DECEMBER FEATURE #2: The Shadow Reader by Sandy Williams [ Edited ]

[dalnewt]

---

3monstersmom wrote:

---

dalnewt wrote:

Without giving anything away I want to ask whether you guys approve of Mckenzie's romantic choice. Personally, I would have chosen the other guy. (Ya know, the guy who didn't threaten to cut my throat and actually slice into my neck.) 

---

Honestly

Honestly I had issues with both guys.  Both men have really great points and really big negatives going for them.  The only thing I can say about her choice is at least that guy had the guts and respect for her to go after her and not just keep her in pathetic limbo forever. (Despite the whole cutting issue which is a big negative, but she was being horrible person at that moment - not to excuse his actions.)  This is one of those love triangles where you feel unsatisfied no matter which one she chooses.

---

If I were Mckenzie, I would have given up on the fae guy after a couple of years and found myself a hunky human! 

I did like the (presumably) older fae because he's honorable. He was prohibited from having an intimate relationship with a human, (and could never be bonded with a human), so he refused sex. He didn't keep the heroine hanging on, she did that to herself because she lived for the times when he broke down and caressed/kissed her. (Somewhere in the text Mckenzie says something like she lived for the possibility that he would break down and 'be' with her.)  The older fae also appears to be a more honorable combatant. Specifically he doesn't torture captured enemies. And, he's completely protective of Mckenzie. 

The other guy is more impetuous. He went for it with Mckenzie, but he wasn't under the same constraints. Plus, he used intimidation and pain on Mckenzie in an effort to pry information from her. And, he tortures captured enemies by exposing them to tech. He is charming, but I don't think he's honorable. Plus, as demonstrated by the throat cutting, he's volatile.   

[dalnewt]

---

paulgoatallen wrote:

---

3monstersmom wrote:

Just wanted to say that I LOVE reading about a chick who is just a normal woman with a supernatural quirk, and not a secret booty kicking ninja that can fire some insanely large gun in one hand while waving a katana around in another hand slicing through 3 large bodyguards without breaking a sweat. At times it feels like writing about a real girl in a fantasy world is becoming a lost art.

---

Yes, and not to overstate this but she was a virgin. Not as a big deal morally but I liked how she was sexually naive, unjaded....no skintight leather pants and six inch stilettos. The awkwardness and "authenticity" of McKenzie made this read for me...

---

It occurs to me that a man might find a 26 year old virgin appealing whereas a woman might find a 26 year old virgin pretty weird.

[paulgoatallen]

Yeah, it's not so much the "virgin" thing as it is McKenzie's awkwardness and inexperience. It came across as very real and very endearing – I think most readers can relate to McKenzie as far as this goes...

[dalnewt]

---

paulgoatallen wrote:

Yeah, it's not so much the "virgin" thing as it is McKenzie's awkwardness and inexperience. It came across as very real and very endearing – I think most readers can relate to McKenzie as far as this goes...

---

Mckenzie's thoughts, reactions and sensations were very well-described, but I don't think they relied upon her virginal status. IMO, she could have had the same experiences and reactions even with a sexual past history.  Even the awkwardness could have been the same because every romantic attraction/encounter for/with a new person can be genuinely awkward.

I do think that youthful readers might respond positively to Mckenzie's sexual inexperience, but I gotta say, as a somewhat older reader, Mckenzie's virginal state wasn't really a plus. Instead, it was a head-shaking, 'she's been an idiot' moment for me, and sometimes I considered her hanging on for ten years as a bit pathetic.

Maybe I can't explain it to you Paul, but if you could imagine Mckenzie as a man rather than a woman you might understand. Imagine a 26 year old man who's fallen in love with a fae woman who's declared that she can never be with him. Then, imagine that man waiting for 10 years and never having sex. Imagine him living just for the times when the fae woman breaks down and caresses/kisses him. Would you view such a man as charming/endearing or would you think he's been a fool?  

[3monstersmom]

Maybe she just had a really good B.O.B.???

[chunky_munky]

I just noticed that theres a thread here on the shadow reader. I just finished it and I'm absolutely addicted. I'm dying for more. Is there going to be a book #2 or even better, is this book going to be made into a series? I sincerly hope so. Since you've all read it too, I'm hoping someone on this thread knows if there's going to be a second book. And if so, when its coming out.

[3monstersmom]

 The next installment will be titled The Shattered Dark which is scheduled for a November release date.  Not sure how many books are currently under contract in this series.

[chunky_munky]

THANKS 3monstersmom!! im getting jittery just thinking about it....but novembers such an awful long time away

[SciFiCanuck]

---

3monstersmom wrote:

Maybe she just had a really good B.O.B.???

---

LMAO!!!

[PhyllisJ]

I really enjoyed this book and I'm happy to hear that a second one is coming out,  I do think that she was a bit naive hanging on for 10 years, actually very naive really.  It just shows how strong love can be.