Dahlia's Shadow

Publisher's Summary

Dahlia has spent her entire life in Lila's shadow. Being the quiet twin, Dahlia shied away from sports and never excelled in any of the ways her sister did. Yet, thrown into the glitch-filled world of Puatera, her sister is no longer there to protect her, forcing Dahlia to uncover hidden strengths or be buried by her weakness.

©2018 Dawn Chapman (P)2018 Dawn Chapman

This isn't the Black Dahlia, way better

Dawn Chapman brings us one step closer to the end game for her putera series, as I think the next book reunites us with a full time Maddie MC. I do so hope anyway. One of the things that I love about this series is that while it has action it also has a lot of emotion, and I never feel like it is spinning its wheels. There is always forward motion and the story never stops or slows down. Up until now we have just been getting puzzle pieces, each piece has a nice shape and is interesting, but it weaves a much bigger picture once you let the pieces fall into place. This is the final solo story of the sisters, and it is a fun ride.

There were a couple of things that I really liked about this book. First, we stayed with the three hour format that has been the case in all of the books except Akilla, book four which was 9 hours. Which was understandable, as it broke away from the first three books of the series. I also love the glitch factor in this game, you don’t see that very often in many LITRPG books where the glitches give stiches, but in Putera it is par for the course. I also have to say that Chapman & Mountifield have really woven an intricate and detailed world for these characters to play in. What I think I liked best was Dahlia’s struggle to finally shine on her own. Even though she is a twin she has sort of been in her sister’s shadow for some time. A place that she essentially skulked about, never really trying to be her own person. Her time in Putera forces her to stand up for herself and actually take control of her life for the first time. This, my people, is how you write character development, and it is pretty impressive just how much character growth the pair of writers manages to get out of Dahlia in just over three hours of time.


Suzanne Barbetta returns for another stab at the Puatera universe, an she brings her A game. She makes the story interesting and fun, but at the same time lets you realize that Dahlia is in danger and that at any moment a glitch is gonna get her. The only umbrage I took with her work is that she very clearly made Jessica sound have a completely different voice and style than she did in the last book. It sort of threw me off. I wanted to stop and then go back and listen to the last book, but I didn’t. I waited until I finished and then double checked and I was right. Same character different voices used. Just needed a little more consistency. Otherwise, a great job.

Oh, and one more thing, I find that usually, books that are four hours and under in length are not as good as I would generally hope they would be, but that isn’t the case here. Chapman, and I’m giving her the credit here since she started this series and did so in 3 hour increments, knows how craft an excellent short story. I didn’t give a lot away on this because it is pretty short, and anything I say could impact your listening pleasure, so I tried to play this close to the vest and not give a lot of specifics here just to avoid any issues of spoilage.

The book has a nice pace, as solid foundation, excellent character growth and development, and a cool ending that looks to lead us into the final book of the series. As things go I say this is a solid 8.2 stars. I am really looking forward to the next book in this series, even though I am saddened to see it coming to a close.


Even though I did receive a promo code for this review it in no way influenced my considerations of the material, and in fact, inspired me to be more honest. Getting a code generally makes me harsher as a reviewer as I am more often concerned what someone like Me will decide based on my review.

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2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Please keep the series going!

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Any fan of the LitRPG genre, or sci fi/fantasy in general, will likely enjoy this whole series. Dawn Chapman does a great job of telling tales from across her game world. Even from the perspective of gamers and NPCs. She is a fantastic story teller and this installment of the series is a great example. It is well narrated as well, so definitely worth picking up.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Yay! Another Puatera Online hits the mark!

Sneaking into a building where computer games are being written, sisters Dahlia, Jessica, and Lila, illegally log into Puatera Online. Dahlia finds herself literally sucked into the game! Now, she's lost, alone, and scared... It's a do-or-die scenario and she can't log out...
She discovers that the game's AI is trying to help her get back to her family, but it can only do that within the parameters of the game, and the game is loaded with glitches. Glitches that seem to have their own agenda...
  Wow... Just, Wow!   
Now... Where's Lila's Story?!!?!?

Suzanna Barbetta has the perfect voice and style for narrating this story!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Dahlia’s installment

I would recommend this book for RPG book fans who can handle a young female lead; who are preteen and up; and have a love of detail.
18 yr old Jessica and her 13 yr old twin sisters, Dahlia and Lila, were pulled into the MMORPG world of Puatera and each has their own story. Due to a programming glitch, Dahlia and her sisters are separated and have to make their way through this world to find each other, and get back home. In this book, Dahlia befriends Jarvin, who becomes her traveling companion. Together, they search for Tomlinson, aka Teegan, to train and mentor them. They travel, meet characters, fight evil and find Jessica. Akillia and a few characters from previous installments join in the battle and upcoming trip. This installment ends where the group needs to make their way quickly to Hell’s Pass to meet up with Maddie and Lila. Dahlia finds she has a surprising connection to the Tromoal.
Barbetta has a good voice for this narration- young, female, YA/UpperYA. She does a fairly good job with her male voices.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Awesome series

These books literally keep me at the edge of my seat or so it feels. Filled with tons of action, great story, interesting but believable characters. Awesome unique setting. Definitely love the books in this and hope everything ties up somehow at some point.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

The game world is getting better and better

This is the story of the 2nd twin and her journey to reunite with her sisters in the game world they are trapped in. Having entered the game before it was ready caused them to be trapped due to various glitches. The world AI is seeking to make things right but it will need certain things done do to make that happen therefore it has created a game wide quest that will require all three sisters to complete. Good luck. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator or publisher

Dahlia's Shadow

“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”

I listened to this book, but realized that I really can't do much of a review. I have not read any of the other books in this series, and found myself a little confused at times.
I will be starting from the beginning & then will leave a proper review.

Another Well-Written Installment!!

I really cannot say enough about this series! It is an absolute joy to listen to. I have listened to all six books now and love them all! This is a really well written world with many different characters, adventures, dangers and mysteries! It'll suck you in and not let you go. This installment though does need for the listener to have listened or read one of the other stories in order to truly make sense, but they are worth getting! The narration was awesome up to the narrator reading Jessica's part. Suzanne Barbetta was the narrator for book five as well but she didn't keep the same voice for Jessica in both books. It made it a bit confusing at first and a little disappointing, hence the four stars instead of five. But outside of that, it is wonderfully done and I hope she'll narrate the next book (hint, hint)! This series is really great and I love that there isn't an excess in violence or sex. You won't be sorry to take chance on this series!

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Great narration except one issue

This is the second book I’ve read/listened to by this author and I already have more books waiting in my library.
I am loving this world of Puatera. Each book in the series sees events from a different main characters point of view. I’m so excited for when all their story arcs converge.
This is Dahlia’s story and she enters Puatera separated from her other two sisters. She also joins a guild and takes little quests to help level up her character and gain skills and experience. It is not as fully described as in Akillia’s Reign, but it is still very well done. Many of the characters she comes in contact with seem like they will stick around and be in future books.

This is the second book I’ve listened to by this narrator ( Suzanne Barbetta ) and I would gladly listen to another. I think she did a great job narrating and really brought out the characters personalities and action of the story. I have one major issue however. I previously listened to Jessica‘s challenge, which is read by her as well, and Jessica makes her way into the end of this story. Suzanne Barbetta uses a different voice for Jessica here than the one she gives her in Jessica’s Challenge. The first voice for Jessica is very similar to Dahlia’s voice, it made listening realistic since sisters could sound similar to each other. Problem is, the voice she gives Jessica in Dahlia’s Shadow is markedly different. I actually had to rewind the book and listen again to be sure it was supposed to be Jessica speaking. This unfortunately makes me downgrade her narration to a 4/5. Having narrated the other book, I would expect a narrator would go back and listen to a previous rendition of a character (especially when it is a major one) and attempt to duplicate the voice.

There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive violence or swearing.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.

swell

a wonderful and a great book I love this very much the story was absolutely an extremely well-written those author remarkable I absolutely adored the book
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review

Another great installment

Suzanne, Dawn, and Jess team up to release another wonderful listen. The sound effects and extras were wonderful, the story was fast paced and added background to the world of Puatera. I can't wait to catch the rest.