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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

When Shadows Take on New Motives Readers Better Beware

by Chautona Havig · 3 Comments

The long-awaited, Shadow is just as wonderful as Kara Swanson's Dust, & twice as powerful. Lovers of the first book won't want to put it down. via @chautonahavig

Last year, an author made me fall in love with a story I’d always hated.  Or, perhaps a better way of saying it is: last year an author retold and expanded on a story I’d never liked… and I LOVED what she did. So, when the opportunity for me to read a review copy of book two came along it was kind of a no-brainer.

That first book hadn’t exactly ended on a cliff-hanger… but yeah. It did, too. The best kind, right?  So what would she do after sprinkling pixie Dust all over the literary world?  Well, she tackled Shadow (and not the old, “me… and my shadow… strolling down the av-en-ue…”).

shadow review

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When Shadows Take on New Motives Readers Better Beware

I had forgotten all about the part in Peter Pan where Peter cuts off his shadow. Maybe it is just the Disney rendition of it?  I don’t know. But in Shadow, Kara Swanson picks up with the subtle but rich symbolism and near allegory she used in Dust and runs with it.

Bit by bit, layer by layer, she lays out the entire story with all the questions answered before we ever get to the reveal, and yet I couldn’t pin it down.  I could see the answer just sitting there, but I never knew what it meant!  Brilliant writing?  Probably. My lack of knowledge or interest in the original stories of Neverland?  I’m sure it played into the whole thing. In fact, I suspect there’s a lot of both of those, now that I think of it.

Here’s the thing, though. It doesn’t matter. This story is so rich, deep, heartbreaking, and inspiring that she could have handed me every clue in a neatly organized report, or sprung them all on me a second before the reveal, and I doubt that I would have cared.

Because this book… is that amazing.

Like many fantasy works, Shadow is darker than its predecessor.  And I’m glad, actually. With the parallels I see between this story and the redemption story of Jesus, it needs to be. Think about it. We don’t see the Light for the brilliance it is, without first acknowledging darkness.

That’s another parallel to the first book. In that one, I saw a similarity between the pixie dust and the blood of Christ (lots of poetic license, but it’s there).  In this one, I saw a parallel to the solution to the overarching problem and the beauty of Christ’s love for His bride… the church.

Kara Swanson is a master of taking a story that I probably missed the point of as a child and making it come to life and teach me as an adult.  If that isn’t beautiful, what is? I’m in love with the world she created, and I want more. But I think this is it.  I think we have the end of Peter, Claire, and Connor.

One last thing.

My more literary, critical self wants to attack one choice she made at the end. I want to say it was convenient and a problem overused in fantasy. I want to denounce that choice. Here’s the thing, though.  I can’t. There are subtle nuances that come in because she chose to do it. Readers get an extra measure of satisfaction they otherwise wouldn’t have because Kara knew her story best and chose to do what was truly best instead of what was “textbook best” (and different people would have pointed to different textbooks!).

In the end, I think she made the best decision to ensure that Shadow reveals the entire story that needed to be told.

I recommend Shadow to lovers of Peter Pan, lovers of Dust, lovers of fantasy and symbolic literature. I don’t recommend it for readers who are offended by magical elements in fantasy.

Shadow is on tour with Celebrate Lit.

ShadowAbout the Book

Book:  Shadow

Author: Kara Swanson

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Release date: July 13, 2021

Peter Pan has crash-landed back on Neverland. But this is not the island he remembers.

Desperate to rescue Claire and the fractured Lost Boys, Peter must unravel what truly tore his dreamland apart. But with each step, he is haunted by more of his own broken memories. Not even Pan himself is what he seems.

Claire Kenton is chained to a pirate ship, watching the wreckage of Neverland rocked by tempests. When she finally finds her brother, Connor is every bit as shattered as the island. Claire may have pixie dust flowing in her veins—but the light of Neverland is flickering dangerously close to going out forever.

To rescue Neverland from the inescapable shadow, the boy who never grew up and the girl who grew up too fast will have to sacrifice the only thing they have left: each other.

kara swanson shadowAbout the Author

As the daughter of missionaries, Kara Swanson spent her childhood running barefoot through the lush jungles of Papua New Guinea. Able to relate with characters dropped into a unique new world, she quickly fell in love with the fantasy genre.

The award-winning author of The Girl Who Could See, Kara is passionate about crafting stories of light-shattering darkness, connecting with readers, and becoming best friends with a mermaid—though not necessarily in that order. Kara chats about coffee, fairytales, and bookish things online (@karaswansonauthor) and at karaswanson.com.

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Comments

  1. Andrea Stoeckel says

    August 1, 2021 at 11:21 am

    WOW, This book/these books sound amazing

    Reply
  2. Rita Wray says

    August 1, 2021 at 9:25 am

    Sounds like a great read.

    Reply
  3. Amelia says

    August 1, 2021 at 9:18 am

    Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 155: Chatting with Heather Day Gilbert & Jen Cudmore
byChautona Havig

To Love a Viking by Heather Day Gilbert and Jen Cudmore has been released, and I got to chat with them about it last week. Guys, this series!  If the Christian influence on Viking history isn’t enough, what about adventure, fight scenes, and romance that won’t make you blush? How about that a damsel is in distress and… gets rescued by another woman instead of the stereotypical DUDE! Listen in!

Note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

Are You Ready for an Exciting New Viking Series from 2 Great Authors?

 

One of the biggest surprises I recall from researching books by different authors was that the cozy mystery and suspense author I liked and respected, Heather Day Gilbert, had also written historical Viking books! I made the erroneous assumption that they were romance and skipped them (for the time being… I knew I’d read them some day), and then something happened.

A few months ago, I saw this cover.  With Heather’s name on it.  And some other gal I hadn’t heard of–Jen Cudmore.  What is this deliciousness?  The cover was AMAZING… not stereotypical nor was it inauthentic.  It was just GOOD (not to mention gorgeous) and with the Celtic frame (the Vikings did go over to Scotland/Ireland after all), I just felt like it hit all the sweet spots.

Well… the book is here, folks.  And I’ve got a copy in my hot little hands.  No, really. It’s July. And I live in the desert.  My hands are totally hot and in totally all the wrong ways. Just throwin’ that out there.

Anyway, Heather and Jen chatted with me about To Love a Viking, and oh my!  This book sounds fabulous. We know Viking women were strong. Even those that weren’t warriors had to survive Nordic winters. Ergo, strong.  But what about strong enough to build a new society with people they’d once fought against. Oh, and rescue a damsel in distress #BecauseYeah!

I’m ready to dive in to To Love a Viking myself, and I hope you’ll grab a copy, too. It promises to be incredible.

To Love a Viking by Heather Day Gilbert and Jen Cudmore

Get swept up in an enthralling new romance series featuring women who rule the hearts of Viking men.

ELLISIF Forced into a financially advantageous marriage that spirals into a nightmare, Ellisif cannot help but imagine what might have been and ache for what was lost. The only lights in her life are her daughters and the friendships she’s forged with the household servants.

Though seven years have passed since Ellisif wed another man, Dagar still cannot forget the woman who captured his youthful heart. As the Viking warrior battles for his country’s future, he finds himself entangled in a personal war for Ellisif’s freedom that could cost his family their reputation and standing with the king. If he risks all, can he save the woman whose face still haunts his dreams? And if given another chance, will she choose him?

INARA Escaped slave Inara is determined to start a new life. Under the guidance of warrior and shipbuilder Håkon, her sword skill grows, as does her confidence that the Viking men will accept her as a warrior in her own right.

When she is selected to lead a perilous rescue mission to protect Ellisif, Inara finds herself blindsided by feelings for Håkon…and by threats to her freedom far closer than she feared. As dreams and desires collide, she wrestles against the lies holding her captive. Can she conquer her doubts before all that she’s hoped for slips from her hands?

Written by award-winning historical author Heather Day Gilbert and fresh voice Jen Cudmore, two love stories entwine in this sweeping Viking-era romance, the first novel in the Tavland Vikings series.

You can find out more about the series and the authors on Heather’s WEBSITE.

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Episode 155: Chatting with Heather Day Gilbert & Jen Cudmore
Episode 155: Chatting with Heather Day Gilbert & Jen Cudmore
July 1, 2022
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