The Shadow Reader by Sandy Williams – a Review

The Shadow Reader is Sandy Williams’ debut novel, which takes place in a modern urban fantasy world.  Williams does an awesome job pulling you into the story almost immediately.  McKenzie Lewis is our heroine, and when you start the book, McKenzie is taking an exam. She is determined to complete the test, even though she sees people waiting for her and pushing her to leave and go with them. In a classroom filled with students, only McKenzie can see them.  Why you ask?  They are the Fae, and only McKenzie has the ability to see them.  McKenzie gets up to leave, as she is warned by the Fae Warrior Kyol, that the rebels have found her, and her life is in danger.  So McKenzie goes with him, as she normally does, and leaves her classroom into a fight to run for her safety against a band of Fae rebels, who want McKenzie. 

McKenzie is a unique human, she is a Shadow Reader, those who have the ability to see the Fae, and see their shadows to be able to track them from a distance, as they teleport (fissure) between realms.  McKenzie has been helping the Fae court, since she was recruited at sixteen years old, which is now 10 years. Kyol, the swordmaster for the King of the Court, has been her partner, protector and her secret love.  A love that is forbidden, and cannot be consummated, by the rules of the court and their King.  We learn from the start that there is a war going on between the rebels, who want to oust the King of the Court.

As McKenzie runs for her life, the court and rebel faes fight on campus.  She is then captured by the rebels and forced to “fissure” wherever they are taking her.  This is very painful for McKenzie, as humans are not meant to teleport in such manner, but a fae stone helps protect her through the fissure.  McKenzie is a tough heroine, as she fights the rebels all the way, putting herself in much danger. The rebels are divided as to whether to kill McKenzie, as she is a danger to them, constantly revealing their whereabouts to the Court warriors.  She is hated when brought to the rebel compound, but Aren, who is the rebel leader, wants her alive. He is convinced he can turn her to help them use her ability against the court, not to mention he is somewhat intrigued by her.

McKenzie is tough, and a very stubborn heroine.  She spent 10 years believing everything the court and Kyol told her about the evil rebels.  So her loyalty is totally with the court.  But this is a war, and McKenzie is right in the middle of it, without much help from the rebels, who as I noted are openly unfriendly with her.  She tries numerous times to escape, injuring herself often.  Aren is the one who helps her, and tries to get her to see the other side, that perhaps she has been lied to all these years.  But McKenzie, who loves Kyol, believes in him and refuses to listen to Aren. 

As the court and Kyol are desperately trying to find McKenzie, the rebels are constantly under attack by the court warriors or human fae haters.  Slowly, and believe me when I say slowly, as McKenzie is way too stubborn to open her eyes, she begins to see another light, as to maybe she is wrong.  We get to meet and know Aren, through all of this, and as nice as Kyol is, I totally fell for Aren.  McKenzie begins to feel some attraction, which she fights off, as Aren constantly protects or saves her. At one point, he gives up and her life is at risk.   The scenes with a stubborn McKenzie and a frustrated Aren are tense, and very well done.   But as the war continues, she learns things that make her question her 10 years with the court & the King, whom the rebels want to replace.

Sandy Williams does a wonderful job with this worldbuilding, and giving us a fascinating and intriguing world of the fae.  She has also put in a wonderful love triangle, without any sex, but so well done. The story does not leave this open, as so much happens in the last 1/3 of the book to change things, for all concerned.  Of course, we do not know if things will change with the next book. 

The Shadow Reader was a wonderful, action filled book, with many tense moments.  The lead characters, such as McKenzie, Aren, Kyol and many other great secondary characters were wonderfully created by Williams.  I cared for them all.  Williams again does a fantastic job of putting closures to many of the stories, and yet leaving things open to continue with the next book…The Shattered Dark.  I cannot wait for the this book to find out more of McKenzie and the faes of this wonderful world.

Reviewed by Barb