Synopsis:
All Hannah needs is a nice and quiet vacation after her first year of teaching French at a high school. She joins her brother Ben for the summer in their mom’s log cabin in Arizona. There, she meets Josh again, Ben’s childhood friend from the Navajo reservation. The little boy from the rez has grown up fast, and Hannah can’t help but feeling more for him than just friendship.
But fate apparently has something else in store for her. And it’s not peace and quiet. Night after night, Hannah is plagued by strange nightmares about the past of Navajo Nation and terrifying shadows chasing her. They seem to come closer – and why is Josh always present in her dreams?
Sometimes, the past has a way of catching up with you.
But fate apparently has something else in store for her. And it’s not peace and quiet. Night after night, Hannah is plagued by strange nightmares about the past of Navajo Nation and terrifying shadows chasing her. They seem to come closer – and why is Josh always present in her dreams?
Sometimes, the past has a way of catching up with you.
~My Thoughts~
The summer is supposed to be a time for Hannah to relax. She is spending it in her mother's log cabin in Arizona with her younger brother, Ben. But right away, things start to get heavy. Ben's childhood friend, Josh, has not only grown up into a very attractive man, but he seems to have his sights set on Hannah. Hannah can't stop herself from developing deeper feelings for him either. But then the nightmares start. Hannah dreams almost every night of Josh and of a place back in time where bad things are happening. Then strange things start happening to her during the day and she feels like she is going crazy. But is she? And what does Josh have to do with all of this?
Our main character, Hannah, is a a twenty-three-year-old teacher and is spending the summer vacation with her brother, Ben. The relationship between the two of them is one to be envied, they love each other very much and are very supportive of all things. Even when Hannah and Josh start to date, Ben is much more supportive than some people would be. In fact, Hannah was just an all around nice girl. She had no problem making friends with the neighbors or even helping out strangers in the library. I was a little jealous that she was so open and friendly since I am very quiet and extremely shy. I enjoyed living life through her eyes if only for just a short while.
I have to admit that going into this I knew just about nothing about the Navajo Nation. History is not my strong point so I worried about how much I would be able to pick up on in this story. I shouldn't have worried. The author does an incredible job of weaving in history along with the central story so you don't feel like you are missing any crucial information. The best part though is that you also don't feel like you are getting a history lesson or that you are reading a textbook. The information is passed to you in a way that feels natural, as if you are having a conversation with someone.
One thing that did make me a little uncomfortable was the fact that Hannah was twenty-three and Josh was only seventeen. I know it isn't really that big of an age difference, but I couldn't help feel like he was still a little too young for her. I also thought there might be a slight case of instalove going on, but once I started to learn their secrets and their pasts, it made much more sense and I became more comfortable with them in their relationship.
Hannah's strange dreams are what really drew me into this story. I also have very strange dreams almost every night, so I could understand her frustration with them and wanting to know what they meant. The author found the perfect way to execute her plot and to weave the past and present together and I couldn't stop reading. I had to know about Josh's past and what it meant to Hannah.
Overall, I really enjoyed Shadow of Time. I feel like not only did I get to read a great story but that I learned something important too. If you enjoy books that not only have a good mystery but leave you feeling wiser than you did when you started, this is definitely the book for you.
For more about Jen Minkman and Shadow of Time, visit her website here.
~Purchase~
*I received this book for review in exchange of my honest review. This did not influence my opinion in any way and all views and opinions expressed are 100% my own.
I struggle with my dreams way too often, as well. If only there was an invention that helped us remember them or that recorded them for us!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great review. I'm going to add this to my TBR list so that I don't forget. I thought that I was the only one who gets jealous of characters for their traits that I don't possess. I'm very shy also. Getting lost inside of books is nothing new to me. I'd rather be there than any place else.
ReplyDeleteI think I might have a trouble with the age difference. 17 is still very much a boy. My dreams are strange too & very vivid. SHADOW OF TIME does sound like quite an interesting read.
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