Narrated by Amy Rubinate
For the past ten years, McKenzie Lewis has been leading a double life. She’s a college student in Texas, but she also works as a shadow reader in a world few people have ever even dreamed of. McKenzie has a special ability. She can track the fae by reading the shadows they leave behind. She’s been working for the king of the fae, helping to put down a rebellion.
Life is complicated for McKenzie. People think she’s crazy. She disappears for days at a time, talks to herself, and is in love with a man no one has ever seen. Kyol is the sword master for the king. They have worked together for a decade, keeping their feelings a secret as relationships between humans and fae are forbidden by the king.
When MacKenzie is captured by Aren, one of the rebels, she is forced to ask herself many questions. Has she been a pawn for the past ten years? Is the king as honorable as he has always seemed? Which side, if any, should she be fighting for? The question that pains her the most pertains to Kyol’s feelings. Has he used her feelings against her, or, is he really the man she has always believed him to be?
The Shadow Reader
This was my first time to listen to Amy Rubinate and she did quite a good job. My only criticism would be that all her male characters sound the same. She has some slight variations for the females, but they’re often hard to catch. So, as I listened, I had to pay very close attention to who was speaking, as Rubinate’s voice doesn’t convey that information on its own. Still, I will definitely continue listening to her narrations, especially if the stories are as compelling as this one.
This book stands pretty well on its own. We aren’t forced to deal with a cliffhanger ending, but we are led to believe there is more to come. MacKenzie has a lot to learn about her relationships with the fae, and book 1 only scratches the surface.
It’s been twenty months since the audio release of The Shadow Reader. In that time, books 2 and 3 of the Shadow Reader series have been released in print. So far, I have not seen them in audio format. My hope is that Tantor will pick them up soon, as I would very much like to finish this series.
Shannon
Narration: B
Book Content: A
Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in
Violence: Escalated Fighting
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Tantor Audio
The Shadow Reader was provided to AudioGals for review by Tantor Audio.
