Official Review: In The Shadows by RL Nelson

[Sarah Schmidt]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "In The Shadows" by RL Nelson.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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In the Shadows is a fantasy fiction novel written by R.L. Nelson. The first book in The Paradise City trilogy, it combines several well-known fantasy tropes for a quick and satisfying read.

Rose Knight has a lot on her plate. She’s only a teenager, but, following the death of her mother, her father’s descent into alcoholism, and her brother’s disappearance, she’s left to fend for herself and her younger sister. On top of all of that, she has no memory of her childhood years – a condition her doctors diagnosed as Dissociative Amnesia. When Areon, a recent transfer to her high school, keeps popping up wherever she goes, she realizes there might be a connection to him and her missing memories. A secret about her bloodline is also revealed, and Rose, along with her best friend, Andrew, discover there’s more to the world than meets the eye. The three of them set out to stop a warring god and his violent wife from raising an army meant to wreak havoc on humanity.

The aspects of this book I liked were the beginning and the end of the story. It kicked off with the attention-grabbing hook, “I wanted to kill someone,” then left readers with a satisfying – if sort of predictable – cliff-hanger. The pacing of In the Shadows between these two points is a little fast, though this is not exactly a bad thing. Also, the direction of the plot branches off from a popular story originating in Greek mythology, which is a bonus in my opinion.

I found it immensely difficult to connect with the heroine of the story, Rose Knight. She would say or think one thing at one point that makes her seem strong and mature, only to directly contradict herself later on through some nonsensical action or decision. I also couldn’t get a true read on how she felt about other characters (important as her perspective is the only one used) due to how she constantly blamed then un-blamed or liked then disliked the people around her. I couldn’t see any quality that made her a memorable protagonist in regard to personality or otherwise. There’s not much character development for her either, though as this is the first book, I expect that this may be a possibility in later instalments.

I disliked how unengaging and flat the plot was overall. The story doesn’t really deliver any tension or conflict from start to finish, though I believe the scarce settings and descriptions themselves play a large role in this. Nothing supernatural or warranting the fantasy tag really happens until near the halfway point of the novel, and then when it does, it seemed lacklustre and unoriginal.

In the Shadows was somewhat lacking when it comes on to its writing quality. I found a great number of errors while reading. Some were simple mistakes, like using ‘breaks’ instead of ‘brakes,’ which weren’t truly that bad and could maybe have been overlooked. The biggest issue I found had to with punctuation, especially with dialogue in the story. The formatting of certain sentences (most especially spacing between words that looked like typos, though they occurred so frequently they couldn’t be ignored) also left a lot to be desired. I do not think this book was professionally edited.

I rate In the Shadows 2 out of 4 stars. I think this story has decent potential, though it definitely needs to be worked on. I think a two-mark deduction because of the number of errors, need for plot and character improvement, and general absence of intrigue is justified. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy low fantasy that follows popularly explored avenues.

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In The Shadows
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[Sararob06]

I’m surprised it’s still categorized as fantasy but lacking in that department. Hopefully the author revisits this and puts some work in to it, it sounds like it has a lot of potential.

[Jennifer Aldo]

Thanks for the honest review. Hopefully the author sees this and does the necessary amendment.

[NetMassimo]

The novel addresses an important and sensitive subject, but the protagonist seems sort of overburdened with inconsistent characteristics. A strong protagonist was needed to make up for the lack of originality. In the end, the book's potential wasn't developed very well. Thank you for your honest review!

[Vivian Jabeya]

The book has an interesting storyline. It's a pity that the plot didn't deliver any tension or conflict from the start to the end. Thank you for the honest review!

[Sarah Schmidt]

I’m surprised it’s still categorized as fantasy but lacking in that department. Hopefully the author revisits this and puts some work in to it, it sounds like it has a lot of potential.

So do I!. I think the issue is that the fantasy part came too late in the plot, so it didn't seem too crucial a part.

[Sarah Schmidt]

The book has an interesting storyline. It's a pity that the plot didn't deliver any tension or conflict from the start to the end. Thank you for the honest review!

You're welcome! Thank you for your response, and I'm glad you enjoyed reading it.

[Sarah Schmidt]

Thanks for the honest review. Hopefully the author sees this and does the necessary amendment.

You're welcome! I hope so too. It's a great story, it just needs some fine-tuning to make it better.

[Sarah Schmidt]

The novel addresses an important and sensitive subject, but the protagonist seems sort of overburdened with inconsistent characteristics. A strong protagonist was needed to make up for the lack of originality. In the end, the book's potential wasn't developed very well. Thank you for your honest review!

You're welcome!