This one is a real creeper of a story. Twenty-five years after the bizarre murder of a teenage boy, the nasty group of boys who were his friends have all disappeared. But when Paul, one of the boys, reluctantly returns to his hometown to help out his injured mom, he reunites with Jenny, with whom he shares a love of Steven King. Paul, and his best friend James, were part of that group led by Charlie Crabtree, a crazy boy who trained his group in lucid dreams (fascinating!).The local woods (The Shadows) along with bloody handprints (Red Hands) were involved in the murder, and now, 25 years later, it has happened again.
And now, Detective Amanda Beck in investigating the recent murder of another teenage boy. Could Charlie Crabtree be back at it?? And is Paul somehow involved? Well done mystery! Thank you to #netGalley and the publisher for my copy of this ARC.

The Shadows is a mystery/thriller about a man named Paul Adams. Paul hasn't been home in a long time--not since Charlie Crabtree murdered his friend and fellow classmates all those years ago. The time has come to return, however, because his mom's death is approaching and he needs to prepare.

The return to his hometown stirs up old unpleasant memories, but also takes place in the midst of copycat killings. Paul is left wondering: where did Charlie disappear to, and who is following him now?

Based loosely on the Slenderman stabbing in 2014 in Waukesha, Wisconsin, The Shadows delves into the susceptible imaginations of children and the damage that can result. Having spent time living in Waukesha, I was really intrigued by the premise of this story. It is certainly an interesting book, with rotating timelines and perspectives to advance the plot. There are some good surprises, and I really liked the focus on lucid dreaming. Overall, the book was interesting, but not as captivating as I'd expected it to be. I'd give it 3.5 stars.

** 3 Stars ***
Publication Date: July 7th, 2020

Twenty-five years ago, Charlie Crabtree committed a murder and then was never heard from again. Paul Adams was friends both with the victim and Charlie Crabtree. Paul then leaves his hometown to get away but has to return now as his mother is ill. When Paul returns, it appears there is a copycat killer in the area. Paul's mother seems paranoid and upset that something is in the house and he realizes his mother may be connected to Charlie Crabtree in some way. I had so many questions and was interested in how this was play out. Unfortunately, this was a very slow burn for me and I feel that it was possibly related to the audio version, I just couldn't connect to this story through the narrator. The story alternates between Paul both in present and past time along with chapters from Detective Amanda Beck. It was very confusing between the dreams and trying to decipher what was real. It definitely had a creepy factor and kept my interest however, I couldn't totally emerge myself in this as I felt disconnected and needed more answers. It did pick up in the last 1/4th which is why I increased my rating to 3 stars from 2.


Special Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for allowing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you enjoyed Whisper Man this will definitely be a must read for you. It is very atmospheric and a perpetual pageturner for me.

The Shadows by Alex North
🌟🌟🌟🌟💫

The Shadows is a psychologically thriller filled with suspense. After reading the except, I developed an interest to know what the red hands is all about especially when it has to do with Paul's mom. It's quite a descriptive book with lots of creepiness, divided into past and present. It also keeps you guessing with each turn of the page.

I haven't read The Whisper Man which I've seen lots of positive reviews on and this is the first Alex North book that I'm reading, and I definitely loved it. I recommend this book to Mystery lovers.

I listened to this via audiobook thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.

The narrator did a great job and spoke clearly making it easy to listen to.

What drew me to this book was the cover and the synopsis. It had a great creep factor which I love.

The story started out great and it pulled me in for about the first half. But I think the second half lost steam and I had a harder time concentrating. I did love the twists which always adds a great element.

Rating 3.5 stars, it just didn’t keep me wrapped up in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley the author an publisher for this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This book definitely took me a bit to get into. It was kind of creepy but overall was okay. A lot of moments I did not see coming, but overall I enjoyed it.

I received the audiobook version of this book from Netgalley for an honest review. And honestly, this was a pretty good book.

Coming off of Alex North's debut novel, The Whisper Man, I was super excited for The Shadows. Sadly, I was pretty disappointed with this one. I thought the first half of this book was incredibly slow and found myself at risk of dnfing it several times and had to restart the book a couple of times before actually making it thought the entire novel.

Upon completion of this book, I did actually end up enjoying it, I thought the ending reveals and twists worked really well with the narrative that was set up. This had a very Stephen King meets Slenderman/Creepypasta vibe to it that is fantastic for the lovers of slow-burn thrillers.

I personally wish the first half was a bit more fast-paced to allow for the final reveals to reach peak shock value.

NetGalley has recently added audiobooks to their service, and I’ve been lucky enough to get a few of them. This is surely just going to be the first in a series of audiobooks that I will be reviewing for them and I’m so excited to get this chance. The first book I received is The Shadows by Alex North, which I was highly anticipating since I read The Whisper Man as part of my Goodreads Choice Awards Challenge. I am happy to say that all of the issues I found with The Whisper Man, which I gave 4 stars, have been fixed with this sophomore novel.

The Shadows follows a university lecturer who returns to the town where his mother lives to see her before she dies in palliative care. 25 years prior he was involved with a group that engaged in a ritual murder in hopes of ascending to a higher world and now copycat murders are occurring, catching the attention of a detective, who is another POV character. There are three distinct voices, before and after with the university lecturer, and the detective.

I really loved the before portions of the book, where the cult -like behaviour was situated, as well as the horror aspects. The book immediately started in on the horror and I absolutely loved it. The after portions were also interesting, but in more of a mystery way and I loved the twists in this portion. The detective was a little less interesting reading from, but I enjoyed her portions as well. The side characters also were well-developed from the creepiness of Charlie to the affection of an old lady that runs a book shop. There is a love interest in this book and I was so happy with the way that it turned out. It perfectly fit with the rest of the story.

The concept of lucid dreaming is integral to the story and it was integrated in an interesting way that I really enjoyed. This had such a creepy feeling, with lots of characters that do creepy things that could make them involved, misdirecting me quite well. I loved the writing in this novel and the narration really brought the words to life. I would definitely recommend the audiobook.

As I journey into more horror reads, it’s books like this that solidify my interest. This is the pefect book for newcomers to horror who are coming from more mystery/thriller novels. It’s also great for long-time horror fans to read some new blood into the genre. This really captured my interest and I just really enjoyed listening to this novel.

What’s your favourite horror novel? Leave a comment down below and be sure to like and subscribe! Happy Reading!

5 stars.

Golden typically writes historical romance with a bit more angst and conflict but, A Dash of Romance takes a different direction from her enchantresses. Don’t fret! Percy and Abigail are a joy to watch as they move from a fake relationship between an aimless second son and vicar’s daughter (on the shelf) to friendship and more. It is the perfect storm of tropes to help readers escape from reality for a while with a lighthearted, perfectly sweet romance. Percival never failed to make me smile. His confusion over his attraction to the somewhat drab vicar’s daughter brought me so much joy.

True to form, there is always one half of the couple that I don’t like quite as much. Practical and (mostly) content, Abigail reminded me a bit of Jane Austen’s Elizabeth, whom I also struggled with… so you know I have no taste. Her internal debate regarding Percival’s intentions and personality seemed to exist on a pendulum. Fickle woman! That said, I’m positive a significant portion of my grumpiness comes from me being irretrievably smitten with Percival. Any time Abbie tried to call him a rake, I was outraged. I’m talking pitchforks and torches irritable.

All good romances have some type of obstacle. Without Abbie’s wishy-washy denial, the story wouldn’t have been as perfectly cozy. Golden made up for it with the playful banter between Percival and Abbie, crafting absurd stories or revising her novel. They are a perfectly suited couple!

Side highlight: I was so pleased with the fathers, the vicar, and the Earl! They were both sweet and supportive when providing guidance, and even the ultimatum from the Earl comes from good intentions. It was a nice change from the typical cold, overbearing fathers that we often see in historical romance.

I don’t think I can stress enough how much I enjoyed A Dash of Romance. Mr. B always knew when I was reading it because I had a goofy smile on my face instead of “the typical neutral robot face” (this is romance, friends). Golden also includes some of the beloved newsletter flash-fiction! My favorites were Entangled, Candor, Persephone, Haunted, and Masquerade. I didn’t adore all of them, but that comes down to my hang-ups. No matter how well-written, if there is a reference to pregnancy, loss of pregnancy, or babies younger than three, I get twitchy. Don’t let that put you off, Golden handles the topics with care.

Overall, this romantic collection was a sweet distraction from what has shaped up to be an incredibly stressful year. If you are looking for a low-angst read with notes of Jane Austen, I am sure Percy and Abigail’s romance will enchant you!

**I badgered the author into allowing me to voluntarily read and review an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

*Reviews posted to blog, Goodreads, bookbub, amazon, barnes and noble, and storygraph

I didn't have a chance to listen to this book before it was archived. I believe the audio book archive dates need to be longer than the two weeks when I was approved to archive.

I received an advance digital copy of this audio book from the author, publisher and Netgalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The Shadows is a brilliant follow up to Alex Smith's first novel, The Whisper Man. We are brought back to Featherbank and it's surrounding communities. The story is told in two narrations. It is atmospheric and moody and quite unsettling if you listening alone at night.

5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.

This was a fun read for me as I had bought the hardcover from Book of the Month Club as an early release and then I was offered the audiobook for review from NetGalley.

Some of my favorite books have dual narrators and multiple timelines. It’s the back story of Paul as a teenager who’s innocence is destroyed by a tragedy. It’s also the story of a 40 year old man who left that tragedy behind 25 years ago yet now he has to go home to take care of his ill Mother back to that town he left behind. The Shadows was a perfect blend of mystery, suspense , horror and a coming of age novel .

He finds out the killings from 25 years ago have started again. Has the murderous Charlie Crabtree returned or is their a copy cat murder? Enter Detective Amanda Beck the other narrator in the book. She was also in The Whisper Man.

The Shadows is reminiscent of The Body ( Stand by Me ) by Stephen King and a more recent novel Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky.

Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for the audiobook for review.

A pretty weird and creepy story that left me asking myself, “What did I just read?”

It’s pretty unique this story and I have to hand it to the author for this pice of complex beauty. Lucid dreaming is always something I enjoy reading about. That’s my curiosity lol. It has a bit of a mix of that and urban legend of the forest.

It has the creepy vibe to it which is why I was attracted to it. Especially having some theory about Charlie. Like what actually happened to him??

Paul is the antagonist of this story and his POV is between past and present. Paul is definitely a likable character in my opinion. The good guy. However I really didn’t seem to think adding another POV of Detective Amanda was necessary but alas it didn’t take away my enjoyment of this here novel. It was a moderate pace and it was enjoyable to have listened to the audiobook.

It has its twisted plots and suspense in which made it easy to keep focus, depending on the tone of the narrator. Some chapter it felt bland and it had a monotone feeling in which it did feel kind a dull.

I have not read North’s debut novel, The Whisper Man, but I will definitely read it before the year ends. His work seems promising and I would definitely recommend this book. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

I received a copy of this audiobook through netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I started this audio book one day while driving in my car and honestly I didn’t want to stop listening to it.
The story the author weaves mixed with two great voices to bring characters to life truly makes this a great listen. The story had me believing one thing and then boom completely slapped me with the truth, it was amazing.
I will be recommending this book to my friends and will be looking for more books by this author.

Unable to download before archived as my tablet was damaged and I had been unable to afford a new one until recently. Apologies.

The Shadows is told in a split timeline between Paul's adult life and his childhood. When Paul was a kid, a group of his friends murdered his girlfriend. One went to jail and the other was never seen again. This group of friends, which Paul was once a part of, were participating in lucid dreaming as taught by Charlie Crabtree. Charlie is the murderer who was never found. He is the creepy child of the story. Paul does his best to move away and get past everything that has happened but when his Mother falls ill he is forced to return to his childhood home. Here he also becomes involved with a Detective named Amanda who is investigating a copycat killing. The story teeters between the supernatural and the real life. Eventually all of the supernatural elements are debunked. I wish this wasn't the case. I liked where the story was going before the unknown was proven false. I did like that the ending tied up all of the loose ends though. I would give this book 3.5 stars. The story was interesting but I felt it didn't live up to the hype around it. Since I listened to this as an audiobook, I found it pretty hard to follow. When switching between chapters/past and present, it isn't denoted in the reading. This made it especially hard to follow. But with that being said, I did enjoy the voices that did the reading.

I enjoyed trying an audiobook from NetGalley. I had read another book by Alex North so I was interested in this one too. He has just the right amount of scary and suspense. I was never quite sure what the next turn was going to be in the story. For me, the kind of scary part starts with the cover and then as the story of a boy who has disappeared and another boy who has been killed progressed, I was not sure who to trust. I would definitely recommend this book!

I read this and also listened on audio and the audio was amazing! Loved the accents and boy the narrators knocked it out of the ballpark! I highly recommend listening to it on audio!

We've got a man, Paul who has to come home after 25 years because of his ailing mother and not only feel guilty for leaving his mom behind and never looking back but be forced to relive some dreadful and sinister memories from his childhood. The story moves on as a supposed copycat murder has taken place around Pauls homecoming.

The author tosses quite a few twists at us, some that really popped me up side the head but awesome they were! I enjoyed the writing style and the characters were engaging enough to keep me interested but with that said there were just a few things that didn't sit well with me, things that I wish would have been handled a different way. Although I found The Shadows to be a great read I think I went into the book expecting to have chills and chewed up nails but it just didn't turn out to be that kind of read. It just wasn't a scary story.