Shadow Run is unfortunately not for me. I had tried this book and set it down in hopes of one day coming back to it, but now it is time to mark as DNF. I'm sure other readers will enjoy!

My Thoughts:
I had been really looking forward to Shadow Run since the cover revealed and I wasn’t disappointed. It was everything I wanted- adventure, great characters, snappy dialog and chemistry. What I didn’t expect was just how much I’d love the characters- especially the secondary ones. They were so well developed and I felt like part of Qole’s crew. Each member of the crew was given adequate time and personality.

Qole- wow what a character. She’s so strong and powerful but has so much internal struggles and I loved her dedication to her crew and her brother. She was so tough but also so incredibly loving. I can’t imagine how it must feel living with what she does and knowing her fate is somewhat decide. Her and Nev have such great chemistry and I loved all their scenes together. Nev was so easy for me to like- there was so much about him I could immediately discount (spoiled, his somewhat questionable approach to his goals) or hold against him but his heart. I couldn’t help but love him.

The very beginning was a tiny bit slow to me just as I tried to get myself absorbed into the world but a couple chapters in the pacing sped up and it became hard to put down. I loved the action scenes- they were so well done and I could visualize everything- the ships, planets and characters. I loved that this book sort of had a fantasy vibe in some aspects- there are magical powers and a Prince. A Space Prince. If that’s not a selling point I don’t know what is.

Final Thoughts:
Shadow Run was a fast paced space adventure with incredible characters, dialog and chemistry. I can’t wait to read more about these characters.

I tried reading this book but sadly I didn't make it very far while reading this book. I think that the different point of views made it a bit difficult to understand . I usually love this author's books and I hoped that this one would work out for me.

Shadow Run by AdriAnne Strickland and Michael Miller is so good. I really loved this book. I thought the adventure was a lot of fun. The characters are fantastic and inclusive. This gang, they are just perfect. This novel is so fast paced and written so well. I think this duo did a great job writing this book together. I am so excited for more books from them.

This is actually a re-read for me, which doesn't happen very often but I loved this book, and I'm about to start the second one in the series and wanted to go back and refresh my memory of everything I might have forgotten. I enjoyed it just as much the second time around, as I did the first. The ending is just one of my many favorite parts. Basra really stuck it to Nev's father. That was absolutely priceless! I hope Nev and Qole manage to beat the odds and find a way to continue their burgeoning romance but I can already tell by reading the preview for book two that they are going to endure quite a bit more, before that happens...

I love books that feature political intrigue because of the potential for complex world building. The fact that much this novel takes place in space is an added bonus.
WHAT I LIKED
Fast-Paced, Thrilling Action
Shadow Run is a fast-paced, action-packed read filled with suspense and intrigue. As soon as you think the characters are safe, you can expect something else to happen.

I love the detail and thought put into the action scenes. I could see the events play out before me like a movie. Time and time again, I found myself wishing that this book was on the big screen, so I could enjoy it alongside friends and family. That said, nothing can replace a good book and the freedom to envision the world yourself.

Complex Characters
All the members of the Kaitan Heritage (Qole’s ship) carry their own baggage. They have pasts that they wish to keep hidden. The characters on the ship are all interesting in their own right; I wish that more time was spent developing them. (Which can be hard in a book with two MC’s narrating.) As this is a first book in a series, hopefully we’ll have more time to get to know them!

World Building You Can See and Hear
I appreciate the time that Strickland and Miller have spent developing the world. Longtime readers of the blog know my deep love for books with carefully crafted world. I can tell that the authors know their world. It’s apparent in details that bring the environment to life, in the distinction of the characters’ dress, and in the dialogue (one of the more difficult elements to nail).

Nev and Qole will switch back into familiar language when they’re emotional, and this language makes them sound like entirely different people. I especially enjoyed seeing Nev lapse into formal speech when he’s nervous. It’s a sharp contrast to Qole’s rougher, more common speech and highlights the disparity in their backgrounds.

Political Intricacies
Whenever politics come into play, I look for power struggles, hidden agendas, and unresolved conflicts. While it was considerably lacking compared to the action sequences, the political intricacies of Shadow Run have more depth compared to most YA novels I’ve read. We get a good look at the evil hiding underneath the glamor of the court. And while it’s pretty predictable that there is corruption underlying the court, we do get to see some good (which I wish had more of a chance to shine even if only through flashbacks via Nev).

While the political intricacies ended up being predictable, there are complications that make you feel for the different parties involved (though some more than others). I hope to see the complexities further developed in later books. My especial hope is that there the villainous figures in this book have a chance to show the potential good that is in them.

Star Wars Vibe
Destructor blades. Plasma guns. A ship in space. Being chased by destructor ships . . . among other things I shall not name because spoilers.

This wasn’t an exact replica of Star Wars (because Star Wars is Star Wars and Shadow Run is Shadow Run), but there were countless moments that did have me comparing this to the world of Star Wars. Another reason why I would love to see this novel on the big screen.

WHAT I DISLIKED
Fast-Paced Romance
I can understand an early physical attraction. What’s concerning is the rapidity with which Nev and Qole find themselves basing important decisions on their attraction to the other party and the fact that they want to trust the other. For example, we later learn that Qole pretty much let Nev on the ship against the advice of trusted crew members because she found him attractive (the sidenote being that her brother had met him and recommended him—which is her best argument and should have come first).

Qole and Nev are both leaders. They’re in positions where their actions influence many lives; they should not be letting their emotions influence their decisions. Sure, Qole is seventeen and Nev seems to be in his early twenties. They’re hormonal teenagers in our world. In their world, however, they’ve been adults for a long time.

While I wanted to support the two, their relationship moved much too quickly and even overshadowed some of the other elements of the plot. Given that this is a series, there is plenty of time for the two to actually get to know each other and let their romance grow alongside their friendship. It would have been better to tone down the romance in this first novel.

Side Characters on the Side
The crew of the Katain Heritage is filled with likable characters. I would have liked to see more of them, but they fall on the wayside after Qole’s POV is introduced. This was disappointing as I had enjoyed seeing Nev and Arjan interact in the first chapter and was hoping to see more of the supporting cast.

Hopefully they have more of a chance to shine in the next book. (As well as some of the characters with whom they interact. We never really got to see much of Nev’s people.)

First-Person Alternating POVs
Longtime readers of the blog know that I’m not a fan of first-person alternating POVs. It makes it difficult to track who is speaking and is just overall confusing. There were times in Shadow Run when I lost track of whose chapter it was because of the alternating first-person narration.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Despite my complaints with the novel, this is definitely a novel that was hard to put down. Strickland and Miller are well-versed in keeping a plot moving forward through. I felt like I had a movie playing in my head as I was reading. I wouldn’t recommend this one to younger readers because of the mature content (see notes below), but otherwise if you’re a fan of space adventures, political intrigue, high-packed action sequences, and magic-like powers, then you’ll enjoy this one.

In fact, if you live in the continental USA, then you’re eligible to win a copy of Shadow Run today on the blog! For giveaway details, keep scrolling down.

Boy Meets Girl

Qole and her rag-tag crew of misfits are part of the Shadow-fishing business, flying their spacecraft into a...weirdly explained cosmic phenomenon of some kind to gather the....Shadow, it's just Shadow, that's all you need to know. This substance is used as fuel, but also gets into the bodies of those who work closely with it, driving them mad before it kills them. Since Qole's family has been Shadow-fishing for generations, she's gained a kind of affinity with it, developing super powers just slightly ahead of the madness.

Nev shows up to be part of her crew, and very shortly reveals himself to be the prince of an interstellar corporation (yeah, we'll get to that) who things Qole's Shadow affinity is the key to making the substance more stable and revolutionizing the energy market. He convinces her to come home with him, along with the rest of the crew, but first they have to traverse a galaxy of rivals who all want Qole for the same reason.

Wait, who's in charge here?

So Nev....Nev really killed this book for me. He's got the 'poor little rich boy' thing turned up to 11, and every time he went on and on about his 'duty to the people' and 'responsibility' and how his family 'just wanted the best for everyone' I wanted to punch in his naive little unnaturally perfect for no reason face. Yeah, it's contrast for later in the book where his family isn't as perfect as he always thought, but that's like 12 seconds of payoff for a loooooot of Nev being insufferable. Plus I really find it hard to believe that the heir to a giant mega-corporation that does shitty things is being raised quite that pie-in-the-sky ridiculous.

Oh, yeah, he's a prince who's heir to a corporation. I think. It's actually hard to tell, and that really bothered me. There's a whole political subplot about how there's this group of 'royal' families that are all jockeying for supremacy over each other, and I guess theoretically they have territories that they administer? Maybe? Except literally everything that any of the characters talk about with regard to the families makes them sound like businesses? It's all about market shares and debts and manufacturing and...why did they have to be 'royal' in that case? It's kind of amazing that for all Nev's claptrap about having a duty to his people, we never actually get any sort of clear guidance on how governments work in this world/universe. There's threat of Nev's whole family loosing...power, of some nebulous sort, and no one ever actually explains how that would be bad for anyone except the already-ridiculously-wealthy, who (horror of horrors) might have to go down to merely regular-mega-wealthy. It just really soured the whole book to have to spend so long mired in the concerns of, essentially, Elon Must In Space. No one cares, and I hope your family implodes (metaphorically) (also literally, because you're all fictional, so whatever).

When a book gives you whiplash

About halfway through the book, everything changes. The plot, the setting, the scope, the tone. It's the same characters and style and that's about it. We spend the first half in a kind of chase/road trip, evading capture and stopping off on new planets to infodump about, hanging out with the crew, learning about them and having Nev develop relationships with them. And then BAM they get to Nev's home and drop half the characters and basically everything that had been building before grinds to a halt.

Both halves of the book drag, but for different reasons. The first half doesn't have a lot of action, despite the trip starting off with a bang. It's just...a trip. Not terrible, since there's room for a lot of character moments and a slow development of romance between Nev and Qole and them learning about each other. Then the second half comes, and suddenly it's all Things Happening and every bit of relationship building we were working on before flops. It made the ending feel very unsatisfying, because even though it was Big and Flashy, it wasn't the resolution of any of the emotional themes we'd started with. It was just new stuff, dumped in our laps and then exploded. I wound up feeling like I'd read half a book even though it was actually quite long.

A tangent about Basra

So...Basra. Basra is introduced in Nev's POV and described as looking androgynous. Nev then decided to just use he/him pronouns for Basra 'because it was more convenient.' This was very early on, and I almost dropkicked the book right there. We never really find out about Basra's gender, although there's strong hints elsewhere in the book towards genderfluid, and any way you slice it the idea of "eh, I'll just pick what's easiest for me" is a TERRIBLE way to introduce even the IDEA of someone being genderqueer/nonconforming/anything. Nev couldn't even manage a 'I'll just hold off using pronouns until someone else does', no, it had to be all about his convenience. I'm still not over it, and I never will be.

Overall thoughts

Overall, it would have been better without Nev. I spent most of this review complaining about him, and I'm sorry, because Qole and her interactions with the rest of the crew were actually really good. It's just, we'd never get that for more than a few pages before it was the Nev Show again. The plot was disjointed, the worldbuilding had some cool ideas but no practical base for them to rest on, and the action was good but too concentrated all at the end. Kind of a hodgepodge of good and bad in here, but I disliked the bad more than I liked the good.

"...Captured, tortured and maybe explosively dismembered. "

​Nev is undercover on a hunt for someone in particular, a person who has been shadow touched meaning that they have altered reflexes and skills but the potential to go mad and die young. His mission stated he needs to do whatever he can to bring back his target for examination- for the good of his people. The person he has been searching for is surprising though- Quole, the youngest yet most talented captain, one who catches and harnesses Shadow- the needed and dreaded energy source that powers the whole solar system.

Quole is a young captain, but that does not make her unqualified for her job- in fact, she is the best fisher for shadow and an efficient captain, able to keep her misfit crew together and fed despite their ship falling apart around them. With all her family dead from the Shadow except her brother, she had to make hard choices to help her crew. When she was in a hurry for a new crew member, she bypassed her strict hiring process and ended up with Nev, who has no idea how shadow hunting works. How wrong she was to hire him...

I was originally lured in by the cool cover and the interesting synopsis, and let's add in the fact I have been completely hooked on space books for the last couple of months. Anything having to do with space travel and missions, ooh and the scary space ones with danger, possible monsters and destruction- yep, there are some great space related reads floating around and I am destined to read them all. I also really liked that there are two authors creating the book, which I think allows for the two main characters to be very different from each other with new perspectives that never overlap in voice. I think in YA recently, collaborations have been my favorite to read, bring new depths to the characters.

When I saw that Shadow Run was being compared to one of my all time favorite fandoms Firefly, there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to read this book.
That being said, I think the connection to Firefly is a bit of a reach really. Sure the book takes place in a old ship that is barely still able to fly with a odd assortment of crew, with the best Captain around regardless of rules and society, a guy lies to get aboard a ship, and yes there is a girl who just so happens to have been altered so she has "supernatural-like" skills and people are potentially after her. Yep, that sounds like a lot of connections, but no not really. ​Pretty much, this was nothing like Firefly, but I still enjoyed the story.

​I will admit that I was super lost for the first fourth-ish of the book while the world and characters were being established, the reader is basically thrown into the action with shadow fishing but no explanation as to what shadow is or how. Once I started to piece together the important facts and get to know Nev and Quole I became more engaged in the story and world. And wow, what a crazy convoluted world this is. The story really picked up and became an action packed dangerous mission with cool gadgets and huge reveals that I never anticipated (as well as some awful death, torture and destruction I did not see coming). The side characters ended up being just as complicated and necessary as the main character to the plot and dynamic of the story​.

The ending had so many holes in it that I desperately needed to fill (not not due to faults of the authors but as hooks to drag me back in)! The last like fourth of the book alone was an epic battle of destruction that pretty much changed the future for everyone so I kinda very much so need the next book. I am so glad that the second book is already out so I can jump right in.

Review can be found at https://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/

Young adult readers looking to ease into hard science fiction will find a great introduction with AdriAnne Strickland and Michael Miller’s Shadow Run. The first in a new series, Shadow Run features a sweeping science fiction adventure helmed by a diverse cast of young, compelling heroes. While it drags a little at times the high stakes feel of the story and the courtly intrigue will leave readers eagerly awaiting the next entry into the series.
Shadow Run takes place in an advanced future where mankind has spread across the stars. For the most part every stretch of the galaxy is controlled to some extent by corporate empires whose influence can be felt everywhere — even in the furthest ‘frontier’ outposts.

Shadow Run‘s two primary characters come from very different places. Qole is a captain harvesting a mysterious, dangerous substance called ‘Shadow’ that’s been killing members of her family and driving them crazy at a young age for generations. Meanwhile, Nev is the heir to Dracorte empire. Qole has resigned herself to fate until Nev arrives determined to bring her – and the strange powers she has gained from the Shadow – home with him in a bid to prove his worth to his family and perhaps give them the upper hand against the other wealthy families.

The bulk of the story focuses on his attempt to win Qole’s trust and get her back home. Along the way their journey hits a number of snags not the least of which being Qole’s uncertainty at Nev’s motives. Luckily Qole has an awesome team and in the end it’s their ingenuity and love for one another that sees them all through.

Speaking of love, though, I’m going to honestly say that one of the least compelling parts of this story for me was the budding relationship between Qole and Nev. I didn’t necessarily think that it was awful but it certainly didn’t peak my interest much. Had the two of them remained just friends and potentially shipmates trying to find their place in this insanely dangerous future I think their relationship would have been more believable. And had a relationship come perhaps after all the craziness of this book had ended and gave way to the second I would have been more into it.

Thankfully the relationships between Qole and the rest of her crew more than make up for it.

The crew of Qole’s ship the Kaitan Heritage (from which the series takes it’s name, incidentally) is incredible. Each character feels real and fully developed even though some of them don’t get nearly as much attention as they deserve. I loved each and every one of them and, honestly, the only romance I needed was between Qole’s brother Arjan and the absolutely brilliant Basra who stole the scene every time they were on the page. Honestly, I’d read an entire novella about Basra’s life before joining the Kaitan Heritage.

The Shadow angle is also intriguing and it gets a fair amount of development throughout. While the technical aspects weren’t the most interesting to me I loved how much this world revolved around this dangerous, mysterious element. It added an awesome piece to the world building in what is already a very well developed, intriguing future. And I think that the effect that Shadow has had on not just Qole but her entire family and community really hammers things home. It makes Shadow less of an asset and more of a ubiquitous, ultimately unsustainable liability. The fact that she’s developed these powers due to her exposure doesn’t really make that any less true.

Shadow Run has some really great world building and a fabulous cast of characters with some of the secondary characters truly shining throughout. There were several points where I personally though the story dragged out a bit but I was always able to power through those moments. Strickland and Miller have developed a great world and young readers looking to explore more hard science fiction stories will definitely enjoy the story and especially the characters.

While Shadow Run wasn’t my favorite young adult science fiction read of last year, I am looking forward to seeing where the series goes. I’m hoping that in the next book some of the secondary characters get more of an opportunity to shine and that Qole and Nev’s relationship gets sorted out. The world Strickland and Miller have created is compelling and with the way things change by the end of this story there’s a lot of potential for things moving forward. And now is the perfect time to catch up as the next book, Shadow Call, comes out in April!

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A REVIEW COPY WAS PROVIDED FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS REVIEW

Purchased for my library, put it on the shelf, and it's been checked out ever since.

Really enjoyed reading this book!! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

Interesting read with appeal to Star Wars fans and other sci fi buffs.

With apologies to the publisher, I will not be writing a full review for Shadow Run because I did not finish the book. Unfortunately, the novel is just not to my tastes. My main problem is with the main characters, especially Qole. She starts off as a strong character, but as soon as a love story arc enters the picture, she loses all sense of agency and conviction. I just can't get behind a heroine like that. At this time, I find myself enjoying the glimpses I've gotten into the story's sci-fi elements, but for the most part it is just not hooking me and I decided to stop.

If I do happen to finish this book at a future date, I will be sure to update this review. For now though, I'm afraid I'll have to mark this one down as DNF. Thank you for the opportunity!

DNF

Mini review:

I received this E-ARC via Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was looking forward to reading this. I enjoyed Starflight (another space book) and thought that this would be similar. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy it. I spent the first few chapters absolutely confused. I vaguely understood the Shadow stuff but everything else was lost on me. Definitely just a personal thing as I am not really that well versed in science.

Still recommend.

******GOODREADS REVIEW******

**2 1/2 stars**

So I'm FINALLY DONE!!!! I want to thank netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review and even though I got distracted from other books and a few buddy reads, and now I'm done!

So, shoot me but I've never seen Firefly but I DID see the first 2-3 episodes of it one time and enjoyed them and mainly to get a feel for this book. For awhile I could point out some similarities but with the book, it was REALLY good and exciting but once they get to Nev's home planet and we meet his family, I felt it started to escalate for me. After an AWESOME fun first half, it went downhill from there. DEPENDING on the ending I was going to give this 3 1/2 stars but the more the end was played with it still kept going downhill. And the big battle/rescue mission at the end dragged on for WAAAAAY too long and felt rushed. So overall, I wasn't at all impressed the second half and came out a little disappointed. But I see mixed reviews for this one and so if you liked it or want to read it go for it and decide for yourself. But me, it just lacked WAAAAAY too much and had other dragging moments second half. But I'm also piqued what's going to happen in book 2 next year......


Also.....after having a HORRIBLE MISERABLE month of allergies and having my reading steak ruined by them this month, I was soooo afraid I'd get 2 books in this month (which I did) but I got 3 before midnight!! Yaaaay!!!! :D :D :D *celebrating*

All in all Shadow Run was a fantastic read. It is a thrilling book with interesting characters and an engaging science fiction world. If you are a fan of science fiction than definitely check this book out. If you are like me and you prefer books that is full of plot driven adventure then I think you will really enjoy this book. Or maybe just get it to read something full of thrills and action but a good found family theme.

Qole is the youngest captain of a spaceship, and Nev is her troublesome new hire. After setting out to fish for Shadow, the mysterious, dangerous (yet pretty profitable) resource, Qole discovers four things:

1. Nev is a prince. The heir to the Dracorte throne, to be precise.
2. He's been searching for her, specifically her affinity to Shadow.
3. Her Shadow affinity might not be an early death sentence after all.
4. Nev's interest has just put a bulls eye on her back, and now the entire galaxy wants her.
5. (view spoiler)

Did I say four things? I meant five. Five things. So yup, pretty much from page one the race is on to get away from the baddies, get to safety, and figure out if Nev can ever gain the trust of Qole's eclectic and highly protective crew.

This one snuck up on me. After 5% in I was certain it was going to be a DNF. Dear reader (for whoever reads my reviews), keep going. It gets better. I promise. (view spoiler)

It's a non-stop action thrill ride and yes, there are beaucoup de cliches, but it makes it work. And the politicking was halfway believable which, believe me, is a huge plus. (view spoiler)

I'll definitely stick around for the second one, because this could get interesting. And yes, I'm invested in the best piece of this YA space lite opera: the amazing, the awesome, the morally ambiguous gender fluid Basra (kudos authors for handling that just right).

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

Thanks for giving me an ARC copy of The Shawdow Run. I thought it was amazing! It was packed full of adventure, romance, fascinating and unique characters, and cool. This a great, complexly-plotted, edge of your seat kind of science fiction adventure with just a touch of magic. I fell in love with Qole and Nev.