Reviewed by Taylin

TITLE: The Shadows Beyond

SERIES: Shadow and Light Duology #1

AUTHOR: TJ Rose

PUBLISHER: Self-Published

LENGTH: Approximately 400 Pages

RELEASE DATE: July 12, 2024

BLURB:

Cinnamon ‘Cinn’ Saunders thought he’d learnt to control his little ghost problem.

That is, until the moment he brings back a malevolent spirit from the shadowrealm, and quickly finds himself unjustly arrested for the murder of four people.

After breaking free of foster care and a stint in juvie, all Cinn wanted to do was keep his head down and work his way up to become a professional chef. Now he’s forced to make a choice: life in jail, or allow a stranger to whisk him away to a mysterious institute in rural Switzerland with the promise of learning how to control his terrifying supernatural abilities.

Julien, the French charismatic charmer who is charged with warding over Cinn, also has a problem: the murder of his sister is still unsolved.

He needs help. Help that only Cinn can provide. He’ll do anything to get it, including making Cinn an offer that he can’t refuse. What Julien doesn’t expect out of the bargain is their undeniable connection, which only serves to complicate matters as they navigate uncharted territories together.

Between battling an uprising of deadly creatures that not only threaten the moteblessed community, but the entire planet, and fighting their ever-growing attraction, can this opposites-attract pair overcome their demons to save the world, and each other?

The Shadows Beyond is part 1 of an MM urban fantasy romance duology, and contains explicit content. Full content warnings can be found within the book and on the author’s website. The overarching plot continues into book 2, with the end of book 1 offering a ‘happy-for-now’ for the main characters.

REVIEW:

Cinn was prepared to do anything to help a friend out of a bad situation. Unfortunately, that ‘anything’ lost him his career and landed him in handcuffs. That was until a lady wafted in and whisked Cinn away to Switzerland. Julien would also do anything for his friends, but what would be necessary to save Cinn?

The Shadows Beyond is the first tale of a two-book series. The next is due on the shelves in early autumn 2024. This book has a lot to like, and this narrative is centered around establishing the world, its characters, and the relationships between them. From this, I get the impression that the next book is where everyone gets down to business as a potent foe needs to be dealt with, and there is still much to be revealed.

To create a unique world is very hard to do, and Kudos to the author for the talent and imagination required for such a feat. This story cements TJ Rose as a force to be reckoned with in the literary world.

The story is told in the third person, British English, from the viewpoints of Cinn and Julien. There is a fair amount of slow-building, expertly crafted, easy-to-read scene setting, which is expected since introducing readers to a new world takes time. Some unique descriptives made me smile, and a heavy element of surrealism in some shadow scenes adds a Twilight Zone vibe. My only technical gripe is the use of autonomous body parts. It’s a pet hate of mine; editors cringe at them, and it can be a downside of self-publishing. E.g., ‘Julian’s feet dragged him’, ‘his eyes did’; characters do things with parts of their body unless using a qualifier like ‘as if with a mind of their own’ or, ‘bypassing conscious thought’, etc. Julian’s feet dragged him sounds like his feet have sprouted a pair of hands, grabbed the man by the collar, and are dragging him like a sack of potatoes.

Anyhoo.

Julien and Cinn come from dysfunctional families at opposite ends of the financial scale. Both have experienced childhood and adult trauma.

Cinn’s original world reminds me of the movie Oliver. A foster system lad with anxiety and dyslexia, who knows the streets of London, yet adaptable to most situations, wary of anyone and everything, prepared to fight. It becomes evident that Cinn has abilities, though their full extent will probably come to the fore in book two. After all, one can’t reveal all the secrets at once.

Julien is the heir to power and fortune and is determined to forge his own path. His father is a manipulative individual who has emotionally royally screwed up his son. The tragedy in Julien’s past makes him keep some of his abilities locked up. He is also a man who feels everything but won’t allow himself that emotional connection. While Julien could be a bit of a Tuesday, Wednesday, And Thursday, I got a bit irked that it was predominantly assumed he’d done wrong and Cinn right.

Regarding the more expansive cast – they’re all excellent, and I believe there remain some surprises. However, the babysitting duties of Julien, Darcy, and Elliot soon made the trio into a quartet when they all but adopted Cinn. Elliot was my fav because: – Darcy is a bit of a saint, Cinn is the street boy who everyone helps, Julien’s the rich, outwardly smooth guy who inside is a wreck, and then there’s Elliot, the brave, caring man who’s up for being a bit naughty, and that appealed to me.

The Shadows Beyond is a long read that, with the slow build-up, grew on me in the same way. I began wary, but by the end, I was a groupie who could not wait for the next installment. In the autumn, keep an eye out for The Light Within, because if The Shadows Beyond is anything to go by, it too will be well worth a read.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

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