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Shifting Circle #3
The Turning Season
In national bestselling author Sharon Shinn’s latest Shifting Circle novel, a woman must choose between hiding her nature—and risking her heart...
For Karadel, being a shape-shifter has always been a reality she couldn’t escape. Even though she’s built a safe life as a rural veterinarian, with a close-knit network of shifter and human friends who would do anything for her—and for each other—she can’t help but wish for a chance at being normal.
When she’s not dealing with her shifts or caring for her animal patients, she attempts to develop a drug that will help shifters control their changes—a drug that might even allow them to remain human forever.
But her comfortable life is threatened by two events: She meets an ordinary man who touches her heart, and her best friend is forced to shift publicly with deadly consequences.
Now Karadel must decide whom to trust: her old friends or her new love.
For Karadel, being a shape-shifter has always been a reality she couldn’t escape. Even though she’s built a safe life as a rural veterinarian, with a close-knit network of shifter and human friends who would do anything for her—and for each other—she can’t help but wish for a chance at being normal.
When she’s not dealing with her shifts or caring for her animal patients, she attempts to develop a drug that will help shifters control their changes—a drug that might even allow them to remain human forever.
But her comfortable life is threatened by two events: She meets an ordinary man who touches her heart, and her best friend is forced to shift publicly with deadly consequences.
Now Karadel must decide whom to trust: her old friends or her new love.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published November 4, 2014
14 people are currently reading
439 people want to read
About the author
Sharon Shinn
58 books2,288 followersI’ve been writing stories and poems since I was eight years old. My first poem was about Halloween: "What is tonight? What is tonight?/Try to guess and you’ll guess right." Perhaps this inauspicious beginning explains why it took me till I was in my thirties to sell a novel. It occurred to me early on that it might take some time and a lot of tries before I was able to publish any of my creative writing, so I pursued a degree in journalism at Northwestern University so I’d be able to support myself while I figured out how to write fiction.
I’ve spent most of my journalism career at three trade and association magazines—The Professional Photographer (which, as you might guess, went to studio and industrial photographers), DECOR (which went to frame shop and art gallery owners), and BizEd (which is directed at deans and professors at business schools). My longest stint, seventeen years, was at DECOR. Many people don’t know this, but I’m a CPF (Certified Picture Framer), having passed a very long, technical test to prove I understood the tenets of conservation framing. Now I write about management education and interview some really cool, really smart people from all over the world.
I mostly write my fiction in the evenings and on weekends. It requires a pretty obsessive-compulsive personality to be as prolific as I’ve been in the past ten years and hold down a full-time job. But I do manage to tear myself away from the computer now and then to do something fun. I read as often as I can, across all genres, though I’m most often holding a book that’s fantasy or romance, with the occasional western thrown in. I’m a fan of Cardinals baseball and try to be at the ballpark on opening day. If I had the time, I’d see a movie every day of my life. I love certain TV shows so much that knowing a new episode is going to air that night will make me happy all day. (I’m a huge Joss Whedon fan, but in the past I’ve given my heart to shows all over the map in terms of quality: "Knight Rider," "Remington Steele," "Blake’s 7," "Moonlighting," "The Young Riders," "Cheers," "Hill Street Blues," "X-Files," "Lost," "Battlestar Galactica"...you can probably fill in the gaps. And let’s not forget my very first loves, "The Partridge Family," "Here Come the Brides" and "Alias Smith & Jones.")
I don’t have kids, I don’t want pets, and all my plants die, so I’m really only forced to provide ongoing care for my menagerie of stuffed animals. All my friends are animal lovers, though, and someone once theorized that I keep friends as pets. I’m still trying to decide if that’s true.
I’ve spent most of my journalism career at three trade and association magazines—The Professional Photographer (which, as you might guess, went to studio and industrial photographers), DECOR (which went to frame shop and art gallery owners), and BizEd (which is directed at deans and professors at business schools). My longest stint, seventeen years, was at DECOR. Many people don’t know this, but I’m a CPF (Certified Picture Framer), having passed a very long, technical test to prove I understood the tenets of conservation framing. Now I write about management education and interview some really cool, really smart people from all over the world.
I mostly write my fiction in the evenings and on weekends. It requires a pretty obsessive-compulsive personality to be as prolific as I’ve been in the past ten years and hold down a full-time job. But I do manage to tear myself away from the computer now and then to do something fun. I read as often as I can, across all genres, though I’m most often holding a book that’s fantasy or romance, with the occasional western thrown in. I’m a fan of Cardinals baseball and try to be at the ballpark on opening day. If I had the time, I’d see a movie every day of my life. I love certain TV shows so much that knowing a new episode is going to air that night will make me happy all day. (I’m a huge Joss Whedon fan, but in the past I’ve given my heart to shows all over the map in terms of quality: "Knight Rider," "Remington Steele," "Blake’s 7," "Moonlighting," "The Young Riders," "Cheers," "Hill Street Blues," "X-Files," "Lost," "Battlestar Galactica"...you can probably fill in the gaps. And let’s not forget my very first loves, "The Partridge Family," "Here Come the Brides" and "Alias Smith & Jones.")
I don’t have kids, I don’t want pets, and all my plants die, so I’m really only forced to provide ongoing care for my menagerie of stuffed animals. All my friends are animal lovers, though, and someone once theorized that I keep friends as pets. I’m still trying to decide if that’s true.
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August 3, 2015
I liked this quiet and gentle novel, like everything else by this writer. She is one of my favorites across the genres. Her unique, dainty blend of fantasy and romance always combines several important themes, as does this novel.
On the surface, it is a love story of Karadel. She is a twenty-something shape-shifter, living in the modern US, working as a vet. Unlike many current literary shape-shifters (Patricia Briggs comes to mind), in Sharon Shinn’s world, Karadel and her brethren can’t always command when they shift and into what. They live among humans in secret, always dreading the day when their secret might escape.
While gay people and other minorities embrace their differences and struggle to live openly, at least in a civilized society, most of Karadel’s shifter friends don’t want to come out of the closet. They are terrified of consequences. What would happen, if their secret is revealed? Maybe witch hunts. Maybe secret government laboratories. Neither possibility is pretty.
For some of Karadel’s friends, the shifts are easier: they only shift into one animal every few days. For others, including Karadel, it’s harder: she doesn’t know what shape she would take in any given shift and when it’s going to occur. In her life, she has been, at one point or another, everything from a butterfly to an elephant. She hates her condition. If she had a choice, she would’ve opted to be normal. As she doesn’t, she is working on a serum to be able to control her shifts, but her work doesn’t go too smoothly.
Besides, other complications arise in her life, as the story progresses. The man she is falling in love with is fully human. Could she trust him with her secret identity? Would he betray her? Would he accept her animal alter-ego? What if she turns into a rat one day? Or a giraffe?
Karadel’s love story is intertwined with a much more poignant topic: being different, living a life unlike those of the majority. More than anything else, Karadel wants to blend in, not to attract attention. She tries very hard to seem human. Unfortunately, her differences are too deep for her to pretend successfully. Sometimes, when the shift hits her, she hardly has time to hide.
Not every shape-shifter feels this way though. One of Karadel’s friends feel differently: why should he hide and pretend? Why shouldn’t he rejoice in what he is; it’s not his fault after all. If any human abuses him or his shifter-friends, shouldn’t shape-shifters fight back, punish the offender? If they can’t rely on the government protection—and they can’t; the government doesn’t know about them—shouldn’t someone else represent the shape-shifters?
This theme, throbbing through the story, is even more complex. Who has the right to punish? To kill? A soldier is sanctioned to kill by his government. A policeman—by the society. What about the shape-shifters’ society? Shouldn’t they have their own appointed individuals with a ‘license to kill’?
The people who populate Shinn’s novel are ambivalent on the subject, but I couldn’t help to notice that most of those who insist that the government-sanctioned death is the only permissible kind are human. One of them said:
The characters in this book are alive and contradictory, just like in real life. Shinn is a master of characterization, and every time I read her books, I identify with her heroes. I like them. I mistrust them. I understand them. In any case, I believe in her stories. If she says that shape-shifters are real, maybe they are.
Her language is beautiful and simple. Her plot moves slower than most others in the genre, but I like the low-key, intimate quality of her writing. Even her present tense, first person POV doesn’t irritate me, even though it’s not my favorite writing approach.
On the whole, I enjoyed this lovely book a great deal. I wish all my friends would read Sharon Shinn.
Beautiful cover too.
On the surface, it is a love story of Karadel. She is a twenty-something shape-shifter, living in the modern US, working as a vet. Unlike many current literary shape-shifters (Patricia Briggs comes to mind), in Sharon Shinn’s world, Karadel and her brethren can’t always command when they shift and into what. They live among humans in secret, always dreading the day when their secret might escape.
While gay people and other minorities embrace their differences and struggle to live openly, at least in a civilized society, most of Karadel’s shifter friends don’t want to come out of the closet. They are terrified of consequences. What would happen, if their secret is revealed? Maybe witch hunts. Maybe secret government laboratories. Neither possibility is pretty.
For some of Karadel’s friends, the shifts are easier: they only shift into one animal every few days. For others, including Karadel, it’s harder: she doesn’t know what shape she would take in any given shift and when it’s going to occur. In her life, she has been, at one point or another, everything from a butterfly to an elephant. She hates her condition. If she had a choice, she would’ve opted to be normal. As she doesn’t, she is working on a serum to be able to control her shifts, but her work doesn’t go too smoothly.
Besides, other complications arise in her life, as the story progresses. The man she is falling in love with is fully human. Could she trust him with her secret identity? Would he betray her? Would he accept her animal alter-ego? What if she turns into a rat one day? Or a giraffe?
Karadel’s love story is intertwined with a much more poignant topic: being different, living a life unlike those of the majority. More than anything else, Karadel wants to blend in, not to attract attention. She tries very hard to seem human. Unfortunately, her differences are too deep for her to pretend successfully. Sometimes, when the shift hits her, she hardly has time to hide.
“I hate it!” I burst out. “I hate being different and strange. I hate the fact that my body is completely out of my control, that these transformations will take me over whenever they want to, and I can’t guess when and I can’t stop them. I hate living in fear. I hate lying to everyone I know. I want to be normal and ordinary.”I understand her and sympathize with her. Being different is no fun. I have Asperger Syndrome, and although my condition doesn’t threaten me with a witch hunt, it affects my entire life: from job interviews to my relationship with my children. I hate it. I want to be normal too, I try to pretend, just like Karadel, but like her, I can’t. So we both muddle through the best we can.
Not every shape-shifter feels this way though. One of Karadel’s friends feel differently: why should he hide and pretend? Why shouldn’t he rejoice in what he is; it’s not his fault after all. If any human abuses him or his shifter-friends, shouldn’t shape-shifters fight back, punish the offender? If they can’t rely on the government protection—and they can’t; the government doesn’t know about them—shouldn’t someone else represent the shape-shifters?
This theme, throbbing through the story, is even more complex. Who has the right to punish? To kill? A soldier is sanctioned to kill by his government. A policeman—by the society. What about the shape-shifters’ society? Shouldn’t they have their own appointed individuals with a ‘license to kill’?
The people who populate Shinn’s novel are ambivalent on the subject, but I couldn’t help to notice that most of those who insist that the government-sanctioned death is the only permissible kind are human. One of them said:
“If Ryan can decide Bobby... deserves to die, why couldn’t Bobby’s brother decide you should die? If vengeance is always an acceptable motive for murder, all of us will be gunned down at some point. And if we give the individual the power to make those life-and-death decisions—if the single armed vigilante can take it upon himself to rid the town of monsters—how can we make sure the individual correctly identifies the monsters. Some people would call you a monster. So does that give them a right to shoot you on sight?”The one who said the above words is human and a friend to shifters. In theory, she is right. In practice, I don’t know if I agree. When it touches me and mine, the situation often changes its slant. I’m Jewish, and in some periods in my people’s history, intrepid vigilantes were the only form of protection we had. Could I condemn those who stand for the rights of shape-shifters in Shinn’s novel? I’m not sure. Karadel herself is on the fence too:
I let out a long sigh of surrender. I’m not happy about it but I simply don’t know what else to do. The world has gotten very murky since I started accumulating moral dilemmas.Yes, moral dilemmas are not for the faint of heart. The author presents us with controversial questions but she doesn’t supply the answers. It’s for the readers to decide for themselves.
The characters in this book are alive and contradictory, just like in real life. Shinn is a master of characterization, and every time I read her books, I identify with her heroes. I like them. I mistrust them. I understand them. In any case, I believe in her stories. If she says that shape-shifters are real, maybe they are.
Her language is beautiful and simple. Her plot moves slower than most others in the genre, but I like the low-key, intimate quality of her writing. Even her present tense, first person POV doesn’t irritate me, even though it’s not my favorite writing approach.
On the whole, I enjoyed this lovely book a great deal. I wish all my friends would read Sharon Shinn.
Beautiful cover too.
November 12, 2014
This one sort of surprised me, it's tone was very melancholy. Most of the characters are struggling with being a shifter, they hate that side of their lives, want to be normal. All of them end up taking a journey as the book progresses, one that makes them think, one that forces them to confront some big ideas of what is right and what is wrong. And not only is there right or wrong, but there are degrees within that.
I did love how certain people embraced the shifters and went with them on the journey. Gave them a place where they were accepted.
The last big revelations at the end could bring about some big changes in everyone's world, but I think they will be good ones.
I did love how certain people embraced the shifters and went with them on the journey. Gave them a place where they were accepted.
The last big revelations at the end could bring about some big changes in everyone's world, but I think they will be good ones.
November 9, 2014
I love this series so much. This third installment is less artful than the first two, but no less engaging. I'm hoping that this trilogy turns into a longer set. The first two books were about different kinds of love, and this one is, also... but it's about loving friendship and the limits of that love (maybe a little less interesting to us as a culture than romantic or familial love). Same great setting/world and reappearances from some familiar characters. Definitely a recommended read, particularly if you've enjoyed the first two.
November 11, 2021
I enjoy reading pretty much everything by Shinn, but for me this is the weakest book in this particular trilogy. Part of it is that conclusions I expected to happen did not - so maybe that's my own fault. But given that book 1 introduces the concept of shapeshifting and how hard it is on a person's body, and then having book 2 expand on those themes by bringing in a character who devotes her life to studying medicine and trying to develop a serum that will help shifters - all this alongside the tragedy of a shapeshifter dying at 22 - I really thought book 3 would bring some kind of resolution to these issues. I thought Karadel would develop SOMETHING that might help shapeshifters live longer lives (because at this point, the character of Dante Romano from book 1 must be nearing the end of his lifespan).
At the very least, I expected the ending book of the trilogy to tie in all the elements from the previous two books together, but I don't think that really happens. There are scant mentions of characters from previous books. Brody makes a cameo appearance, but his scene is so short and unnecessary, it feels like he was just thrown in there to connect this book to the previous two. Other than that, this story sort of meanders around. There isn't much tension to hold it together, and a lot of it didn't quite jive with me. The main conflict in the beginning half is whether the shapeshifter Karadel - who shapeshifts into wildly different shapes at unpredictable moments - can begin a relationship with the ultra-normal Joe. But we all know they'll figure it out eventually, so their story, while cute, doesn't hold much interest.
The major conflict in the book is basically a murder mystery or thriller, but almost everything about this plotline struck me as a little outrageous. I don't think that Shinn, who has many talents, does that great with murder mysteries and/or thrillers. Whenever she goes into this mode (off the top of my head, I can think of Shape of Desire, Unquiet Land, Echo in Onyx, and Jeweled Fire where she does this), I don't quite buy everyone's motives, feelings, or the discussions of morality. It helps if the main character is a major force in what's happening (in my opinion Shape of Desire and Echo in Onyx get away with this, if barely, because of the strong MCs, but they do so by the skin of their teeth, and I'm still not 100% convinced by the events), but in The Turning Season, Karadel is more of a spectator than anything else.
As she usually does, in this book Shinn does really good low-key and quiet romantic fantasy. I also really liked the found-family dynamics between Alonzo, Aurelia, Bonnie, Celeste, and Karadel. I was just less convinced of the thriller elements and had hoped for a stronger finish to the series.
At the very least, I expected the ending book of the trilogy to tie in all the elements from the previous two books together, but I don't think that really happens. There are scant mentions of characters from previous books. Brody makes a cameo appearance, but his scene is so short and unnecessary, it feels like he was just thrown in there to connect this book to the previous two. Other than that, this story sort of meanders around. There isn't much tension to hold it together, and a lot of it didn't quite jive with me. The main conflict in the beginning half is whether the shapeshifter Karadel - who shapeshifts into wildly different shapes at unpredictable moments - can begin a relationship with the ultra-normal Joe. But we all know they'll figure it out eventually, so their story, while cute, doesn't hold much interest.
The major conflict in the book is basically a murder mystery or thriller, but almost everything about this plotline struck me as a little outrageous. I don't think that Shinn, who has many talents, does that great with murder mysteries and/or thrillers. Whenever she goes into this mode (off the top of my head, I can think of Shape of Desire, Unquiet Land, Echo in Onyx, and Jeweled Fire where she does this), I don't quite buy everyone's motives, feelings, or the discussions of morality. It helps if the main character is a major force in what's happening (in my opinion Shape of Desire and Echo in Onyx get away with this, if barely, because of the strong MCs, but they do so by the skin of their teeth, and I'm still not 100% convinced by the events), but in The Turning Season, Karadel is more of a spectator than anything else.
As she usually does, in this book Shinn does really good low-key and quiet romantic fantasy. I also really liked the found-family dynamics between Alonzo, Aurelia, Bonnie, Celeste, and Karadel. I was just less convinced of the thriller elements and had hoped for a stronger finish to the series.
December 18, 2014
I really enjoyed this, and it's my favorite (so far) of the Shifting Circle novels.
The reason I liked it so much is Joe. I mean, how can you get a more ordinary hero name than "Joe"? And he is ordinary, and yet, exactly the kind of hero you want to marry. He's a keeper. Not uber-handsome (he's described as having a "round, baby-face" and has to work at keeping the weight off now that he's no longer 20). Joe's an ex-cop and has that old fashioned quality where he'd be described as a "mensch", a man you can count on to do the right thing, to help out, to stand by you. Not a billionaire Dom, not a SEAL, just a good guy.
Can you tell I'm half-in love with him myself?
Oh yeah, and Joe's completely human. But Karadel is not. She's a shifter trying to get her animal self under control, or at least to settle on one animal, preferably a housecat. She's shifted into being an elephant and a giraffe in the past, and can't control when her change will happen.
And you thought you had a complicated love life!
Karadel works as a veterinarian, though she's not really a doctor. The shifter community in their small Illinois town depends on her and she's experimenting with different medical formulas to help them. But when a shifter changes into a bobcat in public to fend off a rapist, Karadel fears the entire shifter community is threatened. At a more personal level, she has no idea how Joe will respond when he learns of her secret life.
If you're new to the series, I recommend starting with #1 as characters are introduced and grow into their own stories in later books. However, you could read The Turning Season on its own and enjoy it as a fantasy and as a gentle romance.
The reason I liked it so much is Joe. I mean, how can you get a more ordinary hero name than "Joe"? And he is ordinary, and yet, exactly the kind of hero you want to marry. He's a keeper. Not uber-handsome (he's described as having a "round, baby-face" and has to work at keeping the weight off now that he's no longer 20). Joe's an ex-cop and has that old fashioned quality where he'd be described as a "mensch", a man you can count on to do the right thing, to help out, to stand by you. Not a billionaire Dom, not a SEAL, just a good guy.
Can you tell I'm half-in love with him myself?
Oh yeah, and Joe's completely human. But Karadel is not. She's a shifter trying to get her animal self under control, or at least to settle on one animal, preferably a housecat. She's shifted into being an elephant and a giraffe in the past, and can't control when her change will happen.
And you thought you had a complicated love life!
Karadel works as a veterinarian, though she's not really a doctor. The shifter community in their small Illinois town depends on her and she's experimenting with different medical formulas to help them. But when a shifter changes into a bobcat in public to fend off a rapist, Karadel fears the entire shifter community is threatened. At a more personal level, she has no idea how Joe will respond when he learns of her secret life.
If you're new to the series, I recommend starting with #1 as characters are introduced and grow into their own stories in later books. However, you could read The Turning Season on its own and enjoy it as a fantasy and as a gentle romance.
February 15, 2020
Karadel is a rural vet who also rescues animals in her barn. Her best friends are a multi-racial citydwelling writer/editor who will drop everything for her, an opposites-attract lesbian couple with a teenage foster son recovering from an abusive background who also loves to help with the animals, and an "it's complicated" friend/ex. Several of them are also shapeshifters, including Kara herself, and she has been trying to come up with a treatment to delay or control their often unpredictable shifts. Though it's had some success, lately everyone's shifting cycles seem to be going haywire.
This was totally my sort of thing at the exact right mood for reading it,very relaxed slice of life, I enjoyed the heck out of it. I most appreciated how the characters feel very rich and "lived in", and the prose is very good without being flowery. There are some drama moments primarily around a sexual assault and a murder though it's not a mystery/noir as far as I'm concerned, overwhelmingly this is about how the lives of shifters are chaotic and this found family support one another through their individual chaos.
The only thing I'm on the fence about is the sexual assault, It's not graphic and seems well handled over all, It definitely treated the situation with some realistic nuance. I'd say 4.5 stars for now, I'll have to think on whether it's a round up vs round down, given how much I just enjoyed and was immersed in the book.
This was totally my sort of thing at the exact right mood for reading it,very relaxed slice of life, I enjoyed the heck out of it. I most appreciated how the characters feel very rich and "lived in", and the prose is very good without being flowery. There are some drama moments primarily around a sexual assault and a murder though it's not a mystery/noir as far as I'm concerned, overwhelmingly this is about how the lives of shifters are chaotic and this found family support one another through their individual chaos.
The only thing I'm on the fence about is the sexual assault, It's not graphic and seems well handled over all, It definitely treated the situation with some realistic nuance. I'd say 4.5 stars for now, I'll have to think on whether it's a round up vs round down, given how much I just enjoyed and was immersed in the book.
December 20, 2014
Karadel is a vet who connects well with her animals. Why? Because she's shifted into their forms at one point or another. The third book in this series can be read as a standalone. Karadel aka Kara lives alone far away from everyone else. She lives in the countryside in Illinois because she shifts erratically and she never knows what animal she will shift into. She's a shifter through her parents' bloodlines.
This world of shifters created by Ms. Shinn is bleak. Shifters don't last long in this world. They die not because they are hunted. Not because they fight with each other, but because their body just can't take the stress of it all and it gives out. This interpretation of shifters actually makes more sense than the romantic mythology of living a long life and super healing.
This story is more than just about Kara finding a lover and helping friends in need. It's about acceptance. This is what I like about Ms. Shinn's stories. For the most part, they are brutal reminders that people who are different don't fit in. And many times, people who are different just want to be normal. They want to be ordinary and have a life like everyone else. This is clearly shone through the eyes of Kara who hates herself to some extend.
This is sad because Kara can't accept her unique ability and wants to exterminate it. Based on her life experiences, it is perfectly understandable. Then Ms. Shinn does something sneaky. She always hooks me this way and rips out my heart before I know what's happening. She does it in two folds. She does it through her dialog and the relationship she builds between the characters and the characters to the readers.
Kara isn't a superhero. She's not a kick ass heroine. In fact, she's a wallflower for the most part and identifies as a Country Mouse. Her fears are real. Her wants are so simple yet unobtainable for her. She's the kind of friend who will be loyal and help when things get bad. So when a new man comes into her life, she's wary. Joe's been knocked a few times in a hard manner and yet he still manages to show Kara something she never thought of.
Something occurs to him; he sets the beer down and leans forward. "So you resent all the time you spend in animal shape," he [Joe] says.
"I do." [Kara]
"But maybe you're thinking about it the wrong way. What if you were born to be an animal? What if that was your natural state? And all the time you're human - that's the special time? That's the gift?"
This right here is what kills me about Ms. Shinn and why I come back to her over and over again. Her ability to make a huge paradigm shift in a succinct and elegant manner. This out of the box thinking is what really impresses me. There are several other instances where Ms. Shinn's observations on human nature comes through in her character's voices. The one which felt like a brutal thrust into the heart nearly brought me to tears. On Joe explaining how his marriage fell apart it's better read than explained.
"I just made her miserable. I remember coming home one day, a little earlier than she expected. She had some music on and she was dancing across the living room, laughing and shaking her butt. She saw me and all the joy went out of her face. I said, 'Hey, I like to dance! Let's put on some more albums!' but she just shook her head and turned off the stereo. I think that's when I knew we'd gone too far down that road to ever get back". (p. 183)
This vivid imagery just eviscerates me. When a person loves another one so much and wants to share in their joy only to find out their mere existence makes the one they love drain of joy, how does this not hurt? Ms. Shinn's gift of being able to paint a picture so clearly on how two people are no longer in love is demonstrated over and over again in many of her books. This one is no different and each time, it catches me off guard.
This urban fantasy is for those who enjoy stories where love does not always triumph. Those who like their fiction mixed with reality.
This world of shifters created by Ms. Shinn is bleak. Shifters don't last long in this world. They die not because they are hunted. Not because they fight with each other, but because their body just can't take the stress of it all and it gives out. This interpretation of shifters actually makes more sense than the romantic mythology of living a long life and super healing.
This story is more than just about Kara finding a lover and helping friends in need. It's about acceptance. This is what I like about Ms. Shinn's stories. For the most part, they are brutal reminders that people who are different don't fit in. And many times, people who are different just want to be normal. They want to be ordinary and have a life like everyone else. This is clearly shone through the eyes of Kara who hates herself to some extend.
This is sad because Kara can't accept her unique ability and wants to exterminate it. Based on her life experiences, it is perfectly understandable. Then Ms. Shinn does something sneaky. She always hooks me this way and rips out my heart before I know what's happening. She does it in two folds. She does it through her dialog and the relationship she builds between the characters and the characters to the readers.
Kara isn't a superhero. She's not a kick ass heroine. In fact, she's a wallflower for the most part and identifies as a Country Mouse. Her fears are real. Her wants are so simple yet unobtainable for her. She's the kind of friend who will be loyal and help when things get bad. So when a new man comes into her life, she's wary. Joe's been knocked a few times in a hard manner and yet he still manages to show Kara something she never thought of.
Something occurs to him; he sets the beer down and leans forward. "So you resent all the time you spend in animal shape," he [Joe] says.
"I do." [Kara]
"But maybe you're thinking about it the wrong way. What if you were born to be an animal? What if that was your natural state? And all the time you're human - that's the special time? That's the gift?"
This right here is what kills me about Ms. Shinn and why I come back to her over and over again. Her ability to make a huge paradigm shift in a succinct and elegant manner. This out of the box thinking is what really impresses me. There are several other instances where Ms. Shinn's observations on human nature comes through in her character's voices. The one which felt like a brutal thrust into the heart nearly brought me to tears. On Joe explaining how his marriage fell apart it's better read than explained.
"I just made her miserable. I remember coming home one day, a little earlier than she expected. She had some music on and she was dancing across the living room, laughing and shaking her butt. She saw me and all the joy went out of her face. I said, 'Hey, I like to dance! Let's put on some more albums!' but she just shook her head and turned off the stereo. I think that's when I knew we'd gone too far down that road to ever get back". (p. 183)
This vivid imagery just eviscerates me. When a person loves another one so much and wants to share in their joy only to find out their mere existence makes the one they love drain of joy, how does this not hurt? Ms. Shinn's gift of being able to paint a picture so clearly on how two people are no longer in love is demonstrated over and over again in many of her books. This one is no different and each time, it catches me off guard.
This urban fantasy is for those who enjoy stories where love does not always triumph. Those who like their fiction mixed with reality.
February 22, 2016
Sharon Shinn's usual beautiful style mixing observations of humanity and a character drama. The romance is a little less romanticized and a little more pragmatic/sweet in this, where love isn't blind but thinking. But the characters were so well-developed and human, given that it wasn't literary fic or contemporary romance. By the end, we understand very well and even sympathize with the "villain." Rarely see this in romance, where the antagonist is expected to be unambiguous. I really like that Shinn writes complicated relationships too in way that isn't "love triangle."
Definitely read if you like more subdued paranormal romance with some observations on human nature, complicated relationships, and a woman who chooses love rather than it choosing her. No need to read previous books. In fact, the first wasn't nearly as good as this one.
Definitely read if you like more subdued paranormal romance with some observations on human nature, complicated relationships, and a woman who chooses love rather than it choosing her. No need to read previous books. In fact, the first wasn't nearly as good as this one.
April 24, 2020
Although the three books in the Shifting Circle trilogy are loosely linked, I highly recommend reading all three, as each builds upon the story in the other.
Book 1: The Shape of Desire (my review)
Book 2: Still Life with Shape-Shifter (my review)
This book feels a little unfinished to me, and I would have liked to spend more time with the characters. Although not as affecting as the last book, it's an interesting read, and I'm very glad that I bought the trilogy for my Someday Library!
We follow Janet's teenage research assistant now grown-up, the wonderfully named Karadel (a combination of her two grandmothers' names, Karen and Adele, according to page 41). She is now running the vet practice/shape-shifter's sanctuary in Janet's place.
Karadel is a shape-shifter herself, with highly unpredictable transformations - she once turned into an elephant! - that she absolutely hates.
So she is experimenting with blood transfusions from other shifters who have abilities she admires, attempting to change more regularly, spend less time in another form, and choose the form she shifts into - preferably the beautiful marmalade cat shown in the lovely cover art.
Although Karadel enjoys her work, tending to regular pets and sheltering shape-shifters in need of medical attention and help, and has a small circle of good friends who know about her true nature, she is lonely. She's not quite over her ex-boyfriend, a charismatic shifter named Ryan, when she starts to fall hard for a human ex-cop named Joe.
But her life turns upside down in a single night. When her best friend Celeste is nearly raped outside the bar where Joe is a bouncer and turns into her bobcat form to defend herself, it isn't long before Joe starts asking questions. Although she escaped and laughed off her attacker's story as drunk fantasy, Celeste is badly beaten in retaliation and Ryan takes drastic action to avenge her.
At the heart of the story is an ethical dilemma: Does the special nature of a shape-shifter put it outside of human laws? Who will protect them if they don't protect themselves? And is keeping their nature secret worth any cost?
Complicating matters is the fact that Karadel's close friends, human couple Aurelia and Bonnie, have taken in a teenaged shifter ward named Alonso. Alonso was horribly abused by his father, who kept him imprisoned and tried to torture the second nature out of his son; and Ryan was the one to rescue Alonso. And Ryan has saved other shifters as well, acting when others would not or could not. Has all the good he's done been erased by his defense of Celeste, who is his best friend?
It's a tricky situation. Karadel feels torn between protecting her former flame and friend, and being appalled at his actions. I feel like the ethical questions - which have no clear-cut answer - overshadowed the characters in the end, but it is refreshing to read a book that asks these kinds of questions.
We also learn a little more about Jane and Cooper's last days, and there's a short cameo from Brody, . The romance between Karadel and Joe is sweet but overshadowed by the drama. Ends a little too abruptly, but on a hopeful note.
I really hope Sharon Shinn writes in this world again sometime!
Book 1: The Shape of Desire (my review)
Book 2: Still Life with Shape-Shifter (my review)
This book feels a little unfinished to me, and I would have liked to spend more time with the characters. Although not as affecting as the last book, it's an interesting read, and I'm very glad that I bought the trilogy for my Someday Library!
We follow Janet's teenage research assistant now grown-up, the wonderfully named Karadel (a combination of her two grandmothers' names, Karen and Adele, according to page 41). She is now running the vet practice/shape-shifter's sanctuary in Janet's place.
Karadel is a shape-shifter herself, with highly unpredictable transformations - she once turned into an elephant! - that she absolutely hates.
So she is experimenting with blood transfusions from other shifters who have abilities she admires, attempting to change more regularly, spend less time in another form, and choose the form she shifts into - preferably the beautiful marmalade cat shown in the lovely cover art.
Although Karadel enjoys her work, tending to regular pets and sheltering shape-shifters in need of medical attention and help, and has a small circle of good friends who know about her true nature, she is lonely. She's not quite over her ex-boyfriend, a charismatic shifter named Ryan, when she starts to fall hard for a human ex-cop named Joe.
But her life turns upside down in a single night. When her best friend Celeste is nearly raped outside the bar where Joe is a bouncer and turns into her bobcat form to defend herself, it isn't long before Joe starts asking questions. Although she escaped and laughed off her attacker's story as drunk fantasy, Celeste is badly beaten in retaliation and Ryan takes drastic action to avenge her.
At the heart of the story is an ethical dilemma: Does the special nature of a shape-shifter put it outside of human laws? Who will protect them if they don't protect themselves? And is keeping their nature secret worth any cost?
Complicating matters is the fact that Karadel's close friends, human couple Aurelia and Bonnie, have taken in a teenaged shifter ward named Alonso. Alonso was horribly abused by his father, who kept him imprisoned and tried to torture the second nature out of his son; and Ryan was the one to rescue Alonso. And Ryan has saved other shifters as well, acting when others would not or could not. Has all the good he's done been erased by his defense of Celeste, who is his best friend?
It's a tricky situation. Karadel feels torn between protecting her former flame and friend, and being appalled at his actions. I feel like the ethical questions - which have no clear-cut answer - overshadowed the characters in the end, but it is refreshing to read a book that asks these kinds of questions.
We also learn a little more about Jane and Cooper's last days, and there's a short cameo from Brody, . The romance between Karadel and Joe is sweet but overshadowed by the drama. Ends a little too abruptly, but on a hopeful note.
I really hope Sharon Shinn writes in this world again sometime!
March 8, 2023
The book was overall an enjoyable read. I especially enjoyed seeing all of the various relationships Karadel is in... her budding romance as well as all the friendships. I think I liked that part the best; the drama about the shape shifters was secondary. I can see why the tension with the jerk in town was added (can't say more without spoilers) but I didn't care about that part of the plot nearly as much. I definitely preferred the more slice-of-life rest of the book.
July 9, 2015
I should preface this by saying I'm not very fond of this series, of all of Shinn's works. The first two presented an unbelievable I-will-die-without-this-man kind of love that Shinn writes very well, in general, but I couldn't appreciate this time around. (I think the modern setting makes it more difficult for me to suspend my disbelief?)
This book did not have that, and for that I was truly thankful. Instead of exploring world-crushing romantic love, or intense, protective familial bond, this book explored friendship and the ethics of secrecy in both friendship and legality. It was melancholy and fascinating in ways the other two books of the series were not, and I thought Karadel was an interesting protagonist (though she seemed wise beyond her years - but at least there were reasons for her to be so within her story/past).
Because friendship was the driving love in this story, it was much less sparky in some ways than the other two. That doesn't mean it was worse - just... a little less engaging at times, for me. I adore her characterization, as always, and I like that this book left many open stories to explore: Sheriff Wilkerson, Celeste, Juliet & Desi... There are futures and pasts for all of them that would warrant their own story.
This book also better explores the danger of being a shifter, since Karadel gets to share her experiences as the narrator. We're no longer on the outside looking in, so we're forced to directly think about the consequences of inopportune shifting. I do like that there's no rhyme or reason to the shifting cycles - that everyone is unique. I hope we continue to see Karadel's experimental work if there are to be future books.
I would have liked the ending to be a bit different. Karadel being a passive witness to the final showdown made it feel a little bland to me, and I would've loved to see her shifting in some form that helped resolve the conflict. Karadel seems to place no value on her shifting, and while it might be too tidy and net to have her love the ability that has plagued her, it could have been interesting to see her begin to appreciate some small part of it.
This book did not have that, and for that I was truly thankful. Instead of exploring world-crushing romantic love, or intense, protective familial bond, this book explored friendship and the ethics of secrecy in both friendship and legality. It was melancholy and fascinating in ways the other two books of the series were not, and I thought Karadel was an interesting protagonist (though she seemed wise beyond her years - but at least there were reasons for her to be so within her story/past).
Because friendship was the driving love in this story, it was much less sparky in some ways than the other two. That doesn't mean it was worse - just... a little less engaging at times, for me. I adore her characterization, as always, and I like that this book left many open stories to explore: Sheriff Wilkerson, Celeste, Juliet & Desi... There are futures and pasts for all of them that would warrant their own story.
This book also better explores the danger of being a shifter, since Karadel gets to share her experiences as the narrator. We're no longer on the outside looking in, so we're forced to directly think about the consequences of inopportune shifting. I do like that there's no rhyme or reason to the shifting cycles - that everyone is unique. I hope we continue to see Karadel's experimental work if there are to be future books.
I would have liked the ending to be a bit different. Karadel being a passive witness to the final showdown made it feel a little bland to me, and I would've loved to see her shifting in some form that helped resolve the conflict. Karadel seems to place no value on her shifting, and while it might be too tidy and net to have her love the ability that has plagued her, it could have been interesting to see her begin to appreciate some small part of it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 11, 2014
Three books into Sharon Shinn's shapeshifter series and I am meh about the whole thing. While The Turning Season isn't the train wreck that the first book Shape of Desire was, it is not anywhere close to my favorite book by the author either. Shinn is gifted at world-building, whether it's the unique role of the angels in the Samaria series, or the gifts bestowed on the characters in Troubled Waters and its sequel Royal Airs. Shinn is competent but not remarkable at characterization and dialogue. So I found The Turning Season to be enjoyable but slow, with very little action until the last fifty pages. The heroine, Karadel, was resourceful and compassionate. I liked the fact that she didn't pine away for either of the men who expressed interest in her, but I didn't believe that she felt much passion for them either.
As I've noted in previous reviews of this series, I appreciate the fact that Shinn portrays shapeshifters as something besides the uber-strong sexy alpha gods and goddesses that populate many romance novels. These shapeshifters don't always have control over their transformations, and life for them is short and dangerous. But that's not enough to hang an entire series on when the setting is so bland. I hope Shinn returns to her fantasy worlds and leaves this one behind.
As I've noted in previous reviews of this series, I appreciate the fact that Shinn portrays shapeshifters as something besides the uber-strong sexy alpha gods and goddesses that populate many romance novels. These shapeshifters don't always have control over their transformations, and life for them is short and dangerous. But that's not enough to hang an entire series on when the setting is so bland. I hope Shinn returns to her fantasy worlds and leaves this one behind.
April 9, 2015
I loved it! I was so engaged by the world of shape shifters and how they are all different. The plot started out as a basic story would, but then improved with mystery and suspense all surrounded by a paranormal romance. Although this is part of a series, this is the first one I've read because it can be read on its own. It is in the Science Fiction genre, but it's not so extreme as others included in the same genre. Highly recommended to anyone looking for something that is just a bit different than the usual.
February 3, 2018
(Realistic rating: like, 3.75? Just shy of four stars on the whole-- I like it more than most of my 3-star books, so I want to categorize it under 4, but it's not quite a 4-star in full.)
This book felt a little unbalanced to me-- the ending was SO unexpected and intense and dark, and while the book's overall tone was a little more melancholy, it was still more pensive rather than sad, and managed to be sort of cozy despite that. And then the end sort of gave me whiplash, because it was so sudden and so depressing, and I didn't quite feel like there was enough time to breathe or recover from how awful it was. So for the most part I did really enjoy it, I was just a little more thrown than I hoped for at the last couple of chapters.
I liked Karadel as a main character and narrator a lot; it was great to see a first-person account of shapeshifting after just hearing about it in the other two books, and her complex feelings about it felt so realistic, my heart ached for her. I liked her vibrant community of friends (and SECONDARY CHARACTER LESBIANS, I CAN'T BE EXCITED ENOUGH ABOUT THIS!!! please continue giving me more gay characters, Sharon Shinn!!!), and the different kinds of shapeshifters we saw, and all of the delightful animals! There were so many threads to the story that made it feel more real, so many details and minor scenes and characters and such, and I really enjoyed most of it.
I also loved Joe, good, dependendable, solid Joe, such a good and cozy love interest! I was so tense watching when he was going to figure it all out (WHEN HE BROUGHT ALONZO HOME, AAAAHHHHH), and I loved how cool with everything he was.
Other minor things I didn't like so much about the book: Ryan as a character overall (I had NO IDEA what had drawn him and Karadel together and had zero investment in the relationship, and he just seemed... obnoxious??); and while I loved how much happened in the story, it did sometimes feel like things were happening JUST to happen, rather than flowing logically from one another, which made the trail of the plot difficult to follow. Overall, the mood and the characters were great, but I felt like it fell apart a bit at the end, which made the rest of it fail to fully come together in a way that entirely satisfied me.
This book felt a little unbalanced to me-- the ending was SO unexpected and intense and dark, and while the book's overall tone was a little more melancholy, it was still more pensive rather than sad, and managed to be sort of cozy despite that. And then the end sort of gave me whiplash, because it was so sudden and so depressing, and I didn't quite feel like there was enough time to breathe or recover from how awful it was. So for the most part I did really enjoy it, I was just a little more thrown than I hoped for at the last couple of chapters.
I liked Karadel as a main character and narrator a lot; it was great to see a first-person account of shapeshifting after just hearing about it in the other two books, and her complex feelings about it felt so realistic, my heart ached for her. I liked her vibrant community of friends (and SECONDARY CHARACTER LESBIANS, I CAN'T BE EXCITED ENOUGH ABOUT THIS!!! please continue giving me more gay characters, Sharon Shinn!!!), and the different kinds of shapeshifters we saw, and all of the delightful animals! There were so many threads to the story that made it feel more real, so many details and minor scenes and characters and such, and I really enjoyed most of it.
I also loved Joe, good, dependendable, solid Joe, such a good and cozy love interest! I was so tense watching when he was going to figure it all out (WHEN HE BROUGHT ALONZO HOME, AAAAHHHHH), and I loved how cool with everything he was.
Other minor things I didn't like so much about the book: Ryan as a character overall (I had NO IDEA what had drawn him and Karadel together and had zero investment in the relationship, and he just seemed... obnoxious??); and while I loved how much happened in the story, it did sometimes feel like things were happening JUST to happen, rather than flowing logically from one another, which made the trail of the plot difficult to follow. Overall, the mood and the characters were great, but I felt like it fell apart a bit at the end, which made the rest of it fail to fully come together in a way that entirely satisfied me.
August 13, 2021
I couldn't stop reading this book because I wanted to see what happened. But I didn't like this one much. It's a continuation of the story of Janet and Cooper from book 2. It goes into what happened to her, but also how Karadel continued her work.
Things that REALLY bugged me - the "comma, bitch" mess. I don't get "friends" who do that. I feel like if you call you friend a bitch like that, even jokingly, you're not REALLY friends. Also, the fat shaming. Every time someone ate a decent meal there was "It's a wonder X isn't fat." I mean if they all work as hard as is described feeding and watering these animals then they're working off all of those calories.... Seriously. Don't shame people for eating.
Some questions this book doesn't answer:
Does Joe ever realize that Alonzo is the child of the murder victim he describes to Kara?
How did Ryan know what Alonzo's father was doing to him and that Alonzo needed help?
Was Joe really undercover the whole time?
Is Jezebel (Joe's dog) a shape shifter? She reacts so oddly to Daniel on their first tour.
Who were the random couple that showed up for treatment?
What happened with Karadel's research? Does she have anyone in the wings to train to take over in case she doesn't extend her time?
I generally like Sharon Shinn's work, but this one I didn't love. I liked the broad elements of the story, but the things above bothered me about this book.
Things that REALLY bugged me - the "comma, bitch" mess. I don't get "friends" who do that. I feel like if you call you friend a bitch like that, even jokingly, you're not REALLY friends. Also, the fat shaming. Every time someone ate a decent meal there was "It's a wonder X isn't fat." I mean if they all work as hard as is described feeding and watering these animals then they're working off all of those calories.... Seriously. Don't shame people for eating.
Some questions this book doesn't answer:
Does Joe ever realize that Alonzo is the child of the murder victim he describes to Kara?
How did Ryan know what Alonzo's father was doing to him and that Alonzo needed help?
Was Joe really undercover the whole time?
Is Jezebel (Joe's dog) a shape shifter? She reacts so oddly to Daniel on their first tour.
Who were the random couple that showed up for treatment?
What happened with Karadel's research? Does she have anyone in the wings to train to take over in case she doesn't extend her time?
I generally like Sharon Shinn's work, but this one I didn't love. I liked the broad elements of the story, but the things above bothered me about this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 14, 2025
I have no idea what Shinn set out to write, but the series she wrote ended up being an extended meditation on how there is no such thing as protective violence outside of self defense. So many of the stories circling around the main characters in these books are how you can't hurt others to keep those you love safe. Even if the others are hurting them.
This one is probably the most explicit on the "bad magneto, no supremacy" front, but what fascinates me is that Shinn certainly has a fair amount of violence that is necessary, but it's fundamentally a story that says that violence is never care, even if it's necessary.
Which, given how often DV appears in her work, suggests there's something really interesting here.
Anyone have a paper they want to write?
Also more shape shifters and romance and puppies, but like, that's table stakes for Shinn.
At least no one needed to invent the car in this series.
This one is probably the most explicit on the "bad magneto, no supremacy" front, but what fascinates me is that Shinn certainly has a fair amount of violence that is necessary, but it's fundamentally a story that says that violence is never care, even if it's necessary.
Which, given how often DV appears in her work, suggests there's something really interesting here.
Anyone have a paper they want to write?
Also more shape shifters and romance and puppies, but like, that's table stakes for Shinn.
At least no one needed to invent the car in this series.
November 19, 2018
Once again Sharon Shinn has taken me somewhat by surprise. Set in the midwestern early 2000s, both the world building and the character building were uncommonly well done. I was especially impressed at her powerful insights on everything from the pull of an ex-partner to the longing for a lost parent to the ambivalence toward a 'savior' figure. Although the 20-something characters made plenty of v. poor decisions that ultimately led them into their own troubles [often a plot device that I find banal and predictable] in The Turning Season there were in general plausible explanations/justifications for the poor decisions and/or full acknowledgement that they were poor.
June 29, 2019
Karadel wants to be normal. She doesn't want to be a shapeshifter. She wants to control her body and to be able to make plans for the future. She the rural vet, with a large animal refugee but she has no control of when her body will change and what animal she will change into.
Why I started this book: I've been reading Shinn's books while waiting for her latest to be published in ebook form.
Why I finished it: Imagine if there were shapeshifters but instead of being an awesome super power, it was more like a chronic disease, based on genetics with uncontrollable side effects, that you knew was going to kill you. Interesting but very melancholy.
Why I started this book: I've been reading Shinn's books while waiting for her latest to be published in ebook form.
Why I finished it: Imagine if there were shapeshifters but instead of being an awesome super power, it was more like a chronic disease, based on genetics with uncontrollable side effects, that you knew was going to kill you. Interesting but very melancholy.
December 4, 2019
This is a Shifting Circle novel. The Shifter in this novel is a veterinarian, working to develop a serum that will allow a Shifter to control the timing of changes and give stability to the animals they shift into. I like Shinn's novels generally, and the Shifting Circle and the Houses books (I don't remember how many Houses there are right now). The Houses books take place in a world where the Gifts of Mystics (healing, telepathy, etc.) are considered evil and are punished harshly (depending on the kingdom the mystic lives in.
If you aren't familiar with Shinn's stories, this would be a good place to start.
If you aren't familiar with Shinn's stories, this would be a good place to start.
August 11, 2017
Sharon Shinn books are always good comfort reading. I didn't realise this was the third in the trilogy but am heartened to see some other reviews say they preferred the first two, which means I can add two more books to my 'to read' pile. Not earthshaking by any means, fairly predictable, but some likeable characters and a good strong dose of the melancholy which always accompanies her books.
April 10, 2019
It took me a long time to get back to this series after the first book failed to strongly engage me. Now having finished books #2 and #3, my opinion is pretty much the same. Not without interest, but too grim, and the whole shapeshifter scenario is never really developed. You have a mysterious "what if" idea, and then don't really go anywhere with it.
July 3, 2023
Nice wrap-up of the series!
I really appreciate how the author shows the day to day life of shape shifters in a realistic way. She presents the joys and dangers of the life and gives an insightful look into the lives of the characters.The plot is a bit more meandering than that of the first two books, but I enjoyed riding along with these characters.
I really appreciate how the author shows the day to day life of shape shifters in a realistic way. She presents the joys and dangers of the life and gives an insightful look into the lives of the characters.The plot is a bit more meandering than that of the first two books, but I enjoyed riding along with these characters.
October 22, 2016
Surprisingly good. Look for other in the series or by this author. Read in one day.
Enjoyed it even though I was coming into the series at book #3 instead of the beginning (which I prefer). But I like characters who have life-history before the current book.
Enjoyed it even though I was coming into the series at book #3 instead of the beginning (which I prefer). But I like characters who have life-history before the current book.
March 7, 2018
Such a good book. Actually made me cry at the very end.
July 6, 2018
A tragically beautiful ending to a superb trilogy.
February 3, 2019
Lovely story!
March 26, 2019
PopSugar 2019 Challenge
Author's name and last name begin with the same letter
Probably a 3.5, realistically
Author's name and last name begin with the same letter
Probably a 3.5, realistically
September 23, 2019
Is it worse to leave a bad person unpunished or to expose a whole host of others with unknown consequences?
What does it mean to be *like* someone else? Are Celeste and Ryan alike?
What does it mean to be *like* someone else? Are Celeste and Ryan alike?
November 30, 2019
We often think it would be cool to have some sort of magical power, but what if you had one, with no control over it?
April 7, 2017
So, at first, I didn't know if I was going to even like this book. The first couple of chapters weren't anything special to keep me hooked. But because I am doing a review, I really wanted to finish it-and boy, am I glad I did! A book about friendship and loyalty, morals and ethics and moral ambiguity, and even some love, Shinn did a great job combining all of those elements with the supernatural that was just so seamlessly stitched in. I loved it. Honestly, I couldn't put it down. And just when you think you have it all figured out, BAM! Plot twist! then you have it figured out....NOPE! But it was all done so well that at the end, you have to just out it down and go, "wow. that was amazing!"
The characters are fleshed out, challenging and so real; I mean, let's face it, we ALL have the crazy party friends like Celeste and the homebody ones like Karadel. Shinn makes the whole group fit together like one big puzzle, with just a little piece missing, and then *poof* we get Joe. I mean, really, the chemistry between them all was just so fantastic, and once you get to the end, and look back, you even put together all the little hints left behind that help you realize that you could have solved it all a while back. I love books like that!
I really enjoyed this and I think I will check out more of Sharon Shinn's work in the future.
*A physical copy of the novel was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The characters are fleshed out, challenging and so real; I mean, let's face it, we ALL have the crazy party friends like Celeste and the homebody ones like Karadel. Shinn makes the whole group fit together like one big puzzle, with just a little piece missing, and then *poof* we get Joe. I mean, really, the chemistry between them all was just so fantastic, and once you get to the end, and look back, you even put together all the little hints left behind that help you realize that you could have solved it all a while back. I love books like that!
I really enjoyed this and I think I will check out more of Sharon Shinn's work in the future.
*A physical copy of the novel was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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