Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
1,161 global ratings
5 star
65%
4 star
23%
3 star
8%
2 star
2%
1 star
1%
How are ratings calculated?
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Review this product

Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Glakhmed
2.0 out of 5 stars Smells Like Misandry
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2019
Verified Purchase
Kory Shrum creates an interesting enough tale that, for the most part, kept me turning the pages. I'm all for a female lead in media, be it books, TV, movies, video games, but I dropped a star off the rating because I feel Kory takes things a bit too far. I mean, I get it, I get it; men in today's society are nothing but bumbling idiots. So maybe as a male myself, I found it difficult to read about the bumbling stumbling moronic non-female things that would have been better off being killed early in the story than writing over and over and over again about how worthless they are. There doesn't even seem to be any real conflict in the story other than the guy being in the way all the time. The protagonist, Louie, does what she wants without fear of consequences. Now, you might say that she is just confident, and confidence is great, BUT...I felt that she didn't fear consequences because there really were none. She's a complete bad-ass, overly cocky, and seems to be devoid of empathy or compassion. It's like if Superman didn't have an allergic reaction to Kryptonite and didn't care about Lois or Jimmy or anyone. Louie basically a demi-god, and aside from the misandry, the lack of any real conflict really took away from Kory's narrative here.
Read more
Amybooksit
5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing book with a unique premise
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2017
Verified Purchase
First of all, let me please say that after reading all of Shrum's other work, this one took me by surprise. It wasn't what I expected at all. Having said that, it is my favorite piece of her work so far.

This book begins the tale of a young woman, Lou (mid 20's) who has the power to travel from place to place <Spoiler>via the dark. There is also a special place that she can go to by travelling through water. While others share her ability to travel through dark, water travel is unique to Lou. At first I was confused as to why the character has to have two powers when one seemed to do the job as it were, but it became slightly more obvious as I read the book. </spoiler> I think that as the series progresses we will learn more even more about that.

Lou is hard-core. I absolutely LOVE that. There is none of that wishy washy stuff that happens with a lot of female characters now. She doesn't kick butt in one scene and then curl up with a bucket of ice cream sniveling at a romantic comedy in the next. She's tough, she's a bit mean and she's quite possibly a bit psychotic and I really REALLY hope she stays that way. Oh course she'll have to open up a wee bit if we are ever going to get to know her but I hope she never loses her dark edge.

As for all the side characters, I really liked them all. Yah, they could have been a bit better developed but again, this is a series and that will all come with time. I enjoyed them all and look forward to learning more about each of them as the series unfolds.

My only hesitation with this book is the possible love interest(s) that is/are developing. Please please PLEASE don't let this turn into ANOTHER love triangle. I absolutely HATE love triangles almost as much as I HATE the strong female lead going ga-ga over the bad guy (the other possible outcome here). No, no, no. Lou seems like someone who is so broken that she will never have a real relationship. She might have a string of flings but never anything real, and certainly nothing as emotionally complicated as a love triangle or a bad-boy lover. Hopefully Shrum will surprise me and avoid these potential disasters.

Overall, the book was amazing. My gauge of how good a book is is by how much I want to read more. This book, these characters, this whole unique premise.....I DESPERATELY want more. So yeah, I can NOT wait for the next book in the series. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a bit of paranormal mixed in with their mystery. Enjoy!
Read more
Wendy Nelson
4.0 out of 5 stars Good start to a new series!
Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2017
Verified Purchase
Let me start by saying I am a huge fan of Kory Shrum and the Jesse Sullivan series. I had an opportunity to read her latest book, Shadows in the Water as an Arc in exchange for an honest review but I think you’ll find this story is nothing like the Jesse Sullivan series.

It starts out kind of slow, and jumps around a lot between characters, even though the book is truly following Lou, who has a special talent (gift? curse?) for disappearing into the shadows and appearing elsewhere, wherever she sets her mind to – at least most of the time anyway. She doesn’t always have complete control of it. But she takes it upon herself to use this talent to punish those who took away the only people she’s ever loved.

It was very difficult to get to know her, or even like her very much, despite knowing how horrific it was for her to witness her parent’s deaths. I think that is by design. She’s hard, and cold, and very calculated, and she doesn’t want anyone to get too close. But as the main character, it was difficult to find a way to identify with her. I identified more with Lucy, her aunt, who also has this same talent.

There isn’t a lot of action until about halfway through the book, and then it moves pretty quickly as Lou starts to learn the truth about her parent’s deaths. She also starts to thaw a bit later in the book as she realizes that maybe she doesn’t want to be as alone as she has been.

She is enlisted to help Robert King, a retired DEA agent who worked with her father, to work on another case that may or may not have ties to her parent’s. King is a bit like Brinkley from the Jesse Sullivan series. He wants to take Lou under his wing, but he doesn’t know how to reach her.

This book doesn’t have any of the snarky sarcasm that Jesse has. It’s not much on laughs and is much darker, with more descriptive deaths of the men she hunts.

I hope we get to know Lou a bit better in future books, and hopefully, she starts to thaw even more toward the people in her life. Also, there is no romance in this story, although it looks like there may be room for some in future books.

I look forward to reading more in this series. I definitely recommend it if you’re a fan of Kory’s books. Just know that it’s not the same as what she’s written in the past. And that’s definitely not a bad thing.
Read more
ST
3.0 out of 5 stars Didn't live up to the hype for me
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2018
Verified Purchase
Pretty weird. Strange powers that are never explained and are pretty nonsensical. An anti-heroine who is pretty deranged and not particularly likeable or sympathy-inspiring. But then if she got over it and moved on--no fun in that. Absolutely inconceivable that the author teaches writing at the college level but, then again, my writing teacher was usually stoned so maybe not. I finished it but wouldn't read another.
Read more
See all reviews

Top reviews from other countries

Andy T
5.0 out of 5 stars What a revelation!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 10, 2020
Verified Purchase
As an avid fan of Stephen King, Dean Koontz and other writers of this genre and having just finished the unabridged version of “The Stand”, I was looking for some new reading material. I came across the offer via kindle to read this for free (everybody likes a freebie!). I read the reviews left by other readers, which were very favourable and thought why not give it a read? Nothing to lose, let’s see what this author has to offer and I wasn’t disappointed. Truthfully, I did not expect to get drawn in to the story so quickly, but I was. Great story, well written and not for the feint hearted. But that’s what I like! This author has made it on to my ‘Authors to read in the future’ and believe me, there is not many on that list.
Read more
The Lazy Gardener
5.0 out of 5 stars Vampire free urban fantasy
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 14, 2018
Verified Purchase
I don't usually leave book reviews but I really enjoyed this book. If you like urban fantasy, without vampires and werewolves, this is the book for you.
It features a woman who has the ability to teleport to anywhere from a dark place or from water. She develops from a girl into a cold blooded killer who uses her unique skills to seek revenge against the gang who killed her father. Throw in an aging retired cop come private eye, some New Orleans voodoo, a conspiracy and a vegan auntie as a love interest and you're gettng somewhere close to the type of plot this book contains. Well written and well worth a read
Read more
Kindle ANGIE.
3.0 out of 5 stars Blood thirsty page turner.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 5, 2020
Verified Purchase
I must admit I struggled to stay with this book.
The story is about a girl who has the ability to go into a dark place and disappearing, only to appear somewhere completely different. Her Father had been murdered by "The mob of gangsters" and Lou wanted revenge, killing everyone who had been involved.
This is where my interest wained, too many deaths, too many gory details, too many character names to remember.
Not my kind of story, but, well written.
Read more
Galning
4.0 out of 5 stars Almost 5 stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 30, 2018
Verified Purchase
Pretty much loved this book - although not sure that I'd want to read it again (which I tend to use as my yardstick for a 5* review). **SPOILER ALERT**

It's pretty weird (characters that can use darkness and/or water to "slip" into different locations and a Jabberwock type creature in La Loon) so you have to be someone who doesn't mind a bit of sci-fi. And it's pretty gory - so not for the faint hearted.

But it's unique and I liked the character of Louie and have noticed that there is a 2nd book...so will be buying that shortly.

This is about the 4th book that I've read by this author and she doesn't disappoint.
Read more
Oreganji
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 2018
Verified Purchase
This was an edge of your seat thriller with a paranormal twist I've not come across before. So many twists and turns, but clues enough for you to feel you've solved a little bit of the puzzle yourself, definitely not all though. I feel there is much more to tell in this story. I would love to hear Lou and Konstantines story moving forward. Hopefully this is something the author plans for the future.
Read more
See all reviews