Book Thirty-Six of 2013: SHADOWCRY by Jenna Burtenshaw

The Night of Souls—when the veil between the living and the dead is thinnest—is only days away.
Albion is at war . . . and losing. 
The wardens have descended, kidnapping innocent citizens for their army, but looking for one in particular. 
And fifteen-year-old Kate Winters has just raised a blackbird from the dead. 
As her home is torn apart by the wardens, Kate’s discovery that she is one of the Skilled—the rare people who can cross the veil between life and death—makes her the most hunted person in all of Albion. Only she can unlock the secrets of Wintercraft, the ancient book of dangerous knowledge. Captured and taken to the graveyard city of Fume—with its secret tunnels and underground villages, and where her own parents met their deaths ten years ago—Kate must harness her extraordinary powers to save herself, her country, and the two men she cares for most. And she’ll make a pact with a murderer to do it. 
Those who wish to see the dark, be ready to pay your price.

I didn’t know about this trilogy until I won the third book from a Goodreads Giveaway (I’m still waiting on the book, it’s been thirty days and it’s been bothering me). Since I hate reading books out of order (there was this one fiasco with Harry Potter. Just take it from me, never read a third book before reading the first. You get seriously confused), I went ahead and bought the first and second book to the trilogy. They are both here and obviously, I’ve just finished the first one.

There is no such thing as a lull in SHADOWCRY. Only three or four days pass in the book and literally it’s a nonstop roller coaster. It is very difficult to have good characterization and an in depth world in the middle of a speedy story, but Burtenshaw accomplishes it with flying colors.

The world is seriously expansive with a hidden underground and political intrigue. The book is set during a war torn country in the winter time. The war turns out to be hundreds of years in the making. On top of that there’s the extensive magical world that Burtenshaw added into this fantasy world. She had to have taken a lot of time to condense the world alone in under four hundred pages.

Though some of the characters are so-so, the two main ones are superb. Kate is exactly what I’d envision a girl who has only known one way of life and is thrusted into the truth. She doesn’t give herself time to break down and she keeps going for her goal no matter how bleak it looks.

And then there’s Silas. Oh, sweet, delectable, hot, Silas. He is a man of mystery. He’s dark, has his own sense of honor, and is a character that you want to hate (given the circumstances of the book that I’m not going to say), but can’t. He has more to him that I can’t wait to learn. And, I’ll be honest, I ship him and Kate all the way.

And so, I am now forced to wait for my prize from the giveaway and I’ve decided to hold back on the second book just for a while longer. I’d hate to jump into a cliffhanger and not know what happens another month from now. Seriously, guys, it’s a good book. You should pick it up and read it. You’ll be done in a day or two tops.