A itibaren 39040 Santa Maddalena Alta BZ, Italy itibaren 39040 Santa Maddalena Alta BZ, Italy

Well, maybe more like 3 and a half stars. ***edited review*** Don't get me wrong, I really liked this book. It was well written (lots of amazing dream world details just like in Nevermore) and a lot of the characters are still great, but ... it just wasn't nearly as satisfying as the first book was, you know? And I guess I should have expected that because it's the second book in the series, so it's not going to give the reader everything they want, but Enshadowed just lacked the magic of Nevermore in my opinion. I mean, really?? Was it really too much to ask for more Varen Nethers?? He was the soul of the first book and yet he was hardly in this one. :( I was also hoping for some more romance and make-out sessions between Varen/Isobel too but (view spoiler) To be honest, Enshadowed left be me feeling broken and very confused. I don't want to give up on Varen (because I loved him and really felt for him in the first book) but this book has really made me feel disappointed in him (and Kelly). I expected this book to be so much better ... /le sigh Anyway, on to what I liked about Enshadowed. Isobel Lanley is definitely my favorite character in this series. I think she's the most consistant out of all the characters here. She stays true to who she is and I like that. She's definitely more mature in this book - which is good, imo ... it's important for characters to grow and evolve - but she's also understandably depressed and sad. I mean, who wouldn't be unhappy when the boy you love is trapped in some alternate universe / dream world with an evil she-demon and soul-sucking creepers? It's not like she can talk about this stuff to a therapist or anyone either. She's pretty much dealing with all of this on her own and that in itself is never easy for someone to do, so my heart really goes out to Isobel here. That being said, there were times when I felt Izzy was being a little too blonde slow to catch on to things. I don't know why Kelly Creagh (and other YA authors, tbh) make their heroines a little dumb for the sake of the story. It's annoying when the reader can figure things out before the actual characters do. Also, Gwen did most of the research that should have been done by Isobel. Why? I have no idea. At times it felt like Kelly was making Isobel dumb on purpose and making her so lost in her own depression that she couldn't think things properly. Izzy goes through so much in this book. She closes herself up, distances herself from her family, and it's all because of Varen. And while she may love him, she still hardly knows him. That's another thing too ... the little Izzy knows about Varen, she's found out about randomly and not because Varen told her those things himself. I wanted Enshadowed to give me more of what Nevermore was starting to give me: Varen/Isobel spending time together, getting to know each other, falling deeper in love and growing closer together. But NOPE. That's not what I got. I got a book that tore out my shipper heart to shreads with yet another crazy cliffhanger and now I just don't know what to do with my life until the next book comes out. I just hope we don't have to wait another 2 years for it. :/ ***/edited review*** But anyway, back to the characters ... this book made me love Pinfeathers. I didn't care all that much for him in book 1 but here - where we get to see a softer side to him - made him more interesting to me. Though, he managed to still be the creepy yet charming Noc everyone loves! ;) (view spoiler) Gwen was amazing too. Best friend ever right here, people. She's so funny and badass- gotta love her! Isobel's brother is great also. Even her parents weren't so bad either (and that's rare considering that most of the parents YA novels are horrible). So yeah, it was a good book but I still feel disappointed. I've waited over a year and a half for this book! Ugh. It just wasn't all what I'd hoped it be. I really wanted more Varen & Varen/Isobel romance. *sighs* Now I'm dying to read the next (and maybe final? I don't know) book in the series. Here's hoping we won't have to wait so long like we did for this one!

This is my all time favorite!