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ruthsic's review
3.0
Girl in the Shadows continues the story in Cirque American, with a new protagonist - the daughter of a famous magician, who herself wants to make her name - Moira Mitchell. From childhood, her father has dissuaded her from pursuing a career as a magician, but that only made her practice harder in secret and run away to join the Cirque, where on auditioning, the real magic within her awakens. Readers who remember the ending of Girl on a Wire, will connect this to the magic coin; that plot line finally gains more importance in this sequel as an object that is being pursued by people around. In this case, it is a secret society *cough*cult*cough* called Prestiagae, that wants it. While at the Cirque she falls in love with this charming smooth knife-thrower Dez, who hides a lot of things in his past.
This sequel definitely was better written than the former, with more attention given to characters and their emotions. Moira's and Dita's friendship, Moira and her father's relationship - all these little details added immensely to the plot. But while it was better written with respect to characters, I could not say the same for the plot. In the first half it was good, when we did not know who the secret society was - there was a lingering tension in the air, the stakes were high. But after the reveal, I was disappointed. There was danger but it felt so thin, I could not bring myself to care enough. The ending was better, of course, but everything in the third quarter felt just rushed together. Overall, I would say this book is good sequel, but on its own, it stands weakly.
This sequel definitely was better written than the former, with more attention given to characters and their emotions. Moira's and Dita's friendship, Moira and her father's relationship - all these little details added immensely to the plot. But while it was better written with respect to characters, I could not say the same for the plot. In the first half it was good, when we did not know who the secret society was - there was a lingering tension in the air, the stakes were high. But after the reveal, I was disappointed. There was danger but it felt so thin, I could not bring myself to care enough. The ending was better, of course, but everything in the third quarter felt just rushed together. Overall, I would say this book is good sequel, but on its own, it stands weakly.
leahmichelle_13's review
4.0
When I signed up to take part in the blog tour for Girl In The Shadows, I thought it sounded amazing, but by the time it came around to actually read the book, I wasn't entirely sure it would be my cup of tea, but, actually, this was a wonderful read. There are not many books about magicians around - or that I've come across, and I would absolutely love to read more, because I find the whole idea of magic tricks fascinating. It was also refreshing to see a girl magician, something that is a rarity. I cannot name one female magician, although I'm not much better for male magician's - there's Houdini, obviously, but the more recent ones are David Blaine and the absolutely fantastic Dynamo.
What I liked most about Girl in the Shadows is it blended illusion and real magic, to make a very captivating novel. I loved Moira from the word go - anyone who will defy their parents wishes, to make it on their own, gets the thumbs up from me. Especially since her Dad just seemed to be saying no for no reason (although as it turned out...???). Seeing her make her own way was fantastic and some of the illusions she pulled dazzled me. I genuinely wanted to see them being performed, they sounded that good. And the romance with Dez was cute. He charmed me from the very start, with his patter and rakish ways.
There was definitely a lot going on in this book (some of which was most likely covered in the first book Girl On A Wire, which I am desperate to read now!) and it seems like the mystery of the coin goes back to that book, too, and it added another dimension to Girl in the Shadows, and I really enjoyed losing myself in the story, it was like it was taking place in a different world and I lapped it up, being able to escape into a different reality is one of the greatest things about reading, and always will be. I really, really enjoyed Girl in the Shadows, and I am definitely going to have to go and read more of Gwenda Bond's books, she's a brilliant storyteller, and you just lose yourself in her books.
What I liked most about Girl in the Shadows is it blended illusion and real magic, to make a very captivating novel. I loved Moira from the word go - anyone who will defy their parents wishes, to make it on their own, gets the thumbs up from me. Especially since her Dad just seemed to be saying no for no reason (although as it turned out...???). Seeing her make her own way was fantastic and some of the illusions she pulled dazzled me. I genuinely wanted to see them being performed, they sounded that good. And the romance with Dez was cute. He charmed me from the very start, with his patter and rakish ways.
There was definitely a lot going on in this book (some of which was most likely covered in the first book Girl On A Wire, which I am desperate to read now!) and it seems like the mystery of the coin goes back to that book, too, and it added another dimension to Girl in the Shadows, and I really enjoyed losing myself in the story, it was like it was taking place in a different world and I lapped it up, being able to escape into a different reality is one of the greatest things about reading, and always will be. I really, really enjoyed Girl in the Shadows, and I am definitely going to have to go and read more of Gwenda Bond's books, she's a brilliant storyteller, and you just lose yourself in her books.
joceraptor's review
3.0
I really liked the first 3/5 of this book. Moira is a fun protagonist. A magician's daughter who just wants to prove to her dad (and the world) that she has what it takes to be recognized as a magician in her own right. She sneaks to an audition for a circus, and then the story really starts.
I appreciated Bond's tribute to the lesser-known female magicians, who Moira educates the reader and her audiences about before all of her daring escapes and illusions. And for the first bit of the book, I enjoyed the plot too (while fairly obvious, the first "twist" of the book is finding out Moira can actually wield real magic). But after a certain point, the whole story line started to get tangled and the plot sped up so unbelievably fast, that by the end I was just sort of disoriented. While not the most challenging book, it was a fun read. I only wish Bond had been able to save "Girl in the Shadows" from the scattered mess it became, ending in a rather obvious and disappointing epilogue.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy for my honest opinion.
I appreciated Bond's tribute to the lesser-known female magicians, who Moira educates the reader and her audiences about before all of her daring escapes and illusions. And for the first bit of the book, I enjoyed the plot too (while fairly obvious, the first "twist" of the book is finding out Moira can actually wield real magic). But after a certain point, the whole story line started to get tangled and the plot sped up so unbelievably fast, that by the end I was just sort of disoriented. While not the most challenging book, it was a fun read. I only wish Bond had been able to save "Girl in the Shadows" from the scattered mess it became, ending in a rather obvious and disappointing epilogue.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy for my honest opinion.
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