Brightwood Shadows

by Kathleen Guire

Trust the wrong person, and you might not live to regret it.Ellie Quinn has spent her whole life unknowingly training for a world she never knew existed. With a mother who lived off the grid, avoiding cell phones and technology, Ellie’s survival skills were second nature long before she realized their purpose. When her mother is imprisoned, Ellie is sent to Brightwood—a sprawling, ivy-covered estate disguised as a group home but hiding a darker purpose.

Brightwood isn’t just a refuge for troubled teens—it’s a secret training ground for elite teen spies. But something is wrong beneath its polished surface. Thirty teens have gone missing, and whispers of betrayal swirl through the halls. When Ellie and her friends discover a mysterious device labeled Erebus in a forgotten wing of the estate, they stumble onto a plot far more dangerous than they ever imagined.

Now, with The Alliance—a shadowy global organization—closing in, Ellie must decide if she’s willing to risk everything to uncover the truth, even if it means going off book and putting a target on her back.

244 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 2, 2025

Reviews

[Rhonda Dilello · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, a huge Thank You to GoodReads and Kathleen Guire for my free copy (giveway win!) I love a good YA novel filled with mystery and great characters, and found this one to be quite entertaining. No spoilers here, so I will keep my review vague. I loved most of the characters, especially Ellie, who was not only trying to find her place in a "new home," but also trying to find her purpose in life, after having lived off the grid her entire life. I enjoyed seeing all of the pieces come together as Ellie learned to use devices she had never seen, like a smart phone! 4 stars for a rating, as I felt the book could have been longer to develop the story even further, but perhaps that is what the upcoming sequel is for. I felt that some of the characters seemed more pre-teen than teen at times, but perhaps that was intentional. Several sentences also confused me, being short and incomplete, but again, that may have been intentional. Overall, this was a great book and definitely worth reading if you like YA and mystery!

[Kathleen Guire]

#1 Already? Either the algorithm glitched or you people like danger.

So apparently Brightwood Shadows is the #1 Best Seller in Teen & Young Adult Spy Story eBooks… and it’s not even released yet.

Which is… suspicious.

Let’s recap: My mom’s in prison for a murder I’m pretty sure she didn’t commit. I got dumped at Brightwood Estate—supposedly a group home for “troubled teens,” except it feels more secret society in designer uniforms than lost kids eating reheated spaghetti in the rec room.

Then there’s the butler who talks like we’re in a BBC drama. The girl with pink hair and zero filter. The tech genius with eyes like blue fire and titanium legs. And oh yeah—thirty kids have gone missing. But sure, tell me again how this is just a “group home.”

Somewhere under all the perfect hedges and creepy hallways, Brightwood is hiding something. And I’m going to find out what—preferably without becoming the next teen to disappear.

If you like:

Spy thrillers without all the messy language and content

Conspiracies layered like a good croissant

Found family, fast banter, and teens who fight back

…then you might survive Brightwood. Maybe.

You can preorder now. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.- Ellie

[Suzi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received this ebook through a Goodreads Giveaway and was very excited to check it out. I’m a huge thriller fan and have enjoyed some great mystery/suspense YA books. Unfortunately, after reading the first four chapters of this one, I just couldn’t get into it at all… not the dialogue, characters, or plot. I think it might be good for younger kids but don’t know if it’s a YA that adults would like. Hopefully others will enjoy it, but it’s not a match for me. DNF.