Book Review : Shadow Prophet

Original review written 5/6/2021

Title: Shadow Prophet:Midnight Chronicles

Author: Andrea Pearson

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I was thrilled to get the chance to read this book as it seemed like it was right up my ally! But...was it really what I had hoped for...

What's it about?

Abel lives with some dark secrets without living up to his full potential, though he's just fine with that. He's traveling the country and making the supernatural community a better place... mostly. But when he's ordered by the demon who's blackmailing him for his services, to kill the one woman he loves, he's not quit so sure in his abilities. And when someone else hires him to protect the very same woman, he considers it a chance to make money and complete two jobs at once while defeating the feelings that have been haunting him for years. However, things are not always as they seem and what sounds easy can sometimes be the hardest thing he'll ever have to do.

What did I think about it?

Honestly, I wanted to love this book. I really truly did, but I felt like this book was more like Abel then expected; full of potential but not quite able to reach it yet. While the story itself has an amazing premise with the promise of a fun world and a different spin on the fantastical species we, as a society has come to love, like vampires and hounds, somehow, I felt lied to. I felt like I was the only one in the office that didn't get the memo so I didn't know what was going on but everyone else did. This was primarily due to terminology being used with little to no explanation and references to backstory events that aren't really explained either. I always felt like I was missing a big chunk of what was going on, which prevented me from really feeling sucked into the world or the story and constantly trying to decipher answers to my questions and lack of understanding more then actually experiencing the story itself.

In addition, I felt like the story could have been better organized. While some concepts were referred to throughout the majority of the book, when they do come to pass, it feels anti-climatic and falls flat. This again, often made me second guess if I had missed something or not, feeling as if these things should have had a bigger impact, then wondering why they didn't. And then there were the events that happened even though they didn't seem to fit in at all. Truthfully, while they may have an impact in future additions to the chronicles, they had no impact on the current story. I felt like nothing would have changed at all had they been left out entirely.

I think the best part was the authors note at the end. She was vulnerable and honest in a way that made me respect her. I understood exactly what she was saying as a writer and I felt for her, which only made my disappointment in the story even greater. I feel like with more depth into the world I jumped into and a better view of Abel's back story, I could have loved this book and, like I said, I really wanted to. I did learn that this is a spin off from another series, and wonder if maybe I should have read the other series first, however, if that were the case, I wish someone would have told me. Because, at the end of the day, this book did not suck me in, it did not make me want to come back and did not develop a need within me to continue the series.

What do I rate this?

I give this book a

2.5

out of

5 amulets

But that's just me. Have you read the book? Did I miss something? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.