Shadows by Ilsa J. Bick

Shadows (Ashes Trilogy #2)

By Ilsa J. Bick

Published by EgmontUSA, 2012

528 pages (hardcover)

Even before the EMPs brought down the world, Alex was on the run from the demons of her past and the monster living in her head. After the world was gone, she believed Rule could be a sanctuary for her and those she’d come to love.
But she was wrong.

Now Alex is in the fight of her life against the adults, who would use her, the survivors, who don’t trust her, and the Changed, who would eat her alive.

Welcome to Shadows, the second book in the haunting apocalyptic Ashes Trilogy: where no one is safe and humans may be the worst of the monsters. (from barnesandnoble.com)

Um, wow. The first book, Ashes, was an intriguing page-turner that I just couldn’t put down. So I obviously was excited to read Shadows. And this book sure was worth the wait. It started merging the two seemingly-random storylines, tying up loose ends, and raising a TON more questions (which will hopefully answered to my satisfaction in book #3).

And it had a whole lot of The Changed eating, attacking, and scaring others. Seriously, I wonder how many times the word “blood” was in the book. Blah! I mean, I thought Ashes was kind of gory but it doesn’t hold a candle to the second book.

Beyond just being a good read, Shadows does bring up a lot of moral questions. What would you really do to survive? How far can love and loyalty go? Can you ever really trust anyone? I think these underlying questions help make the book more than just the regular sci-fi/dystopian fare. They give it a purpose and allows the reader to empathize with certain characters depending on their believes and ideas.

Unless you are really grossed out by blood I would recommend this book. But if you read Ashes a while ago, you might want a refresher because Shadows picks up where the first left off and remembering all the characters/situations can be difficult.

Happy Reading!