Book Review: Shadow Hand

I have begun consulting my resident young adult fiction expert every time a book in that genre comes available for review. She gets to read it first if she is willing to write the review. So far, she has enthusiastically agreed to do so! Here is her review of Shadow Hand, a Bethany House novel by Anne Elisabeth Stengl.  

Shadow Hand is a romantic book. The whole of the book is centered around romance. Not like kissing and hugging type of romance. Shadow Hand is bloody, desperate romance. It is about a woman who does not know the meaning of love and a man who would die for her.

I am not a big fan of romantic stories, but Anne Elisabeth Stengl is wonderful at drawing you in. Each character is brilliantly described just by the way they think and talk. There is a good amount of poetry and I enjoy discovering what it all means.

The plot is deep and delicate, and I often lost my place (it might have helped to find what happened to my bookmark). The characters seem to change so much that it is easy to get confused. Sometimes the scene changes in the middle of the chapter, throwing readers completely off. Shadow Hand is also very emotional. This is not exactly a con, but there are high levels of anger, fear and sadness that will hit you like a hurricane if you aren't ready.

This book is definitely written for teenagers. I would say no younger than ten and only that young if they are strong and not extremely emotional readers. A weaker reader I would say at least twelve. If you like romance, go ahead. If not, I would not recommend this book. I would also not suggest it for boys at all. But, romantic girls will enjoy it.