Review: In the Shadows by Julieanne Lynch

In the Shadows
by Julieanne Lynch

Published July 20th 2011 
by Strict Publishing International 
Kindle Edition, 298 pages 

Goodreads blurb:

"In The Shadows", the first of The Shadows trilogy, is an urban fantasy of vampires and the supernatural, and much, much more. In the shadows you will find lust and passion, battles for power and for blood, and death and fear around every corner. In the shadows you are carried away to an unknown future. Your destiny awaits, and you are no longer who you thought you were. You have a thirst, for blood perhaps, but a thirst for very much more than that.

Giselle was a normal girl with an attitude common to most girls of her age. Her family might not have been perfect (whose is?) but she loved them, and her future looked bright. She had an awesome best friend and a steady boyfriend, but how could she possibly have been so wrong about someone she loved? And how could she have been prepared for the darkness and for what she was to become? 

I missed reading a new YA vampire series, so I was thrilled when I got the chance to read In the Shadows! It was a good book, with an interesting and refreshing take on the vampire lore. (Julieanne talked about it and explained all the details in our interview HERE). Her vamps are dark, creepy, unpredictable, yet intriguing and they have a fascinating history. For that reason alone, this is a book not to be missed!

So "In the Shadows" is about Giselle, a 18 years old girl and her journey into a supernatural world she didn't even know existed, a world full of scary, powerful, creatures who drag her into their dark world without giving her any choice or chance to escape. 

Giselle had a normal teenage life. She was a high school senior, had a loving boyfriend, caring friends and big plans for her future, away from her little town and her distant parents. And suddenly, in just one night, she loses everything. Her boyfriend cheats on her, her best friend proves to be someone - something else, and she gets thrust into a dark, terrifying world full of evil creatures. And that’s not even the worst part – the real problem is that she becomes one of them – well, more or less – and she gets torn  in different directions, because she is supposed to fulfill a prophecy and change destinies and not everyone is happy about that. But she wants none of that, anyway, but suddenly she becomes the main target of all the nightmarish creatures who have big, hidden expectations from her, or who just want to finish her off, this time for good.

Agh, there are so many things going on in this book, I don’t even know what to say about the plot, since I don’t want to give away anything major! Suffice it to say that Giselle goes through a lot of painful changes and unfortunately there are not many people on her side to help her. Every time she can finally begin to trust someone and hope they' ll help her get through all the madness, they show their other face and their hidden reasons. She can’t trust any one. She can’t go back home to her family. She can’t hide. All she can do is to try her best to stay alive and to move forward. If only she knew what that 'forward' meant!

I really liked the cast of characters. They’re all mysterious and intriguing. Some of them are likeable and even charming, but some of them are downright frightening and/or annoying. Either way, they are an important part of the story and their unpredictability kept me on the edge of the seat the whole time. However, I had a bit of a hard time connecting with the main character. I don’t blame her for being scared, hurt, confused, brokenhearted, especially after everything she's going through,  but being depressed and whiny doesn't seem to help her situation either. I don’t know, I just wanted her to stand up for herself a bit more. She had it in her to be strong and face the enemy and not let herself being played by all the mean people surrounding her, and maybe she tried to do that eventually, but she also cried and complained a lot. So even if somehow her behavior makes sense, that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Anyway, that’s just me, don’t let my personal perception of the main character hold you for picking up the book! ;)

All in all, this is rich, captivating story that I recommend to all YA Urban Fantasy fans, especially if you like vamps and want something totally new and intriguing in your story! There's also a lot of action, twist and turns to keep you invested throughout all the book. A lot of things happen very fast and you never know what to expect. Of course, the romance is not missing, and that's a part of the story I'm especially interested in, because things ended up pretty badly and shocking in this first installment of the trilogy and I kind of have a book crush on one of the characters who really surprised me there at the end!:)) I can't wait for the next book!

*Thank you Julieanne Lynch and Roxanne @ Bewitching Blog Tours for sending me a review copy of the book!

P.S. I really wish this book was available in hardback! I love the cover and it would have looked nice on my shelf! Speaking of which, you can still enter our giveaway for e-copies of the book and pretty, personalized prizes HERE!

P.P.S. Don't forget to enter my other 3 giveaways, they are ending soon! (See the right sidebar)

xoxo

Review: In the Shadows by Julieanne Lynch

In the Shadows
by Julieanne Lynch

Published July 20th 2011 
by Strict Publishing International 
Kindle Edition, 298 pages 

Goodreads blurb:

"In The Shadows", the first of The Shadows trilogy, is an urban fantasy of vampires and the supernatural, and much, much more. In the shadows you will find lust and passion, battles for power and for blood, and death and fear around every corner. In the shadows you are carried away to an unknown future. Your destiny awaits, and you are no longer who you thought you were. You have a thirst, for blood perhaps, but a thirst for very much more than that.

Giselle was a normal girl with an attitude common to most girls of her age. Her family might not have been perfect (whose is?) but she loved them, and her future looked bright. She had an awesome best friend and a steady boyfriend, but how could she possibly have been so wrong about someone she loved? And how could she have been prepared for the darkness and for what she was to become? 

I missed reading a new YA vampire series, so I was thrilled when I got the chance to read In the Shadows! It was a good book, with an interesting and refreshing take on the vampire lore. (Julieanne talked about it and explained all the details in our interview HERE). Her vamps are dark, creepy, unpredictable, yet intriguing and they have a fascinating history. For that reason alone, this is a book not to be missed!

So "In the Shadows" is about Giselle, a 18 years old girl and her journey into a supernatural world she didn't even know existed, a world full of scary, powerful, creatures who drag her into their dark world without giving her any choice or chance to escape. 

Giselle had a normal teenage life. She was a high school senior, had a loving boyfriend, caring friends and big plans for her future, away from her little town and her distant parents. And suddenly, in just one night, she loses everything. Her boyfriend cheats on her, her best friend proves to be someone - something else, and she gets thrust into a dark, terrifying world full of evil creatures. And that’s not even the worst part – the real problem is that she becomes one of them – well, more or less – and she gets torn  in different directions, because she is supposed to fulfill a prophecy and change destinies and not everyone is happy about that. But she wants none of that, anyway, but suddenly she becomes the main target of all the nightmarish creatures who have big, hidden expectations from her, or who just want to finish her off, this time for good.

Agh, there are so many things going on in this book, I don’t even know what to say about the plot, since I don’t want to give away anything major! Suffice it to say that Giselle goes through a lot of painful changes and unfortunately there are not many people on her side to help her. Every time she can finally begin to trust someone and hope they' ll help her get through all the madness, they show their other face and their hidden reasons. She can’t trust any one. She can’t go back home to her family. She can’t hide. All she can do is to try her best to stay alive and to move forward. If only she knew what that 'forward' meant!

I really liked the cast of characters. They’re all mysterious and intriguing. Some of them are likeable and even charming, but some of them are downright frightening and/or annoying. Either way, they are an important part of the story and their unpredictability kept me on the edge of the seat the whole time. However, I had a bit of a hard time connecting with the main character. I don’t blame her for being scared, hurt, confused, brokenhearted, especially after everything she's going through,  but being depressed and whiny doesn't seem to help her situation either. I don’t know, I just wanted her to stand up for herself a bit more. She had it in her to be strong and face the enemy and not let herself being played by all the mean people surrounding her, and maybe she tried to do that eventually, but she also cried and complained a lot. So even if somehow her behavior makes sense, that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Anyway, that’s just me, don’t let my personal perception of the main character hold you for picking up the book! ;)

All in all, this is rich, captivating story that I recommend to all YA Urban Fantasy fans, especially if you like vamps and want something totally new and intriguing in your story! There's also a lot of action, twist and turns to keep you invested throughout all the book. A lot of things happen very fast and you never know what to expect. Of course, the romance is not missing, and that's a part of the story I'm especially interested in, because things ended up pretty badly and shocking in this first installment of the trilogy and I kind of have a book crush on one of the characters who really surprised me there at the end!:)) I can't wait for the next book!

*Thank you Julieanne Lynch and Roxanne @ Bewitching Blog Tours for sending me a review copy of the book!

P.S. I really wish this book was available in hardback! I love the cover and it would have looked nice on my shelf! Speaking of which, you can still enter our giveaway for e-copies of the book and pretty, personalized prizes HERE!

P.P.S. Don't forget to enter my other 3 giveaways, they are ending soon! (See the right sidebar)

xoxo

In the Shadows by Julieanne Lynch Blog Tour: Author Interview & Giveaway

Hi!

Wow! It feels like I haven't read a YA debut novel about vampires in a very long time, so when I was given the opportunity to read and review In the Shadows, I jumped right in! And I wasn't disappointed at all! I'll tell you everything about it, but first, here's the interview I had with the awesome author Julieanne Lynch .:D 

Deea: Hi! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions! It’s an honor to have you on my blog!

Julieanne Lynch: Thank you so much for having me, it is great to be here.

D: First off, tell us a bit about yourself. 

JL: I am a thirty-something mother of four, soon to be five,  married to my childhood sweetheart and am obsessed with Gothicism and classic literature.  I love fast cars, fine wine and adore old bookshops.  I can be highly sensitive but have a very bad temper, and nothing means more to me than family.

D: Can you give us a short description of “In the Shadows”? 

JL: In The Shadows is about an eighteen year old girl, Giselle Bergman who is pretty much your average teenager and one most readers can relate to. Her family who is far from perfect love her, she is dating a popular guy and is best friends with a boy who would do anything for her. The only problem is she is deceived in the worst possible way, and by two people she loved the most. Giselle embarks on a journey that opens her eyes to the supernatural elements of her world – or what she thought was her world.

D: Your take on the vampire myths is very interesting and refreshing. I found the idea of Nelapsi especially intriguing! Can you tell us a few words about it? Where did you get your inspiration from?

JL: I have read many books about vampires and just adore the genre. But when I was planning my novel, I wanted to break away from the clichéd version of the mythical creature. So I investigated different European folklore‘s, and found Slavic folklore the most interesting. I loved the folklore that surround the Nelapsi, a breed of vampires who are known as gluttons amongst other vampiric clans, and originate from the Zemplin region of Slovakia.. The vampire both sucks the blood and suffocates his victims. It can also kill a person by a single glance. By bringing a plague, the nelapsi can kill a whole herd or an entire village. The people in the Zemplin region also believed that the vampire has two hearts and hence two souls.

The inspiration came from my love of vampiric-lore, and my obsession with the different descriptions of the nightwalker throughout literature.

D: If you didn’t write about vampires, what would you write about? Would you like to try a different genre as well? 

JL: I love writing about demons, angels, gods, and goddesses, and I enjoy writing horror. I have also penned a more contemporary, middle of the road tear-jerker called Liddy’s Prayer. I like to keep an open mind to writing and like to step out of my comfort zone quite a lot.

D: There is a lot going on in the first book of the trilogy and Giselle goes through many painful changes. What was the most difficult part to write? 

JL: The most difficult part for me to write was possibly Giselle finding out her mother had leukaemia and the dialogue written in Slavic. At the time of writing the book, my uncle had just passed away from prostate cancer, and the wounds within the family were still pretty raw, so I found it quite an emotional journey. In a sense I honed in on my own feelings about the illness and used that experience to bring some kind of realism to the scene. 

With some of the dialogue being in Slavic in chapter seven, I had to turn to some friends who just happen to be from Slovakia to help me construct believable discourse between Atarah and Angelika, as well as the confusion it caused Giselle. Without my friends, the scene would not have worked.

D: This question might be a bit spoiler-ish, but can we hope for a new love interest for Giselle in the upcoming books? Things didn’t go that well for her in the love department so far. 

JL: Yes, someone does capture her heart and helps heal the wounds, but we will have to wait until book three to really see how that plays out. In book two she begins to see that he is the one she wants, and has to battle her own insecurities to overcome her doubt.

(D: *Praying silently that someone is who I think he is**swoon*)

D: Speaking of upcoming books, what is coming up next for you? Are you working on a new story? 

JL: Next, Walking With Shadows will be released and there will be the release of my adult novel Ice Goddess in the new year, as well as the last of the trilogy, Fighting Shadows. I am currently writing a new book called Into The Light, as well as editing Cinnamon Falls.

I am pretty busy for the next twelve months.

D: I also love asking authors a few short questions; it gives us the opportunity to know more about the person behind the author. So: 

Early bird or night owl?

Early Bird!

Coffee or tea?

Tea.

Winter or summer?

Winter!

Hardback, paperback or e-book?

Paperback.

Favorite color?

Purple.

Favorite drink?

Orange juice.

Biggest pet peeves?

Queues, rudeness, arrogance, and bad body odour

Guilty pleasure while writing?

Chocolate, muffins and good music.

Thank you so much for having me :)

***

About the book

In the Shadows

By Julieanne Lynch 

Published: July 21st 2011 

by Strict Publishing International 

ISBN 9780857791962

Goodreads blurb

“In The Shadows”, the first of The Shadows trilogy, is an urban fantasy of vampires and the supernatural, and much, much more. In the shadows you will find lust and passion, battles for power and for blood, and death and fear around every corner. In the shadows you are carried away to an unknown future. Your destiny awaits, and you are no longer who you thought you were. You have a thirst, for blood perhaps, but a thirst for very much more than that.

Giselle was a normal girl with an attitude common to most girls of her age. Her family might not have been perfect (whose is?) but she loved them, and her future looked bright. She had an awesome best friend and a steady boyfriend, but how could she possibly have been so wrong about someone she loved? And how could she have been prepared for the darkness and for what she was to become?

What fellow book bloggers have to say about it:

“In The Shadows is a must read for anyone who loves urban fantasy.” ~Review by Dawn and Wini Book Lovers

“ Julieanne writes so eloquently you can feel and picture everything Giselle is going through, with no question as to what role every character in the book plays.” ~ Review by Ada McEwan

“Julieanne is a great story teller with a vivid imagination for the supernatural. I absolutely love everything about it.” ~ Reviewed by Firefly and Wisp

About the Author

Fiery Librian Julieanne Lynch is an author of urban fantasy books for both adults and teens. Originally from Northern Ireland, Julieanne now lives in Ireland, where she works on her Shadows Trilogy and other series full-time. Before becoming a writer, she considered a few different career paths, a rock star being one of them. She studied English Literature and Creative Writing at The Open University, and considered journalism as a career path. However, she decided writing was the way for her and believes all of her education and reading prepared her for it. 

An avid reader, Julieanne has always had an encompassing fascination with folklore. When not writing, she enjoys crime series such as Criminal Minds, CSI, NCIS and Cold Case, and loves anything with Vampires, listening to metal, meeting new people, drinking lots of green tea, and sharing her dreams with her children. She is a self-professed goth wanna-be,and is happy when left to write into the early hours of the morning.

Find Julieanne online at her: Website / Blog / Facebook

***

Follow the Blog Tour

Giveaway

Prizes: 

-In the Shadows ebooks

-2 prize packs that consists of: In the Shadows signed cover art, key ring, magnet, personalized mug, business card, and pen 

-International

-ends Sept. 19th

-Fill in THIS FORM

Good luck everyone! (This is one of those giveaways I wish I could enter myself! The book cover is GORGEOUS and imagine how awesome the custom prizes, mugs and everything must be! <3)

I hope you enjoyed the interview and the book piqued your interest! Good luck everyone!

In the Shadows by Julieanne Lynch Blog Tour: Author Interview & Giveaway

Hi!

Wow! It feels like I haven't read a YA debut novel about vampires in a very long time, so when I was given the opportunity to read and review In the Shadows, I jumped right in! And I wasn't disappointed at all! I'll tell you everything about it, but first, here's the interview I had with the awesome author Julieanne Lynch .:D 

Deea: Hi! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions! It’s an honor to have you on my blog!

Julieanne Lynch: Thank you so much for having me, it is great to be here.

D: First off, tell us a bit about yourself. 

JL: I am a thirty-something mother of four, soon to be five,  married to my childhood sweetheart and am obsessed with Gothicism and classic literature.  I love fast cars, fine wine and adore old bookshops.  I can be highly sensitive but have a very bad temper, and nothing means more to me than family.

D: Can you give us a short description of “In the Shadows”? 

JL: In The Shadows is about an eighteen year old girl, Giselle Bergman who is pretty much your average teenager and one most readers can relate to. Her family who is far from perfect love her, she is dating a popular guy and is best friends with a boy who would do anything for her. The only problem is she is deceived in the worst possible way, and by two people she loved the most. Giselle embarks on a journey that opens her eyes to the supernatural elements of her world – or what she thought was her world.

D: Your take on the vampire myths is very interesting and refreshing. I found the idea of Nelapsi especially intriguing! Can you tell us a few words about it? Where did you get your inspiration from?

JL: I have read many books about vampires and just adore the genre. But when I was planning my novel, I wanted to break away from the clichéd version of the mythical creature. So I investigated different European folklore‘s, and found Slavic folklore the most interesting. I loved the folklore that surround the Nelapsi, a breed of vampires who are known as gluttons amongst other vampiric clans, and originate from the Zemplin region of Slovakia.. The vampire both sucks the blood and suffocates his victims. It can also kill a person by a single glance. By bringing a plague, the nelapsi can kill a whole herd or an entire village. The people in the Zemplin region also believed that the vampire has two hearts and hence two souls.

The inspiration came from my love of vampiric-lore, and my obsession with the different descriptions of the nightwalker throughout literature.

D: If you didn’t write about vampires, what would you write about? Would you like to try a different genre as well? 

JL: I love writing about demons, angels, gods, and goddesses, and I enjoy writing horror. I have also penned a more contemporary, middle of the road tear-jerker called Liddy’s Prayer. I like to keep an open mind to writing and like to step out of my comfort zone quite a lot.

D: There is a lot going on in the first book of the trilogy and Giselle goes through many painful changes. What was the most difficult part to write? 

JL: The most difficult part for me to write was possibly Giselle finding out her mother had leukaemia and the dialogue written in Slavic. At the time of writing the book, my uncle had just passed away from prostate cancer, and the wounds within the family were still pretty raw, so I found it quite an emotional journey. In a sense I honed in on my own feelings about the illness and used that experience to bring some kind of realism to the scene. 

With some of the dialogue being in Slavic in chapter seven, I had to turn to some friends who just happen to be from Slovakia to help me construct believable discourse between Atarah and Angelika, as well as the confusion it caused Giselle. Without my friends, the scene would not have worked.

D: This question might be a bit spoiler-ish, but can we hope for a new love interest for Giselle in the upcoming books? Things didn’t go that well for her in the love department so far. 

JL: Yes, someone does capture her heart and helps heal the wounds, but we will have to wait until book three to really see how that plays out. In book two she begins to see that he is the one she wants, and has to battle her own insecurities to overcome her doubt.

(D: *Praying silently that someone is who I think he is**swoon*)

D: Speaking of upcoming books, what is coming up next for you? Are you working on a new story? 

JL: Next, Walking With Shadows will be released and there will be the release of my adult novel Ice Goddess in the new year, as well as the last of the trilogy, Fighting Shadows. I am currently writing a new book called Into The Light, as well as editing Cinnamon Falls.

I am pretty busy for the next twelve months.

D: I also love asking authors a few short questions; it gives us the opportunity to know more about the person behind the author. So: 

Early bird or night owl?

Early Bird!

Coffee or tea?

Tea.

Winter or summer?

Winter!

Hardback, paperback or e-book?

Paperback.

Favorite color?

Purple.

Favorite drink?

Orange juice.

Biggest pet peeves?

Queues, rudeness, arrogance, and bad body odour

Guilty pleasure while writing?

Chocolate, muffins and good music.

Thank you so much for having me :)

***

About the book

In the Shadows

By Julieanne Lynch 

Published: July 21st 2011 

by Strict Publishing International 

ISBN 9780857791962

Goodreads blurb

“In The Shadows”, the first of The Shadows trilogy, is an urban fantasy of vampires and the supernatural, and much, much more. In the shadows you will find lust and passion, battles for power and for blood, and death and fear around every corner. In the shadows you are carried away to an unknown future. Your destiny awaits, and you are no longer who you thought you were. You have a thirst, for blood perhaps, but a thirst for very much more than that.

Giselle was a normal girl with an attitude common to most girls of her age. Her family might not have been perfect (whose is?) but she loved them, and her future looked bright. She had an awesome best friend and a steady boyfriend, but how could she possibly have been so wrong about someone she loved? And how could she have been prepared for the darkness and for what she was to become?

What fellow book bloggers have to say about it:

“In The Shadows is a must read for anyone who loves urban fantasy.” ~Review by Dawn and Wini Book Lovers

“ Julieanne writes so eloquently you can feel and picture everything Giselle is going through, with no question as to what role every character in the book plays.” ~ Review by Ada McEwan

“Julieanne is a great story teller with a vivid imagination for the supernatural. I absolutely love everything about it.” ~ Reviewed by Firefly and Wisp

About the Author

Fiery Librian Julieanne Lynch is an author of urban fantasy books for both adults and teens. Originally from Northern Ireland, Julieanne now lives in Ireland, where she works on her Shadows Trilogy and other series full-time. Before becoming a writer, she considered a few different career paths, a rock star being one of them. She studied English Literature and Creative Writing at The Open University, and considered journalism as a career path. However, she decided writing was the way for her and believes all of her education and reading prepared her for it. 

An avid reader, Julieanne has always had an encompassing fascination with folklore. When not writing, she enjoys crime series such as Criminal Minds, CSI, NCIS and Cold Case, and loves anything with Vampires, listening to metal, meeting new people, drinking lots of green tea, and sharing her dreams with her children. She is a self-professed goth wanna-be,and is happy when left to write into the early hours of the morning.

Find Julieanne online at her: Website / Blog / Facebook

***

Follow the Blog Tour

Giveaway

Prizes: 

-In the Shadows ebooks

-2 prize packs that consists of: In the Shadows signed cover art, key ring, magnet, personalized mug, business card, and pen 

-International

-ends Sept. 19th

-Fill in THIS FORM

Good luck everyone! (This is one of those giveaways I wish I could enter myself! The book cover is GORGEOUS and imagine how awesome the custom prizes, mugs and everything must be! <3)

I hope you enjoyed the interview and the book piqued your interest! Good luck everyone!