Shadeland

The Ethereal Crossings #1

by D.L. Miles

One year after the designated “Eidolon Revolution” and all the other-world demons have been exposed, 17 year old Liv Burnett is still the same, apathetic person she ever was. And when a woman dies in her home town, Liv doesn’t think anything of it, choosing to focus on more normal things; things like just graduating high school and moving in with her life-long friend, Luke. But soon Luke is thrown into jail on the sole reason that he isn’t human and has been labeled as the Ellengale Nightstalker for crimes he didn’t commit. Trying to figure everything out Liv realizes she has picked up her own stalker by the name of Jared; an aggressive but alluring man who claims he’s trying to find the real killer too. Taking a chance she normally wouldn’t, Liv follows Jared down dangerous roads in hopes of saving not only her friend, but the lives other women in town.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Paranormal, Mystery, Ebooks, Demons, Fiction

314 pages, Paperback

First published July 11, 2012

About the author

Miles is a Sun Scorpio with the heart of a Moon Pisces. She began her publishing journey in 2012, admittedly maybe a little too soon. Her eclectic taste comes through in each book she writes, ranging from soft fantasy romances to dark brooding poetry to serial killers that hold a grudge.

Reviews

[Judith (Judith'sChoiceReads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goodreads Summary

One year after the designated “Eidolon Revolution” and all the other-world demons have been exposed, 17 year old Liv Burnett is still the same, apathetic person she ever was. And when a woman dies in her home town, Liv doesn’t think anything of it, choosing to focus on more normal things; things like just graduating high school and moving in with her life-long friend, Luke. But soon Luke is thrown into jail on the sole reason that he isn’t human and has been labeled as the Ellengale Nightstalker for crimes he didn’t commit. Trying to figure everything out Liv realizes she has picked up her own stalker by the name of Jared; an aggressive but alluring man who claims he’s trying to find the real killer too. Taking a chance she normally wouldn’t, Liv follows Jared down dangerous roads in hopes of saving not only her friend, but the lives other women in town.

3/5 stars: An informative Paranormal YA mystery, rife with unexpected thrills and an engaging protagonist.

The Good Stuff.

I learned so much about mythological creatures from this book – particularly Etherics – and I look at the whole reading of this novel as being an education. An enticing one, mind you, but one nonetheless. D.L. Miles exhibits a lot of creativity in her story and in the ideas that it brings across; I’ve never read a book quite like hers. I’m pleased to say that the sequel to Shadeland is most definitely a must-have! She left me hanging with that ending,Cliffhanger…why?!?, but the woman knows how to keep me coming back.

The story is as follows: The Eidolon ‘officially’ came out to the humans only recently, meaning the world knows that all the bumps in the night are real, and the weird dearth in the blood bank supplies…those there are vampire-related problems! Vampires, as well as others, have basically ripped down the invisible curtain of ignorance, and well, the humans are pissed. Naturally, they can’t quite deal with the fact that there are forces legitimately ‘better’ than they are, and for the first week following this coming out, protest fires are rampant. Liv, our protagonist happens to be best friends with an Eidolon, Luke. She’s a pretty easy-going girl, and except at the occasional ignorant pig, doesn’t get worked up by much. Liv lives and let’s live.

Ahaha, get it?! Oh gosh, these jokes are getting worse, aren’t they?

Anyway…

The two have been together since childhood and from then she’s known about him having special powers. She accepts him for what he is, if only the rest of the world did. People are harshly prejudiced against the Eidolon’s and Luke being one is kept pretty much on the down low to avoid unnecessary scrutiny. However, things do not go on as planned. He being an Eidolon plays a special part later in the story, mainly because when mysterious killings begin happening in their little town, Luke and Liv are right in the middle of it. Women are being targeted and Luke ends up being convicted. To help him, Liv joins forces with seemingly ill-natured but dangerously attractive bounty hunter, Jared. Not much for putting down roots, sorry Holding Carter, he’s in town only for the reward money being offered by a victim’s family member. Together, he and Liv hunt down the killer, encountering a host of peculiar people and interesting discoveries along the way.

I’ve got to hand it to Liv, for a YA protagonist, she was decidedly well-rounded and perceptive. She didn’t take much, if anything, for granted and the first half of the novel was brilliant because of her. I kept flipping through chapters and just loving it in her head, it was a good place to be. There are minimal grammatical issues and the writing is crisp and smart. Mystery plays an integral part in the happenings of Shadeland and I’m pleased to say that the story holds; well into three quarters of the book I was still wandering, ‘whodunit?’ There were red herrings, and when I thought I had it, Miles pleasantly surprised me by proving otherwise. The maturity of D.L.’s characters is admirable because of how humanly authentic they feel; she gives them emotions, but responsibilities as well. I mean it was revolutionary! A young adult protagonist with duty, say, employment? What you smoking?! Hah, I welcomed the change.

Some Issues.

As you know, for the first part of this book, I was in love. The only points of contention are:

1.) The continuation of said awesomeness, it did not continue. Things began to lag.

2.) Certain aspects of the Eidolon’s are confusing and not fully explained, I mean, the bulk of knowledge comes from a sporadically present Eidolon scholar, who persists in his reluctance to divulge ‘precious knowledge.’ I wouldn’t have minded an expansion on detail, and more information in terms of some obscure mythical creatures. The world building, or at least the explanation of it was lacking, and I’m looking to the second book to remedy this.

3.) The pacing bothered me. I mentioned that the second quarter of Shadeland lost steam, and this is mainly because things got abrupt and monotonous, a weird combination I know, but it seemed as though the characters were not moving anywhere but revisiting the same places over and over. Things really began to slow, and this is perhaps necessary for a mystery novel, inspecting clues and whatnot, but I would have liked to see more of the town outside of the 3-4 primary locations.

4.) Liv and Luke’s relationship was a bit hazy for me, mainly because the opportunity to see them interacting outside of the craziness wasn’t fully provided. There was so much going on that they never got to be ‘friends.’ Sure, Liv sticks her neck out for him, but all we really get to see of Luke is a mixture of confusion and morose temperament; I missed experiencing his and Liv’s connection.

Besides that, I have no qualms with either Shadeland or D.L. Miles. She is a great author with loads of promise, and I was happy to review this book for her. A copy was provided through Smashwords and I am grateful! Regardless of the few problems, this is still an interestingly good book. A lot happens and there is no sense of disappointment post its completion, just a need for answers. This is why I need the sequel! 3/5 stars , give Shadeland a try!

[Leanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this quite a lot ...
I liked how the romance in this story didn't appear as prominently as you would have expected, so it wasn't like so many other books. The story mostly focused on what was actually happening that involved everyone else.
I was disappointed that there wasn't more to the end, though it was still a good ending in my opinion.
I am looking forward to reading on in this series.

[J.S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Bounty Hunter's intro in the prologue was intriguingly kick ass, I liked how effectively the closeness between Liv and Luke was established, the scene in the classroom prompted some character role assumptions and story expectations without a clumsy info dump.

A promising start...

...and then it quickly devolved into a disjointed mess and, unfortunately, too much about Shadeland peed me off for it to be the enjoyable read I'd anticipated.

Even ignoring the abundance of grammatical errors, odd word choices, detail inconsistencies and repetition, I felt it majorly lacked in some fundamentals:

Credibility. Yeah, sure, it's an urban fantasy, it's gonna step away from reality. But, even so, there should be something there to cling to, enabling the suspension of disbelief. I didn't get that here.

Emotional impact. Because I couldn't believe in the world created, I wasn't drawn in to events and didn't respond to the characters. At all.

Liv -Having been led to the assumption she's especially astute from the start, she was only displayed as such in light of all others utter ineptness.

Jared -Our rugged bounty hunter hero...the most inept of all characters. He frequently told Liv she needed to stay out of it because her involvement was proving a huge hindrance only to continually show up at her door, manhandle her into his car, and then act in a way more detrimental to the big case than anything Liv ever did.

(I will give appreciative recognition, though, to the fact they didn't instantly fall into a soppy love affair).

All other characters played no further purpose than what the plot required of them. Luke and Doc Wineman's parts were particularly disappointing -Luke being no more than plot motivator, and Doc Wineman the source of Eidolin info.

I didn't get any real sense of the world or of the characters in it. I get that this is first in a series, and these elements will likely be built upon through the follow-ons, but there just wasn't enough here to make me want to continue on.

Over plotted, under developed is the sense I've come away with...Too shallow. Too flaky. Too absurd.

[Bluestocking Maiden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I totally loved this book! In Liv's world Eidolons (supernatural creatures) revealed themselves a year ago, resulting in a revolution that still causes pain today. The concept of supernatural creatures having willingly and openly revealed themselves was quite different from most fantasy/paranormal novels, and the fact that the reveal resulted in a revolution was especially interesting.

After reading Shadeland, I am fairly certain that Liv is one of my favorite main characters of all time. D. L. nicely avoided the stereotypes that many YA main characters are made of. Liv comes across as a very real, relatable seventeen-year-old girl. I also enjoyed that her best friend Luke was an Eidolon, because of this the two have a very special relationship and compliment each other very well.

The rest of the characters were quite fascinating as well. The bounty hunter, Jared was very awesome and I'm seriously hoping that he is in book two. We meet many other Eidolons as well, both good and bad. D. L. Miles breaks away from the common and presents unique creatures that aren't very well known in the paranormal genre right now.

To sum it up, this book was so good that I couldn't put it down! You definitely want to check out this novel! :)

~ This review was originally posted on runawaypen.com

[Haidee · Rating 5 out of 5]

HOLY CRAP!
This was a great book with a great story line and great characters. What can I say? It was GREAT! This one definitely makes my favourites shelf.
D.L Miles is a terrific writer and I loved Liv as a character. She actually reminded me a lot of myself. Kind of a loner, doesn't have that many friends, shut off from people sometimes but then she's determined and loyal and focused. One of my favourite characters of all time.
I especially loved Jared and I don't really have any reason why. He wasn't that nice or sweet to her but...I don't know. I just like him. Can't wait to read the next book.

Any one else read D.L Miles other books? I download one from smashwords for free that was really cool and have all the other books on my want-to-read list. I definitely recommend these books and any others from this author.

[Lianne Mei · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an okay book, overall I really didn't get the whole concept of the Eidolon people and I don't understand how the main character Liv who is only 17 was allowed to live in her own apartment without her parents with her. I enjoy books about other mythological creatures but it really wasn't a very interesting book to me. I tried reading the next book and I stopped.

[Gaby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Downloaded it for free on Smashwords and it was definitely worth my time!

Read my full review here: http://youngadultbookmuncher.wordpres...

[paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a super fun read. I really enjoyed every second. Would recommend it to teens/adults.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was looking for a free book to entertain me and this definitely did!

Pleasantly surprised to have liked this and I actually plan on getting the next one in the series. A few mistakes but well wrote so easy to over look.

[ɑƨħŵɑɡ ♥Team Magnus Damora FOREVER♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

actual rating: 4.5

Shadeland was the kind of YA book I was waiting for to blow me away for a looooooooooooooooooooooong time. Seriously! it was just the perfect story, with enough intrigue and mystery to keep it interesting till the last line in the book.

It's a year after the Eidolon Revolution, where non-humans came out to announce their existence on earth. Faced by hatred, rejection and fear from humans, expect wars to be still going between the two sides. The Eidolon, true to their nature, are involved with so many killings and fights and that makes hating them even more easy. Except Liv, our MC, is living with one. Her BF Luke is an Eidolon (or an Ethereal, as they liked to be called). He knew Liv from when they were little and she knew about who he really was too. That understanding between the two grew to form a strong bond and friendship. That friendship is put to test when Luke gets arrested as a suspect in the killings of two girls. The number soon grows to even more bodies including Charlotte, Liv's neighbor and friend. What else Liv's got to do except take the matters in her own hands?

I know what you think? ugh! another righteous girl trying to do the right thing, how boring. I thought the same thing. Except this time, I am proven wrong. Liv is typical teenage YA book heroine the first time you meet her I give you that. But, yeah expect a lot of "buts" in this review, she proves time after time that she's one hell of a heroine. She is driven by the force of justice and friendship, and some need for closure for something that happened in her past too. At the same time she's got her own humor, I LOVED they way she reacted to some scenes. And since the story is told from her POV, there was some scenes when I felt I was completely in her head and I understood where she was coming from.

As for the male presence, it was dominating. With Jared, Luke and Dr. Richard (I think was his name) getting to do most of the stuff. Girls got only a few scenes, even Violet didn't get as much as backstory as I would have liked but I'd like to know more about her (hopefully in book 2).

The romance was really cute. IT's not insta-love (thank God) but rather a sweet one. Even when Jared was for me like Tv-Damon-Salvatore and I liked him more on his own, but lil tiny part of me was enjoying this romance. There is still a lot we don't know about Jared so it's pre-mature to say that they're perfect for each other or not. I can't wait to see what happens in Book 2.

This book when based on fantasy and supernatural, I admire D.L. Miles for bringing in a crime mystery to the mix. So it was the way I liked it. It's a book I'd recommend to EVERYONE. srsly guys go check it out.

[C. Erani Kole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I AM TOTALLY BLOWN AWAY.

So one of the things that I really love are the characters who don't make it painful for me when something is made obvious and no one bothers to look into this. Liv definitely rose my expectations even more. She's a character who doesn't care much about anything (it's just her attitude and her current 'problem' if someone had to label it) and her mind is sharp enough to see what she thinks is obvious, while to others, it's still a puzzle to figure out.

The entire time I read this, it was like she was connected to my mind, catching on the things I was and beating around the bush to figure stuff out without things lagging and making the reading experience painfully dreadful. Loved the quickness of her mind and how it was great enough to make the rest of things more interesting. Her interaction with Jared was hot but at the same time not the most important thing, which made it even more exciting whenever they'd be in the same scenes together. He was an interesting love interest, but I'll have to read the rest to figure it out.

This book is a unique story with awesome intakes on those little towns you sometimes wonder about. Stuffed with action and fantasy in a world that now knows about the Others, this made for an amazing read that gave me everything I wanted. A definite recommend.

[Krissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a bit odd, I thought the author took an unnecessary risk in adding her own mythology with words like Eidolin and a magic island where all the supernatural beings come from. I was like, I guess. And I very much disliked Jared, who constantly manhandles Liv, tossing her in cars, pulling a gun on her more then once and unnecessarily. Like, take your fucking hand off the seventeen year old, guy! He needed to be punched. If not by her than by Luke, who was very likeable as a best friend and it was a shame when he sort of falls off the radar for a good portion of the story. I also didn't care for the big reveal, which came down to 'it was no one we know!'. I didn't even realize they'd caught the only bad guy until it was over. So, why three stars? I liked the main character, Liv, who is more apathetic than most characters dare to be, and yet brave in defense of her best friend. No matter what happens, she doesn't stop trying to figure this out. Why not break into crime scenes?

[Jules Goud · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. I thought that it was a really good first book and it set up nicely for the next one.

I liked that the romance wasn't the entire book. It really wasn't there at all. It was subtle hints and that was it. So many times you see the romance take away from the content of the book. That didn't happen here.

I also liked Liv. She was an interesting character. She didn't really know these girls well and she was still willing to put her welfare above theirs. She also didn't back down from a challenge. She made sure that Jared knew that she wasn't going anywhere. He needed her and she made him see that.

The whole equal rights and discrimination was brought up in this book as well. I thought that it was a good thing that it was brought up. People need to realize that discrimination isn't cool. People are the way they are and you can't change that. Just leave them be. We are all equal.

I'm interested to see when Miles will take this series. It was an interesting and pretty good first book.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

AHH! I love this book!
I wish it was fully published, just so I can hold it and stroke the cover and read it over and over again.
I really loved Jared, he turned out to be the best character :3 (shortly followed by Luke) - I have a serious fictional-character crush on him now (another one I can add to the list...)
Can not WAIT for the second one, especially after the teaser sentence at the end..!!!! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?!?
Read it. Right now.

This might be a bit of a spoiler, so yeah - just a warning..

- Ok, the only I have to say that really bugs me, is that bit when they talk to Cindy and Liv is wondering how old Jared is... its just a bit strange, considering that was near the end and back around the half way point, after they collected the mermaids scale and they go to the cafe, he tells her that its his birthday and says his 24...
Anyway, that's just what I picked up - other wise, its amazing! ;)

[Valerie Barber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a fan of fantasy and this did a great job of introducing a new fantasy world. I was a bit confused with the new term for these characters (seriously, I could not pronounce it the whole book!). But the characters grabbed me and I was invested in their outcome. The romance was in the background but still developed well. The book left me wanting more and luckily there is a series. It is on the verge of a 4 star, but I just couldn't get myself to bump it up because honestly, I'm not that hard to please. But it was an interesting story so I'm excited to see if the series keeps up the interest and continues to improve!

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of those books that I started reading and wasn't 100% sure if I liked it or not, but then realized I couldn't stop picking it up and reading it. I LOVE the premise and I LOVE the characters. I think a little more editing and this book would be perfect. There seem to be these huge jumps and assumptions that are made and things that happen that should garner a reaction from the characters, but they don't. Overall I definitely think this book is worth reading, as are the next two in the series.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the very observant somewhat detached Liv (although she becomes a little more involved as the story goes on) as the narrator and main character. I would have liked a bit more information about her backstory, her relationship with Luke and her family and why she is so detached (I suspect it may have something to do with her mother's death). I am not sure about Jared but look forward to learning more about him (hopefully) as the series progresses. Also curious about the witch, her relationship to Jared and why she is so interested in Liv.

[Krissys Bookshelf Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt that the story had a lot of potential but there was quite a bit that needed some building on but I liked the world the author has created something unique and I hope to see it developed more in the future.

[Christy]

Not sure how long this will be "free", but it's currently free on Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...

[Kathy Harrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this was a real page turner. It really had you guessing who the bad guy was. I certainly didn't guess who. On to the next book.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it. It was really cool.

[Y. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't wait to start the next!
Is Liv an Eidolon?
Something's wrong with Jared too.
Luke is so weak :/ will he get more powerful?
Many questions,, I can't wait to get answers!! :P

[Racheal · Rating 5 out of 5]

love the story yes even Jared and his jerky attitude.

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Can't wait to start reading the next one.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the adventure.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it when she figures about what when an Eidolon hunter comes around.