Scan barcode
thepagelady's review against another edition
4.0
The Shadow Child was a beautiful story about grief in many forms, adultery, murder but it's also about family and love! The pace is a little slow but I still couldn't put the book down! I wanted to know what happened with everyone and I needed to see how it would all come together. The story is told from multiple points of view but it only made it easier for me to become invested in each of them. I enjoyed being able to get to know each of the characters and being able to understand the decisions that they made. I liked the way everyone was connected and how everything came together in the end! It was a little sad at times and it does touch on some sensitive topics but the author handles them beautifully!
Thank you Random Things Tours and Rachel Hancox for sharing this beautiful story with me!
Thank you Random Things Tours and Rachel Hancox for sharing this beautiful story with me!
natalies7's review
3.0
Just finished reading The Shadow Child. I loved the contrast in characters and how they each had their own parts throughout the book. It had a dark but traumatic feel, covering grief, loss and love in and imperfectly perfect way. Great read and one I will recommend.
kazza27's review
4.0
Thank you to Anne Cater for the invitation to the blog tour and to Century books for my copy of the book in return for a fair and honest review.
Jim and Cath are trying to get on with their lives since their daughter Emma’s ‘disappearance’ over a year ago. They have bought a house which they are letting out to a newly married couple Lara and Nick. Jim is a photographer for a local paper and meets Dido who has a local business and he does something completely out of his usual behaviour. Cath is devastated by the unresolved loss of her daughter and Jim is just trying to get on with life the best he can.
The story looks at how relationships can alter in the aftermath of trauma and how people change and adapt so that they can survive it. This is a book with a lot of layers and relationships, and the characters are really relatable and realistic.
On a personal level I found some of the book difficult to read and it is really sad in places as it covers loss, miscarriage, trauma and grief. An engaging and interesting story.
4 stars ****
Jim and Cath are trying to get on with their lives since their daughter Emma’s ‘disappearance’ over a year ago. They have bought a house which they are letting out to a newly married couple Lara and Nick. Jim is a photographer for a local paper and meets Dido who has a local business and he does something completely out of his usual behaviour. Cath is devastated by the unresolved loss of her daughter and Jim is just trying to get on with life the best he can.
The story looks at how relationships can alter in the aftermath of trauma and how people change and adapt so that they can survive it. This is a book with a lot of layers and relationships, and the characters are really relatable and realistic.
On a personal level I found some of the book difficult to read and it is really sad in places as it covers loss, miscarriage, trauma and grief. An engaging and interesting story.
4 stars ****
mpr2000's review
4.0
Why does a young adult decides to leave their parent’s house? It’s not always because the relationship between them is difficult but because you don’t know how to connect with them, too many emotions fill your head that you don’t really know how to put words to them and leaving means removing the pressure of it. To try to express emotions that you don’t know how they’ll be welcomed…
This is a story about families, love and grief. I am a parent and I was a daughter; I didn’t have a good relationship when I was young with my mother, so maybe this is why I could relate so well with the characters of this book. The need to explain your emotions but the fear of not knowing the answer after emptying them; it’s not anyone’s fault, but sometimes is the crack on the relationship with unexpected consequences.
This is the story of Cath and Jim; they thought they were happy together, but then one day, their daughter Emma, left. Now, a year later, they are trying to survive and not fall into the sadness hole. Only trying to imagine what this couple has to feel makes me so sad; not knowing where your daughter is living or why she left; impossible to talk to her and try to solve things…
I loved this book; it’s sad but with very interesting points to highlight about miscarriage, violence, grieve… Yes, the themes that this book talks about are not easy, but it’s in a beautiful way, not to make you sad or bitter but to show you what happens to people around us.
This is a very interesting and sad story; I’ll keep it in my heart for a long time.
Are you ready to discover “The Shadow Child”?
This is a story about families, love and grief. I am a parent and I was a daughter; I didn’t have a good relationship when I was young with my mother, so maybe this is why I could relate so well with the characters of this book. The need to explain your emotions but the fear of not knowing the answer after emptying them; it’s not anyone’s fault, but sometimes is the crack on the relationship with unexpected consequences.
This is the story of Cath and Jim; they thought they were happy together, but then one day, their daughter Emma, left. Now, a year later, they are trying to survive and not fall into the sadness hole. Only trying to imagine what this couple has to feel makes me so sad; not knowing where your daughter is living or why she left; impossible to talk to her and try to solve things…
I loved this book; it’s sad but with very interesting points to highlight about miscarriage, violence, grieve… Yes, the themes that this book talks about are not easy, but it’s in a beautiful way, not to make you sad or bitter but to show you what happens to people around us.
This is a very interesting and sad story; I’ll keep it in my heart for a long time.
Are you ready to discover “The Shadow Child”?
snazzybooks's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
I really enjoyed this emotional read, which focuses on married couple Cath and Jim, who are still reeling from their daughter Emma’s disappearance a year ago. Their relationship has suffered, but they’re still together, though both have their own ways of coping.
We also follow Nick and Lara, who are renting a cottage from Cath and Jim, and whose lives become more entwined, whether Nick likes it or not – but Lara has a secret that could ruin everything…
We jumped between the two couples’ perspectives, which I liked, and eventually we learn more about Emma too and the lead-up to her disappearance. The story isn’t full of drama or surprises – more it’s a slow-burning but intriguing read because there’s always that question of what happened to Emma hovering in the background, which we start to unpick as we read more. Although there’s definitely elements of suspense and mystery in this book, I wouldn’t say that’s the focus of the book – it’s perfectly balanced.
I really enjoyed reading about all the characters’ lives, and finding out what really happened a year ago was an added bonus! The Shadow Child is nicely written and avoids any unnecessary hyperbole or cheesiness. I really enjoyed it and would happily read more by this author.
kimmie1405's review
4.0
Hancox’s debut novel is a tremendous tale on the challenges of real life. It depicts such heart wrenching topics as deceit, love and loss. It really has got everything between the cover.
The book itself is made up of three parts and no less than 490 pages (that’s what the hardback copy has anyway).
We start with the chapters January to June told from the perspective of Jim, Cath, Lara and Nick.
Then as the book turns to part two we have the same timeline January to June for Emma, the runaway daughter of Cath and Jim. How she’s inadvertently struggled with tragic circumstances almost her whole life.
I will admit that even though I immensely enjoyed these pages and the story contained within them. I struggled with the addition of Lara and Nick. I could not particularly see what they had to offer as much to the overall picture. I did however enjoy their story almost as if I separated it from the main plot.
A truly lovely story that I would absolutely recommend.
Just a fair warning there are some trigger points of which I won’t spoil the main plot but might be worth looking in to or feel free to dm me first.
The book itself is made up of three parts and no less than 490 pages (that’s what the hardback copy has anyway).
We start with the chapters January to June told from the perspective of Jim, Cath, Lara and Nick.
Then as the book turns to part two we have the same timeline January to June for Emma, the runaway daughter of Cath and Jim. How she’s inadvertently struggled with tragic circumstances almost her whole life.
I will admit that even though I immensely enjoyed these pages and the story contained within them. I struggled with the addition of Lara and Nick. I could not particularly see what they had to offer as much to the overall picture. I did however enjoy their story almost as if I separated it from the main plot.
A truly lovely story that I would absolutely recommend.
Just a fair warning there are some trigger points of which I won’t spoil the main plot but might be worth looking in to or feel free to dm me first.
natalier3's review
4.0
This was a gut-wrenching, emotional read that portrays the heartbreak and agony of a daughter going missing, and how the parents adjust to life wondering what happened to their child. Cath and Jim's experiences are very different, and I definitely sympathised more with Cath's situation. Their relationship was extremely difficult to read, and it broke my heart.
The reasons surrounding Emma's disappearance do take some time to come to light, and just when I was feeling frustrated, the author throws a curveball and I am right there with them, understanding every little nuance.
I did like Lara and Nick's story, although at times I struggled to see the relevance in their inclusion, but I did enjoy the contrasting relationships and themes between them and Cath and Jim, and I loved them as characters.
The characters were likeable on the whole, and while I didn't agree with some decisions, I can sympathise with why they made them.
A book full of emotion, and a really great read.
The reasons surrounding Emma's disappearance do take some time to come to light, and just when I was feeling frustrated, the author throws a curveball and I am right there with them, understanding every little nuance.
I did like Lara and Nick's story, although at times I struggled to see the relevance in their inclusion, but I did enjoy the contrasting relationships and themes between them and Cath and Jim, and I loved them as characters.
The characters were likeable on the whole, and while I didn't agree with some decisions, I can sympathise with why they made them.
A book full of emotion, and a really great read.
steph1rothwell's review
4.0
I chose to read this novel because it sounded completely different to everything else I read. I’m so glad I did and it served as a reminder that I need to widen my reading preferences.
There are multiple narrators who are all connected as family or friends. But there are issues between them, mainly because all of them find it difficult to talk about openly about how they feel. All of them were suffering because of this, either by keeping secrets or not talking about their past. There was really only one of them who was fully honest about his childhood, his frustration at what he saw as interference and his love for Lara. That character was Nick, at times my least favourite, but I had to show respect for his honesty.
Cath was another character who I had conflicting views on. At first, when she was trying too hard to get close to Lara and Nick it troubled me. I could fully understand why Nick struggled with it. But she could see that it wasn’t the right thing to do and the more I read the more I liked her.
Emma was another who I liked more as I read. The guilt over the deaths that had touched her. Her role in the home she was living in and the friendships made. She was the one who revealed a lot more than any of the others. And the one whose pain affected me more than the others.
But it was one of the minor characters I liked reading about most. Young, naive and innocent Jeannie. I adored everything about her and I liked to think that she was stronger than any of the others and would be the one to ease the years of pain.
This was a wonderful novel about a family. Probably a similar family to many with happy memories and devastating ones. And like many, one that needed to talk about feelings to each other
There are multiple narrators who are all connected as family or friends. But there are issues between them, mainly because all of them find it difficult to talk about openly about how they feel. All of them were suffering because of this, either by keeping secrets or not talking about their past. There was really only one of them who was fully honest about his childhood, his frustration at what he saw as interference and his love for Lara. That character was Nick, at times my least favourite, but I had to show respect for his honesty.
Cath was another character who I had conflicting views on. At first, when she was trying too hard to get close to Lara and Nick it troubled me. I could fully understand why Nick struggled with it. But she could see that it wasn’t the right thing to do and the more I read the more I liked her.
Emma was another who I liked more as I read. The guilt over the deaths that had touched her. Her role in the home she was living in and the friendships made. She was the one who revealed a lot more than any of the others. And the one whose pain affected me more than the others.
But it was one of the minor characters I liked reading about most. Young, naive and innocent Jeannie. I adored everything about her and I liked to think that she was stronger than any of the others and would be the one to ease the years of pain.
This was a wonderful novel about a family. Probably a similar family to many with happy memories and devastating ones. And like many, one that needed to talk about feelings to each other