Veil of Shadows I

Veil of Shadows omnibus #I

by M.R. Pritchard

Veil of Shadows Sparrow Man, Nightingale Girl, Scarecrow

This Veil of Shadows eBook Bundle includes the first 3 books in the Veil of Shadows Series.

Love and Destiny Collide in a World Where Darkness Knows No Rest.

Some people are cursed. Or in Meg’s case, damned.

Meg is on the run, hiding a deadly secret. Sparrow knows she’s hiding something more important than the handfuls of feathers he shoving in his pockets. He’s not impressed with the stories of the sins she’s been committing her whole life. Like what really happened the day she killed those seven men.

Things aren’t so wonderful within the Seven Kingdoms of Heaven.

Meg promised on Sparrow’s life not to leave, but Sparrow’s starting to act a little… strange. Again. The daughter of an Archangel and the Devil’s own spawn should know better than to expect two tickets to paradise without complications. But sometimes falling in love can change a world-weary country girl. Sometimes following your heart means losing your mind.

There is no rest for the wicked.

Hell bent on doing things her own way, Meg's escaped to the Earthen plane to fight her personal demons and make a life for herself. But life without Sparrow isn't easy and Nightingale keeps interrupting her dreams. To make it worse, someone keeps dropping zombies nearby. Meg can't run or hide from her heritage.

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"Veil of Shadows" delivers a riveting blend of Supernatural & Constantine with the pulse-pounding tension of The Walking Dead, unveiling an unrelenting battle between good and evil. Delve into a realm of fated mates entwined in a deadly dance, where bad omens are a harbinger of darkness. As lovers turn to foes and friendships are tested, join the struggle against demons and the living dead. Brace yourself for an action-packed, paranormal romantic dark fantasy. I was hooked from the get-go..." -ABNA Expert Reviewer "It's unfortunate that one can't predict or be a part of aiding which books go viral, as Sparrow Man by M.R. Pritchard is certainly worthy of such reward ... this novel took me by complete surprise. What I thought was a simple zombie story morphed into something wild and completely unforeseen. Yet it fit perfectly within the world Pritchard has created, mysteries unfolding into fantastical developments. The eclectic characters were a joy to follow and the romance unfolded without being forced."-TheBehrg, KindleScout winning author of Housebroken “Whoever thought a trip to Hell could be so interesting! Pritchard does a good job balancing humor and thrills—hell, it’s mostly funny—and delivering the reader a cast of characters so unbelievable that you can’t help but love them.” - Charles, Vine Voice “Another great fantasy … with humor, edginess, childlike joy, and the frailty of love. Pritchard reminds us to nurture those we hold dear as we root for her characters to have a happily ever after.” - Muddy Rose Reviews “This is the story of being there for someone who is going through a tough time, of love and trauma with strong characters that you can’t help but like. Meg, and Sparrow, stand out in a well told tale. I am not normally into fantasy but this one grabbed me as it is so much more.” -Misfits Reviewer

Genres: Fantasy, Angels and Demons

512 pages, Hardcover

Published November 21, 2023

About the author

M. R. Pritchard is a two-time Kindle Scout winning author and her short story "Glitch" has been featured in the 2017 winter edition of THE FIRST LINE literary journal. She holds degrees in Biochemistry and Nursing. She is a northern New Yorker transplanted to the Gulf Coast of Florida who enjoys coffee, mint chocolate, cloudy days, and reading on the lanai.

Visit her website MRPritchard.com and sign up for her newsletter. You'll get a monthly newsletter with updates, day to day shenanigans, and book deals.

Reviews

[Mrs. K. Book Reviews · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good idea? Yes. Lots of good ideas actually! Angels. Demons. Heaven. Hell. Purgatory. Fated mates. Multiple realms of reality. That's all well and good, but the execution was too poor. The ideas were not meticulously woven together, but instead just thrown into a pile of pages in seemingly no particular order or chronology. I genuinely couldn't understand what was going on most of the time and couldn't get past the halfway point. This was a DNF for me.

I love Meg's character, the rough and tumble survivor from the trailer park. I loved Sparrow's character, the banished angel fated to love Meg forever. But the amnesia???? Not once, not twice, but three times by the halfway mark???? I've never been one for the amnesia trope to begin with, so this was a real turn-off for me.

I feel like this one book could easily have been split into three separate books. I know this series is a duology, but I have no idea what else the author could throw at the reader in that second book. It seemed that once she closed up all plot holes (created a sufficient ending for the story as it was in that moment) she had either Meg, her parents, Sparrow, or a demon do something REALLY unnecessary to create more irrelevant plot and irrelevant conflict. So the story just drug on and on and on and on...

It had a lot of good ideas, but the execution was off and it felt like I was watching the movie "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" instead of reading a masterful angels/demons edition of "Empire of the Vampire."

[Matthew Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sparrow Man - Finally got around to starting the series and a wildly unique and fun adventure into the story and characters and plot of this book. There are all kinds of interesting elements in this and I CANNOT wait to see where things go, what the next 12 books for the first series, as well as the 5 or so in the sequel series are going to contain. Already, there's dark elements, trauma, abuse, horrible childhood/life, the walking dead, suppressed memories and truths, suppressed others of the same, angels and demons, heaven and hell, romance, sassy language/attitude/personality, and more - it absolutely dragged me down into the plot and characters - Meg and Sparrow both are fantastic, and I hope that Sparrow helps Meg through as much of her trauma and past and help her feel and see herself as amazing and good she is, that she is not just "stupid trash", or a "slut", or any of the other horrible things those closest to her around her in her little town had spent their lives - her life - telling her and calling her so often that she believes them - I cannot wait to see how amazing she can be when she believes in herself, has Sparrow and maybe others there to support her, make her feel loved and special and all.

Nightingale Girl - Absolutely fantastic read - second book in the series - IMMEDIATELY diving into book 3 as soon as I finish writing this review. Demons, angels, Heaven, Hell, vampires/drinking blood, zombies, magic, ghosts/spirits, Lucifer himself along with Archangels, and sooo much more, plus romance, lover turned quasi-enemy/stranger, fated mates/prophecy we keep getting hints at, and sooo much more - what's not to love?

We get to see more of Meg and Sparrow, plus more of Nightingale, get a few fun and unexpected turns with various characters, most of which I did NOT see coming, but Jim and the other Helions I called that as soon as we find out what they had Sparrow doing as a new Hellion, though there was one twist to it that I hadn't called or expected but should have totally realized that they'd have him doing too.

Cannot wait to dive into the remaining like 11 books of this series and the series that follows it - LOVING the characters and plot, can't wait to see what else we learn about the characters, their families, Meg's faith, or lack thereof, the romance, the demons and the Councils' plans, what if any consequences that her actions in this book might lead to - I have questions and I am about to continue into book 3 to hopefully find at least some of them (and presumably find I have more/new questions too :P )

Scarecrow - HOW does this series just KEEP getting better?!?!?!?! (and this is only book 3/13 for just this first series! - I CANNNOT WAIT!

We dive even more into Meg and Sparrow's story, see some more of Jack, Noah, and Nightingale, some more of Meg's devilish grandfather, angelic father, her spirited mother, the mortal realm, the Heavenly one, and the Hellish one all three, more zombies/undead, more vampiric fun, more spice, weird new unlikable crowheaded Scarecrow, and soooo much more.

Meg and Sparrow both just can't keep themselves out of trouble, finding more ways to bother, piss off, and cause their own brand of trouble and headaches in both the ethereal and mortal realms, and HOLY mary jfc the twist at the end - I have more questions just as I predicted, have a few answers to some of my previous ones, and none at all for others yet and I can't wait - going right into book 4 now :D

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Jenni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised I liked that as much as I did. In fact, so much in the book surprised me, in a good way, for the most part. It cracked me up that the angel Gabriel had a foul mouth (I know, I’m easily amused), and that Lucifer had a soft spot.

Sparrow is my favorite, flaws and all. Meg is all right, although much of the time, I don’t get her way of thinking.

Some of the plot shifts are confusing, and the author doesn’t do the best job of moving smoothly between them. There were a couple of times I looked to see if o had skipped a page because things were happening out of the blue.

Not sure yet what I think of the ending. I’m left a bit dubious (he’s the king of Hell, after all), and curious to see how things will shake out in book 2.

[Michelle_reads13 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 Vail of shadows is the first book in this universe, I’m not the fastest reader so it was quite the mission to get though due to the books length and took me awhile to finish.

This could have been broken up into 2 or 3 smaller books to make it a little easier for readers; having said that the story was still quite enjoyable. The world building was fantastic, although the plot became a little repetitive in some parts.

Having read other books from this universe the world is very well put together, I like that they can be read as standalone books and as part of the larger universe.

Overall worth the read

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book more than I could possibly comprehend! Nearly impossible to guess the twists and turns! The characters force you to fall in love with them and Meg is just amazing. Having an imperfect character who’s really the underdog in her own life but she becomes so much more.

I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. It now has a permanent spot on my book shelf and is going to be a book I read again and again.

[Melissa Tonche · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is honestly one of the best dark fantasy series I've ever read. Meredith has a way of pulling you directly into the story and you aren't pulled out of that world even after you finish it all. I was left wanting more and am so happy that's she's writing a next generation series with this world. Definitely give her a try. In my opinion you won't regret it.

[Kim Finazzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Veil of shadows omnibus 1 has 3 books in it. What a great story. I’m a slow reader and I couldn’t put this down. Tools me just about 2 weeks to finish. If you want to get this series look for her web page or on tictok.

[Rebecca Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will keep you so locked it. I was warned about the ending but I was still stocked . I am driving into the next book asap

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. The twists and turns. The situations we find the characters in. It kept me thinking about it, wondering what would happen next.

[Sara Eatherton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely make sure you have book 2 BEFORE you finish this cuz you wont want to stop reading.