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Raven
BE YOUR OWN HERO.
Phoebe is a gifted hacker, living rough on the streets of Auckland. She's given a chance at another life when her idol, billionaire tech entrepreneur Melissa Cameron, hires her to track down a dangerous killer named Raven.
Raven wants revenge on Melissa's team. He's mutating stranded Shadows into mindless monsters as part of a sinister agenda. Phoebe will have to look into the darkest corners of her city and confront her deepest fears if she is to save her new oddball family.
Griffin's story is only just beginning. But before then, an evil called Raven was born. Before then, Phoebe worked with the Camerons to achieve the impossible.
This is their story.
Raven is the second book in the Shadows series, a saga of unlikely friendship between human and monster that will appeal to fans of Pokémon, set against the backdrop of a darkly thrilling mystery.
Interview with the Author
Q: Is it true you started writing the Shadows Series when you were nine?
A: It is! I think it was around that time that I started feeling the lonely feeling, that sensation of missing something, but I wasn’t quite sure what. So I started telling Shadows as bedtime stories to my godsister, and it grew from there. I wrote countless drafts in the back of the class at school, and when I was fourteen I tried to get it published. It took a wee bit longer than that for it to get out into the world, but it feels so good that it’s here now and people are reading it and each having their own unique experience of it.
Q: If you had to compare Shadows to something, what would you compare it to?
A: I hear people saying it reminds them slightly of Saturday morning cartoons, and it definitely carries that inspiration; I grew up with Beyblades, Pokémon and those sorts of anime on TV, and also those old movies on VHS like Dragon World, where the young human befriends a magical creature. Personally I think those comparisons exist because the soul-linked magical creature thing, what I like to call “monster buddy” fiction, is less of a genre these days- so I’m hoping that Shadows helps bring it back! I’d love more authors to be putting out books like that so I can read them.
Q: So what other genres does Shadows fall into?
A: It’s a young adult thriller, amongst good company like the Hunger Games, the Maze Runner and the Chaos Walking Trilogy. It’s definitely fantasy/science fiction, but it’s based in our own modern time. I see it as less a typical fantasy adventure quest, and more so a thriller where the characters are running for their lives, being hunted, trying to survive just long enough to unravel whatever the heck the conspiracy is they’ve gotten themselves caught up in. It’s emotional, thrilling, laugh-out-loud (I hope), and a lot of fun.
Q: Be honest. Is Griffin Cameron based on you?
A: No. He’s much shorter.
Q: Anything else to add?
A: Read Shadows for Cirrus, the Fruit-Loops loving, slightly unhinged dragon-parrot. See, you’ve got to read it now.
Thanks for reading!
Phoebe is a gifted hacker, living rough on the streets of Auckland. She's given a chance at another life when her idol, billionaire tech entrepreneur Melissa Cameron, hires her to track down a dangerous killer named Raven.
Raven wants revenge on Melissa's team. He's mutating stranded Shadows into mindless monsters as part of a sinister agenda. Phoebe will have to look into the darkest corners of her city and confront her deepest fears if she is to save her new oddball family.
Griffin's story is only just beginning. But before then, an evil called Raven was born. Before then, Phoebe worked with the Camerons to achieve the impossible.
This is their story.
Raven is the second book in the Shadows series, a saga of unlikely friendship between human and monster that will appeal to fans of Pokémon, set against the backdrop of a darkly thrilling mystery.
Interview with the Author
Q: Is it true you started writing the Shadows Series when you were nine?
A: It is! I think it was around that time that I started feeling the lonely feeling, that sensation of missing something, but I wasn’t quite sure what. So I started telling Shadows as bedtime stories to my godsister, and it grew from there. I wrote countless drafts in the back of the class at school, and when I was fourteen I tried to get it published. It took a wee bit longer than that for it to get out into the world, but it feels so good that it’s here now and people are reading it and each having their own unique experience of it.
Q: If you had to compare Shadows to something, what would you compare it to?
A: I hear people saying it reminds them slightly of Saturday morning cartoons, and it definitely carries that inspiration; I grew up with Beyblades, Pokémon and those sorts of anime on TV, and also those old movies on VHS like Dragon World, where the young human befriends a magical creature. Personally I think those comparisons exist because the soul-linked magical creature thing, what I like to call “monster buddy” fiction, is less of a genre these days- so I’m hoping that Shadows helps bring it back! I’d love more authors to be putting out books like that so I can read them.
Q: So what other genres does Shadows fall into?
A: It’s a young adult thriller, amongst good company like the Hunger Games, the Maze Runner and the Chaos Walking Trilogy. It’s definitely fantasy/science fiction, but it’s based in our own modern time. I see it as less a typical fantasy adventure quest, and more so a thriller where the characters are running for their lives, being hunted, trying to survive just long enough to unravel whatever the heck the conspiracy is they’ve gotten themselves caught up in. It’s emotional, thrilling, laugh-out-loud (I hope), and a lot of fun.
Q: Be honest. Is Griffin Cameron based on you?
A: No. He’s much shorter.
Q: Anything else to add?
A: Read Shadows for Cirrus, the Fruit-Loops loving, slightly unhinged dragon-parrot. See, you’ve got to read it now.
Thanks for reading!
466 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 10, 2019
About the author
Sam Blood
10 books35 followersSam Blood lives in Auckland, New Zealand, where he spends his days writing urban fantasy, eating, and trying to impress his spectacular Sri Lankan lawyer wife with plot twists. He started writing the first book about magical creatures called Shadows when he was nine years old, and frankly, things have spiralled out of control ever since. If you enjoyed his books, he’d really appreciate a quick rating or review—reviews help indie authors get seen! www.sambloodauthor.com www.instagram.com/sambloodauthor www.facebook.com/sambloodauthor
Dive into the Shadows universe with my other books:
Counterpart Academy: (Young Adult, Urban Fantasy)
A Warrior So Clever and Cursed (Prequel)
A School so Gorgeous and Fatal
A Princess so Noble and Vengeful
The Shadows Series: (Young Adult, Portal Fantasy)
Shadows
Raven
Cameron
Majestic
Eclipse
Winghold
Dive into the Shadows universe with my other books:
Counterpart Academy: (Young Adult, Urban Fantasy)
A Warrior So Clever and Cursed (Prequel)
A School so Gorgeous and Fatal
A Princess so Noble and Vengeful
The Shadows Series: (Young Adult, Portal Fantasy)
Shadows
Raven
Cameron
Majestic
Eclipse
Winghold
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 30, 2019
Phoebe is desperate to get a job at Cameron Technologies. Not only would it mean working under her idol, Melissa Cameron, but it's also her chance to get off the streets. But the interview doesn't go as planned, and soon she's got far more pressing issues occupying her thoughts. Strange creatures have appeared, a killer stalks the streets, and someone is out to make Melissa Cameron pay. If Phoebe can't unravel the mystery in time, she may lose everything she cares about.
This is an unusual second book because it actually takes place 11 years before the first book. That means both that this would be just as good a starting point for a new reader, and that returning readers will immediately tie this to the muddled images Griffin remembers in his own prologue (as well as a few things his brother told him later). So for a returning reader, a sense of tragedy overhangs even the happiest moments, because although we didn't get the details, we know the important points of the conclusion.
Once again the characterization is very strong. It was fun seeing Melissa Cameron through the eyes of those closest to her---all her different roles leave her an open question right up until the end. Is she truly on the right side, or is there something more?
I adored Taylor and his snark.
Gecko was also a treat. Seeing him here, so much younger and more open than he was in the first book, is one of the many interesting juxtapositions. And the Shadows that appear are all such fun.
I think this quote is the one that sums up the whole book. The exploration of this is what drives so much of the plot.
I could never get behind Phoebe's rants about homelessness, though (although I do think it's in character for her to make them). Even without finding out that she HAS a home she could go back to, her disdain of the foster system and demand for the adult amenities she's currently denied just strike me as incredibly self-centered. She wants the freedom of being homeless but blames the system for not providing things she by her own choices gave up. Even beyond that, her arguments lack nuance. There's a balance between taking care of people that have gotten a bad set of circumstances and trying to erase the consequences of bad decisions (which is where I put Phoebe).
There were also several grammatical errors that detracted a bit from my reading.
Overall, though, this was another fantastic adventure that somehow managed to spoil the end from the very beginning due to the first book, yet still keep surprising me the whole way through. I rate this book Recommended.
More favorite quotes:
See my reviews and more at https://offtheshelfreviews.wordpress....
This is an unusual second book because it actually takes place 11 years before the first book. That means both that this would be just as good a starting point for a new reader, and that returning readers will immediately tie this to the muddled images Griffin remembers in his own prologue (as well as a few things his brother told him later). So for a returning reader, a sense of tragedy overhangs even the happiest moments, because although we didn't get the details, we know the important points of the conclusion.
Once again the characterization is very strong. It was fun seeing Melissa Cameron through the eyes of those closest to her---all her different roles leave her an open question right up until the end. Is she truly on the right side, or is there something more?
I adored Taylor and his snark.
“We’re not stupid,” Taylor agrees. “There’s no way we’re getting into a car with a stranger unless you give us lots of candy.”
Gecko was also a treat. Seeing him here, so much younger and more open than he was in the first book, is one of the many interesting juxtapositions. And the Shadows that appear are all such fun.
“Seriously? Seriously?” Ember cocks her head incredulously. “First field assignment with Human Relations, and I meet the girl with a fire phobia. I’m made of fire. This is going to be hard. Um, please don’t freak out. We’ll get past this. Somehow.”
I think this quote is the one that sums up the whole book. The exploration of this is what drives so much of the plot.
“Do you know what real love is, Phoebe?” Melissa says intently. “It’s noticing the bad parts in the people we love, and believing they can rise above their flaws. It’s seeing them as real people, not just who we want them to be. And it’s finding the good in them, even when we don’t recognize who they are anymore.”
I could never get behind Phoebe's rants about homelessness, though (although I do think it's in character for her to make them). Even without finding out that she HAS a home she could go back to, her disdain of the foster system and demand for the adult amenities she's currently denied just strike me as incredibly self-centered. She wants the freedom of being homeless but blames the system for not providing things she by her own choices gave up. Even beyond that, her arguments lack nuance. There's a balance between taking care of people that have gotten a bad set of circumstances and trying to erase the consequences of bad decisions (which is where I put Phoebe).
There were also several grammatical errors that detracted a bit from my reading.
Overall, though, this was another fantastic adventure that somehow managed to spoil the end from the very beginning due to the first book, yet still keep surprising me the whole way through. I rate this book Recommended.
More favorite quotes:
“I exist, you know,” Taylor says dryly, clearly feeling ignored in the conversation. “I have many interesting qualities.”
“Oh, great,” she says, “dead birds. Phoebe, when I die, will you stuff me and pose me for strangers to show how much you love me?”
“Only if they pay me. I swear.”
See my reviews and more at https://offtheshelfreviews.wordpress....
January 24, 2023
A rollercoaster of twists
An amazing follow up to Book One, Raven has so many unexpected twists and turns it's a real rollercoaster of emotion. An absolutely amazing YA series, definitely for older teens not susceptible to death and betrayal - because there's a heck of a lot of it! A 5 star magnificent adventure.
An amazing follow up to Book One, Raven has so many unexpected twists and turns it's a real rollercoaster of emotion. An absolutely amazing YA series, definitely for older teens not susceptible to death and betrayal - because there's a heck of a lot of it! A 5 star magnificent adventure.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews