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The Shadows Trilogy #1
Into The Shadows
Book 1 of The Shadows Trilogy by Clare Folan.
Imagine a world where humans are not alone—where Paranormals live among us, constantly hunted by a corrupt government desperate to unlock the secrets of their powers.
What would you do if you found out you weren’t human—and that the government would stop at nothing to capture you and use you for their ruthless experiments?
In 2050, our world splintered into four species—Humans, Paranormals, Descendants, and Mutated Humans—and in the shadows, more than secrets are hidden.
Ava James believed she was human. But when she learns the truth, she realizes she’s in far greater danger than she could have imagined.
Her journey has just begun. “You need to understand the dangers of what you are—and the power of who you can become.”
Once Unified, Now Divided; Step Into The Shadows.
Imagine a world where humans are not alone—where Paranormals live among us, constantly hunted by a corrupt government desperate to unlock the secrets of their powers.
What would you do if you found out you weren’t human—and that the government would stop at nothing to capture you and use you for their ruthless experiments?
In 2050, our world splintered into four species—Humans, Paranormals, Descendants, and Mutated Humans—and in the shadows, more than secrets are hidden.
Ava James believed she was human. But when she learns the truth, she realizes she’s in far greater danger than she could have imagined.
Her journey has just begun. “You need to understand the dangers of what you are—and the power of who you can become.”
Once Unified, Now Divided; Step Into The Shadows.
- GenresParanormal
340 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 25, 2025
4 people are currently reading
44 people want to read
About the author
Clare Folan
8 books106 followersClare Folan is the author of Music City, The Shadows Trilogy, The Rockstar Alliance, The Auralis War Trilogy, and The Defenders of the Afterlife Trilogy. Living in Ireland with her husband, and her spirited cat Nixie, a tortie full of attitude, Clare has been crafting stories and songs since the age of 14. Passionate about storytelling, she weaves intricate worlds filled with deep bonds, rebellion, and the struggle between destiny and free will. With a love for music and the power of words, her work explores the delicate balance between light and shadow, inviting readers into realms where love, loyalty, and the echoes of the past shape the future.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 26, 2016
*3.8/5 stars*
I had a small problem with the writing...
The Writing:
I think this for me was one of the main issues if not the issue. The first thing I noticed was the introductions, the author told the name ; and the age, it felt weird because that's not how I suppose a character describes a person, it felt like the author was in her mind not in the character. Other time I noticed this was when Ava was talking and it said something like 'Well, I'm going to describe the family now.' Again, that felt like the author was talking but that disrupted the story for me.
Something I noticed later and felt strange to me too was when Ava described her house, yes when she entered she described the room she was in but the author kept describing the house. Instead of as Ava went through the house and entering each room describing them the author chose to told us all at once which can be overwhelming.
Those are some of the main things I noticed of the writing through the book.
The Story:
I have to say that I felt there were some cliches in the story so I don't think this might be the most original story but I actually don't mind those cliches so for me it wasn't that bad.
The story is set in the future, year 3000, and tell us about a country that is divided in four species: humans, paranormals, MH and descendants. In paranormals we find all those you can imagine, shapeshifters (werewolves,werecats), vampires, witches, warlock, elementals; MH are humans that changed their DNA so now they are immortal and have powers; descendants are those who have one paranormal parent and they have immortality and powers, the other parent is human or MH.
Immortality is very common in this society. I liked the world and the idea of it. I think in next books it will be more developed.
I liked the love story and how it began. It was sweet and had many 'hot' scenes. I should say this is more NA book.
The ending was interesting and connects with the next book. I would like to see where this story goes.
The Characters:
Ava: I quite liked her. She was very mature (and that is something important because a childish MC might ruin a story) and sensitive. She cared a lot about family and thought of others not to the extreme of forgeting about herself.
Kyran: I liked him. He was fun very sweet and cute. Protective but not extreme so I liked his charcter.
I liked their couple, won't be an OTP soon but I liked them together though I would like to see them as a team fighting against all evils (being dramatic here)
There are other characters, I liked them more or less and there are many couples coming together towards the end of the book that I hope we get to see a bit of their development too.
Overall my main problem with this book was the writing, the story had some cliches but I liked it and I liked the world. The love story was sweet but hot and I enjoyed reading it.
I had a small problem with the writing...
The Writing:
I think this for me was one of the main issues if not the issue. The first thing I noticed was the introductions, the author told the name ; and the age, it felt weird because that's not how I suppose a character describes a person, it felt like the author was in her mind not in the character. Other time I noticed this was when Ava was talking and it said something like 'Well, I'm going to describe the family now.' Again, that felt like the author was talking but that disrupted the story for me.
Something I noticed later and felt strange to me too was when Ava described her house, yes when she entered she described the room she was in but the author kept describing the house. Instead of as Ava went through the house and entering each room describing them the author chose to told us all at once which can be overwhelming.
Those are some of the main things I noticed of the writing through the book.
The Story:
I have to say that I felt there were some cliches in the story so I don't think this might be the most original story but I actually don't mind those cliches so for me it wasn't that bad.
The story is set in the future, year 3000, and tell us about a country that is divided in four species: humans, paranormals, MH and descendants. In paranormals we find all those you can imagine, shapeshifters (werewolves,werecats), vampires, witches, warlock, elementals; MH are humans that changed their DNA so now they are immortal and have powers; descendants are those who have one paranormal parent and they have immortality and powers, the other parent is human or MH.
Immortality is very common in this society. I liked the world and the idea of it. I think in next books it will be more developed.
I liked the love story and how it began. It was sweet and had many 'hot' scenes. I should say this is more NA book.
The ending was interesting and connects with the next book. I would like to see where this story goes.
The Characters:
Ava: I quite liked her. She was very mature (and that is something important because a childish MC might ruin a story) and sensitive. She cared a lot about family and thought of others not to the extreme of forgeting about herself.
Kyran: I liked him. He was fun very sweet and cute. Protective but not extreme so I liked his charcter.
I liked their couple, won't be an OTP soon but I liked them together though I would like to see them as a team fighting against all evils (being dramatic here)
There are other characters, I liked them more or less and there are many couples coming together towards the end of the book that I hope we get to see a bit of their development too.
Overall my main problem with this book was the writing, the story had some cliches but I liked it and I liked the world. The love story was sweet but hot and I enjoyed reading it.
December 4, 2016
Let me start off by saying book 2 asap please!!! So now that I have that out of my system this book is 100% everything you could ask for!! From boring humans, witches, werewolves, shifters and vampires too I mean what more can you ask for??? This was such a strong story well laid out with characters that are SO well developed
December 12, 2017
Title: Into The Shadows
Author: ClareMarie
Genre: Adult SciFi, Fantasy, Paranormal
Format: Ebook
Pages: 473
Rating: 5
Heat: 5
Thoughts: OMG you cannot end it there!!! Wow, I have a new author to add to my watch list for new books. I love the writing, and the world is just as awesome. I could not put it down, it just sucks you in. If you’re looking for a new paranormal story that has romance but also has suspense and excitement then look no farther. Talk about some amazing characters, wow. I finished the book and started missing them. I need book 2 now!! I hope this is a long series, it’s one of those worlds that’s unique enough that I know I’ll want to return to it again and again. Kudos to the author for creating something new and addicting. I will be anxiously waiting for the next book to come out and will probably gobble that one up as quickly as I did this one.
Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this work and chose to write a review.
Author: ClareMarie
Genre: Adult SciFi, Fantasy, Paranormal
Format: Ebook
Pages: 473
Rating: 5
Heat: 5
Thoughts: OMG you cannot end it there!!! Wow, I have a new author to add to my watch list for new books. I love the writing, and the world is just as awesome. I could not put it down, it just sucks you in. If you’re looking for a new paranormal story that has romance but also has suspense and excitement then look no farther. Talk about some amazing characters, wow. I finished the book and started missing them. I need book 2 now!! I hope this is a long series, it’s one of those worlds that’s unique enough that I know I’ll want to return to it again and again. Kudos to the author for creating something new and addicting. I will be anxiously waiting for the next book to come out and will probably gobble that one up as quickly as I did this one.
Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this work and chose to write a review.
September 27, 2017
Okay, so I totally love the premise for this series, and I enjoyed the characters, but it just missed slightly with me. I listened to the audiobook version of this story, which I stopped listening to for a little while because the narration bothered me a lot, but I decided to finish the audio. I think it may have colored the story in a bit of a negative light for me, so I don't know if it's the writing that felt choppy, or if it was just how the story is read. So, I would recommend reading the book yourself, and not the audio. I do think the story moved a bit too fast, and the author spend some unneeded time describing certain things, but as I said earlier, I enjoyed the premise. The setting for this book is a bit futuristic, and deals with paranormals that are known to society, but are still looked down upon by the government. Ava, the character's POV this book is in, thinks she's human, but finds out she's a bit more than that, which I found interesting. Ava also meets Kyran, a sexy stranger that she feels a pull towards, and he opens her up to a new side to the world. I really enjoyed the romance, I thought it was super sweet and this is definitely not a YA read, this is definitely a bit more adult, so be prepared for sex scenes. The relationship does move quite fast, but that didn't bother me. There's a bit of mystery to this story that I liked, and a bit of action, which I would've liked a bit more of! This book leaves you hanging, so I would like to continue the story with the next book, but I'll stay away from the audio. The writing didn't quite connect with me, but the premise and characters made this a good read for me. I almost did 3 stars, but I thought about it more, and decided to go 4 stars because I was entertained and interested throughout the whole story, and I want to continue the story.
September 13, 2017
Into the Shadows by ClareMarie is a very good story with tons of detail and background information to really make understand the book. Ava
James is a wonderful character that thinks she is human only to find out she is paranormal. Not just any paranormal either, one with many abilities. Love how she learns all about who she is while finding her one true love, her mate. Together they start to build their lives together but are always trying to protect themselves from the government that are seeking them out for research. I am interested to find out what happens next!!
James is a wonderful character that thinks she is human only to find out she is paranormal. Not just any paranormal either, one with many abilities. Love how she learns all about who she is while finding her one true love, her mate. Together they start to build their lives together but are always trying to protect themselves from the government that are seeking them out for research. I am interested to find out what happens next!!
October 20, 2016
From the first chapter, I could feel this connection with Ava. It is easy to dive into the story and I really liked the Ava's point of view and the way she told her story. Kyran....KYRAN. I loved how Avan grew as a person and character with every chapter and how her connection with Kyran was more than just words but an actual destiny connection that of course messed up everything but it is worth and the...Come on! Cliffhanger? I want to know what will happen to Ava! Is it 2017 yet?
September 9, 2017
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW
This was a first novel of ClareMarie, and I liked the concept of the story, where humans and paranormals shared the earth. She writes well and the story flows very well. I like reading someone's first novel, and to learn about their writing style. It's not just about what is told but what isn't written. ClareMarie and her characters are on a journey that will grow into something more and more in depth.
This was a first novel of ClareMarie, and I liked the concept of the story, where humans and paranormals shared the earth. She writes well and the story flows very well. I like reading someone's first novel, and to learn about their writing style. It's not just about what is told but what isn't written. ClareMarie and her characters are on a journey that will grow into something more and more in depth.
February 27, 2019
I can't wait to find out what happens. I love this series.
February 26, 2018
DNF
I couldn't get past the poor grammar. If there are a few problems but it doesn't damage the overall reading experience, then I have no problem with bad grammar. However, the grammar in Into the Shadows effected the flow of the writing. There was also questionable word choices and sentences. For example there was this gem:
"I take his food order into the kitchen to Ben our chef giving him the docket. Ben has a few pounds on him but isn't large and wears glasses with his short hair slicked back."
Ignoring the need for puncuation, why did she have to specify that the chef had a 'few pounds'? Do we need to know this info about a character that has no importance to the story? No, we don't.
I couldn't get past the poor grammar. If there are a few problems but it doesn't damage the overall reading experience, then I have no problem with bad grammar. However, the grammar in Into the Shadows effected the flow of the writing. There was also questionable word choices and sentences. For example there was this gem:
"I take his food order into the kitchen to Ben our chef giving him the docket. Ben has a few pounds on him but isn't large and wears glasses with his short hair slicked back."
Ignoring the need for puncuation, why did she have to specify that the chef had a 'few pounds'? Do we need to know this info about a character that has no importance to the story? No, we don't.
November 10, 2016
The start of something wonderful
This was a remarkable first novel of ClareMarie, and I liked the concept of the story, where humans and paranormals shared the earth. She writes well and the story flows very well. I like reading someones first novel, and to learn about their writing style. It's not just about what is told but what isn't written. ClareMarie and her characters are on a journey that will grow into something more and more in depth. I like how the characters interact, especially when the main character discovers something about herself. It's a good story, and I look forward to reading more of her work.
This was a remarkable first novel of ClareMarie, and I liked the concept of the story, where humans and paranormals shared the earth. She writes well and the story flows very well. I like reading someones first novel, and to learn about their writing style. It's not just about what is told but what isn't written. ClareMarie and her characters are on a journey that will grow into something more and more in depth. I like how the characters interact, especially when the main character discovers something about herself. It's a good story, and I look forward to reading more of her work.
November 20, 2016
thank you for gifting me a copy!! xoxo
April 22, 2017
WAY TOO FULL OF CHEESE!
I couldn't finish it or even really begin, it was all so childishly written.
I couldn't finish it or even really begin, it was all so childishly written.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews