Audiobook Review – The Shadow Reader (Shadow Reader, Book 1) by Sandy Williams (2/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Ace
Release Date: October 25, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-1937007010
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Shadow Reader series
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 2/5 stars

“A Houston college student, McKenzie Lewis can track fae by reading the shadows they leave behind. For years she has been working for the fae King, tracking rebels who would claim the Realm. Her job isn’t her only secret. She’s in love with Kyol, the King’s sword-master-but human and fae relationships are forbidden. When McKenzie is captured by Aren, the fierce rebel leader, she learns that not everything is as she thought. And McKenzie must decide who to trust and where she stands in the face of a cataclysmic civil war.”

This is the first book in the Shadow Reader series, this series is a trilogy. This was an okay urban fantasy read. I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style, the characters or the story…everything was just okay.

The story about a human woman named McKenzie who can read the shadows to help fae teleport to different places. McKenzie would love to leave the Shadow Reader job and have a normal human life. However, when she is kidnapped by Rebel Fae her whole life turns topsy turvy.

My main issue with this book is that it sounded very YA but the heroine is a woman in her 20’s. I found this very odd; like the book couldn’t decide what it was. Writing style, conversations, and the simple story were very YA in style…I kept thinking this character was in her teens and then being reminded by the author that she was much older.

This book really focuses on a romantic triangle, which I am not a fan of. The heroine’s skill to read shadows was interesting but this really took a backseat to the romantic triangle (she is going back and forth between the warlord of a Fae court and the battle commander of a Fae rebel group). The story was very simple and unimaginative.

Overall this book wasn’t something I liked all that much. I won’t be continuing the series. I wouldn’t recommend because there is much better adult urban fantasy out there.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Goodreads Reading Challenge
– Mount TBR Reading Challenge