The Younglings

Shadows & Magic

By: Helena M Craggs

Narrated by: Andrew Bond

Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

THE EVERYDAY WORLD IS FULL OF STRANGE AND MAGICAL CREATURES, AND SOME OF THEM DON’T PLAY NICE …

Humans have no idea what lurks in the shadows.

After discovering his estranged father is a demon king, Quinn Carter is embroiled in a new world—a world where things of legend are real.

His newfound friends have secrets too—demons aren’t the only paranormal creatures to exist. Stranded spirits, evil, stab-worthy demons, black witchcraft, vampire hunters and a cunning vampire ministry are just the tip of the iceberg.

But, destiny has a plan for the team of supernaturals.

When Eve, Quinn's best friend, is coveted for her angelic blood, he would destroy the world to save her. He is secretly in love with Eve, but could an angel ever love a demon?

Trouble follows The Younglings like a menacing cloud, and the only way to survive the storm is to walk through it.

Being one of the Younglings can get you killed ...

SHADOWS & MAGIC is the first book in THE YOUNGLINGS series. An action-packed, gripping, full-length, coming of age, YA paranormal fantasy, it will transport urban fantasy fans to a fascinating, supernatural world within our own. Filled with magic, suspense, danger, sizzling action and adventure, a sprinkling of humour and a slow-burn paranormal romance, this book is an absolute page turner.

The Younglings:
Book: Shadows & Magic
Book: Fire & Magic

©2021 Helena M Craggs (P)2022 Helena M Craggs

I can’t get enough

I legit have never listened to
A book so fast in my life. I couldn’t get enough I am so excited for book 3!!! I didn’t realize how much I would love audio books but wow do I ever !!!

A book worth reading

I enjoyed this book! It was well written, and the reader was great. The description was excellent; I could visualize it in my head the entire time. I love the characters, the twists and the adventure. Well done!

Great story and narration

Great story of teen demons, vampires, angels and shifters. The narrator is really good and brings the characters to life, such a pleasure to listen to! I loved it.

Very engaging story telling

🥰Enjoyment: This was a pretty enjoyable read, I’m not a big YA reader, but this one reminded me of some of the bigger YA titles of my actual Young adult days #eldermillennial. Not in plot necessarily, its just reminded me of like the squad vibes from Buffy, the Vampire/Wolf lore of Twilight.

📖 🎧 Writing &/or Audio Style: I found the writing style really did a good job of reflecting a teenagers voice. While I don’t read much in this age grouping, the ones I have usually felt like ‘mini adults” compared to teenagers. I’m sure that makes absolutely no sense but it makes sense in my head. The voice narrator did a great job with this one, my only “complaint” was that I couldn’t understand some of his accent (yes this is a me problem) when I tried to speed up the audio at slower points in the story.

👥 Characters & Relationships: The romance (or maybe I should just say pining) aspect of this story was probably my only frustration with it. The “I love her but I won’t tell her but I will be upset when she dates someone but now I’m going to date someone to make her jealous” by the end of the story I wanted to knee Quinn in the 🥜

⁉️Plot, Intrigue & Logic: I thought the premise was really interesting and fun. If it wasn’t for the actual story (again this aspect harkens to my Buffy days) I’m pretty sure the romance part would have pushed me to quit. But I loved the little super hero squad they made and the cast of characters.

🏞️Atmosphere & Setting: Satisfactory, not too notable. World building wasn’t overwhelming (and majority of setting was contemporary England).

🚨 For Reader Awareness: Bad guys get unalived.

📣Recommended for fans of: If you loved Buffy give this a try.

Mood Reader Classification: Glad I read it, do not foresee a re-read or need for shelf trophy.

The hype is real.

Heard that this book was fantastic and would even make a great TV show.

Those who have said that aren’t wrong.

If this had been a TV show, maybe something that came on after Buffy, I would have stuck around for it.

My very favorite thing about this book is its episodic nature. Need a monster of the week show in book form or in your headphones? This is the one. Great characters. Real reactions. And also typical bone-headed teenagers.
Some familiar things and some great twists on things like vampires make this the ideal read for fans of Shadow Hunters, The Order, etc.

And the adaptation would be easy. The book has half the first season’s episodes all mapped out, easily separated and adapted.

5 shimmering stars! My commute was filled with magic and I miss Quinn and the spook crew already! It’s only been a day!

Fast Paced & Great For Teens

Thoughts: 💡
I think this book would be great for a teenager, but as an adult I wanted more details and foreshadowing. There is also a very long miscommunication trope that runs through the story that’s right for the characters and their age level, but also reminded me why teenagers should never be left with the decision making responsibilities.

Writing Mechanics: ✍️
This book jumps right into the action. The story is fast paced and events often happen with very little pre-amble. This book took lore from pop culture instead of traditional tales, but those iconic monsters were modernized.

Narration & Sound: 🔊
The narrator was by far my favorite part of this book. I loved the way he spoke, both his accent and his pace. The sound quality was wonderful, but I couldn’t speed the audio up beyond 1.2x the normal speed because the narrator speaks so fast.

Fun Bits:
⚜️ Super Powered Rag Tag Group
⚜️ Miscommunication Trope
⚜️ Reunited Father & Son
⚜️ Friends To Lovers
⚜️ Coming of Age
⚜️ Developing Powers
⚜️ Humorous British Slang
⚜️ 🏳️‍🌈 Rep

Important Note:✨
I think this book may have started as a serial because there are several completed storylines that play out in succession.


Stats:📊
YA, (15+)
Character Dev: 4 💙💙💙💙/5
N1: 5 🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️ /5
Audio: 5 🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧 /5
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy📕
Tropes: Monsters, Demons & Angels, Coming of Age, Friends to Lovers, Found Family📘
POV: Single 🕺
CW: Violence & Gore⚠️