Each book in this series is better than the last – I’m totally hooked!
Genre: Y/A, Science Fiction
No. of pages: 263
From Goodreads:
The girl sobbing in 16-year-old Leona Hewitt’s bedroom has the same long dark hair as her, the same startled hazel eyes as her, the same stuck-up nose as her. She’s identical in every way . . . and she’s here to take Leona’s place.
By a twist of fate, Leona has until midnight on Halloween to outsmart her evil double and steal back her shattered life—and her soul—or forever become a ghost.
But all the clues point to a startling truth. To her horror, she’s learning the other Leona has more claim to her old life than she does—even to her boyfriend.
Could it be that after all this time, everything she knows about herself is a lie?
With a series that seems to be on an upward trend, I was eager to jump into ‘Slaying Shadows, but held off for a month, so I wouldn’t need to wait an incredibly long time until the next instalment is released. But thankfully, it’s not too far away, and with what went down in this novel, I was certainly lead on a thrilling ride.
Things are finally making sense. Consequences are finally being dealt with a heavier dose of reality than I’ve seen in the previous books giving it a darker tone. I loved it. The pacing is so much faster, so much more action takes place, and our protagonist Leona is really put through the ringer.
We see more character growth from Leona, not only from the challenges she has faced, but also in taking ownership for her actions – good and bad. I think that is the single most aspect of this series so far has really stood out.
I did have an issue with Leona popping in and out of dark matter – when had it become so plentiful and easy to come by? Previously it was such a scarce commodity, and now whenever she needed it, it was there.
There were many twist and turns I did not see coming – Megan, Emory, and with Leona herself. I am usually pretty clued on with my reading and can guess storylines and plot twists well in advance – but in ‘Slaying Shadows’ – either because I was so wrapped up in the action or drama; or because it’s just so out there, I had no idea what the eff was going on. Just brilliant.
So we get a lot of answers in ‘Slaying Shadows,’ but we also get many more questions posed, and by the end I was chomping at the bit for ‘Black Sun…’ but I’m going to have to wait until the physical book is released.
I got so excited with all the new elements introduced in this novel. Though that was tarnished by the “happenstance” of the main cast being thrust together by the hand of fate – that part of the story felt a little Machiavellian from the author… the organic nature of the story dwindling. But that’s just me nit picking. ‘Slaying Shadows’ was still immensely entertaining and left me begging for more.
I must say the end scene was a stroke of genius – I loved how it was described and the build of tension… but argh – a cliff-hanger!! Dan Rix you ruin me!
4 books down, 2 to go. Bring it on Mr Rix.
Overall feeling: It just keeps getting better.
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Casey Carlisle 