Enshadowed by Kelly Creagh
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Publisher: Atheneum
Publication Date: August 28, 2012
Pages: 429
Source: purchased
Buy It: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository
Varen Nethers is trapped in a perilous dreamworld—a treacherous and desolate realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life. Isobel Lanley, plagued by strange visions and haunted by the nightmares of Varen's creation, is the only one who can save him.
Isobel knows that her only hope lies within a Baltimore cemetery. There, in the early morning of Edgar Allan Poe's birthday, a mysterious stranger known as the "Poe Toaster" will make his annual homage at the legendary poet's grave.
Only the Poe Toaster holds the key to the way between worlds. But great dangers lie ahead for Isobel. An ancient evil, draped in veils of white, is watching, challenging her for Varen's affections. When Isobel finally finds Varen, he is no longer the quiet and brooding boy who once captivated her, but a dark force, powerful and malevolent.
Could Isobel's greatest love also be her greatest adversary? --Goodreads
I don’t recommend reading this book in the dark—you may hurt
your eyes; however, if you have a dim-lit room—go for it. It is one of those books that you should
totally set the mood for because even though I was reading in pure daylight,
the book brought me to dark places. Dark
places as in, it reminded me of those scary short stories people read for
Halloween. In Enshadowed, Isobel was in her house, celebrating Christmas, but the
plot was chilling enough that all I could think about was Halloween.
Kelly Creagh specializes in the art of cliffhangers. The chapters are not too long for readers to
lose focus and the cliffhangers make them continue without hesitation. Looking back at the book as a whole, the plot
is simple—with one goal. However, while
reading, it doesn’t seem that way. Readers
are enchanted by Isobel’s devotion and the lengths she goes to fulfill her
goal: to save Varen.
This story, as part of a series, goes deeper than I first
realized. Creagh has cleverly woven a
plot that goes at least six feet under. Enshadowed is incredible. I know when I wrote the Nevermore review, I mentioned the similarities of Inception. Creagh creates a dreamscape, a location apart
from the real world. In Enshadowed, the author takes her
location one step further. She begins
adding pieces of reality, mixing the two worlds seamlessly. And I am not just talking about Nevermore’s reality and the
dreamscape. I am talking about our
reality and Isobel’s reality and the dreamscape. Creagh added elements which had readers
question what was real. (The Poe Toaster
is real! The picture, used in Enshadowed as what pushed Isobel to her
goal, can also be found in LIFE magazine.) That particular question—asking what
is reality—makes Isobel’s character extremely relatable because readers are
questioning the same things she is.
Despite loving the plot, the lack of male characters—or just
the lack of Varen—bothered me. I love
strong female characters and Enshadowed
certainly had them. Both, Isobel and
Gwen, were extremely independent and just plain awesome. However, where Nevermore was the blossoming relationship of Isobel and Varen, Enshadowed was Isobel all alone, trying
to get Varen back. I would have loved if
Creagh had shown some scenes of Varen in the dreamscape. Still minor characters really shine in
Creagh’s work. Can we please get a
spin-off of Bruce—I would even take a short story about him? He only said a few words but those words
depicted Bruce’s desire to have Varen home.
It was heart -warming and -wrenching at the same time.
Enshadowed by
Kelly Creagh is a fantastic sequel.
Creagh’s world continues to be as creepy as ever and I am sure in the
third book, Oblivion, she will even
step it up one more notch.
Enshadowed (8/28/12): 4 stars
Oblivion (7/28/15): TBA
2 comments
This looks really good, great review! I'm going to put these books on my wish list for sure.
ReplyDeleteI've not read any of this series, but have seen them around. Your review definitely grabbed my interest! I'll have to add them to my TBR.
ReplyDelete