Enshadowed: A Nevermore Book

by Kelly Creagh

Isobel, haunted by the memory of Varen, goes to Baltimore where she confront the dark figure known as the Poe Toaster, succeeds in interrupting his ritual, and discovers a way to return to the dream-world, where she must face a new adversary.

• ISBN10: 1442402067
• ISBN13: 9781442402065
• Publish Date: 27 August 2013 (first published 28 August 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
• Edition: Reprint ed.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 464
• Language: English

Reviews

[cornerfolds]

I read a ton of reviews for Enshadowed before deciding to continue with the series. Although I really loved Nevermore, people compared Isobel in Enshadowed to Bella in New Moon, which was a huge red flag. (Not to mention, who are those people on the cover?? That is NOT Varen and Isobel from the cover of Nevermore...) Ultimately though, I wanted to know what happened to Varen. I had to see him and Isobel reunited and I am so glad I decided to read this after all!

Enshadowed picks up a couple months after Nevermore with Isobel trying to make the best of her life without Varen. Although a good portion of the book was actually about Isobel trying to cover up her devastation over losing Varen, it didn't come off as mopey or annoying. I actually continued to find Isobel to be a strong character throughout this book. I was also worried about not having much Varen in the second book in this series, but I don't think it necessarily suffered for it. The little glimpses of Varen were honestly a little terrifying, but were just enough to keep me invested in his story. I also found myself enjoying Pinfeathers more and more as the book went on, surprisingly.

The story and world building in this second book were just as amazing as the first! The part of this book that actually broke my heart was when Isobel ran away. I felt so much for her parents, having grown enough to understand how painful those kinds of decisions can be, despite how good of an idea it might seem at the time, but I digress. I loved that the Poe Toaster was such a big element of the story, especially since he is someone you can actually research online. I love when books blend fantasy and non-fiction together! The dream world was explained in even more detail here and continued to be perfectly creepy!

Enshadowed had every opportunity to become an awful middle book suffering from what we like to call "middle book syndrome," but instead it held its own amazingly. And that ending was just incredible!! I finished Enshadowed and immediately had to pick up Oblivion to find out what happened next and (hopefully) get some more Varen in my life!

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

[jeannamichel]

In Nevermore, Isobel saves the world by closing the gate which separates a dreamscape that holds all your worst nightmares and the real world. However, she accidentally traps boyfriend, Varen Nethers, on the other side—stuck in the dreamscape. With Enshadowed, Isobel vows to do whatever she can to get Varen back, safe and sound to the real world. Only there are several factors that could go wrong in that process. Isobel could die, for one. But that is a risk she is willing to take.

I don’t recommend reading this book in the dark—you may hurt your eyes; however, if you have a dim-lit room—go for it. It is one of those books that you should totally set the mood for because even though I was reading in pure daylight, the book brought me to dark places. Dark places as in, it reminded me of those scary short stories people read for Halloween. In Enshadowed, Isobel was in her house, celebrating Christmas, but the plot was chilling enough that all I could think about was Halloween.

Kelly Creagh specializes in the art of cliffhangers. The chapters are not too long for readers to lose focus and the cliffhangers make them continue without hesitation. Looking back at the book as a whole, the plot is simple—with one goal. However, while reading, it doesn’t seem that way. Readers are enchanted by Isobel’s devotion and the lengths she goes to fulfill her goal: to save Varen.


This story, as part of a series, goes deeper than I first realized. Creagh has cleverly woven a plot that goes at least six feet under. Enshadowed is incredible. I know when I wrote the Nevermore review, I mentioned the similarities of Inception. Creagh creates a dreamscape, a location apart from the real world. In Enshadowed, the author takes her location one step further. She begins adding pieces of reality, mixing the two worlds seamlessly. And I am not just talking about Nevermore’s reality and the dreamscape. I am talking about our reality and Isobel’s reality and the dreamscape. Creagh added elements which had readers question what was real. (The Poe Toaster is real! The picture, used in Enshadowed as what pushed Isobel to her goal, can also be found in LIFE magazine.) That particular question—asking what is reality—makes Isobel’s character extremely relatable because readers are questioning the same things she is.

Despite loving the plot, the lack of male characters—or just the lack of Varen—bothered me. I love strong female characters and Enshadowed certainly had them. Both, Isobel and Gwen, were extremely independent and just plain awesome. However, where Nevermore was the blossoming relationship of Isobel and Varen, Enshadowed was Isobel all alone, trying to get Varen back. I would have loved if Creagh had shown some scenes of Varen in the dreamscape. Still minor characters really shine in Creagh’s work. Can we please get a spin-off of Bruce—I would even take a short story about him? He only said a few words but those words depicted Bruce’s desire to have Varen home. It was heart -warming and -wrenching at the same time.

Enshadowed by Kelly Creagh is a fantastic sequel. Creagh’s world continues to be as creepy as ever and I am sure in the third book, Oblivion, she will even step it up one more notch.

[Angie]

Unfortunately, Enshadowed is the dreaded filler book of the trilogy. I was fully expecting a dark and dangerous adventure as Isobel attempts to rescue Varen, but nothing really happens until the last 100 or so pages. The beginning is mostly just Isobel trying to get to Baltimore, and a lot of her developing friendship with Gwen. I didn't wholly dislike it, but for the most part I felt like I was playing the waiting game. Not fun.

Enshadowed did start off promising. Isobel is having trouble telling dreams from reality. She's on Winter break, but keeps thinking it's some time before. She also sees Varen a few times. Is he somehow breaking through the barrier between the real world and his dreamworld, or is Isobel just dreaming him being there? She doesn't know, and it has her parents worried. This was all interesting, but it soon became repetitive, and easier to tell when she was dreaming and when things actually were leaking through.

The majority of Enshadowed was just Isobel trying to convince her parents to let her to go Baltimore with the excuse of scouting the university there. Of course, she really wants to go to Poe's grave to get Reynolds to take her back into the dreamworld so she can save Varen. Once her dad does agree to take her, I expected everything to get rolling. Well, not exactly. Now she has to plan (along with Gwen) how to even get away from her dad and into the cemetery without being seen and arrested for intruding. This dragged on for so long, and I just wanted the story to get on with it! It really isn't until around the last 100 pages when anything starts to happen, but then it just ends.

Enshadowed ended on a kind of weird note. Isobel does find Varen, but then...nothing. She's back in the real world and is confused on what's happening to her. I was confused too, since the story just jumps ahead to her being out of there, but not really. Essentially, Isobel ends exactly where she started. She made no progress on her rescue mission, although she does learn a bit more about how the dreamworld works and the creatures within. I guess I'll just need to wait patiently for Oblivion for the action to start again.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.