{ARC Review} Shadows by Ilsa J. Black

{September 17, 2012} {ARC Review} Shadows by Ilsa J. Black

From Goodreads: The Apocalypse does not end. The Changed will grow in numbers. The Spared may not survive.

Even before the EMPs brought down the world, Alex was on the run from the demons of her past and the monster living in her head. After the world was gone, she believed Rule could be a sanctuary for her and those she’d come to love.

But she was wrong.

Now Alex is in the fight of her life against the adults, who would use her, the survivors, who don’t trust her, and the Changed, who would eat her alive.

Welcome to Shadows, the second book in the haunting apocalyptic Ashes Trilogy: where no one is safe and humans may be the worst of the monsters.

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I have been eagerly awaiting the release of this novel ever since Ashes’ epic cliffhanger left me dying in agony… but here’s the thing, when I finally got it, it didn’t pick up where Ashes left off!!! Ahhhh! So, my silly self was thoroughly confused and then I started second guessing myself, thinking that perhaps this wasn’t the book I’d been waiting for, with evil zombie children trying to eat people… and maybe this was something different and I couldn’t remember because it’d been a full year since I read Ashes and, and, and… I kept reading. And guess what? It is the book I’ve been waiting for, which I knew in the back of my brain somewhere, but became flustered when it didn’t pick up where I wanted it to. But it eventually got back to the cliff hanger I was dying to resolve, and this story, though long, long, long, is exactly what I wanted, and it’s just as good as the first, and it leaves us, again, with a terrible cliffhanger that makes me wring my hands and scream. Would it be as good if it did anything less?

Well, here’s a lesson I’ve been learning as I review books. A year is much too long a wait in-between, and while I remember the main parts of all the books I read, the characters’ names and the minute details elude me, so when it comes to reading a sequel, I really must re-read at least the last chapter or two of the previous novel in order to remember (which I did do when I began to spaz out thinking I was reading the wrong book). The other lesson I learned is that sometimes sequels don’t resolve anything. As much as I loved this novel, and I really, really did, old questions from the first were still left unanswered, and new questions arose that… remained unanswered. And perhaps the most obnoxious part all together, I believe, is that Alex and Tom, who were separated in the first book, still haven’t made it to each other. But in the end, that’s okay, because there’s another book coming out (next year), and once again, I can’t wait (though I’ll do a much better job remembering that it’s the book I’m waiting for, I swear).

In this second installment of the Ashes Trilogy, Bick divides her story between Alex, Tom, and Chris as they attempt to survive the Changed (children/teens affected by the electronic pulse that killed all technology and turned them into zombies) and now a new faction of adults intent on studying all children and teens who weren’t affected… making this another great novel of teens versus adults (who I find to be ultimately evil in most aspects) and crazy people eating teens. Through Alex’s point of view, we gain much insight into the Changed, such as their tendencies, how they communicate, and that they still have carnal desires. And, as the plot line unfolds, we learn that Alex may not be as safe from the change as she originally thought… Tom is running toward Alex, but at the same time, attempting to elude the adults insistent on tracking him and using him for research, and Chris is running from Rule to avoid torture and the iron hand of the elders who believe they have ultimate rule over all, including the Changed. Together, these three stories intertwine seamlessly and provide a riveting read that was easy to follow and kept my attention from start to finish (all 500+ pages of it). And in my opinion, it should have kept right on going! Four stars.