Summer Shadows

Benedict-Savant #6

by Joss Stirling

Amongst the secret and lies, will love survive? Summer lives under a terrible shadow. It drains her, manipulates her and threatens to steal her future. A high-stakes mission offers a temporary escape. She must use her mind-shadowing abilities to hunt down her target and find the truth. Hal Robinson is a soldier. He does not get distracted. He wins. But what Hal wants begins to shift once he meets Summer. They must learn to trust each other if they are going to protect the Savant community. But will their secrets allow them to find a happy ending of their own? A stunning new novel from the best-selling author of Finding Sky, Stealing Phoenix, and Seeking Crystal. Heart-pounding romance from the recipient of the 2015 Romantic Novel of the Year Award, mixed with a thrilling mystery and a spine-tingling hint of the supernatural, Summer Shadows is perfect for fans of Maggie Stiefvater, Meg Cabot, and Josephine Angelini.

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Young Adult, Paranormal, Supernatural, Urban Fantasy, Fiction

274 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 7, 2016

About the author

Joss Stirling is a British novelist. Her first novel under this name was the internationally successful, Finding Sky, which is followed by five others in the same series entering into the savant world of young people with special powers. Central to the story are the Benedict Brothers, seven talented guys from Colorado.

In a second series, Struck, Joss begins a new world of detective romance. The first three parts are: Struck (#1) and Stung (#2), and Shaken (#3) and Scorched (#4). Joss introduces readers to four new heroes - Kieran Storm, Nathan Hunter, Joe Masters and Damien Castle, who all attention the Young Detective Agency. The first part, Struck, won the Romantic Novel of the Year 2015 in the UK.

Her new series, PERIL, a paranormal love story set in the near future, is out 13 July 2017.

Joss lives in Oxford, England. She is married with three children.


Stirling also publishes under two pen names: Julia Golding and Eve Edwards.

Reviews

[naz]

PLEASE BE VICTOR'S BOOK

[Katerina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need VICTOR'S story now. Most compelling character so far!!

[Liz]

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somehow I managed to pick up an early copy of Summer Shadows in my local book shop, screaming with excitement I ran to the till to purchase, rushed home, and cracked open the cover as soon as I possibly could. I have been a fan of this book series for about 5 years, picking up Finding Sky and Stealing Phoenix straight away, then year after year reading the others. I have read and re-read this series more than any other, basically I love it! And I must say, Summer Shadows was in no way a let down, it was, in one word, fantastic.
From the constant disney references, the humour of all the characters, to the kick ass scenes (all I'm going to say is Island + Benedicts = a whole lot of awesome). Summer was so relatable, and has such a raw background, that I instantly fell in love with her and her narrative. Then comes long Hal, who although acts like a right jerk at times, you kinda cant help but love....then dun dun dun... everything kicks off time and time again and you don't know where the story is going to lead. Without adding in any spoilers, I cannot say much more, except that this book got ALL THE STARs from me.
My only lasting comment, to what I think is the end of the Benedicts series, is Joss, please do not leave behind this world. Please write more in this fantastic, interesting, intense and beautiful world. PLEASE.
I will forever love, re-read, and overall adore this whole series.

Beware, major book hangover will happen once you finish this amazement.

[Kaya Dimitrova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Всяко хубаво нещо си има край... Обичах тази поредица, независимо че осъзнавах как не е нищо особено.
Прочетох "Самър" на 14-ти февруари и за отрицателно време. Исках нещо наивно, любовно, примесено с малко екшън и не сгреших с избора си. Историята на Самър и Хал се разви по познатата от предишните части схема: малко заяждания, закачки и много прехвърчащи искри. Постоянно дебнещата опасност също беше част от сюжета, а добре познати и любими герои (и НЕлюбими злодеи) изскачаха от страниците на книгата, за да гарантират един наистина добър финал.
П.П. Вече изпитвам носталгия...

[Kalina Mincheva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ех, савантите са ми като второ семейство. Много ми харесва тази поредица , а ето че дойде и нейният край. А Самър дава всичко, което обещава анотацията и корицата, че и от горе - екшън, романтика, опасност, любов и много лятно настроение. Страхотен завършек за едно феноменално общество. Още ми е топло на сърцето от тази история, така че горещо я препоръчвам за задължителен аксесоар към плажния багаж.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I started reading this series back in 2013 (yep, came a little late to the party), Finding Sky, Stealing Phoenix and Seeking Crystal were all released. I read Stealing Phoenix before Finding Sky because hey, it looked more interesting. Then Finding Sky and then went on an epic hunt to track down a copy of Seeking Crystal before joining everyone else in waiting for MORE

It was a cruel wait.....

And now we can all cry together as Joss finishes with (dare I say) the best book in the ENTIRE series!!! Previous favourite was Seeking Crystal because Xav. Enough said.

So here are the reasons why I am such a ridiculously huge fan of this final (PLEASE JOSS RELEASE MORE) book in the series (WHY DOES IT HAVE TO END?!);

1. We get a NEW mini Benedict-esque group of boys to sigh over. And they are *Drumroll please* The Robinsons. Say hello to the fearsome threesome that is Lucas, Scott and Hal Robinson, each formidably gifted in their own way. Also should point out the first direct words the 'lean wolf' Hal says to our lovely Summer are in the form of a VERY resentful apology... No shrinking tulip among these rugged boys.

2. We FINALLY get to find out what all the cloaks and daggers surrounding Summer's mysterious family is. And I bet a lot of people could relate to Summer's hardships coping with such responsibility at her age while also trying to pursue an education and create close and personal relationships.

3. We get to see the true extent of Summer's gift. I cannot be the only one who was interested in what this Victor-like gift could be? We kind of knew but there were definitely some unsaid things. And oh boy is her gift interesting! But you could definitely see why she dislikes it though when things come to a peak on an island in the latter half of the book, we have a case of learning that all gifts have a silver lining.

4. My heart was literally pounding so loud I could hear it at one point in the book and I was SSOOO absorbed/ stunned/ excited I kind of had to take a breather. There is seriously NOT ONE SINGLE PART OF THE BOOK that lacks luster or is slow/ dull (ENGAGING 100% OF THE TIME) but be sure to expect LOTS to start happening around the middle of the book.

5. Benedicts, Benedicts and more Benedicts!!! Throw in the Robinsons, a multitude of interesting, new savant powers and criminals aplenty and you get one epic penultimate book.

If you loved the other books, there is no way you could not love this one. Summer is an absolute sweetheart and I think we all root for her to realize that while it is important to help and care for others, you need to care for yourself too.

Btw. As you can tell, I loved it so much I actually wrote my first review ever. So yeah, read it. Bye xxx

[Милена Божинова · Rating 5 out of 5]

Една много хубава, силна и спираща дъха история. Определено не ме разочарова като последна от поредицата. Струва си човек да я прочете.

[Ferdy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't like it. Summer was a classic YA doormat. She let people walk all over her all the bloody time. It didn't help that Hal, the love interest, was a sexist douchey pig.
I swear Summer spent 90% of her time saying sorry for things that weren't her fault. The Benedicts, her friends, and Hal guilted her into helping out in all kinds of dangerous situations, they kept putting her in danger but she was the one who kept apologising to them when things went wrong, when it should have been the other way around. It was irritating.

[Juli · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMO AMO AMO
Amo esta saga
Amo los personajes
Amo la historia
Amo la frescura de los libros
Amo lo que Joss logra en cada libro

AME COMPLETAMENTE

Un hermoso cierre para esta saga

[K.K. Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man, I really loved the last book in the series <3 I loved Hal, and Summer .. and Hal was really hot I think :D he was quite my type and I loved the chemistry between him and summer! And there was action and friendship and hardship and yeh just everything I love in this series <3

[Kelsey van Dillen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is really one of my favorite series ever! Every part is just so awesome. I have a bad feeling this really is the last part, which makes me kind of sad. I will miss the benedicts and the savants realm.

[Krisi S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

За пръв път не знам какво да кажа. Нямам думи, с които да опиша колко невероятна беше последната книга от поредицата “Саванти”. Сюжетът, героите, всичко беше идеално за мен – идеалният край за една от любимите ми поредици. (https://sarcasticcdreamer.wordpress.c...)

[Allydy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first books of the installment when I was 13 and they had me in a chokehold. To this day, Finding Sky and Calling Crystal are my guilty pleasures. I never really connected with Phoenix and was so disappointed in Misty (partly because the Benedicts were moved to the side lines) that I never read the other two books. (Also, it was hard to get a copy at the time.)

However, I randomly thought about Joss Stirling like two days ago and after checking out the description of this book... oh boy. I don’t know if it’s the nostalgia, but I loved it. It connected the prior books really well, and even though Hal is kinda sexist, I liked the dynamic. It really made me feel like my early teenage years again.

I’ll definitely give Angel a chance after that one!

[Rain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es ist jedes Mal das selbe Muster und trotzdem fesseln mich die Bücher immer wieder xD ach, Joss, ich verneige mich vor dir

[Linda Betance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creo que nunca superare esta Saga de FREAKING SOULFINDERS (Si tan solo existieran...)
Me encanto tanto adentrarme en este mundo, donde existen personas con habilidades mentales donde no ocurre nada lo suficientemente drastico o mortal tipo para que me trastorne por un buen tiempo donde ademas de tener habilidades (no a la categoria de poderes X-men) existe otra persona media naranja que esta destinada a ser el mejor match que se puede tener en la vida.
Estos 6 libros me han refrescado la mente del mundo de Fantasia y Ficcion (y romance) del que tanto estoy acostumbrada.
Una de las cosas que mas ame fue la relación que existe entre los hermanos Benedict, o mejor dicho toda esta familia definitivamente son Future family goals. El encanto de los hermanos, su amor incondicional por el otro y las bromas pesadas que comparten, me hace ver lo bello que es tener una familia grande en la que cada uno tiene su propia esencia por mas rara que sea (Xav) en la que por diferentes que sean, demuestran que cada uno comparte y agrega de manera unica siempre en la unidad familiar.
Me despedire de esta Saga con la esperanza que Joss Stirling escriba otras 6 historias sobre Savants, Soulfinders y Benedicts en ellos.
PD: Yves te amo

[Priss · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5. Ahh, Ms Stirling's books always make me feel so happy. This was so good!

[annastycznie]

Co ukrywa Summer? jest jedyną książką z tej serii, do której nigdy nie dotarłam w czasach, gdy święciła triumfy na moich półkach. Czemu tak się stało? Nie wiem, może czułam, że z niej wyrosłam, a może hasło "Afganistan" w opisie trochę mnie przeraziło (nie lubię i nigdy nie lubiłam, gdy ktoś wykorzystuje wojny i ludzkie nieszczęście jako tło dla romantycznej historii).
Mam wrażenie, że trochę straciłam, bo ta książka pod wieloma względami najlepsza ze wszystkich. Wydaje mi się, że jest to kwestia tego, jak warsztat autorki się zmienił oraz jak przez lata ewoluował gatunek young adult i tego typu romanse.

Zostawmy sobie słodkie na koniec i przejdźmy szybko przez to, co mi się nie podobało:
1. Wątek Victora. Czekałam na niego jak na zbawienie przez całą serię, bo sam Victor jest najbardziej enigmatycznym z braci Benedict i byłam ciekawa, jak rozwiąże się jego wątek. Fakt, że większość z tego dzieje się jeszcze przed rozpoczęciem akcji powieści, a na samą fabułę przypada tylko sprzątanie konsekwencji niezmiernie mnie rozczarował.
2. Hal Robinson. This dude, I can't. Niemal każdy z głównych love interestów w tej książce był bucem albo toksykiem, ale ten to bije ich wszystkich na głowę. Naprawdę nie rozumiem sympatii autorki do tworzenia facetów, którzy działają na zasadzie "kto się lubi, ten się czubi" i są straszliwie kontrolujący.
3. "Główny" (poza oczywiście romansem) plot - strasznie poszatkowany i mega dużo się tu dzieje, a samej końcowej (ostatnie 120? stron) przez dłuższą chwilę trochę nie rozumiałam.

Ponarzekałam sobie i basta. Teraz dobre rzeczy.
Przede wszystkim Summer. Chciałoby się rzec, moje słoneczko, o ironio. Zdecydowanie najlepsza ze wszystkich bohaterek. Tak bardzo... jakaś, tak bardzo inna pod względem charakteru od wszystkich poprzednich. Niezwykle podobał mi się jej portret psychologiczny i to, jak podchodzi do życia. Cały czas miałam wobec niej cały garnek współczucia i wsparcia. Uwielbiam też jej relację z nestorem rodu Benedictów - Saulem. Była tak przeurocza aaaaa. Saul jest takim ojcem, którego chcieliby mieć absolutnie wszyscy i serce mi mięknie gdy myślę o tym, jak wiele wsparcia oferował Summer i jak szybko zaczął ją traktować jak rodzoną córeczkę (plus omg to, że wszyscy bracia Benedictowie podjęli to od razu - rozpływam się).
Na plus zasługuje też napięcie między Summer i Halem. O ile tego drugiego szczerze nie lubię, o tyle bardzo podobała mi się dynamika między nimi, ich przepychanki i żarciki i ta jedna bardzo dobra, romantyczna scena.
Wreszcie, na ogromne wyróżnienie zasługuje końcówka. Tak, wiem, że w rubryczce "nie lubię" też ją umieściłam, bo fabularnie jest dość... nijaka i prosta, ale OMG, w końcu wielka bitwa dobra ze złem, Benedictowie i Spółka kontra największe zło? No błagam, chyba wszyscy na to czekali. I fakt, że pojawili się złole z pierwszej i drugiej części!!! Mega mi się podobało, jak ta historia zatoczyła koło.

Czuć mocno, że wszystkie wątki, które mogłyby w tym uniwersum się pojawić zostały rozwiązane. Ostatecznie cała ta seria wychodzi mocno na plus, jako taki odmóżdżacz, nawet mimo tego, jak bardzo stereotypowe są pierwsze części. Czuć zmianę w tych książkach na przestrzeni lat i bardzo się z tego cieszę, bo stanowiły one naprawdę dużą część moich wczesnonastoletnich lat.

[Irina Storozuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Estoy así: 😭💔🥰😊

Creo que este fue el mejor libro de toda la saga. Me encantó volver a ver a todos los Benedict, sus almas gemelas, amigos y enemigos en acción.

Summer tiene una familia complicada de la cual podrá escapar temporalmente en una misión complicada para ayudar a rescatar a Victor, quien está en grandes problemas al romper todas las reglas para encontrarse con su alma gemela (¡si! Llegó el alma gemela de Victor). En la misión, conocerá a los Robinson, un interesante grupo de hermanos.

No quiero contar mucho más porque tengo miedo de dar spoilers pero en esta historia hay ¡de todo! Romance, acción, traiciones y sorpresas.

Creo que fue un muy buen final para toda esta hermosa saga. No tengo nada de lo que quejarme. Se ganó absolutamente sus 5 ⭐

Voy a extrañar a los hermanos Benedict 😭

PD: la escena casi al final de Xav agradeciéndole a Summer es lo más 😂

[Tiffany Heywood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh how i love this series and this book was no expectation. This series is very much focused around romance which I'm a sucker for. I fell in love with summer as a character. I felt that even though she had so much waying her down in her life she didn't let it stop her from doing the right thing. She was definatley strongwilled and stood up for herself against Hal in the beginning. Hal was a character which at first was really uptight and unlikeable but i definetly grew to him as the book carried on. I loved that their was Disney references in the book used between Hal and summer as banter. I loved that all the characters were in this book from all the different books in the series. It was nice to see how they were doing after their book had finished and how close they all were as a family.
I gave this book 5 stars as i love this series and will be forever rereading them.

[Mihail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Един грандиозен финал на една хубава поредица, която винаги обещава добре прекарано време в компанията си и страхотни приключения с герои, които е много трудно да не заобичате. И слънчевата Самър не е изключение. Самър, точно както всеки друг от савантското общество, има свои демони за преборване. Нейните демони обаче са не само ментални, има и физически такива, членове на собственото й семейство, които вместо да й осигурят щастлив и безопасен дом, я тормозят денонощно с подмолните си атаки. Така че не идва като изненада решението й да зареже всичко и да отиде да спасява Виктор Бенедикт в мисия в Афганистан. Така де, там не би могло да е по-опасно от вкъщи, нали?

[Agustina Zanelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

La historia de Summer es oscura y complicada. Debe lidiar con unas situaciones muy difíciles en su vida, y cuando Victor Benedict desaparece y ella es la única que lo puede localizar, todo se vuelve aún más enredado.

Summer puede meterse en la mente de cualquiera, pero también puede controlarlos. Cuando cruza caminos con Hal, un soldado no-savant (o sea que no posee ningún poder y a diferencia de sus hermanos, no pertenece al mundo de los demás), ambos se llevan como perro y gato. Pero sus discusiones se vuelven cada vez más picantes y se van convirtiendo en algo más.

Viajando por el mundo, Summer debe encontrar a Victor antes de que sea demasiado tarde.

Me encanta esta saga, es tan tierna y refrescante. Summer es una protagonista a la que le gusta el orden y hacer planes, y Hal es más impulsivo, por lo que sus interacciones son muy entretenidas y divertidas. También tenemos a todos los personajes de los libros anteriores que los amo demasiado.

Una de las cosas que más me gustó de este libro fue el recorrido que hace por diferentes ciudades. Cada lugar que la autora describía era tan interesante, que me ponía a buscar imágenes incluso. Toda la saga nos ha hecho recorrer el mundo y eso me parece genial.

Hay mucha acción y tensión en este libro, escenas de infarto, llenas de adrenalina. Tuvo unos muy buenos giros y varias partes repletas de drama que me generaron un poquitín de angustia.

También hay mucho romance, por supuesto. Partes realmente dulces y adorables... y otras quizás un poco demasiado cursis. Si hay algo que me gusta de esta saga es que me deja con una gran sonrisa en el rostro. Además, me encantan las metáforas tan tiernas que hace la autora, me provocan mucha dulzura.

Summer no ha sido uno de mis favoritos de esta saga, pero quizás porque en este momento tengo bloqueo de lector. Así que espero releerlo más adelante para ver si cambia mi opinión. De todas maneras, el libro me encantó. Fue entretenido, muy tierno e incluso se tratan temas serios y profundos en él. Realmente necesito leer la otra saga de la autora porque estoy segura que también me va a encantar.

[Camila Núñez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una historia que te roba más que un suspiro de amor 😍.

[Lotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well Summer, it was nice meeting you!

[Sofia Mesaglio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hermoso libro, es tan adictivo que lo terminas en una sentada (literalmente estuve 5 horas seguidas sin parar para terminarlo). Voy a extrañar mucho a mis hermanos Benedict, aunque si tengo que admitir que fue un lindo fin de la saga. Hal es un amor, no me gusta mucho que sea tan protector, pero estoy segura que Summer lo va a ubicar cuando se pase. Me pareció que el final fue un poco apresurado, pasaron muchas cosas en muy poco tiempo. La identidad del villano era muy obvio pero TREMENDO PLOT TWIST con los Robinson, sinceramente no me lo esperaba (si me esperaba que Hal fuera un savant, claramente)
Por eso, le doy a esta belleza 4,5⭐️

[Luu · Rating 3 out of 5]

No fue lo que esperaba. Creo que tanta expectativa que tenía por saber cómo era el alma gemela de Victor me hizo especular muchas cosas y aunque me encantó Atoosa y cómo eran juntos, fue muy poco tiempo Q_Q
Lo más importante, Summer como protagonista me gustó, porque tampoco se dejaba pisar fácilmente pero al final que terminó siendo una damisela rescatada me decepcionó bastante. Hal como pareja me gustó aunque tampoco tuvieron tantos momentos románticos.
No se, no fue lo que esperaba u.u

[Michelle Moonen · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I pre-ordered this book from bookdepository and somehow got it early! I screamed when I got it in the mail. This is by far my favourite book of this series and Summer is so amazing!! Joss pretty pretty please never stop writing in this world, I will forever read and re-read these books!

[Hila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say that this is probably one of the more well-written ones with characters with a bit more realistic depth and grit, rather than the crime novel sort of backgrounds of the previous books' protagonists. Although structurally better, I felt that it lacked some of the of the much-needed pizzazz from the other books that made them worth reading. The only point in the book where you really felt it was when Xav was dying and you could hear Crystal raw grief and pain through the other characters . The one thing that makes me really annoyed when reading these books is the incredibly cheesy and kind of the demeaning way the author writes about women. With good intentions, the book is written in a way where it tries to be very politically correct, but with unsatisfactory results. It almost feels like that without the women being "saved" by their male counterparts that they would not be able to do anything for themselves. The writing also includes rather irritating phrases such as "my women" and "and hands of my girl" which I think are meant to portray the undying love between them but ends up with a rather territorial and unrealistic feel, at least for me anyway. Although it wasn't my favourite book in the series, I'm very sad to say that from the outcome from this book, it seems like there will not be a 7th, (but isn't 7 the lucky number in the Savant World??).

[Amy Littleford · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5 stars

I finally finished this series! I was really looking forward to reading Summer and Victor's soul finder story and I did end up enjoying the book. Having said this I can't really ignore the major red flags this was giving me. Firstly, the sexism at the start of this book was mortifying, just like the last book, Angel Dares. Hal, Summer's soul finder, was very sexist when he first met Summer, and of course it was considered teasing because he liked her. Completely ridiculous. The other thing that I found problematic was when Summer, not knowing the names of some Asian characters, nicknames them Aladdin and Jafar (cultural appropriation) which really annoyed me. Also, a completely ignorance about Afghanistan overall.

I did enjoy Summer's background story with her family and her powers as a savant were very unique. Hal's abilities where as unique and their abilities paired together were brilliant. I loved the plot line of this book and how it brought the series to a satisfying end. We got to see every character that was important in the ending and I really loved it! To see the savants working together was really fun. I feel like this series is a little outdated for me and sadly when it was released it probably wasn't seen as problematic. However, I'm glad to finally have finished this series!

Amy x

[Flo]

Nice to have finally read the last installment in this series after all these years!

I have a lot of problems with this book (pff the sexism of Hal is so bad and I really dislike how the Benedicts pressured Summer and continuously left her in harms way). However, it was fun to see how Joss Stirling tied the series together by featuring the evil guys from the first few books and getting almost the entire gang together for a big battle - even if that meant you only got a glimpse of them due to the sheer number of characters to fit in a few pages.