Swoon Thursday #22 & Review - Shadow Eyes

 

 

 

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From the book you’re currently reading, or one you just finished, tell us what made you SWOON. What got your heart pounding, your skin tingling, and your stomach fluttering.

Shout it out on Twitter with the hashtag #YABound, post it here in the comments, or grab the adorable button above and share it on your blog!

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On Tuesday, I posted a Tease from a book called,

 

 

Shadow Eyes

by

Dusty Crabtree

 

 

At the time, I was only halfway through. Now that I have completed it, I can reveal my thoughts along with answering the question - Did Iris and Patrick connect? 

 

 

First - The Blurb

 

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.

 

Second - My Thoughts

 

As mentioned in my Tuesday post, I received a copy of this book from Musa Publishing in exchange for an honest review. To start, I would like to say that Dusty has a nice writing style. Her description of the characters, places and events makes it easy for the reader to picture what is going on in the story and become captivated by the mystery.

So, to the tale… When Iris Kohl was fourteen, something tragic occurred in her life which allows her to see shadows - dark forms which cling to the living and inspire evil thoughts and behaviour. She is also able to see bright light forms, which supposedly, symbolize good. However, these seem to be rare in comparison. Believing that people would think her crazy, she has not shared this secret with anyone, not even her family.

When we enter the story, it is three years after the event. Iris has just started her junior year in high school along with her two best friends, Nicole and Lexi. Developing a mutual attraction with a fellow student, Josh, they quickly enter a relationship. However, it does not last long because of an evil shadow which forms around him, causing him to behave out of character and not in a way that Iris feels comfortable with.

In the meantime, several new characters are introduced, Mr Delaney (Iris’s English Teacher) and Kyra (a new student who befriends her almost instantly). Both of them seem to have calming auras surrounding them, and at times, Kyra also displays a bright light indicating that she is filled with good intentions.

A third addition is Patrick (another new student - who for some reason - does not display either dark shadows or bright light). Iris is immediately attracted to him, and after ending her relationship with Josh, begins to spend more and more time with Patrick.

In the back ground, we are also introduced to Iris’s mother, who seems to be having relationship troubles of her own (Iris’s mom and dad divorced some years earlier), her sister Hanna, who has a constant bright light surrounding her, and her sister Jenny, who is married and desperately wanting to have a child.

Many questions are raised throughout the progression of this story, but few are answered before the end. As I prefer things to move at a fast pace and secrets to be revealed in stages along the way, I found this to be a little frustrating. However, having said that, I still found the book to be an interesting read and recommend it to anyone who doesn’t mind being kept in the dark until the last few chapters.
 

My rating - 4 out of 5 stars.

 

And Now for the Swoon

 

He took a deep breath and slowly turned around to face me sitting speechlessly on my bed. His eyes were impassioned with both fervor and anguish as he approached me and spoke in a quavering voice. "You're also beautiful and captivating. But I don't need to look at your bedroom to understand that. You hooked me the first moment I laid eyes on you. And you've kept me hanging on your string ever since." He sounded almost resentful for me somehow luring him in, which seemed absurd as it was truly the other way around.

When he finally reached me, I could see a fire blazing in his eyes that was both irresistible and painful to watch. He grabbed both of my arms and snatched me off my bed, staring intently into my eyes before crashing his mouth against mine in the most passionate frenzied kiss I had ever felt or witnessed. His lips and tongue had an electric charge that shocked me, and I nearly burst as potent lust pulsated through my suddenly weakened body.

 

 

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What do you think?

If you liked my SWOON, please leave a comment below!