Walking Through Shadows

by Sheri Lewis Wohl

Molly Williams is a powerful hereditary witch who manages to keep her powers under control as she tries to be normal. Most of the time, it works.

An invitation from friends Winnie and Angus is just the diversion she needs right now, and she jumps at the offer to go backpacking along the Umatilla River in northeast Oregon. When a freak storm forces them to take shelter in a secluded, crumbling cabin, their trip takes an unexpected turn. The moment Molly touches a leather-bound book discovered in the floorboards, they’re transported back in time.


Only with the help of the mysterious and beautiful Native American woman Aquene do they stay one step ahead of a band of witch hunters. Will Molly find the right magic to get them home before the hunters find her? Or will she risk it all to stay at Aquene’s side?


Cover Artist: Sheri Halal
Genres: Paranormal & Urban Fantasy / Romance

Genres: Romance, Time Travel, Paranormal, LGBT, Fantasy, Lesbian, Historical

242 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2017

About the author

From the author's website: A reader since I could pick up a book, my goal in grade school was to read every book in the library. I didn't quite make it through every book, but I came darn close, and thus my love of literature was born. I started writing in high school and have continued through today. I didn't follow my muse to college, at least not at first. Instead, I floundered around and managed to complete a degree with concentrations in Psychology, Communications and Women's Studies at Eastern Washington University. But, the pull of the written word wasn't done with me yet, and I went back to school to complete a Masters in Humanities through California State University. With a thesis on Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's vampire tale "Carmilla", it was a gothic writer's dream come true.
Today, I'm still writing and reading a ton of books. With the advent of electronic publishing I can carry any number of books in my Kindle. I'm never without a touch of fiction. I'm a member of Romance Writers of America, the Transylvanian Society of Dracula, Team Blaze (a local triathlon group), and a local K9 search & rescue team.

Reviews

[Lex Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 Stars. This a paranormal, time-traveling, romance. An odd sort of combo, but it actually worked for me. I think this is the 6th book I have read by Wohl, and it was the most enjoyable by far. Wohl writes mostly paranormal, which I love, but I seem to have a hard time connecting to her books. I'm happy to say this was a good, quick read that I could not put down until I finished.

The story is about Molly, a born witch from a family line of them. Her powers have not strongly manifested, so she stepped away from her family to open a bakery. After a fire shuts her business down, she joins her best friend Winnie and Winnie's boyfriend Angus, backpacking in Oregon. When a storm forces them to find shelter in an old abandon cabin, a loose floor board draws Molly's attention. What she finds there will change her life and her friends lives forever.

What I really enjoyed about this story was the characters. Everyone really played their role well. You are in the head-space of many characters even though Molly is the main character. You get to know the best friend Winnie, and a very intriguing Native American women Aquene, and even the evil Witch Hunter. I'm usually not as big in head hopping so many characters, but it works in this book. And I normally don't care for being in an evil villain's head, but again it made him a solid bad guy. Not a cartoon madman.

You have two romances going on in this story. One lesfic and one het. Both romances are very light, no sex scenes, but they were both sweet. And considering they are in the 1800's with basically a demon after them, there was still some good feels in this book.

This is a quick read and in looking back, not a ton of stuff really happens. But there was an urgency to the book, that gave it a little excitement. Parts of the book were sad when you think of what happened to Native Americans and women who were burned alive because they were accused of being a witch. Wohl took historical facts and put them in a paranormal world. I like that and the fact that this book was different. It is not a book we have seen done over and over again. Different is something I usually enjoy. Plus, the ending was nice and happy which I appreciate.

For me, this is Wohl's best book so far. I can recommend it to paranormal and or time-traveling fans. If Wohl writes more books like this, I will be happy to read them.

An ARC was given to me by BSB, for a honest review

[Alealea · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has been a great soporific. I'm sorry to say I fell asleep on it on my couch. Something that never happened to me before when I'm reading !

The synopsis is : a modern witch goes on a hiking trip with her best friend and her BF's lover. They are called though time because the witch (not a really good one) is apparently the best one to deal with a very bad guy who spend centuries killing witches. She will have help in the package of a beautiful shaman (lucky her!)

I had a hard time getting involved in the situation and sometimes understanding the writing.

For example, I didn't get if the BF's lover was a nice guy or not in the first chapters. Something was weird. What is worse, I still don't know if it was an ambiguity wanted by the writer or not. >_<

Second, Fate is happening. And that trope spoils the whole story. The InstaLov doesn't help. And the end is...

outrageous. The Native american character, Aquenne, has a vision of what is to come. She knows her people will loose a huge part of their culture, that the land will be changed, the river undrinkable, and so on.... and she's horrified.
But at the end, she goes to the 21rst century to live happily ever after there. With industries, and pollution, and weird technology ... and she's HAPPY ? it's SO unbelievable !

I had wondered (before and after I took that unplanned nap) if I should go to the end.
I shouldn't have.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the sound of book. It was a time traveling witch with a romance. Okay...sounds interesting. It was. I really enjoyed it. Right up until the end. There was a lot of nice build up...a ton of descriptive prose. A build up of anger and danger and love. Then poof...it ended. A very quick, not very eventful ending. I've been having this experience a lot lately. I don't know if there is a magic number of pages that publishers are wanting....but this could have been a really, really epic kind of story. But it just ends...all tied up with a nice little bow.

I gave it 3 stars because of the premise and the first 3/4 of the book that I really enjoyed. But the ending really really disappointed.

I received an ARC of this book form the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Jane Shambler · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's my first by this author and I really liked the feel of the book. It's written during the 1800's and I feel Wohl dealt with the issues well. Taking in to account the unrest with the native Americans and burning witches at the stake.

Time travel, paranormal, witches... quite a heady combination. But it worked quite well. Molly Williams comes from a long line of powerful witches but she decided to open a bakery. Unfortunately, it burned down so she took the opportunity to go hiking in Oregon with her best friend Winnie and her boyfriend Angus. When the reach a lonely and derelict cabin they enter and her life along with her friends lives are changed forever. They are transported back in time to 1837.

A Native American woman called Aquene turns up at the cabin and she has the sight. There is also a witch hunter on the prowl making the situation dangerous. The witch hunter is seriously creepy. Sorry had to put it out there. But he did kind of bring a balance to the book which you weren't really noticeably missing.

The overall story is intriguing and I will definitely be looking out for more of Wohl in the future. I gave it 3.75 rounded up to 4 stars. Enjoy!


*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*

[Colleen Corgel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fine. There was some good chemistry with the main characters. I loved that we followed two couples, tool. It added a little extra depth to the story that would have been a little too one note for me. The major problem that I have with this is that the pacing was way too slow for a story about the main characters being chased down by a bad guy. The narration would cute back and forth between the good guys and the bad guy, and we could see him getting closer, but it just didn't feel urgent. Yes the psychic Aquene, is constantly telling Molly (the person the bad guy is going after) that the bad guy is coming, but with her diction it merely feels like she's noting the time. Without that sense of urgency, the inevitable encounter fell really flat.

I did like the premise - yay time travel - and Aquene's story is so very bittersweet, but the overarching plot loses a lot of its menace because of its slow pace. I think I would have felt a little more engaged if the pacing and sense of urgency were picked up more.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time travel, witch hunter the only thing I didn't like was I thought the fight between Molly and Matthew would have been better.

NetGalley for honest review.

[books, books, books · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
Molly Williams is a witch with a destiny. She's been resisting it her whole life but when she unexpectedly finds herself back in the 1800s in the company of a beautiful Native American woman she can't deny it any longer. Along with her friends Winnie and Angus she is transported back to a time when her powers are needed. She has the fight of her life against the witch- finder and his plans to destroy her.
This was an enjoyable story of finding love and purpose when you least expect it. I liked Aquene a lot as she was written as such an open and caring character. The descriptions of the unspoilt West were lovely and I could sympathise with Aquene as to what her people were about to lose. The author managed to convey a sense of fear and menace as the group fought to stay one step ahead of the true evil, which was not witchcraft, but the witchfinder himself.

I was given this ARC by Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books in return for an honest review.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

The storyline intrigued me, with a witch traveling back in time to take on a witch Hunter. Unfortunately it just fell a little short of my expectations. The romances were sweet, but the f2f one was instant love and I would have preferred more build up.

I would prefer more showing rather than telling me what characters are thinking.

I did like the main bad guy and getting inside his head. The het romance was well written.

Promising story.

[Pippa D · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Molly Williams comes from a line of powerful witches. The fact that she works as a baker and hasn’t come into her powers yet, belies her heritage. When her bakery burns to the ground one night, she takes off with her best friend Winnie for a two week trek with Winnie’s boyfriend Angus.

When they reach a lonely and derelict cabin, they are transported in time to 1837, when a witch hunter is on the prowl. A Native American woman appears in the cabin, and this women, Aquene, has the sight. Will they be able to escape the witch hunter, or will they join forces and find a way to banish him to hell?

Molly is friendly and not used to having to fight for what she holds dear. She’s been told all her life that her strength will come, but she’s never needed it before this. Molly was a light character, whose strength really rested in her joy of baking and her ability to bring together people of good character. It sounds a little old-fashioned, but there were elements of that in the book.

Aquene, the Native American love interest, was a much more interesting character and had more depth than the main character. I would have liked to have heard more from her. Winnie was the entertainment in the book, and she and Angus carried much of the early part of the book. They were a great addition to the story, and helped to ground the book before it descended into peril for the main character.

The antagonist, Matthew, was suitably spooky and creepy. He was well written and the parts with him were an interesting counterpoint to the rest of the book. I don’t always like hearing from the bad guy in these sorts of books, as I find them less interesting, but I think this book needed him for balance.
This was a fairly light and enjoyable book about witches, hunters, and time travel.

Advanced reading copy provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

[Sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book starts out with good intentions and a fascinating plot. Our three main characters are transported to the past, to an America were settlers have just started arriving. They meet a Native American Woman, who is sure that Molly can help her save her people and defeat the looming shadow that's trying to destroy them. There's also the witch hunters that are close on Molly's tail and they are dangerous and deadly. As if trying to survive in the wilderness of America in 1873 wasn't already hard enough.

The stakes are high and there is a sense of urgency accompanying the book. Most of the plot of the book (except for a time jump in the beginning and another in the end) happens in less than three days. However, I think the book would have greatly benefited from more time (especially in the romance department). Like this, Molly and Aquene meet, immediately trust each other (which is okay, they don't really have another choice) and fall in love in just two days and one night.

Angus' and Winnie's relationship was far better developed and made more sense, probably since they already knew each other. They get separated from the group and have to try to survive together. While it was nice to see how much Angus supported Winnie and get some body-positivity in the mix, they too would have benefited from a longer storyline.

Another character is Matthew, the main antagonist. I really like that he got his own voice because it made him even more terrifying. He was an obsessed, incredibly creepy guy and I quite enjoyed his parts (and cheered at his demise).

And now it's time for the things that bothered me. Because sadly as interesting (yet underdeveloped) as the characters were, there are a lot of things that were bad plot-wise. Spoiler Warning Applies. Rant incoming.

Aquene sees Molly as the savior of her people. When she finds out that in the future America is mostly white and Native Americans are gone from the land that is rightfully theirs, she is terrified. Molly is a bit sad, but ultimately she just says that many white people are sorry for what happened. Many would like to change that it happened if they had the chance. But oh well, it happened, no can do now. Oh, I would have a chance now? Uh, oh well, uhm, gotta go. Byeeeee!!! The "you will save my people" thing is never mentioned again and in the end, Aquene is apparently okay with her entire culture being whipped out by colonists as long as she can be with a girl, she just met two days ago. But it's fine. Because they are soulmates.

Probably one of my biggest problems with this book is how flat it fell compared to its interesting premise. There's insta love, which really ruined their relationship for me. (let people get to know each other before they fall head over heels for each other and turn their entire lives upside down for once please!) There's Molly not at all caring about the plight Native American people have gone through and are still going through today due to colonization. And Aquene is okay with that. Because Love. Oh, did I mention that she leaves her entire family behind when she takes off with Molly to go to the 21st century? But it's fine because now she can teach the language that died out because her entire tribe was slaughtered. What a good ending. All the main characters survived, so that's good right?

I really wanted to like this book. I read did. But writing a book that starts out with the premise of saving witches and Native Americans and then just saving the white witches without a single thought to Native American history just doesn't work. 

Aquene also got a voice by herself and we get to see her terror when she sees what the future holds, but we never get to see her fight against that. She's just there to support Molly, the white savior of her people, except she actually just saves her own hide and oh well, they have to leave now, how convenient.

All in all, this book was such a huge disappointment and I'm quite sad to see that no other reviewer has spoken out about this huge problem in the plot. Native Americans are not just a part of America's history. They still exist today. They are not just a plot device to have some spirit guide in a book, who tells the white heroine what she is supposed to do. If this book had just featured white people it could have been an unfortunate oversight. But the author obviously knows at least a bit about the terror Native Americans had to face and yet still the one Native American character in her story ends up abandoning her people like that. And we are supposed to feel good about that?

Sorry, for me, this book was just a huge miss.

[S.M. Lowry · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I received a review copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Walking Through Shadows by Sheri Lewis Wohl is a love story that defies time. Molly is a hereditary witch who has put all of her time and energy into her baking business, only to have her shop go up in smoke. When her friends, Angus and Winnie, invite her to go on a hike to take her mind off her loss, Molly reluctantly agrees. Aquene is a Native American woman who leaves her people to journey where the Great Spirit takes her. To save her people, Aqueene must help a strange woman from the future defeat a deadly witch hunter. But the boundaries of time may prove to be insurmountable to Aqueene and Molly’s blossoming love.


Walking Through Shadows had an intriguing storyline that caught my attention and kept me hooked through the story. I love a good time travel story, and the magic and romance enhanced the plot, which made this a fantastic read. The historical Native American setting was lovely, and one I don’t see enough in romance novels. I did wish there had been a bit more emphasis on the romance. However, the love between Aqueene and Molly was still sweet and enjoyable, and the rest of the plot made this story a great read. All of the characters were good, but I found myself loving to hate the witch hunter. He was so well written that I wanted to jump into the book and go after him! Walking Through Shadows is a fantastic read, and I definitely recommend reading it.

[laurel [the suspected bibliophile] · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has everything that I want to see in a novel: time travel, early 19th century Oregon (EARLY Oregon Trail time), Native Americans, lesbians, witches and a cute dog.

This is a decent story about a young witch-baker who loses everything and sets off on a hiking trip with her two friends for an adventure that turns into something much more deadly. Much of the story is spent building up the tension—between the two main characters, Molly and Aquene, and between everyone and the Big-Bad, the evil and immortal Witch-Finder bend on doing God's Will (but really, he's just an insanely evil dude who likes burning women). The rest of the story is spent with all of the characters running. Molly and Aquene are running away from and then towards the cabin. Winnie is running for water. And Matthew is running after the witch. It's like reading Lord of the Rings, minus the hobbits, elves and swords. Other things happen too, but it's a lot of running.

Rated 3 stars because I really enjoyed the connection between Molly and Aquene, but I really, really, really wanted more magic (like, fantasy magic not New Agey magic), more exploration of 19th century Oregon and interaction with the people, more action and well, less running. And I wanted more of the doggie!!

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Walking Through Shadows by SheriLewis Wohl is a time traveling romance. I really wanted to like this book, especially with the potential of Molly and Aquene’s relationship but this novel fell flat for me. I feel like Wohl put more and attention into Winnie and Angus’s relationship, the witch hunter’s internal thoughts then what the summer lead me to believe Walking Through Shadows would be about.

The pacing was slow. It didn’t get the feeling of the characters being in danger, the rush of adrenalin that was most likely intended. I was bored with it.
Each section with Aquene was repetitive and by the end I knew what she was going to be thinking about Molly. There was no build up to her and Molly ‘loving’ each other. It just happened and it didn’t make sense.

It was supposed to be their destiny to come together, to defeat Him and to fall in love but I found myself skimming their parts and more invested in Winnie and Angus. I was determined that Angus was going to turn out to be more but that didn’t get explored either.

It was disappointing and I thought it was going to be a really great read. The concept was awesome, time traveling, Native American guide, not something you see.

Would I recommend this? No. Will I search out other books by Wohl? No.
I received an e-copy through NetGalley for an honest review.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book seems odd at first with a paranormal - romance - time travel combo but somehow it works. I enjoyed the book and the characters and how it developed but the end left me kind of stunned and angry. It build up a lot of tensions, love, anger dangerous situations - the whole thing and then it just stopped. It felt like as if there are pages missing but after reading some other reviews, I realized it wasn’t just me with that feeling and I guess there weren’t any pages missing. I think if all of the end would have played out it could have been great... It gave me something to think and fantasize about but it would have been nice to get some closure.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review

[Ankita Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

(First of all, a big thank you to NetGalley for giving me a chance to read and review this magnificent piece of literature!)

WOW.

Walking Through Shadows was a complete package.

It had suspense, romance, adventure, time-travel, witchcraft and a whole bunch of magic. What more does a good book need anyway?

I loved Molly as well as Aquene. They were both full of magic and awesomeness and their story was beautiful.

Walking Through Shadows left me grinning from ear to ear and at the same time wishing that it hadn't ended.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is, Walking Through Shadows was absolutely amazing and I'd suggest anyone with a love for the supernatural to give it a shot!

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mild lesbian romance.
I enjoyed the novel which tells the story of a normal heterosexual couple and a lesbian witch who travel back in time to condemn a witch hunter who believes God has sent him to remove all witches from the earth.
I was given this book by NetGalley and the publisher. This is my voluntary review.

[Val · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here’s a quick synopsis of this book: There is an enormous build up to a confrontation that lasts about 90% of the book. Then BAM, the confrontation happens and the book ends. What the hell? I really wanted to see what happens with Molly and Aquene. Disappointing.