I got this like ten years ago when I was a teenager and didn't know I had been sent it. This first book is really good, but I can't access this to read it now. So I'm giving feedback since it keeps asking.

I have to apologize for not being able to post a review for this book before it was archived. I read the first book and loved it and was really looking forward to reading this one. Unfortunately, between 2012 and 2021 I had to have 12 surgeries on my low back and neck and spent so much time in the hospital with infections and recovering from surgeries, that I just wasn't mentally, and even sometimes physically, able to put together a review and type it up. I have finally over the past year returned to a somewhat normal life., although I was left with numerous disabilities following all the surgeries, and I'm trying to get back to one of the things I love the most: reading books and reviewing them. So, again, I'm very sorry that I've been out of commission, and I hope you will pass on my regrets to the author.

I had initially marked this book as I will not give feedback, as I requested/DLs in 2012 and upon a review of my netgalley titles I was no longer interested in this title as my reading tastes have changed since then. In trying to improve my netgalley ratio I have learned that titles marked as not giving feedback do not count as a review. So writing this to thank you for the approval but I will not be reading or reviewing at this time. If that changes in the future I will leave a review on instagram, goodreads, storygraph, and amazon.

I’m so, so, soooo ashamed that I broke up with this book. If you’ve read my review of Ashes then you might know that I was all THIS IS THE MOST AWESOME THING EVER WRITTEN and just OMGOMGOMG for about half the book. After that half it was like reading a completely different book that might have been good on it’s own, but could not live up to the first half…if that makes sense. Ashes ended on a super scary note and I thought book 2 was going to be awesome….it was not. The first chapter was very promising! There was so much gore and I honestly believed we were back on track. Then all these other perspectives started. It’s been a year since I read Ashes and I didn’t remember who any of these people were. I was so confused. I kept reading to and waiting for things to click and waiting for Alex to show back up. I waited, and waited, and waited. Then I just couldn’t wait any more. The things that disappointed me with the last half of Ashes (Rule) were very much still present and I just couldn’t get into Shadows.

When I requested "Shadows" I was unaware of two important facts; one is that it is book two in a series and two it's about zombies. I don't like books bout zombies and I hadn't read the first book. My apologies, after 4 years being a reviewer on Netgalley I am more thorough and aware regarding what I request.

I absolutely loved Ashes. Loved it. I remember being really excited for me, wanting the next book straight away. And then when I had the book, downloaded it to read ... it was just very underwhelming. What a disappointment. Perhaps it was bad timing?

The first book was wonderfully creepy, but perhaps a bit too creepy for me to continue the series.