Shadow Society

by Marie Rutkoski

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

3.5 stars

Source: Publisher giveaway on Twitter

This review is also posted at Pages Unbound Book Reviews.

Review:  The Shadow Society is a fresh take on young adult paranormal romance.   The action takes place between two eerily similar worlds, ones that seem like distorted mirror images of each other, and a boy and a girl from very different places in these worlds must learn to trust each other and themselves.  Fans of well-written and creative paranormal romances balancing plot, world building, and romantic relationship (think Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor or Unearthly by Cynthia Hand) will enjoy The Shadow Society, too.

The beginning of the story is a paranormal romance cliché. A hot and mysterious new guy at school stares down the seemingly average girl.  Whether he loathes her or desires her is unclear.  It is a shame these scenes even exist in the book because they could turn readers away—before they read far enough to realize that Rutkoski soon drops the Twilight template and makes her book her own, from characters to storyline.

Darcy’s voice is edgy, yet occasionally vulnerable.  She is tough yet very human (especially since she’s a Shade!).  She is a perfect protagonist for a YA novel, strong enough to be admirable even as she goes through the universal search for identity.  Although outside forces attempt to use her and push her around, she ultimately comes into her own and drives the action of her own story.

Conn is an intriguing love interest.  He may have a skeleton of clichés—mysterious bad boy whom Darcy is irresistibly drawn to even as she mistrusts him—but the details of his character make him unique.  He faces struggles and an identity crisis as complex as Darcy’s, and watching the two attempt to figure first themselves out, then each other, is fascinating.

The two eventually face off in a wild battle for the fate of the alternate Chicago, digging themselves deeper in intrigue and double dealings.  The book is primarily romance, but it has a heavy backdrop of action and suspense with a smattering of fantasy.

Recommended for those who like strong heroines, urban fantasy, and well-written paranormal romance.