After reading and sharing my review for Midway last week, I had to dive into The Shadow Aspect immediately... It was action packed and I was left hanging for more!
Title: The Shadow Aspect
Author: Melanie Karsak
Series: The Harvesting #2
Genre: Paranormal
Published: June 2015
When Layla took the final step through the labyrinth, she thought she was saving the ones she loved.
She couldn’t have been more wrong.
The unwitting victims of a grudge seething for eons, Layla and the other survivors now find themselves in a war for our world. With vampires lurking and shapechangers plotting vengeance, if mankind has any hope of survival, Layla must decide whom to trust: the carnie girl? The quiet doctor? The tarot reader? The stranger with alluring gold eyes? Or the man she loves? And then there are the voices. What does it forewarn if the dead can speak?
When the world burns, mankind’s shadow side rises. Do we deserve to survive?
She couldn’t have been more wrong.
The unwitting victims of a grudge seething for eons, Layla and the other survivors now find themselves in a war for our world. With vampires lurking and shapechangers plotting vengeance, if mankind has any hope of survival, Layla must decide whom to trust: the carnie girl? The quiet doctor? The tarot reader? The stranger with alluring gold eyes? Or the man she loves? And then there are the voices. What does it forewarn if the dead can speak?
When the world burns, mankind’s shadow side rises. Do we deserve to survive?
A few years back I reviewed my first book for Melanie Karsak which was The Harvesting. I loved the world that she created and was excited to see what become of the characters. I recently read Midway, which gave me an insight to new characters being introduced in The Shadow Aspect and what would happen once these two groups finally merged together. Layla’s group from The Harvesting ran into danger at the end of the book, and that continued into this book. Cricket’s group had found shelter in a small town and seem to be doing well, despite the current danger.
Layla felt the pressure from her decisions and often doubted what needed to be done, but she was still a great leader and listened to her instincts. I liked seeing her ‘sense’ develop throughout this book and how she could see some differences with certain ‘dead’ people. Her relationship with Jamie strengthened, but he felt a little absent at times.
Cricket showed just how resilient she could be and didn’t back down from any challenge set out for her. Her attraction to Tristan seems to be mutual, but she’s unsure why he won’t make a move. Tristan is a bit secretive, hiding things from Cricket and I had a hunch as to what one of them was.
The Shadow Aspect had plenty of blood, gore and action from start to finish; both groups suffered significant losses and there were threats at every turn. There were zombie’s galore and appearances from other dangers that were discovered in the first book. I liked how they all joined forces and worked well as a team. There were a lot of new characters introduced and I had icky feelings about some of them and wasn’t sure whether they were to be trusted or not. I enjoyed the alternating perspectives from both Layla and Cricket and felt that having both perspectives fleshed out the plot a little bit more. That ending though… argh! I hope I don’t have to wait too long for more!
Complimentary copy provided by the Author in exchange for an honest review.
Here is an interesting tease... I liked this moment!
“I was sent to keep watch over you.”
“Me? Why me?”
“Because you are special. Because the elders foresaw that mankind would need you during the end of days. It was my job to keep you safe.”
Kindle Arc Loc 1363
Hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm
Melanie Karsak is the author of the Amazon best-selling steampunk series The Airship Racing Chronicles, the award-winning horror/dark fantasy Harvesting Series, and The Saga of Lady Macbeth. She grew up in rural northwestern Pennsylvania and earned a Master's degree in English from Gannon University. A steampunk connoisseur, white elephant collector, Shakespeare nerd, and zombie whisperer, the author currently lives in Florida with her husband and two children. She is an Instructor of English at Eastern Florida State College.
Other reviews featuring Melanie Karsak
Chasing the Green Fairy #2
The Harvesting Series
The Airship Racing Chronicles
Chasing the Star Garden #1Chasing the Green Fairy #2
No comments:
Post a Comment
If you can't leave a comment please EMAIL ME a quick message!! Disqus may have some tweeks :)