A slightly different version of this review also appears on the library website and my blog.
ptothelo's review
4.0
Quick and fun read. I've become a fan of things getting revealed relatively quickly to move a long the plot and tell more of the story in one book instead of over two or three so that half the book isn't spent on not telling each other things.
charms1976's review
3.0
Borderline love/hate with this story is the only way I can explain my feelings on this book. Its dark and different than what I am used to reading which was refreshing in the way that I got to step out of my box with it.
The characters were the main thing for me that kept me from rating it higher. I think the main problem I had was that some characters were not needed to make this story great while others weren't used enough. Another problem is the cliched new boy who is dark yet sexy. The plot was interesting enough that I didn't need some of the problems of love triangles and cliches to lure me in.
Like other reviewers have said about this read -- you will either love it or hate it. Some will think it had the perfect balance and others will say it lacked in balance. I, felt that it was walking a fine line between being great or it being bad. This is the type of read that you will more than likely have to choose for yourself in forming an opinion.
The characters were the main thing for me that kept me from rating it higher. I think the main problem I had was that some characters were not needed to make this story great while others weren't used enough. Another problem is the cliched new boy who is dark yet sexy. The plot was interesting enough that I didn't need some of the problems of love triangles and cliches to lure me in.
Like other reviewers have said about this read -- you will either love it or hate it. Some will think it had the perfect balance and others will say it lacked in balance. I, felt that it was walking a fine line between being great or it being bad. This is the type of read that you will more than likely have to choose for yourself in forming an opinion.
squirrelsohno's review
3.0
“How can you interpret the behavior of others when you're a mystery to yourself?”
When a review takes you a month to write, sometimes that is not a good sign. Maybe it’s because the book was so amazing that you could not put it into words, or maybe it was so bad that you feared putting words on a page. In some cases, though, it was because you sit there and think, “What actually happened in that book? Did I really care?”
But you press on eventually you write the review. That’s what I’m doing right now, reviewing THE SHADOW SOCIETY. Luckily I jotted down some notes one morning while in a meeting at work. Now, as I sit here on a Saturday afternoon, sipping on Hawaiian Punch and eating a Christmas lollipop, I am left staring at my notes and at my ARC trying to make sense of it all.
The first note I have is “very interesting premise”. THE SHADOW SOCIETY is the first book in a trilogy following Darcy, a girl raised in our world who turns out to be a “Shade”, a shadow creature from a parallel universe eradicated from ours by the Great Chicago Fire. And as I am a big fan of Fringe, I was sucked in by the plot, the synopsis, the idea that maybe this would be a great science fiction novel for teens. But I think that is about as far as it went. The synopsis showed great premise, but the story itself, the content between the covers, fell flat.
Beyond the synopsis, THE SHADOW SOCIETY is a story about some very disparate things. Well, parallel universes and shades for one, but also inter-dimensional agencies, high tech that makes little or no sense, diversionary technological evolution based on one event that makes it seem like our universe skipped several hundred years, and poetry.
The main issue with THE SHADOW SOCIETY is that it doesn’t actually start until page 86. Yes, things happen. Darcy goes to school, moons over a new boy, waxes poetic about her life, does an English project with her new boy toy. I almost DNFed it right off the bat. At page 86, though, the story zooms forward and suddenly we are catapulted into a new and exciting universe, until it slows down again. The pacing is very inconsistent. One moment we’re zinging through the story, and the next we have our MC moaning and whining about her love interests for 30 pages while nothing happens besides some chatting.
There was no sense of urgency in this story, except for the times where things got urgent or secrets (many of which were obvious) were revealed. The double crosses aren’t well hidden in the story, and the foreshadowing is blatant. Also, some of the things that happen make no sense. None. Whatsoever.
What saved this story to get three whole stars from me? Darcy. Man was she naïve, but at the same time, she was compelling and sympathetic – a girl who has lived a very tough life but is determined to change her stripes. She’s quite kick butt, take-n0-prisoners, trust few by the end, and I have to give her credit. For having no idea about the true colors of those around her, she does a good job getting herself out of problems, and over her fears, and out of the grasp of the bad guys after convenience leads her right to them.
Speaking of the other characters, I kind of wavered on them. Some are awesome, but on the most part, forgettable. My notes say something about one half of the love triangle (yes, there is a love triangle that is resolved by the end) is a typical YA jerk, and the other’s characterization is completely weird and doesn’t stand up. The other characters fade into the background.
Overall, THE SHADOW SOCIETY goes down in history as being average for me. I liked it, but it didn’t stand out from the crowd. I am interested in reading the next book (this is a series, right? It felt like a series), though, because the ending was a good one, albeit a bit unbelievable.
VERDICT: Suspend your disbelief, put aside your prejudices against the extremely unlikely, and read THE SHADOW SOCIETY with a very open mind. When the action is on, this one has a LOT going for it.
When a review takes you a month to write, sometimes that is not a good sign. Maybe it’s because the book was so amazing that you could not put it into words, or maybe it was so bad that you feared putting words on a page. In some cases, though, it was because you sit there and think, “What actually happened in that book? Did I really care?”
But you press on eventually you write the review. That’s what I’m doing right now, reviewing THE SHADOW SOCIETY. Luckily I jotted down some notes one morning while in a meeting at work. Now, as I sit here on a Saturday afternoon, sipping on Hawaiian Punch and eating a Christmas lollipop, I am left staring at my notes and at my ARC trying to make sense of it all.
The first note I have is “very interesting premise”. THE SHADOW SOCIETY is the first book in a trilogy following Darcy, a girl raised in our world who turns out to be a “Shade”, a shadow creature from a parallel universe eradicated from ours by the Great Chicago Fire. And as I am a big fan of Fringe, I was sucked in by the plot, the synopsis, the idea that maybe this would be a great science fiction novel for teens. But I think that is about as far as it went. The synopsis showed great premise, but the story itself, the content between the covers, fell flat.
Beyond the synopsis, THE SHADOW SOCIETY is a story about some very disparate things. Well, parallel universes and shades for one, but also inter-dimensional agencies, high tech that makes little or no sense, diversionary technological evolution based on one event that makes it seem like our universe skipped several hundred years, and poetry.
The main issue with THE SHADOW SOCIETY is that it doesn’t actually start until page 86. Yes, things happen. Darcy goes to school, moons over a new boy, waxes poetic about her life, does an English project with her new boy toy. I almost DNFed it right off the bat. At page 86, though, the story zooms forward and suddenly we are catapulted into a new and exciting universe, until it slows down again. The pacing is very inconsistent. One moment we’re zinging through the story, and the next we have our MC moaning and whining about her love interests for 30 pages while nothing happens besides some chatting.
There was no sense of urgency in this story, except for the times where things got urgent or secrets (many of which were obvious) were revealed. The double crosses aren’t well hidden in the story, and the foreshadowing is blatant. Also, some of the things that happen make no sense. None. Whatsoever.
What saved this story to get three whole stars from me? Darcy. Man was she naïve, but at the same time, she was compelling and sympathetic – a girl who has lived a very tough life but is determined to change her stripes. She’s quite kick butt, take-n0-prisoners, trust few by the end, and I have to give her credit. For having no idea about the true colors of those around her, she does a good job getting herself out of problems, and over her fears, and out of the grasp of the bad guys after convenience leads her right to them.
Speaking of the other characters, I kind of wavered on them. Some are awesome, but on the most part, forgettable. My notes say something about one half of the love triangle (yes, there is a love triangle that is resolved by the end) is a typical YA jerk, and the other’s characterization is completely weird and doesn’t stand up. The other characters fade into the background.
Overall, THE SHADOW SOCIETY goes down in history as being average for me. I liked it, but it didn’t stand out from the crowd. I am interested in reading the next book (this is a series, right? It felt like a series), though, because the ending was a good one, albeit a bit unbelievable.
VERDICT: Suspend your disbelief, put aside your prejudices against the extremely unlikely, and read THE SHADOW SOCIETY with a very open mind. When the action is on, this one has a LOT going for it.