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Sparks Collide #1
Shifting Shadows
Party boy and werewolf, Jay Dellarson is stunned when his uncle hires a human to be his newest assistant. Kira Franklin is a sheltered girl with a mysterious past who’s finally taking charge of her life. When Jay and his pack begin to spend more time with the new girl in town, things start to unravel. Kira fights to keep her secrets hidden but when she finds out the truth of the town’s inhabitants it puts her in greater danger than ever before. While discovery of the werewolves’ secrets is dangerous, it’s discovery of Kira’s secrets that could place everyone in the middle of a vicious war.
217 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 20, 2013
19 people are currently reading
527 people want to read
About the author
Amanda Kelly
4 books66 followersMy bio:
Amanda Kelly is a book enthusiast in every form. Reading and writing are her passions along with dancing, yoga, and knowing the theme songs to most every t.v. show by heart.
In her spare time she searches her closets for Narnia, just in case.
Shifting Shadows is her first published novel.
You can find her most days in her house where she is no doubt reading or in a bookstore standing around with a smile on her face.
Amanda Kelly is a book enthusiast in every form. Reading and writing are her passions along with dancing, yoga, and knowing the theme songs to most every t.v. show by heart.
In her spare time she searches her closets for Narnia, just in case.
Shifting Shadows is her first published novel.
You can find her most days in her house where she is no doubt reading or in a bookstore standing around with a smile on her face.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
June 28, 2013
DNF ugh not happening.. It just felt immature and pretty boring. I could not get into this story at all.
February 12, 2013
2 stars. Maybe 2. 5.
So I'm not in the mood to write a whole review, so here are my notes instead.
-a writing style that def needs getting used to.
-stereotypical para characters... pro = everybody tries to make their para's stand out, so embracing stereotypes was sorta different. Con: not very original thinking, and sorta a let down. I wouldn't have minded stereotypes, if something new, or at least different was thrown in.
-Alpha of pack, the H's dad, not so much an alpha as a bully/control freak...not leading people so much as telling his people to do what he says, because he says so.
-quite a few characters to keep straight. We're told all the secondary characters are all different, but IMO, they were pretty interchangeable.
-some of the reasoning made no sense. They don't tell us, the reader why the h is so worried about being found by other witches, until the end of the book...we spend the whole book wondering why she (the h) and her family is so damn important, that either side of witches would actually use resources to locate her. At one pt, h says no one was actually hunting them....although in the beginning we're led to believe she and her family were being hunted...contradiction, much? Can you say confusing?
-the h's family barely plays a part. We're told they matter, but we don't really see them together, so it's hard to believe they really play a part in her life. She has like one convo with her mama, but that's like it, besides a couple texts.
-there's next to no, romancy stuff between H and h, till 3/4ths of the way through...it was sorta like the author decided to throw it in, because she was supposed to. IIRC the H has a couple scenes where he's hitting on someone else, and/or making out with other's chicks. I figured the H and h were going to be friends with a possible romance being set up for the next book, so when they do get together I was surprised.
-Sorta hard to tell who the audience was....characters are all in the new adult age range, but act much much younger. It sorta felt like they were only made those ages, so they could all drink. And nobody will curse. It's all effing this, or freaking something else. It's hard to believe anyone's a bad ass, when they come off as too polite to curse....I would have been okay without the cursing, but it felt like they were being obvious in their refusal to say the word fuck. Or maybe because I curse all the freaking time, it just stands out more to me,who knows? :p
-very little world building. Again we're told a lot, but we don't see a whole lot in action, esp with the older shifters. And there's not a whole lot of info on the witches' war. ...We get the bare bones, and that's like it.
-At the end, i was left feeling like i read half a story with potential, rather then a whole one.
So I'm not in the mood to write a whole review, so here are my notes instead.
-a writing style that def needs getting used to.
-stereotypical para characters... pro = everybody tries to make their para's stand out, so embracing stereotypes was sorta different. Con: not very original thinking, and sorta a let down. I wouldn't have minded stereotypes, if something new, or at least different was thrown in.
-Alpha of pack, the H's dad, not so much an alpha as a bully/control freak...not leading people so much as telling his people to do what he says, because he says so.
-quite a few characters to keep straight. We're told all the secondary characters are all different, but IMO, they were pretty interchangeable.
-some of the reasoning made no sense. They don't tell us, the reader why the h is so worried about being found by other witches, until the end of the book...we spend the whole book wondering why she (the h) and her family is so damn important, that either side of witches would actually use resources to locate her. At one pt, h says no one was actually hunting them....although in the beginning we're led to believe she and her family were being hunted...contradiction, much? Can you say confusing?
-the h's family barely plays a part. We're told they matter, but we don't really see them together, so it's hard to believe they really play a part in her life. She has like one convo with her mama, but that's like it, besides a couple texts.
-there's next to no, romancy stuff between H and h, till 3/4ths of the way through...it was sorta like the author decided to throw it in, because she was supposed to. IIRC the H has a couple scenes where he's hitting on someone else, and/or making out with other's chicks. I figured the H and h were going to be friends with a possible romance being set up for the next book, so when they do get together I was surprised.
-Sorta hard to tell who the audience was....characters are all in the new adult age range, but act much much younger. It sorta felt like they were only made those ages, so they could all drink. And nobody will curse. It's all effing this, or freaking something else. It's hard to believe anyone's a bad ass, when they come off as too polite to curse....I would have been okay without the cursing, but it felt like they were being obvious in their refusal to say the word fuck. Or maybe because I curse all the freaking time, it just stands out more to me,who knows? :p
-very little world building. Again we're told a lot, but we don't see a whole lot in action, esp with the older shifters. And there's not a whole lot of info on the witches' war. ...We get the bare bones, and that's like it.
-At the end, i was left feeling like i read half a story with potential, rather then a whole one.
January 21, 2013
It's with much love that I bring you this book. I passionately enjoyed writing it. <3
Sidenote:
Kira wants me to add that you should read this with a cup of tea.
Jay thinks you should read it but also mentions that it might be 5 o'clock somewhere...
Sidenote:
Kira wants me to add that you should read this with a cup of tea.
Jay thinks you should read it but also mentions that it might be 5 o'clock somewhere...
May 13, 2013
So before I start reviewin' here my song recommendation for describing this book sort of... "Can't Help Falling In Love" its originally by Elvis (which now that i think about is sort of funny if you have read the book) anyways but i really like the Ingrid Michaelson's cover...anyways so now on to the review
1st thoughts: this is technically a 3.75 stars for me. And i will say a big reason for that is the i guess it would be grammar...but its not really the grammar is the misplacement of quotation marks, and the lack of starting a new paragraph when someone new is speaking. Its really distracting and super confusing at times, and i was like why is she/he answering their own questions?? but if you look past that and i highly recommend you do i think that this was an interesting read.
Plot: I really love all things werewolf so automatically i was like "werewolf book? YES PLEASE i haven't read one in forever!" - probably a lie i try to read a werewolf book every other weekend ;) anyways not the point. This book has a few twist in there but from the description of the book we know there is something special about Kira so i spent awhile trying to figure out if she knew or if this was one of those discovering books. Well if you want a character that knows what she is, well this is for you. The plot at first seemed a little slow going not a whole lot was happening besides getting use to this new world, and hey i am okay with that as we needed background info especially since this is going to be a trilogy. with that said i don't think that it was any less entertaining. This book at the beginning seemed very character driven which is never a bad thing, things though do pick up and the plot pacing gets a bit faster. I thought that the ideas that were introduced in this book - and yes i say introduced because its really an introductory book if you get what i am trying to say...anyways i thought it was interesting and not completely and utterly new, but different enough for me that i was interested. actually the more i think about it the more i am having a hard time thinking of anything else i have read like this before....
Well i know you are probably wondering about that pesky romance because lets face it werewolf=romance right? ;) anyways i would like to Thank Amanda Kelly for being awesome! and totally awesome because as much i as do, and i really do (not being sarcastic at all, well maybe a little bit) love when there is the soulmate rule. One touch is all it takes and you two are meant to be together and that is just how it is. Well THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Amanda Kelly because she gives you a honest to God love story. Unless she introduces the idea of soulmates in the next book and if you do i might be very angry! ;P anyways the two main characters actually get to know one another, and as all great romances start they start with the two main characters hating each other. So again thanks for not taking the easy way out which is the soulmate rule: which usually is, well we are soulmates so i guess i love you now rule....okay moving on
Characters!
I usually start with the girl but this time i am going to switch it up a bit! oh nos! well deal. okay so
Jay...well James but don't call him that. Well when we first meet him i sort of really hate him, and its not that good hate where you are like, yeah you are going to be ass and i am going to love you for it. No he was being a very typical douche-bag asshole, the one that sits in the back of the classroom checking his phone, laughing annoyingly while the professor is talking and all you can think is "Go back to high school you ass!" Well Jay is like an onion - yes i am using a Shrek reference so what? sue me. Anyways he is like an onion there are just so many layers to him that i was practically giddy when we start to get more out of him throughout the WHOLE BOOK! it didn't take a chapter to uncover this awesome man, oh no, it took the whole book and i have a feeling we will be getting a lot more from him in the other books, which can i say yay? *And becca does a little dance* OH and the best part! he is a possessive werewolf male, YAY! yes i am insane its okay. i don't actually base my own love life on my love for character's love life so don't worry about me.
Kira: She is interesting. As Jay states she keeps him guessing and to be quite honest she keeps me guessing. For a very long time throughout the book i was wondering her age... i thought she was just out of high school starting college because of the summary well if you thought that too its a liar! she is out of undergrad... i believe but i know she has already been in college and she training to be a vet. Anyways when the description also said she lived a sheltered life i thought she would be alittle more socially awkward, sometimes she seemed a little bit like that but mostly she was very out-spoken and fearless. i sort of loved that about her but at the same time i was on conflicting emotions because i thought she was suppose to be one way and then she was the other... and yes this another little thing that made me drop my rating just a bit not even enough to worry about because its really personal issues that i had that i am sure no one else in the world would have. but she did have her moments were she was self-conscious and i was okay with that, i enjoyed it in fact because it made her more personable
Okay for side characters...well damn i don't want to talk about them because there is about 7 or 8 and yeah i am not kidding this is their close group of friends. i will say this as an overall review of them: most of them seemed to have their own personalities and if you know anything about my reviewin you know i love that! but at the same time i was getting a bit confused on who said what but i think again that i has to deal with the placements of the quotation marks and i am not sure if it is because i read it on the kindle and it was just poorly downloaded or what but yeah really i had to go back and re-read somethings because of it, so therefore it took me out of the rhythm of the story, and there were a few lines also that pulled me out because i was like, what are you saying? but that might have been me and mind you i was doing homework while reading this as well, i kept switching so that might have been it... i am not sure though
So the ending: um trilogy sooooo lots of unanswered questions, and kind of ends at a random point its not like was so much of a cliffhanger as much as a "why did you end here?" sooo i guess the other main reason this dropped down to 3.75 for me would be because there were times i felt a little disconnected from the story just i don't know wasn't as into it as i wanted to be, it didn't happen often, and i just kept waiting for in the first half of the book for something bad to happen but curses it all goes smoothly... damn i love when things go wrong... :) but i am sadistic and you would know this if you looked at any of my other reviews...
and with that said brings me to my next point. YES you guessed it, its that point where i start cramming my blog down you throat. BUT wait before you get all pissy and be like bitch please i why would i want to check out your blog when you use no GIFs and you ramble...ALOT well first off i am still learning how to use GIFs so :p and my rambling is charming! well anyways if you enjoy reading indie books and prompting new authors come check out my blog that i share with my friend but i am sure you have stopped reading by now so i can say whatever i want, like i could say i should have been doing my homework but instead i read this, and actually its ...opps rambling heres the link http://theviolethourbookreviews.wordp... ramble ramble ramble we appreciate you!
1st thoughts: this is technically a 3.75 stars for me. And i will say a big reason for that is the i guess it would be grammar...but its not really the grammar is the misplacement of quotation marks, and the lack of starting a new paragraph when someone new is speaking. Its really distracting and super confusing at times, and i was like why is she/he answering their own questions?? but if you look past that and i highly recommend you do i think that this was an interesting read.
Plot: I really love all things werewolf so automatically i was like "werewolf book? YES PLEASE i haven't read one in forever!" - probably a lie i try to read a werewolf book every other weekend ;) anyways not the point. This book has a few twist in there but from the description of the book we know there is something special about Kira so i spent awhile trying to figure out if she knew or if this was one of those discovering books. Well if you want a character that knows what she is, well this is for you. The plot at first seemed a little slow going not a whole lot was happening besides getting use to this new world, and hey i am okay with that as we needed background info especially since this is going to be a trilogy. with that said i don't think that it was any less entertaining. This book at the beginning seemed very character driven which is never a bad thing, things though do pick up and the plot pacing gets a bit faster. I thought that the ideas that were introduced in this book - and yes i say introduced because its really an introductory book if you get what i am trying to say...anyways i thought it was interesting and not completely and utterly new, but different enough for me that i was interested. actually the more i think about it the more i am having a hard time thinking of anything else i have read like this before....
Well i know you are probably wondering about that pesky romance because lets face it werewolf=romance right? ;) anyways i would like to Thank Amanda Kelly for being awesome! and totally awesome because as much i as do, and i really do (not being sarcastic at all, well maybe a little bit) love when there is the soulmate rule. One touch is all it takes and you two are meant to be together and that is just how it is. Well THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU Amanda Kelly because she gives you a honest to God love story. Unless she introduces the idea of soulmates in the next book and if you do i might be very angry! ;P anyways the two main characters actually get to know one another, and as all great romances start they start with the two main characters hating each other. So again thanks for not taking the easy way out which is the soulmate rule: which usually is, well we are soulmates so i guess i love you now rule....okay moving on
Characters!
I usually start with the girl but this time i am going to switch it up a bit! oh nos! well deal. okay so
Jay...well James but don't call him that. Well when we first meet him i sort of really hate him, and its not that good hate where you are like, yeah you are going to be ass and i am going to love you for it. No he was being a very typical douche-bag asshole, the one that sits in the back of the classroom checking his phone, laughing annoyingly while the professor is talking and all you can think is "Go back to high school you ass!" Well Jay is like an onion - yes i am using a Shrek reference so what? sue me. Anyways he is like an onion there are just so many layers to him that i was practically giddy when we start to get more out of him throughout the WHOLE BOOK! it didn't take a chapter to uncover this awesome man, oh no, it took the whole book and i have a feeling we will be getting a lot more from him in the other books, which can i say yay? *And becca does a little dance* OH and the best part! he is a possessive werewolf male, YAY! yes i am insane its okay. i don't actually base my own love life on my love for character's love life so don't worry about me.
Kira: She is interesting. As Jay states she keeps him guessing and to be quite honest she keeps me guessing. For a very long time throughout the book i was wondering her age... i thought she was just out of high school starting college because of the summary well if you thought that too its a liar! she is out of undergrad... i believe but i know she has already been in college and she training to be a vet. Anyways when the description also said she lived a sheltered life i thought she would be alittle more socially awkward, sometimes she seemed a little bit like that but mostly she was very out-spoken and fearless. i sort of loved that about her but at the same time i was on conflicting emotions because i thought she was suppose to be one way and then she was the other... and yes this another little thing that made me drop my rating just a bit not even enough to worry about because its really personal issues that i had that i am sure no one else in the world would have. but she did have her moments were she was self-conscious and i was okay with that, i enjoyed it in fact because it made her more personable
Okay for side characters...well damn i don't want to talk about them because there is about 7 or 8 and yeah i am not kidding this is their close group of friends. i will say this as an overall review of them: most of them seemed to have their own personalities and if you know anything about my reviewin you know i love that! but at the same time i was getting a bit confused on who said what but i think again that i has to deal with the placements of the quotation marks and i am not sure if it is because i read it on the kindle and it was just poorly downloaded or what but yeah really i had to go back and re-read somethings because of it, so therefore it took me out of the rhythm of the story, and there were a few lines also that pulled me out because i was like, what are you saying? but that might have been me and mind you i was doing homework while reading this as well, i kept switching so that might have been it... i am not sure though
So the ending: um trilogy sooooo lots of unanswered questions, and kind of ends at a random point its not like was so much of a cliffhanger as much as a "why did you end here?" sooo i guess the other main reason this dropped down to 3.75 for me would be because there were times i felt a little disconnected from the story just i don't know wasn't as into it as i wanted to be, it didn't happen often, and i just kept waiting for in the first half of the book for something bad to happen but curses it all goes smoothly... damn i love when things go wrong... :) but i am sadistic and you would know this if you looked at any of my other reviews...
and with that said brings me to my next point. YES you guessed it, its that point where i start cramming my blog down you throat. BUT wait before you get all pissy and be like bitch please i why would i want to check out your blog when you use no GIFs and you ramble...ALOT well first off i am still learning how to use GIFs so :p and my rambling is charming! well anyways if you enjoy reading indie books and prompting new authors come check out my blog that i share with my friend but i am sure you have stopped reading by now so i can say whatever i want, like i could say i should have been doing my homework but instead i read this, and actually its ...opps rambling heres the link http://theviolethourbookreviews.wordp... ramble ramble ramble we appreciate you!
June 25, 2017
Having read the summary of this book I was looking forward to reading it. I love books about the supernatural, so a book about werewolves, witches, secrets and war seemed right up my street.
However, I struggled to get into it, the book is written from the first person perspective of two people making it confusing as the character perspective could change several times within a chapter, often unnecessarily in a particular situation. I kept on having to go back to check whose point of view was being presented, which was frustrating as it interrupted the flow of the narrative.
References were made throughout the book which were either incorrect or reinterpreted, for example the Alpha and Omega in the werewolf pack, traditionally this means the first and the last but in this book the Omegas were not the bottom of the pack, they were different, special. This grated with me but I know this might just be my personal view.
It takes a long time for the story line to emerge and develop. Unfortunately, just as we are told more about the war and the growing threat, at this point of interest, the book suddenly ends. I turned the page and that was it… I feel the book would benefit from a more rounded ending.
However, I struggled to get into it, the book is written from the first person perspective of two people making it confusing as the character perspective could change several times within a chapter, often unnecessarily in a particular situation. I kept on having to go back to check whose point of view was being presented, which was frustrating as it interrupted the flow of the narrative.
References were made throughout the book which were either incorrect or reinterpreted, for example the Alpha and Omega in the werewolf pack, traditionally this means the first and the last but in this book the Omegas were not the bottom of the pack, they were different, special. This grated with me but I know this might just be my personal view.
It takes a long time for the story line to emerge and develop. Unfortunately, just as we are told more about the war and the growing threat, at this point of interest, the book suddenly ends. I turned the page and that was it… I feel the book would benefit from a more rounded ending.
January 9, 2019
Quick Info
Standalone/Cliffhanger?: Bit of both...
Part of a Series?: Yes
POV: Jay & Kira
----------------------------------
Meeting the Characters
Kira - Newbie college girl. Studying to be a vet!
Jay - Alpha werewolf constantly in trouble since mother passed.
----------------------------------
What happens?
Kira is hired as Jay's uncle's assistant as his uncle is a vet who is also the pack dr. Jay is suspicious of Kira because she is an unknown entity and so is wary of them hiring a human. Kira is hiding a secret of her own. Something that is revealed during a break in at the vets after hours when she isn't meant to be there.
Final thoughts
Liked this, its an easy read. No show stopper but its a good read if you feel like reading something simple.
Would I read again?: Yes
Would I read this author again?: Yes
Standalone/Cliffhanger?: Bit of both...
Part of a Series?: Yes
POV: Jay & Kira
----------------------------------
Meeting the Characters
Kira - Newbie college girl. Studying to be a vet!
Jay - Alpha werewolf constantly in trouble since mother passed.
----------------------------------
What happens?
Kira is hired as Jay's uncle's assistant as his uncle is a vet who is also the pack dr. Jay is suspicious of Kira because she is an unknown entity and so is wary of them hiring a human. Kira is hiding a secret of her own. Something that is revealed during a break in at the vets after hours when she isn't meant to be there.
Final thoughts
Liked this, its an easy read. No show stopper but its a good read if you feel like reading something simple.
Would I read again?: Yes
Would I read this author again?: Yes
January 29, 2018
This was one of those books that is just a stack of clichés. O don't recommend it. I couldn't even finish it!
July 8, 2021
A fun read that makes you want to find out more about the characters.
Read
December 7, 2022Loved the series! Is there going to be a second one?
April 19, 2013
The first time I started reading I got so annoyed with the terrible grammar and punctuation as well as the annoying characters that I put it down. It took me at least 3 months and plenty of good books to finally brace myself and pick it up again. (Nothing bugs me more than buying a book and not reading it, even if I hate it.)
The grammar and punctuation firstly... ugh. Certain authors can take creative license with that (Cormac McCarthy's The Road, for example). But normally they have a specific, symbolic reason for it. Or they're just so goddamn good at writing they have every right to. But... this author needs to learn where to put commas. My hand was itching to make marks all over the page where commas would go. More specifically, the author needs to learn the correct format for dialogue. It made me want to punch a baby.
And it wasn't just the commas and dialogue. "A part" means to be involved with something. As in, being a part of a plan. "Apart" means to be separated. As in, being apart from a plan. This mistake showed up numerous times in the book. As well as my biggest pet peeve: your versus you're. Seriously... the difference is obvious between the two. I can understand sometimes if you're (you are) typing/writing too fast and you don't realize you made the mistake in your (possessive) writing, (I often do), but this should've been caught in editing. Honestly. I'm bracing myself to find any mistakes in to versus too.
Alright, putting all rants of grammatical and spelling errors aside, on to rants of the actual plot. The story is... cute. So far. I haven't quite finished it, but I'm half-way through and it seems that this is the way the book is going to remain. The characters act like teenagers and not in their twenties. The main character is flimsy and annoying. Nothing seems very prominent or interesting about this book to me in any way. It just seems like the stereotypical book where every time the main characters look at each other, music starts playing.
Once I'm finished with this book I know for a fact I will not continue this series. Picking it back up again was literally just to have a kind of interlude book before I jump back in the world of correct editing and characters with much more interesting personalities.
The grammar and punctuation firstly... ugh. Certain authors can take creative license with that (Cormac McCarthy's The Road, for example). But normally they have a specific, symbolic reason for it. Or they're just so goddamn good at writing they have every right to. But... this author needs to learn where to put commas. My hand was itching to make marks all over the page where commas would go. More specifically, the author needs to learn the correct format for dialogue. It made me want to punch a baby.
And it wasn't just the commas and dialogue. "A part" means to be involved with something. As in, being a part of a plan. "Apart" means to be separated. As in, being apart from a plan. This mistake showed up numerous times in the book. As well as my biggest pet peeve: your versus you're. Seriously... the difference is obvious between the two. I can understand sometimes if you're (you are) typing/writing too fast and you don't realize you made the mistake in your (possessive) writing, (I often do), but this should've been caught in editing. Honestly. I'm bracing myself to find any mistakes in to versus too.
Alright, putting all rants of grammatical and spelling errors aside, on to rants of the actual plot. The story is... cute. So far. I haven't quite finished it, but I'm half-way through and it seems that this is the way the book is going to remain. The characters act like teenagers and not in their twenties. The main character is flimsy and annoying. Nothing seems very prominent or interesting about this book to me in any way. It just seems like the stereotypical book where every time the main characters look at each other, music starts playing.
Once I'm finished with this book I know for a fact I will not continue this series. Picking it back up again was literally just to have a kind of interlude book before I jump back in the world of correct editing and characters with much more interesting personalities.
April 25, 2013
This was an alright read if you like the kind of thing. It is told in first person, which I generally dislike. To complicate things it is told in first person from the perspective of two people. I found this really distracting and annoying. Now, I did appreciate being able to see both character's POVs, but I've found myself constantly having to double check the chapter headings to remember who was currently narrating.
I really, really liked that this was not a case of insta-love. I found the romance a lot more realistic for the time it took to develop. But this was definately one of those books where the heroine manages to charm everyone effortlessly and by the end it starts to feel just a little too kumbaya for my taste--with everyone throwing wonderful affirmations around. This always strikes me as an underdevelopment.
The book seemed to throw the magic in all of a sudden. One moment Kira is going along as a normal girl unknowingly hanging out with the werewolves, the next she is suddenly off doing her thing. (I don't want to give a spoiler, but suffice it to say there is no build up and so the reveal seems very abrupt.) I also didn't quite grasp the seriousness of her situation. I understood she was in hiding because of the war. But she wasn't anyone special to it, not a princess or the daughter of a leader or an active participant. She was just one girl so I saw no reason for her to be any more hunted than anyone else. Therefore all of her and her family's precautions seemed really over the top.
It also ended without ending. I know that this is the first of a series, but my absolute, number one, literary pet peeve is...I would call it a cliffhanger, but that's not right. A cliffhanger infers an actual conclusion of some sort while leaving some thread open for continuation. Nothing in this book concludes. There is one red herring event that substitutes an ending, but that's just a cheat. The perpetrator of the mysterious attacks that plaque the whole book is not only not revealed it isn't even addressed because it is still open and in the air.
I think this probably counts as New Adult as opposed to YA since the characters are all in their mid-twenties, but there isn't any sex. I'm still figuring out what falls into that genre. I enjoyed the read.
I really, really liked that this was not a case of insta-love. I found the romance a lot more realistic for the time it took to develop. But this was definately one of those books where the heroine manages to charm everyone effortlessly and by the end it starts to feel just a little too kumbaya for my taste--with everyone throwing wonderful affirmations around. This always strikes me as an underdevelopment.
The book seemed to throw the magic in all of a sudden. One moment Kira is going along as a normal girl unknowingly hanging out with the werewolves, the next she is suddenly off doing her thing. (I don't want to give a spoiler, but suffice it to say there is no build up and so the reveal seems very abrupt.) I also didn't quite grasp the seriousness of her situation. I understood she was in hiding because of the war. But she wasn't anyone special to it, not a princess or the daughter of a leader or an active participant. She was just one girl so I saw no reason for her to be any more hunted than anyone else. Therefore all of her and her family's precautions seemed really over the top.
It also ended without ending. I know that this is the first of a series, but my absolute, number one, literary pet peeve is...I would call it a cliffhanger, but that's not right. A cliffhanger infers an actual conclusion of some sort while leaving some thread open for continuation. Nothing in this book concludes. There is one red herring event that substitutes an ending, but that's just a cheat. The perpetrator of the mysterious attacks that plaque the whole book is not only not revealed it isn't even addressed because it is still open and in the air.
I think this probably counts as New Adult as opposed to YA since the characters are all in their mid-twenties, but there isn't any sex. I'm still figuring out what falls into that genre. I enjoyed the read.
October 11, 2014
Shifting Shadows is an entertaining new adult paranormal romance that has more the flavor of young adult. The hero, Jay Dellarson, is son of the pack alpha. Jay struggles with depression over his mother's death and chafes at having his future mapped out for him by his father. The heroine, Kira Franklin, is a witch in hiding. She and her family have been posing as humans for years in order to avoid being drawn into the war between factions of light and dark magic witches. Kira and Jay cross paths when Kira moves to town to attend the nearby university in south central Florida.
It is an entertaining story, but the plot dragged in the first two-thirds of the book. Just as it gets very interesting toward the end, (mystery attacks by unknown humans on wolf packs and vampire covens) the book is over. The ending isn't a huge cliffhanger, but (except for the romance) none of the plot problems are resolved. The story does seemed geared to a younger audience (YA/NA), and YA is not my usual genre. I will not continue with the series, but if you like YA PNR, you may enjoy Shifting Shadows and the Sparks Collide series.
It is an entertaining story, but the plot dragged in the first two-thirds of the book. Just as it gets very interesting toward the end, (mystery attacks by unknown humans on wolf packs and vampire covens) the book is over. The ending isn't a huge cliffhanger, but (except for the romance) none of the plot problems are resolved. The story does seemed geared to a younger audience (YA/NA), and YA is not my usual genre. I will not continue with the series, but if you like YA PNR, you may enjoy Shifting Shadows and the Sparks Collide series.
January 22, 2013
Overall I enjoyed the story. This book is for those who want a paranormal story about discovering oneself and that how you act and react can influence those around you for better or worse. It is a story about how life cannot be viewed in such a simplistic way as black and white, but how every color in between is necessary and neither right or wrong. It kept me interested until it SUDDENLY ended, grrrr... I liked the majority of the characters and the group dynamics. Unfortunately I ended up questioning Christina and Xander's inclusion in the story. I get that Kira only moved because she knew Christina before, but was her blossoming relationship with Xander an integral part of furthering the plot? And how did the pack know Xander? For a first time published author, it was a worthy effort. Other than a few misspellings (heal(s) instead of heel, and preform(ed) instead of perform) and missing words it read very nicely. I would recommend the story for those that aren't looking for a hot steamy paranormal romance, because this book isn't it. I will be waiting for the second book...
September 29, 2013
Started last night and finished reading Shifting Shadows by Amanda Kelly; purchased back in January of this year. Not sure why it took me so long to try it out but once I did there was no going back. I definitely grabbed me from the get go and did not let go until the bitter end. (love when that happens) If you enjoy a good paranormal story with witches, werewolves and vampires this may be right up your alley. Mature YA vibe similar to Carrie Vaughn or Patricia Briggs writing.
This is a story about Kira who has been living a sheltered life with her family who home schooled her up until college to keep the family secret. She is finally able to escape by finding a small town University, a great roommate and high hopes to live a ‘normal’ life. Her roommate introduces her to some of the locals, one being Jay a real ladies man and rising alpha werewolf. He soon learns his uncle has hired her as an assistant at the veterinarian hospital and becomes suspicious of her motives. She quickly earns Jay’s trust and the packs loyalty as she struggles to keep her secret and avoid putting everyone in the middle of an ongoing war between the light and dark sides.
This is a story about Kira who has been living a sheltered life with her family who home schooled her up until college to keep the family secret. She is finally able to escape by finding a small town University, a great roommate and high hopes to live a ‘normal’ life. Her roommate introduces her to some of the locals, one being Jay a real ladies man and rising alpha werewolf. He soon learns his uncle has hired her as an assistant at the veterinarian hospital and becomes suspicious of her motives. She quickly earns Jay’s trust and the packs loyalty as she struggles to keep her secret and avoid putting everyone in the middle of an ongoing war between the light and dark sides.
January 25, 2013
Got this book as a freebie and I thought, eh... why not, I will see how it goes. I started reading it and was instantly engrossed. I didnt want to stop. I bought it this morning at 9am and finished about 10 minutes ago. The only reason why I didnt finish earlier was I had to work.
Well written, wonderful group of characters and just enough smart assery to keep me giggling. Sure, its more geared toward young adult and is considerably a PG-13 book and I am hardly young adult and not even PG-13, this book entertained me.
I enjoyed every minute of it and was all grumpy when it ended. I always grade a book on how much I want to get the sequel or how often I start arguing with the characters in the book.
Definitely cant wait for the sequel and I argued with the characters more than I care to admit.
All in all a great read.
Well written, wonderful group of characters and just enough smart assery to keep me giggling. Sure, its more geared toward young adult and is considerably a PG-13 book and I am hardly young adult and not even PG-13, this book entertained me.
I enjoyed every minute of it and was all grumpy when it ended. I always grade a book on how much I want to get the sequel or how often I start arguing with the characters in the book.
Definitely cant wait for the sequel and I argued with the characters more than I care to admit.
All in all a great read.
January 25, 2013
I have to stop skipping over the parenthesis that say book #1, and then not check to see when a next one is coming out. I liked the book enough to look at my kindle in shock when I realized I read the last page. It was a somewhat typical shifter novel, but I enjoyed it and liked Kira. The whole rag tag group brings it all together even though Ill admit I got a little overwhelmed by how many of them there are and remembering names. In this series they run the whole paranormal gammat, with this one mainly featuring werewolves and a little bit of witches and tiny bit of vampires. Think the next one will be heavier on the witchiness. Obviously cant wait to see what happens next and hope the next ones arent too far out.
January 28, 2013
3.5 Stars
Oh, how awesome this series could be. Love the storyline, characters and it has a great title and series title. It could use a heavy dose of editing and some honest beta readers. I am not a stickler on editing for Indie authors, because I have no room to talk, but it was pretty distracting. It was also difficult at times to figure out who was speaking. I see great things for the future of this series if the right direction is taken. Great job on what appears to be a first published book.
Oh, how awesome this series could be. Love the storyline, characters and it has a great title and series title. It could use a heavy dose of editing and some honest beta readers. I am not a stickler on editing for Indie authors, because I have no room to talk, but it was pretty distracting. It was also difficult at times to figure out who was speaking. I see great things for the future of this series if the right direction is taken. Great job on what appears to be a first published book.
June 4, 2013
2.7 Stars. Although the characters are in their mid 20s it reads like a YA book. Not a lot of excitement just daily stuff and bits of everyday knowledge. Had a promise of an interesting world and the characters personalities are good but nothing really happens in the book. I'm not a fan of the writing style it mostly felt like mental ramblings. I wouldn't have minding the flipping btw the two characters if there was some excitement. The plot sets it up so there could've been any number of interesting and exciting things that happen but they don't and the book ends a bit abruptly.
March 6, 2015
I really loved this book because it brought something new to the table: witches. I loved the witches element along with just about everything else paranormal out there. I loved the characters also I think the author did very well describing them. The only reason I gave this book four stars was because the ending was not my favorite by a longshot. I think the book ended way too early because I was really into it and then BAM!! book's over. I was immensely disappointed. I will definitely read the second book ASAP.
May 30, 2013
Really 3.5 stars
Let me just say this book needs editing badly. Not just grammar but spelling mistakes everywhere.
I enjoyed the story and the characters for the most part. I know it is YA and therefore no sexy times, just drinking way to excess. The trouble was the H is 24 and the rest of the characters are early twenties, yet they all behaved as if they were 15.
Still, AK did something right cause I want to know what happens next, and that is all you can ask from any book.
Let me just say this book needs editing badly. Not just grammar but spelling mistakes everywhere.
I enjoyed the story and the characters for the most part. I know it is YA and therefore no sexy times, just drinking way to excess. The trouble was the H is 24 and the rest of the characters are early twenties, yet they all behaved as if they were 15.
Still, AK did something right cause I want to know what happens next, and that is all you can ask from any book.
January 19, 2014
The only reason this doesn't get 4 stars is because I felt like more could have been explained about Jay. His attitude got old really fast, so with more explanation I could have let that slide.
The heroine of the book, Kira, is fairly interesting, though I'm not sure I found her instantaneous friendships very believable, especially given her past.
Pacing is on the slow slide, but I could see that changing with the rest of the series.
Interested in seeing where the author takes this!
The heroine of the book, Kira, is fairly interesting, though I'm not sure I found her instantaneous friendships very believable, especially given her past.
Pacing is on the slow slide, but I could see that changing with the rest of the series.
Interested in seeing where the author takes this!
February 4, 2013
I think shape shifters are fascinating. This was a little different than I thought it would be. The story has really well written characters. The book in general needs a good editing. I ended in a strange and abrupt place (in line with the new trend toward writing sequels). Overall a good read with great characters. It is well set up for the next book.
December 30, 2013
I did not like this book. It needed a lot of editing and the story was slow and uninteresting. The author wrote in first person but switched between the two main characters very frequently so it was sometimes hard to keep up with who was thinking/saying what. Lots of dialogue with very little story in between. Thankfully the book was a fast and free read.
January 27, 2013
I was left undecided on whether I should give it 4 stars or 3... I decided on 3 because at times I found myself retreading paragraphs because it was unclear who was talking at the time and I kept getting lost. I love all the characters and their chemistry.
January 28, 2013
Amazing..........I'm absolutely blown away!!!!! Amanda, you have now been added to the poster of my favorite authors (yes, I am that much of a geek that I have a poster with all my favorite authors names written on it. It's pinned above my bed.)
March 22, 2013
I totally enjoyed this book and I cannot wait for the next one... I am really really glad I read this. I felt intoxicated and exhilarated by the story and characters. I loved the strong heroine who didn't take shit from the alpha.
Take a chance and read this you will not be disappointed..
Take a chance and read this you will not be disappointed..
May 28, 2015
I really loved this book. It held my interest from beginning to end. Amanda Kelly really drew me in. Kira and Jay are both strong and likeable.
I look forward to reading more from this series and this author
I look forward to reading more from this series and this author
December 24, 2016
Couldn't put it down!
I seriously loved all the characters. There's so much going on that you can't put the book down. Or at least I couldn't! I can't wait to start the second book now!!
I seriously loved all the characters. There's so much going on that you can't put the book down. Or at least I couldn't! I can't wait to start the second book now!!
January 24, 2013
Pleasantly surprised by this book and I am anxious for the story to continue
January 26, 2013
I have just finished reading shifting shadows ,loved it great story line and love all the pack and kira , cant wait to read what happens next ,when will part 2 be out x
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