Shadow Sun: Nevermor #3

Nevermor #3

by Lani Lenore

Time has passed since the Rifter went into the sun, and while Wren has missed him terribly, she does not doubt that he will come back. She has tried to shadow her grief as she travels across Nevermor with what is left of the Wolf Pack, attempting to heal the land and restore it to its former state. But that task is made more difficult by plummeting temperatures, and the fact that the sun seems to be slipping further away.

When a different sort of darkness comes over the land, Wren eventually discovers that not only may she be looking to preserve the world for Rifter’s return, but she may have to save it from him as well.

Shadow Sun is the epic finale to the Nevermor trilogy, a dark fantasy based on Peter Pan.

Genres: Fantasy

347 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 3, 2015

About the author

Lani Lenore is a writer of gothic horror and dark fantasy. In addition to rewriting well-known fairy tales with a twist, she also writes original stories in a style she calls ‘dark fairy tale’, which uses fantasy elements to build horror stories. Most of her tales, though horrific at times, have a subplot of romance. She loves to keep readers on the edge of their seat and immerse them in worlds of beauty and terror.

Lani currently lives in Tennessee with her husband, two dogs, and four cats.

Reviews

[Hot Mess Sommelière ~ Caro · Rating 1 out of 5]

What did I just read?

A fantasy retelling of (Peter Pan and Wendy)Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun

And good lord, it was TERRIBLE.

Now let's track back to the beginning of the trilogy, book 1, simply titled Nevermor. In Nevermor, (Wendy, no Wren) Eva Braun gets spirited away to Nevermor, the abode of a certain Adolf Rifter. Adolf Rifter is quite different from the Peter Pan we know, because it's a darker retelling.

Book 1 and 2 are GREAT.
Book 3 was a burning trash pile of co-dependent madness and it had no redeeming qualities. I was bored at first, until the second half boggled my mind to the point where I could have easily chugged my kindle into a dumpster fire. Because that's where Eva Wren Braun and Adolf Rifter belong, together FOREVER.

Wren, for the most part of the trilogy, is only just bearable (much like Wendy. Don't you just want to SLAP that snotty, stuck-up bigot?)

In book 3, I'm unsure how her NOT getting tortured to death is fair? It's not fair.

Wren is a piece of garbage whose burning on a pile of equally shitty garbage should have happened a long time ago. I despise her. She is the Nazi bride who forgives every Auschwitz death, even if her friend was in there too. She looks at her Adolf with the adoring eyes of a brainless bunny. She wants CHILDREN. Oh, she only wanted a normal, beautiful life. With the undisputed ruler of Nevermor, yes ... but is that too much to ask?

YES, YES IT IS. You can't have your Nazi concentration camp cake and then eat it too. You genocide apologist.

Rifter was always problematic, and at the beginning of the series, naively, I just assumed he was supposed to be problematic. That in the end, he'd become more problematic and get what Nazis get:a nuke in the face.

But NO.

Rifter gets worse. He kills his friends. He kills random bystanders. He kills innocent people, he rips pirates to pieces. In a fit of irredeemable storytelling, he cuts off the head of the only strong female character in the whole trilogy, who kept the plot running and who was also pregnant.

He keeps the head of the trophy, but Wren doesn't care. Why should someone other than precious Wren be allowed to be pregnant and LIVE? It was ATROCIOUS. And never mentioned again.

Wren got a lot worse too. She is SPESHUL. The powers Sly gave her aren't something she is using effectively, but why should anyone more sensible be making decisions? She is sweet. Toss loves her. Everyone follows her. She does nothing, falls behind, gets lost, drags everyone down, but when she holds a little child in her arms IT FEELS SO RIGHT. She has golden locks, she is pretty. She LOVES Rifter. If only she could track down dear Adolf all would be well again. She doormats for him. But she is STRONG. Everyone admires her except Calico (who really is strong). And so speshul.

She doormats and flops over for Adolf but he won't have it. Like Eva Braun he leaves her behind to rot in the Wolfsschanze, useless piece of ass that she is. Was her innocent, but great, magnanimous love not enough, then? She lies about the encounter, tells the others nothing, keeps being pompous, admired and useless. When Calico finds her, she has the gall to be jealous of her and then promptly leaves her again, to track down her fellas that will actually bow down to her snotty nose like good dogs. Unlike Calico, who has outlandish characteristics such as DRIVE, PERSONALITY and BACKBONE. Wren doesn't need that. She has yellow hair, a pouty mouth, boobs, and ass and a the terrible attitude of spoiled despot. She is GLORIOUS.

When Adolf Rifter finally moves into territories no character who expects redemption should ever move into (like killing your friends and pregnant women), Wren finds out about pretty close to the fact and is ... determined to talk to him. Not about the murders, no, that is beside the point. But about saving Nevermor, so precious Wren can live a blissful life there and have BABIES.

The conversation does not go the way Eva Braun hoped. In fact, Adolf Rifter could not care less about her paradisiac vision and instead offers his own utopia: kill everyone and destroy Nevermor and move on to a new, better place. Wren won't have that. How could this spoiled brat live without her salivating park of slavish companions who adore her trashy persona despite reality? Yeah, there you have it. Not happening. Also Adolf said some hurtful things that directly attacked her narcissism, so ... it's over between them and he must die! Yes you read that correctly. The romance was dead after he stomped on her vision of future babyful bliss and not after he violently killed HIS FAMILY. That would've been ok. Just like when Wren killed a whole host of people in book 2. Children. 20 or 30 of them (wasn't her fault either ... it was that mean Fairy, Whisper).

But let's circle back to Whisper. Whisper is a better character than Wren and after this book, if not even before that, also the better person. Which is difficult to achieve because Whisper is an unrepenting murderer. But Wren is worse still; to achieve her grand dreams (together forever with the absolute monarch of nevermor, plant babies, be slavishly admired by EVERYONE and no one else gets admired or gets babies) she would literally walk over her friends, family, dead corpses and forgive everything she ain't got no right to forgive.

While Wren excuses everything, so long as she gets what she wants, Whisper is more complex, less forgiving and what's best: not doormatting for anyone.

Wren is a cow. With less personality than a cow. Who deserves to be treated like a leprosic zombie with no titties. Her personality gives you herpes.

Wren is this guy:

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... but she, and everyone around her, pretend she's some heroic strong woman. She's not.

What I wanted to happen after this torturous book?

- Rifter nuked from the orbit, just yeet him
- Wren burned by mermaids after getting a deserved witch-trial. They don't need to make anything up either, it's all there.
- Sly taking over as King of Neverland
- Calico ruling as Queen. She was a queen all along anyway. And everybody apologizes to her for their blind favoritising of Wren
- Toss sees the light and no longer loves the psycho nazi apologist Wren
- Reparation payments to the natives, mystics and basically everyone who lives on this trashy island
- an actual plotline for Whisper and other fairies. She deserved a backstory much more than Wren did her page time
- justice for Nix, he got done dirty
- justice for the demon, he probably deserved better, too
- someone explaining to all the little children that no matter how much of an asshole your daddy was doesn't justify genocide
- the mermaids get some showtime, they deserve it
- no baby ever gets touched by Wren again, ever

I could count up more right on the spot but let's face it, the whole book was simply a disaster from beginning to end. I hate Wren, I hate Rifter and not only every good character in the book even the reader got tortured for around 400 pages. It's not fair. The world shouldn't belong to two horny, genocidal, despotic narcissists. They deserve to by lynched, by literally anyone willing to do the task.

EW!

[Aleena · Rating 5 out of 5]

As it began, so it shall end.

Shadow Sun brings us full-circle. As its name implies, is the darkest of them all. Bleak, and cold and barren and lonely. And the exact right ending for one of my favorite series ever.

Each book is a stage of maturity, of growing up, for our beloved characters who, at the beginning of this saga, all took a vow against this very thing. And while all characters grow and change and emerge as something very different than before, I love that it's Wren, and then The Rifter, who change the most.

I was never meant to escape, she realized. I was meant to be here to save this place-- to save him.
And I will, she determined to herself, even if I have to destroy him to do it.

Wren started, back in Nevermor, so naive; timid and craving safety and happiness. She gained a quiet sort of strength in Forsaken Dreamscape, a fierce loyalty to the one she loved. But in Shadow Sun, Wren stops trying to change others to fit her ideal world-- and instead, allows herself to change in order to fight on her own for the world she grew to love.

The Rifter goes to his darkest places yet, and though it's heartbreaking, it's hardly surprising. This was alluded to from the very beginning. Rifter was always deeply flawed AND deeply heroic, his growth in the previous installments reflecting his understanding of love and humility. But he loses this when he thinks he has lost everything... And we then see a Rifter with nothing left to live for.

The worldbuilding is richer than ever, expansive and diverse. We find that as our characters mature, they have the ability to see outside of their immediate surroundings to the variety of people who inhabit the island. This is one of my favorite parts of Shadow Sun, as we meet a good number of people for the very first time and see the effects of a dying Nevermor on those besides the Wolf Pack.

Our Wolf Pack is falling apart along with the world, all seeking different things and having a hard time finding reasons to work together. But family and love are strong ties, stronger than any of them guess.

"This world was built on a dream, not a nightmare. As long as there is a spark of hope, this world is never over--even in death. "

This perhaps is not the series ending I would have initially envisioned. But this is THE ending. The only one that works, the only one that fits. Full-circle, a spark of hope, and a dream.

[Jazzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you times a hundred to Lani Lenore for providing me with an eARC of her book in exchange for an honest review. This review is also posted on my blog - The Book Dancer.

"Every boy must grow up to be a man, but what sort he will become is not entirely up to him."

Shadow Sun starts off where Forsaken Dreamscape ended - the demon has been killed and Rifter went into the sun. Wren and the Wolf Pack are going from place to place using Wren's powers to try to heal the land. Even though the healing seemed to be working at first, now it's barely staying through the night. Though Wren still has full belief in Rifter's return, the Pack is torn between love of their world and varying degrees of contempt for what Rifter has let it become. The beautiful Nevermor that the trilogy began with is no more. It's no longer a sanctuary for dreamers with fairies and mermaids and magic. The land has been corrupted and nightmares have taken over in the demon's wake. Nevermor is changing without the Rifter to guide it and it slowly becomes colder and colder. Meanwhile, though it's true that Rifter survived going into the sun, he has to piece together his memory of who is he and how he got there. But, without Whisper to protect him from the pain of his past, Rifter has to survive reliving it alone.

The book is written in third person but it shifts view points a few times. Mostly, the writing follows Wren and is written from her perspective. Every few chapters follows Rifter as he travels through the Shadow Downs trying to regain his memory. Towards the middle of the book, every member of the Wolf Pack gets a couple of chapters that detail their particular emotions and how they're handling the changes in their world. Just as with any book that skips around with points of view, I was interested in some of them much more than the others. But the writing itself is so descriptive and engaging that even the parts that were less interesting were actually really interesting.

"The snow would not speak, content to cover her up and send her to death without a word."

Really, guys, that is a freaking beautiful sentence. Don't even try to argue against it.

The plot and the writing and the world building were completely on point in this book just as they have been in the past two books. However, I felt like there was less focus on the characters this time around which is weird because practically every character got a chapter dedicated to them. One of the things I enjoyed most about the first two books is the way the characters interacted with each other. I remember Finn being hilariously charming and Toss being all kinds of adorable. In my review for Forsaken Dreamscape I mentioned that each character had a very distinct personality and the banter between them all was my favorite part. This time around, I feel like a little of that was lost in favor of everything that needed to happen to get to the conclusion. At the same time, given everything that had happened, it makes sense that they'd be a little less chatty - I just sort of missed that part.

Without getting spoilery, Wren and the Rifter were the characters that had the most character development. We got to learn Rifter's backstory before he came to Nevermor and it was heartbreaking. Like, oh man though - those feels. They were not okay. No wonder Whisper kept them from his all this time. Wren's development was the most surprising though. Though she still loves Rifter and still believes in him, she had to face what her world had become and learn to accept it. I also loved that she stopped being so much of a damsel in distress and learned to fight for herself.

Obviously as this is the final book, SOOO many things happened that were crazy but obviously these are spoilers.
Spoiler
- Oh my gosh... Wren can't have children? She's Wendy! The mother of the Lost Boys! Learning that was so sad and her jealousy and anger at Calico when she found out Calico was pregnant made it ever worse. Also, WREN HAS POWERS?! I had a feeling something like that was going to happen but for her to be able to control the land almost just as powerfully as Rifter could was maybe the coolest thing that happened.

- I'm not going to lie, I'm sort of confused about the thing that fell from the sky. What was it? It wasn't Rifter like they thought unless it was Rifter falling from the sun and into the Shadow Downs but I don't think that was it.

- Rifter's memories... oh my gosh. We already knew that the Scourge was the Rifter's nightmare incarnated but to learn that the nightmare came from his horrible father who killed him was heartbreaking. Also, discovering that he believed he failed Wren just like he failed to save Cait from his father was horrible - especially since Wren was there beside him to watch it all with him but because she was a dream walker in the Shadow Downs, he couldn't see her.

- Max comes back! All through the second book, I was wondering what became of Max after Wren said goodbye to him to be adopted. But he comes back and he's finally able to protect Wren the way he wanted to in the first book. After he saves Wren from the ghost of the fallen, I hope he continues to remember his sister and his life before being adopted.

- After Rifter pulled out his heart and returned to Nevermor to actually become the Scourge, I still believed Wren would be able to save him. I was really, really, really hoping Wren would be able to save him and they'd be able to have some kind of happy life together. Not the one Wren saw in the fountain, but something just happy together. But no because Lani Lenore stories always mess with my emotions! The ending though was really interesting. It was sort of like an it-was-all-a-dream kind of ending but at the same time it wasn't because Nevermor is made of dreams and is for dreamers so it was all still true but at the same time it hadn't happened yet.

[Anthonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great trilogy that i would like to finish with reading the first two volumes and the fourth one. Excellent character development, fantastic story, wonderful plot, and great story. A must read.

[Maé · Rating 5 out of 5]

"At the first gray hint of morning, the Rifter sat at the peak of the High Mountain, overlooking the island with a view that gods might have coveted. He saw the realms of his youth, ripped asunder by war and corruption. (...) Everything that this place had once been to him was no more, and he had gone away with it."

shadow sun, the third book in the nevermor trilogy, was an epic final to the best peter pan retelling i've ever read in my life (and, believe me, i've read a few). it picks up the story a few months after the events of forsaken dreamscape, with wren, calico and the wolf pack desperately trying to save nevermor. from the first pages, the reader instantly understands that this may not lead to the happy ending we could have hoped for. will they be able to revive a land long dead ? or is leaving nevermore the only solution ? and, the biggest question of them all: will the rifter come back ?

through all of this, what marked me the most was the character development that our favorite characters go through. it's the one book that really do make us realise that yes, they grew up, and they're not the naive children they used to be. their newly gained maturity is absolutely heart wrenching to read about. the one character that grew the most for me was definitely wren. it's hard to talk about her development without getting spoilery, but she really became the badass woman, doing her hardest to protect her home, that we all wanted to see. it reminds us that peter pan is not necessarily the main character of his story: wendy darling is as important as he is.

what i found really interesting what rifter's past. we finally know more about his life before he was the rifter (does the name peadar ring any bells ?) and i have to add this to the list of the way too many heartbreaking things in this book. the way he became the rifter, and the way his nightmare was born, was absolutely devastating, and such a smart idea.

i also want to throw it out there that i'm helplessly in love with every member of the wolf pack: finn (my first love), toss, mach, sly, they all deserve endless love and their stories broke me into a billion pieces.

the ending of this book was absolutely heartbreaking, and believe me when i say i cried absolutely all the tears i had in my body over this book. the only feeling i could think of while reading the last bit of it was that we'd come full circle. the last 3 pages were beautiful beyond words and i think they've become one of my favorite pieces of literature of all times.

shadow sun, even though it took a little bit of time to start, was absolutely amazing and the best possible way to wrap this trilogy. this ending was a masterpiece and this story will stay in my head for a really, really, long time.

[Nina Sakura · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book where you’re not sure what to do with yourself once you finish reading it. Amazing story.

[Abigail Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly just love anything that pertains at all to Peter Pan.... So great theme choice! I really love the idea of this book! It's all about dark and light and struggling to find who you are in the grand scheme of the world and getting new beginning. Which is well done throughout this book!

I have always loved these characters except Wren but she made a comeback in this book! She got her life together and stood up for herself and what she believes in. But then she kinda ruined it all in the ending of the book. The whole ending strangely reminded me of the third pirates of the carribbean movie.... Very strange vibe...

Anyway, this book was really confusing just because almost every chapter had a different persons point of view. Which is not something I love. it worked in some chapters and failed miserably in others. I also felt like the author didn't fully explain the "Mystics" powers very well. It was kinda, "oh wow they live underground this is kinda cool! Wait why are they turning into crystals...?" A bit confusing.

But honestly I really enjoyed this book and this series! It is very well written! There is so much vibrancy and color in the story which makes me so happy! 'twas an emotional roller coaster! Which is the best kind of roller coaster!!

[Kairee-Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will be posting a full review on my blog since Lani was so generous to let me read a advance copy of this book for my Kindle app. But, allow to say this in a few words for you all.

Don't regret buying this book, it was a beauitful end to this fantastic trilogy. So heartbreaking, so filled with angst and adventure with twists after twists. I'm forever a fan girl for this series and I'm so happy that Lani Lenore wrote this in an amazing way. I can't wait to read more from her in the near future.

[Abrianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been very excited for this book ever since Lani announced that it was a trilogy series. I pre-ordered it, and was overjoyed when it came in the mail. I've always had a Peter Pan obsession. I've seen all the movies, read all the different books, including the original. But this series was so beautiful. I didn't think that the 3rd one could be any better then the others. I was proved wrong. This book blew me away. This trilogy was the absolute, by far, best series I've ever read. Honest to God, it's beautiful. Good job Lani for having such a dark, but also a charming and delightful mind.

[Francesca · Rating 5 out of 5]

For quite some time I've searched for a good Peter Pan retelling and I wasn't disappointed when I finished this trilogy.
Everything from the plot to the characters is carefully developed throughout the three books with many original twists and dark themes that don't upset the sense of Barrie's opera but are in accord with it.