Warring, warring, a love triangle and more warring.
I had such high hopes for The Shadow Reader—I’d read a number of rave reviews of it and since I’m desperately seeking a new urban fantasy series, I decided to give it a shot. Unfortunately, Sandy Williams’ debut novel, fell flat for me despite its creative premise.
Mckenzie is a Shadow Reader. And, despite her incessant complaining (which is understandable, given all the warring she winds up involved in as a result of this job), this is a pretty sweet gig. Basically, she can read a fae’s (which is basically a magical badass fairy-type person) location when they “fissure” (move from one place to another). She’s really, really good at her job, so her services are in hot demand. She’s been at this job since she was teenage, when the Fae King’s Swordmaster (annnnnd… this is where I should have reminded myself that fae-based urban fantasy simply isn’t my thing—too much royalty) recruits her. During her decade of service with the fae court, she falls in love with the swordmaster, Kyol, though much of the time he chooses to not allow the relationship to progress. So, Mckenzie plans on quitting her job just as soon as she finishes her last exam and gets her degree. Except during that last exam, Kyol interrups her on Very Important Fae Business™ and drags her off into the middle of a fae battle, during which she is kidnapped by a fae rebel, Aren.
This all happens in the first couple chapters.
At which point, I thought,
This book is either going to be a badass action trip or tediously detailed as these fae battle for supremacy.