Review of The Mountain Monk and Shadow Rider

[OTrain Disene]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Mountain Monk and Shadow Rider" by Lizzie Collins.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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The Mountain Monk and Shadow Rider is a human drama novel by Sue Barns, under the pseudonym of Lizzie Collins, that follows a very unconventional family as they try to navigate themselves through past traumas and present needs. The author is described as an ex-teacher who started writing after the lockdown of the past couple of years that caught the world by surprise. The author’s background indeed shines through this magnificent book that touches deeply into human psychology and emotions. This book is moving and unbelievably good, amidst its few, countable flaws.

Christie is the daughter of a musician named Gil. She is dating Simm, another person who is somewhat linked to her family, and their relationship is coming off as weird and undesirable. Gil is a very charismatic individual who has left many people heartbroken in the past. He is now with Giulia. Connie is someone else from his past who is also seemingly in the picture, and one can’t help but feel that she still has feelings for Gil.

A lot of events happen in this strange household that open up past wounds. Christie has an out-of-the-blue row with her father that leaves both of them in a bad mood and not talking to each other. Simm ends up being caught in between and not knowing what to do. Sometimes it seems like Christie is wrong, but when you take a closer look, it is clear that Gil has a lot of unresolved issues, and until he deals with them, he will lose everyone and everything. But it is not that easy, especially when he feels like everyone is dictating to him and holding him hostage because of his past. How will this family get through this? Who will lose and win? Will it have a happy or sad ending?

Read this book to find the answers yourself. I was impressed by this book. Approaching it, I didn’t know what to expect. The description of it was vague just as much as it was enticing. But I am glad to have read it because, wow! The mess of this family—it left me giggling in a couple of chapters, sobbing in the next, and fuming in another. That’s how it played with my feelings. The author just knew how to make her characters come alive and be relatable to the readers. Their struggles were real for anyone to relate to, but at the same time, they were unpredictable. So every page became an adventure, and I didn’t know what it would bring.

One way of making the characters come alive was by employing first-person narrative. Then the chapters switched from one character to another in the family. This made sure that, as a reader, you got the chance to be exposed to both sides of the story. So whenever there was a conflict, I would know how one character felt about the other. The book’s writing impressed me. It didn’t spend much time on descriptions, and I reckon that is because it was the last book in the series. The author made sure that she stuck to the story.

The action sequence impressed me. This was made more so by the dialogue than the narration. The book leaned more on the dialogue than it did on the narration. This made me, as a reader, feel included in the happenings. Instead of being told, I was shown. I was exposed. I reached the conclusion myself because the characters couldn’t be trusted. The narration just worked as a breather here and there when it all started to become too much.

The book was well organised. It had many chapters, and each had headings at the beginning to know what to expect. What I disliked about it was that because it was the last book in the series, the author didn’t bother explaining the past events that led up to the current events. This prevented the book from being read as a standalone. Sometimes I felt like I was searching in the dark because they were not explained to me. How the book started was the first mistake. I felt like the prologue could have been written in the third-person narrative to explain what happened before, and then the first chapter opened with Christie’s point of view.

The book had a sizable number of errors that slowed my reading. That’s why I am taking everything I said above into account and rating this book four out of five stars. I recommend it to late teenagers and adults. Those who love the genre of human drama will find it soothing. Viewers who are sensitive to swear words might approach it with caution because it contains those. Aside from that, this was such a good, relaxed book.

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The Mountain Monk and Shadow Rider
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[Hazel Mae Bagarinao]

There are so many dramas in this book that I can't predict. The characters you've mentioned intertwined seemingly. Gil is an intriguing one. His past seems unresolved, and girls still following him. I enjoyed so much on your review, OTrain! You perfectly detailed the narrative!

[James Williams Uzo]

Lovers of human drama have a great book here. They should check this out. Great review.

[Paul Link]

Thank you for such a genuine and detailed review.I appreciate a reviewer whose thoughts are presented with such clarity and organization. Your review brought to life the complicated family dynamics of the story, and the fact that it elicited a range of emotions from you is one of the reasons why I am excited to read it. I found your comments on the book's writing style to be especially helpful and informative. Thanks for taking the time to discuss both the book's strengths and shortcomings. I can't wait to read your future reviews!