Shadows

by Jen Black

A budding relationship. A young couple, shadowed in different ways by their pasts. A beautiful, but haunted water mill in France.

Are the intense emotions Rory and Melissa feel their own, or those of the couple who haunt the mill?

Shadows is pacy and exciting, full of modern dating dilemmas and conflicts - and ghosts.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Fiction

199 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 24, 2011

About the author

Jen's home town is Newcastle upon Tyne in the north east of England. She lived within sound of Durham Cathedral bells until she was seven, then moved to Stockton where she attended Grangefield Grammar School, and later went to Newcastle University as a mature student and gained an Honours degree in English Language & Literature. Work in various industrial, public and academic libraries in the north east followed, including a stint as library manager at Gateshead College for a number of years.

She updates her blog three times a week: http://jenblackauthor.blogspot.com
and can also be found on Twitter and Facebook as well as Goodreads.

Reviews

[Nicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started to read Jen Black's books as a reviewer and I liked then so much I now read them for fun. I read Shadows for pure fun because I knew I was in for a treat.

Melissa accepts an invitation from someone she's just met to join him at a restored historic water mill in the middle of the Dordogne. The mill belongs to a mutual friend of Melissa and Rory so it isn't quite as bizarre as it sounds. There is the safety net of Jonny back in the UK if it all goes wrong.

Melissa went through a period of seeing ghosts in her childhood and she thought she'd left it all behind her and grown out of it, but almost as soon as she arrives, she sees a tall man dressed in a long robe who smiles at her. He seems benign, but he still spooks her. Who he is and why he's there, well, you'll have to read to find out.

Having just read a less than satisfying novel set in the south of France just a few weeks before this one, I had a reference point by which to judge Jen Black's version, as well as my own experience, and her setting is just lovely; hot, sunny, filled with greenery - perfect. She certainly knows the area she writes about.

Her characters are fun, and she's excellent at writing 'stroppy male'. They ring true, and are fun to get to know. The French are all very French, the English very English.

If I had to say anything negative, it would be Melissa's preoccupation with being born illegitimate. It is an overriding issue for her whereas no one today even thinks about it. It is an attitude that seems very 1950s rather than 2017 when it was written.

All in all a fab book that I thoroughly enjoyed, as I knew I would.

[Jeanette Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a different kind of story for Ms Black, although it does have some historical content. It’s set in Modern France, a young couple have come to stay in an old mill. While they have their own relationship problems, they become aware that the mill is haunted by a young man and girl who lived in the 1700s. Melissa used to see ghosts but haven’t since she was twelve and these ghostly visions are like nothing she’s experienced before. Much to her relief, her companion sees them too and he believes her. She becomes determined to find out more about the young deceased couple and goes to the local library. From that visit, trouble escalates.

I loved this story as I’m a sucker for ghosts with a story to tell, not ghosts who wish to haunt and horrify. I loved learning about Pierre and Francine and their tragic tale. This is good writing, with believable characters – even the ghosts – and a perfect setting. I found what Melissa and Rory got up to a little – um – exciting for my blood pressure but otherwise I really enjoyed this book.