A revenge novel that is set during World War II, so if that timeline is for you, pick this one up! Great for teens and middle grade kiddos who are interested in this time period.

Sci-fi historical fiction is a new genre for me. It has solid LGBTQ rep, but I struggled to keep track of all the characters and POVs. The second half of the book was more interesting than the first, but overall, I enjoyed it.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

What's good is very good. The cast is diverse, I do love a group of different people coming together and bonding despite their differences, and when the plot clicked, it really clicked. I didn't love the insta-love, the POVs are oddly broken up (with one that doesn't seem to matter at all thrown in?) and there were a few leaps of logic. I did like reading it and it went by quickly, but I think it could have benefited from stronger editing and maybe have been a series to give time for those plots to fully develop?

Love the concept for this book, not such a huge fan of how it came out in the pages.

What I did love what how fast paced and action packed it was. Also I definitely connected with the characters as I myself am apart of one of the several religious groups targeted by nazis

Even though it ended up not being my style I would still definitely suggest this sci fi mashup with others

This is a genre that I’m trying to read more of. I thought this book was pretty fast paced and enjoyed reading about the characters. I did enjoy the shadow realm. I thought the romance was a little go quick but I did enjoy that part too the book.

If you enjoy wartime stories, and you love a group of rag tag kids kicking ass, then this book is for you! Set during WWII, 5 teens are looking to make a mark, Think - inglorious basterds!

"Daniel and Rebeka seek revenge against the Nazis who slaughtered their family; Simone is determined to fight back against the oppressors who ruined her life and corrupted her girlfriend; Phillip aims to prove that he's better than his worst mistakes; and Liam is searching for a way to control the portal to the shadow world he's uncovered, and the monsters that live within it--before the Nazi regime can do the same. When the five meet, and begrudgingly team up, in the forests of Germany, none of them knows what their future might hold."

This book was action packed and honestly one of my favorite reads of 2021. I loved the sci-fi aspect and the cast of unique characters, and how interesting the plot was. It can be confusing at times so I do think reading slowly when you have the mental energy to do so is a must! I don't want to say too much because it gives away a lot of the plot, but I loved the idea of stranger things, inglorious basterds, and kicking nazi ass!

I wanted to enjoy this but I didn’t really finish the story, DNF almost halfway through, maybe 40% through the story. It’s a good story but it’s very character driven and personally I didn’t enjoy the character 😂

I enjoyed this book, but it's definitely not for everyone.
First and foremost, it is definitely character-driven, which I enjoy but I know a lot of people don't. There were points where the plot lagged a little but I was willing to ignore it for LGBTQ teen fighting Nazis.
Pretty solid read all around, but I'm not sure I would reread it.

Okay, this is one of the heavier books I've read, especially in awhile. It's very much a fantasy-sci-fi-historical fiction. It's set during World War II, and thus is filled with murder, torture, death and everything that surrounds World War II.

The cast of characters were easily my favorite part. It was extremely diverse. Including, and I'm probably forgetting at least one. BUT. 4 queer characters, a Black character, characters from Germany, the US, France, Algeria. There were a few Jewish characters obviously. There's mental health representation leaking out of this book, as it should be with everything going on it it. And I loved how all of these different aspects were handled. Lindsay Smith also went on in her acknowledgments about how she got so many people AND places to beta and sensitivity read for her.

The conversations had in this book were so incredibly important, and are important any time a place or group of people are slighted or harmed. Who's fight is it? What's the difference between action and complacency.

At times I did feel like the story and plot were a bit disjointed. The science wasn't always explained very well. And there was a strange mesh of fantasy and sci-fi that got a bit messy. Linsday Smith also throws you right into the book, the first chapters are super fast paced and the rest of the book really does keep up the pace very well. Everything is complex but it's also a quick read. I love fast paced books, but I do think that it would have helped if it slowed down just a bit so things could had been explained to us a little bit better and more clearly.

I don't read a lot of historical fiction but I had A LOT of fun with this book.

This book starts off with so much information I was lost from day one. This book had potential but it just didnt rise to the occasion for me

Thank you Netgalley and PenguinTeen for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

First love the representations in this book. As much as I wanted to enjoy this book the different kind of perspectives was hard for me to follow or get attached to any of the characters.
The plot was okay I had to give it a few chapters to understand what was going on.

This is an amazing gem to put in my classroom for my scholars. Thank you to the pub for allowing me this gem to vet so that I can recommend to my students.

𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝟏.𝟓⁣⁣
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Who doesn’t love Stranger Things? Ok I guess not everyone does. But I do and Fantasy is a favorite for me so I was hoping I would love this one. But nope it was a pretty big no for me. ⁣⁣
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𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭:⁣⁣
I thought the idea actually sounded interesting. A Shadow World full of monsters during the era of World War II where either side, the Nazis or the Allies could win the war if they had control over the Shadow World. All Fantasy is unrealistic, but with a certain writing style you can believe just about anything. Including that a certain school named Hogwarts really exists. But The Shadow War just couldn’t pull this off. It was just way to weird and super unbelievable.⁣⁣
The flashbacks were the only way you truly figured out what was going on and how the monsters were discovered but it just didn’t flow so well with the consonant ness of them.⁣⁣
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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬:⁣⁣
The characters were hard to follow because there were so many and it just would go rapidly from one characters story to the next without letting you get attached to any particular person. I do like that there was a big LGBTQ representation. Most of the MC’s were gay and I thought it was pretty cool to include it so heavily in such a prominent time in our world’s history. ⁣⁣
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I do see The Shadow War got a lot of mixed reviews, a lot good and a lot not so good. And while it wasn’t for me, if you are interested in Historical Fiction mixed with Fantasy maybe this will work for you. ⁣⁣
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𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐀𝐫𝐜 𝐈’𝐦 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰.

3.5 stars
THE SHADOW WAR is a high-action historical fantasy following five teenagers on a mission to stop Nazi Germany from coming into possession of a shadow realm that could change the course of the war. The concept sounded so cool and the book really did deliver. First, the characters. There are a variety of different perspectives from each main character and they were pretty easy to follow because each character had a unique voice and personality. There is so much diversity and representation in this book, two LGBTQ couples and main characters from different cultures and countries all coming together to defeat the Nazis. My complaint is that there were lots of different timelines; when one character's perspective would be told, there would be both present and past timelines and while, combined, they developed the character's personality and history, they were dropped at random and didn't have really anything to do with what was happening in the present. I thought the shadow world was really cool but it could have used some development because I was confused on how it works. The pacing is also really high-action but in the beginning I was very lost, so give the book a while to shape up. Overall this was a really interesting take on WWII fiction and I enjoyed it.

The Shadow War is an interesting and compelling story set in an alternate history during the Second World War. It's fast paced, full of action, and I loved the magical system and how it was utilized throughout the story. The large number of characters and constant changing of the POV was more than I care for and made it difficult to stay present in the story.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

This book has an interesting premise, but I wasn't pulled in by the writing style and there was so much going on felt lost super quickly.

This reminds me of the upside down in Stranger Things but in war time obvs. Really good read! Fast past and exciting

I’m sad to say that I think the comparison made to a tv show meets a movie was a little off. My expectation for the book did not work out for me in the end, and sadly I chose not to finish.

Thank you for the advanced e-galley in exchange for an honest review..

I was hesitant at first to read a historical sci-fi fantasy with the backdrop of WWII, but I'm happy to say this book blew me out of the water in terms of the handling of fantastical elements mixed with the cruel realities of history. I deeply enjoyed following each of the main characters along on this fight against fascism, slowly unraveling each of their backstories as their relationships developed with each other. Liam and Simone were particularly charming protagonists, and that's not to say that Rebekah, Phillip, and Daniel weren't equally as lovable.

My only qualms are the constant POV switches which were a bit muddled and confusing until you get to understand who is who, and the instalove that I was almost expecting considering most standalones don't have the time to truly flesh out whirlwind romances.

Lindsay Smith crafted a gorgeous narrative full of rich imagery and protagonists who connect with readers so quickly and deeply, and I became so invested that I didn't want this book to end. The Shadow War is one of the many books I've read recently that is solidifying my love for historical fiction, and now I crave even more from this author.