Title: Shadow Dancer (Shadow Dancer #1)
Author: Courtney Rene
Origins: This review is provided as part of a Teen Book Scene blog tour. The full schedule of reviews and guest posts can be found on this page.
Summary: [from GoodReads] Sunny has a gift that she has no idea how to use, until she meets Leif, a boy from the kingdom of Acadia, on the other side of the shadows.
Leif teaches Sunny about Shadow Walkers and how to use her new found gifts. As they grow closer and their gifts grow stronger, a threat arrives. The Shadow Guard has been sent to bring Sunny back to Acadia, to determine if she is a threat to the king as the rightful ruler of Acadia.
As Leif and Sunny prepare to defend themselves, Sunny finds that Leif has also been sent to bring Sunny back to the kingdom but for very different reasons. As a battle for possession of Sunny wages, she is struggling to come to turns with her feelings of inadequacy regarding controlling her gifts as well as the hurt regarding the lies and deceit of everyone around her.
My Review: Shadow Dancer is the most recent in a long line of YA paranormal novels on my TBR pile. In many places it reminded me very strongly of Twilight while in others it reminded me more of The Mortal Instruments or Paranormalcy. But, I really appreciate the mixture of things. It’s almost like a collage in art – sometimes putting pieces together in a new way can make something really beautiful.
I’ll be honest, at times this really wasn’t my thing. I was very close to putting it down several times because I was having difficulty getting through the style. I felt like Rene would occasionally go off on tangents that detracted from the emotion of the scene, or that were just irrelevant. I am glad I stuck with it though, because it really wasn’t that bad of a book. Once you get past the occasional tangent the story itself is fairly interesting. I found myself curious about the mythology Rene sets up behind the story and I was indignant right along with Sunny when she finds out she’s been lied to.
Overall, I’d say this is a decent read. Give it a chance if you choose to read it though, as it may take some getting used to.
I like your honest review! Thanks for letting us know what you liked and didn't like.