Review: Shadow Eyes

Title: Shadow Eyes
Author: Dusty Crabtree
Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Paranormal
Pub Date: February 2012, Musa Publishing
Format: eBook (.epub)
Source: In full disclosure, I received my copy for review from Dusty Crabtree. Many thanks for the opportunity to read and review your debut work and share it with others!

Synopsis

Iris thought she could ignore the shadows...until they went after everyone she loved.

Iris Kohl lives in a world populated by murky shadows that surround, harass, and entice unsuspecting individuals toward evil.  But she is the only one who can see them.  She’s had this ability to see the shadows, as well as brilliantly glowing light figures, ever since an obscure, tragic incident on her fourteenth birthday three years earlier. 

Although she’s learned to cope, the view of her world begins to shift upon the arrival of three mysterious characters.  First, a handsome new teacher whose presence scares away shadows; second, a new friend with an awe-inspiring aura; and third, a mysterious and alluring new student whom Iris has a hard time resisting despite already having a boyfriend.

As the shadows invade and terrorize her own life and family, she must ultimately revisit the most horrific event of her life in order to learn her true identity and become the hero she was meant to be.

My Thoughts

Well, if you saw my Sunday Salon guest post from Dusty Crabtree, at the very end you will have noted that I stayed up until after 2:00 am last night to finish Shadow Eyes. I simply could not put this debut book down, even though I will admit I was tired and so ready to go to sleep. I just had to find out what was going to happen to Iris and her family, not to mention everyone else who was constantly affected by these spooky, evil shadows that Iris was seeing. Of course, we don't actually have all of those pressing questions answered; the end of Shadow Eyes is quite a cliffhanger.

I was really impressed with the cast of characters in this book. I thought this bunch of high schoolers was very realistically portrayed, down to their emotions and actions. Iris does come across as a rather weak female lead at times, though she does have her own kind of strength that finally really comes through towards the end. Her friends Lexi and Nicole actually reminded me of a couple of girls I went to high school with. And then there is the obligatory attractive male teacher that every girl has a bit of a crush on, but is there more to Mr. Delaney than meets the eye? When it came to some of the more intriguing characters, I knew something was up, but I just wasn't sure what it was going to be.

What really drives the story and makes you want to keep turning the pages (or tapping the right side of your e-reader screen, as I did) is the desire to find out just what it is that happened to Iris that causes her to see these shadows. A tragic event is hinted at many times, but not until the end do we learn what has happened to Iris. The story twists and turns and I the big plot twist towards the end was one I didn't see coming. And make no mistake, Shadow Eyes deals with some pretty intense issues that I am sure many people like Iris (and her family, in some instances) face every day. This isn't some fluff paranormal adventure that we are dealing with here, which makes it a refreshing read.

I highly recommend Shadow Eyes. I think Dusty Crabtree's writing will captivate you and Iris' story will keep you up late into the night as it did me -- unless you are lucky enough to be able to spend your day reading it!

My Rating




Other Goodies

Check out Dusty’s blog at http://dustycrabtree.wordpress.com/
Find her on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/dusty.crabtree.1
Follow her on twitter at https://twitter.com/dustycrabtree
Buy Shadow Eyes at http://musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=176
(also available at all major online bookstores)
View the book trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7UP9A0Fm78