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sarahrosebooks's review
3.0
This is a strange book. I wasn't sure how to rate it, as I did enjoy reading it. In the end I decided on three stars, as a few things irritated me enough that I feel the need to mention them here.
The first few chapters had me rolling my eyes almost constantly. Oh, the kooky wannabe teenager who isn't human and the other fake teenager who also isn't human, and oh they have weird names. Where have I seen this before? It's easy to fall into that trap of thinking this is just another young adult book, but it isn't! Get past the first few irritating school chapters and the characters start to open up and the plot gets a whole lot more interesting.
The other thing that annoyed me were the instances where characters swore profusely. I can't write it in this review, but I find an overload of swearing deeply irritating, especially where you are faced a whole sentence of "f-words". Maybe I'm getting old, but surely youngsters don't talk like this really?
I also figured out the plot twist well before it happened, so I wasn't as surprised as I like to be when reading, but I'm not as bothered by this as I would normally be as I enjoyed the story anyway.
The final thing that knocked this down to three stars was the switching view points. I would have been happy to follow Kali all the way through this book in her first person narrative, but then it would suddenly change from chapter to chapter to another character, and it did get confusing sometimes trying to figure out which character it was, especially as they all have odd names that can be difficult to remember. In the last section of the book there was a chapter where the viewpoint seemed to change constantly, and I read this wondering who the hell I was supposed to be following at that point. I finally figured out who it was, but I don't like having to wonder about these things, and switching viewpoints has always been something I find irritating.
Now for the good points! The plot was interesting. You might be sick of hearing about vampires and demons, but the authors really do give this overdone genre a bit of an overhaul and a new twist with their mythology. I like where the story went, despite the ending being very much one of those "READ THE NEXT BOOK TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS OH MY GOD CLIFFHANGER" endings. Although some characters were a bit flat (such as nearly every vampire except Yuuhi), I liked the ones we spent more time with (Kali, Yuuhi, Jason, Toivo, Carmi). Though the plot was guessable in parts, I enjoyed following it, and although the viewpoints switched around, I liked Kali's first person narrative.
All in all I gave this three stars, and I would recommend this, especially if you read the more recently released edition, which I believe the authors have edited further to fix a few errors (I noticed some spelling and grammar errors in my kindle edition, but these were only minor).
I will definitely be getting the next two books in the series.
The first few chapters had me rolling my eyes almost constantly. Oh, the kooky wannabe teenager who isn't human and the other fake teenager who also isn't human, and oh they have weird names. Where have I seen this before? It's easy to fall into that trap of thinking this is just another young adult book, but it isn't! Get past the first few irritating school chapters and the characters start to open up and the plot gets a whole lot more interesting.
The other thing that annoyed me were the instances where characters swore profusely. I can't write it in this review, but I find an overload of swearing deeply irritating, especially where you are faced a whole sentence of "f-words". Maybe I'm getting old, but surely youngsters don't talk like this really?
I also figured out the plot twist well before it happened, so I wasn't as surprised as I like to be when reading, but I'm not as bothered by this as I would normally be as I enjoyed the story anyway.
The final thing that knocked this down to three stars was the switching view points. I would have been happy to follow Kali all the way through this book in her first person narrative, but then it would suddenly change from chapter to chapter to another character, and it did get confusing sometimes trying to figure out which character it was, especially as they all have odd names that can be difficult to remember. In the last section of the book there was a chapter where the viewpoint seemed to change constantly, and I read this wondering who the hell I was supposed to be following at that point. I finally figured out who it was, but I don't like having to wonder about these things, and switching viewpoints has always been something I find irritating.
Now for the good points! The plot was interesting. You might be sick of hearing about vampires and demons, but the authors really do give this overdone genre a bit of an overhaul and a new twist with their mythology. I like where the story went, despite the ending being very much one of those "READ THE NEXT BOOK TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS OH MY GOD CLIFFHANGER" endings. Although some characters were a bit flat (such as nearly every vampire except Yuuhi), I liked the ones we spent more time with (Kali, Yuuhi, Jason, Toivo, Carmi). Though the plot was guessable in parts, I enjoyed following it, and although the viewpoints switched around, I liked Kali's first person narrative.
All in all I gave this three stars, and I would recommend this, especially if you read the more recently released edition, which I believe the authors have edited further to fix a few errors (I noticed some spelling and grammar errors in my kindle edition, but these were only minor).
I will definitely be getting the next two books in the series.
trisha_thomas's review against another edition
1.0
"Everything in this world is always for show, Kali. That's how you survive."
This book was an interesting idea but not an execution I enjoyed. So many points of the world, creatures and/or parts of the paranormal plot that just weren't explained. It felt jarring and it made it so I was never pulled into the plot, just always frustrated that some little fact was suddenly thrown out with no explanation.
I don't plan to keep going with the series.
This book was an interesting idea but not an execution I enjoyed. So many points of the world, creatures and/or parts of the paranormal plot that just weren't explained. It felt jarring and it made it so I was never pulled into the plot, just always frustrated that some little fact was suddenly thrown out with no explanation.
I don't plan to keep going with the series.
haley_j_casey's review against another edition
2.0
This book was very "eh" for me. In all honestly, it felt like a draft instead of a published novel because the author just doesn't explain anything. EVER. Like, okay, yes, I get the basic plot, and I followed along with the characters (despite their bizarre and complicated names). But this was supposed to be a vastly complicated alternate world where supernatural creatures exist and everyone knows it and the hub of activity is Pittsburgh, and I never understood why this was the case? Why magical creatures didn't care to stay hidden? How this had happened? Why their history was such common knowledge? Why they were such a frightening, well-known deal that armed guards were paid to patrol public schools to keep them at bay?
The story begins with a 113-year-old demon girl, Kali, infiltrating a high school alongside a vampire to find out if one of the students there is super important to the supernatural future. But it's vastly unclear why Kali was chosen for this task. Like, being sent on missions isn't exactly something that's common throughout the rest of the book, so this is a very special circumstance, and she's terrible at blending in. No one even prepared her for how to act like a teenager before they sent her in on this hugely meaningful undertaking? She claps her hands over her ears every time she hears the bell, can't so much as unlock a Smartphone—or "cellular telephone" as she calls it, because no one bothered to correct her in her 113 years—doesn't know how to make small talk... It's real painful to watch. And like two days into her mission, her older brother who is VASTLY more adept at blending in joins the team and does so flawlessly. So like, he could have done it the whole time instead? I understand that Kali is important and is good at reading people, but sending in a completely woeful and unprepared spy is just dumb.
So we're not off to a great start.
Then, the whole story starts shifting from Kali's first-person POV to multiple minor characters' third-person POV. I understand wanting to give readers multiple angles to a story, but it did not feel cohesive.
Not to mention a few very blatant edits that should have been made. Words accidentally typed twice, "cognescente" used in place of the word "cognizant," etc etc. Pulled me out of the story.
And it. Is. So. Vague.
There would be moments and conversations that seemingly held huge revelations for the characters, but they were so based on phrases like, "It couldn't be..." or "What makes you come to that conclusion" (when no conclusion has been said aloud; just character inference), or "I suddenly understood," that there was rarely a chance for the reader to understand. They never say something explicitly, and yes, sometimes that works. Sometimes the audience needs to be kept in suspense for a big reveal. But this wasn't that. This was information highly relevant to the plot, and I desperately needed someone to come out and say it so that I could keep pace with the movement of the story. Multiple, major times this happens. It got old.
The premise of this story is solid: Alternate world where the supernatural live among us and everyone knows it. But the world-building and character development was really rough, and I had to scramble to understand rather than letting the book guide me, and that's just not what I was looking for.
hannahsophialin's review against another edition
4.0
Original Review posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts
Original Rating: 4.5
Note: Formatting is lost due to copy and paste
Disclaimer: The authors provided a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. The review is not influenced in any way.
Basically from the first chapter, I was pretty hooked. Actually, I would say the first sentence, but that could have changed from sentence two or even sentence three.
Though if I said I nearly chucked the book across the room after sentence one, I would be telling a white lie.
So I actually did like Dance in Shadow & Whisper. Really liked it. And I pretty much believed I was in for a good read from sentence one. In fact, I would have recommend it to my school book club but due to language, I would probably get whacked in the head. Literally.
Yeah. Not happening. I'm the last fan of migraines and headaches (and bruises). I'm pretty sure the lot of us are as well.
But here are a few reasons why I really liked the book and labeled it potential book club recommendation:
1. I think this tends to be the very obvious in a lot of books I read: the idea. Demons vs. Vampires. Finally vampires have a new group of people they don't really like that aren't called werewolves.
~ ABOUT TIME – in my very humble opinion. Not that anyone cares because they're probably too busy screaming “Team Jacob!” or perhaps “Team Teen Wolf!” (I probably made the Team Teen Wolf up. It is about werewolves after all.
2. I loved almost all of the characters' personalities, in which most are humorous and witty. But I particularly liked Kali, who is the main character in the book and seems to be a really fun person to be around (pigtails, lol).
3. Even though there are a few different POV changes throughout the book, it's easy to tell who's POV it is when it's not Kali.
4. The ending. Literally. If I say why I like it, I'll spill the milk and I might get haunted in the middle of the night. Because really...
It was flawless in the transition. That's all I'm going to say about the ending. But now I'm in another waiting room... just keep waiting.
That's all I'm going to say and I refuse to say any more. But for Sarah Godfrey and Victoria DeRubeis's debut novel, Dance in Shadow & Whisper is definitely worth a read.
Original Rating: 4.5
Note: Formatting is lost due to copy and paste
Disclaimer: The authors provided a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. The review is not influenced in any way.
Basically from the first chapter, I was pretty hooked. Actually, I would say the first sentence, but that could have changed from sentence two or even sentence three.
Though if I said I nearly chucked the book across the room after sentence one, I would be telling a white lie.
So I actually did like Dance in Shadow & Whisper. Really liked it. And I pretty much believed I was in for a good read from sentence one. In fact, I would have recommend it to my school book club but due to language, I would probably get whacked in the head. Literally.
Yeah. Not happening. I'm the last fan of migraines and headaches (and bruises). I'm pretty sure the lot of us are as well.
But here are a few reasons why I really liked the book and labeled it potential book club recommendation:
1. I think this tends to be the very obvious in a lot of books I read: the idea. Demons vs. Vampires. Finally vampires have a new group of people they don't really like that aren't called werewolves.
~ ABOUT TIME – in my very humble opinion. Not that anyone cares because they're probably too busy screaming “Team Jacob!” or perhaps “Team Teen Wolf!” (I probably made the Team Teen Wolf up. It is about werewolves after all.
2. I loved almost all of the characters' personalities, in which most are humorous and witty. But I particularly liked Kali, who is the main character in the book and seems to be a really fun person to be around (pigtails, lol).
3. Even though there are a few different POV changes throughout the book, it's easy to tell who's POV it is when it's not Kali.
4. The ending. Literally. If I say why I like it, I'll spill the milk and I might get haunted in the middle of the night. Because really...
It was flawless in the transition. That's all I'm going to say about the ending. But now I'm in another waiting room... just keep waiting.
That's all I'm going to say and I refuse to say any more. But for Sarah Godfrey and Victoria DeRubeis's debut novel, Dance in Shadow & Whisper is definitely worth a read.
cheahelicia's review against another edition
5.0
You can also find this review at http://girlinthewoodsreviews.blogspot.com
Detailed Review: This book was the BEST fantasy book I've ever read surrounding demons and vampires. Really it was. It just managed to suck me right into the vortex of a story and not let me go. For starters, the story is very original and intriguing. The authors' style of writing leaves you questioning on every page and you know you'll have to read on to get the answers. I also liked how the authors only chose to involve demons and vampires and not werewolves and faeries. I'm starting to get tired of all those. But Dance in Shadow and Whisper was really a wake-up call for me.
Not only was the story mesmerizing, the characters set off a pretty high standard too. They fit right into the story and were clearly and elaborately thought out. I also like the multiple POVs in this book because sometimes it gets a bit tiring just seeing from one person's perspective. Also besides the central theme of war and retribution in the book, there was this word echoing the whole time in my head, the really obvious theme in this book.
FAMILY.
I could see how Kali and her brothers and fathers stayed closed together and never let go of each other. This was clearly what makes it so different from other books I've read. I've never read about such strong family bonds. This somehow affected the story more than I thought it would. It affected the ending too, no question about that.
The twist in the story which I think worthy of mentioning is that there is also another reincarnation of another war lord besides Ares. And what is most shocking is that the person you suspected the least is the reincarnation.
Now that ending is what kills me the most. It was really really painful for me to find that there was no continuation to the story that had me like a fish dangling on a hook.
WHICH MEANS I NEED THE SECOND BOOK. The second book must come out soon. I'm dying of anticipation and apprehension here.
Note: If the story and the review is not already a tip-off, the cover should do it. It's beautiful.
Brief Review: This book was unexpected in many ways. First the content was just a punch in the gut, and the characters were a stab to my body then the ending was a bullet to my head. This makes the book perfectly addictive and compelling to read. AND I WANT MORE KALI!
Final Rating: 5/5 'Totally Amazing!'
Detailed Review: This book was the BEST fantasy book I've ever read surrounding demons and vampires. Really it was. It just managed to suck me right into the vortex of a story and not let me go. For starters, the story is very original and intriguing. The authors' style of writing leaves you questioning on every page and you know you'll have to read on to get the answers. I also liked how the authors only chose to involve demons and vampires and not werewolves and faeries. I'm starting to get tired of all those. But Dance in Shadow and Whisper was really a wake-up call for me.
Not only was the story mesmerizing, the characters set off a pretty high standard too. They fit right into the story and were clearly and elaborately thought out. I also like the multiple POVs in this book because sometimes it gets a bit tiring just seeing from one person's perspective. Also besides the central theme of war and retribution in the book, there was this word echoing the whole time in my head, the really obvious theme in this book.
FAMILY.
I could see how Kali and her brothers and fathers stayed closed together and never let go of each other. This was clearly what makes it so different from other books I've read. I've never read about such strong family bonds. This somehow affected the story more than I thought it would. It affected the ending too, no question about that.
The twist in the story which I think worthy of mentioning is that there is also another reincarnation of another war lord besides Ares. And what is most shocking is that the person you suspected the least is the reincarnation.
Now that ending is what kills me the most. It was really really painful for me to find that there was no continuation to the story that had me like a fish dangling on a hook.
WHICH MEANS I NEED THE SECOND BOOK. The second book must come out soon. I'm dying of anticipation and apprehension here.
Note: If the story and the review is not already a tip-off, the cover should do it. It's beautiful.
Brief Review: This book was unexpected in many ways. First the content was just a punch in the gut, and the characters were a stab to my body then the ending was a bullet to my head. This makes the book perfectly addictive and compelling to read. AND I WANT MORE KALI!
Final Rating: 5/5 'Totally Amazing!'
ballantines's review against another edition
4.0
Also on my blog Chibi Reader
First of all, OMG OMG OMG. This… This book, guys. Oh my! The gif above is basically me when I finished Dance in Shadow and Whisper. When I reached the end of the book I couldn’t belive it had ended. I checked I don’t know how many time the percentage of book left on my Kindle but the little bar always said 100%. What?!
Anyway. Dance in Shadow and Whisper is about Kali, a demon girl (but who is a century old!) that is in charge of keeping an eye on Jason, a boy who is supposed to be Ares reincarnation. What she doesn’t like in the beginning is having to do that with a vampire, Yuuhi. In fact, even Yuuhi doesn’t like that at all but that is all understandable since demons and vampires are against each other in this book.
Kali, even though she is “old” has never had a normal life. She was always protected from the outside by her dads, as she calls Lio and Rajy, the one who are taking after her since her parents are dead. When she learns that she must go to a high school and pretend to be a student it’s hilarious how she tries to mix with the other students. Obviously, she initially fails miserably, probably because her fashion sense is null. At the beginning, I must be honest, I liked her but she didn’t really capture my attention except from when she got caught up in awkward situations. She was completely naive and, even though she has immense power from being a demon, she doesn’t use it. However, this changes throughout the book and we can see a completely changed Kali by the end of the book.
I absolutely loved, LOVED, her brothers, Toivo and Carmi. However, my favourite was Carmi (he is actually my favourite character in the whole book). He was hilarious but there was something about him… Hum, I just want to see more of him in the next book.
About the boys in this book, cause I know you want to know about them! Yuuhi, the vampire, is one of my two favourites characters in this book. We learn how his life is and what means to be a vampire. Although he is supposed to be Kali’s partner and rival, he starts to care for her and becomes a huge friend and one who will help her a lot. I spent the entire book shipping him and Kali, actually. I just wanted them to be together.
Jason… Jason, the one whose book is suposed to revolve around. He is, apparently, Ares reincarnation but no one knows that for sure at the beginnig and that’s how this whole “must-get-into-high-school” mission starts. He doesn’t know what he is but figures immediatly what Kali and Yuuhi are so its obvious he understands the whole paranormal world. I never really understood his relationship with Kali, it’s a complicated one. One moment everything is okay between them and then everything falls apart. I don’t know how to feel about him yet, but damn, I reallu really really want more POVs from him in the next book!
Now, this book would probably have a higher than 4 chibis from me if two things would have happened. One is the fact that I had a hard time right when I started reading the book figuring out whose POV I was reading. There was no character name at the beginning of the character and sometimes I though Kali was narrating but later I would understand that it was actually Yuuhi or Jason or one of Kali’s brothers. Then, I would personally like if there was some kind of explaining of the whole world where the book is set. For example, I though demons and vampires were a secret to society but later learned that the whole world knew what was out there: schools had guards with silver guns, students learned in class what demons were and their story, etc. There should be probably a better world building. But there is definitely a visible progress throughout the book, we get to learn Ares story, who he is really and why it’s such a big deal if he “comes back”.
Apart from that, Dance in Shadow and Whisper is a great book that will leave you laughing hysterically or crying your heart out. By the end I was bawling like a baby. Yeah… I’m not proud of that. And that ending, JUST GIVE ME BOOK 2 NOW. WHAT?? Just… you can’t leave a person hanging like that, it’s mean. Some things I was expecting but what happens to Kali?
*Dance in Shadow and Whisper was provided by the authors in exchange of a honest review.*
First of all, OMG OMG OMG. This… This book, guys. Oh my! The gif above is basically me when I finished Dance in Shadow and Whisper. When I reached the end of the book I couldn’t belive it had ended. I checked I don’t know how many time the percentage of book left on my Kindle but the little bar always said 100%. What?!
Anyway. Dance in Shadow and Whisper is about Kali, a demon girl (but who is a century old!) that is in charge of keeping an eye on Jason, a boy who is supposed to be Ares reincarnation. What she doesn’t like in the beginning is having to do that with a vampire, Yuuhi. In fact, even Yuuhi doesn’t like that at all but that is all understandable since demons and vampires are against each other in this book.
Kali, even though she is “old” has never had a normal life. She was always protected from the outside by her dads, as she calls Lio and Rajy, the one who are taking after her since her parents are dead. When she learns that she must go to a high school and pretend to be a student it’s hilarious how she tries to mix with the other students. Obviously, she initially fails miserably, probably because her fashion sense is null. At the beginning, I must be honest, I liked her but she didn’t really capture my attention except from when she got caught up in awkward situations. She was completely naive and, even though she has immense power from being a demon, she doesn’t use it. However, this changes throughout the book and we can see a completely changed Kali by the end of the book.
I absolutely loved, LOVED, her brothers, Toivo and Carmi. However, my favourite was Carmi (he is actually my favourite character in the whole book). He was hilarious but there was something about him… Hum, I just want to see more of him in the next book.
About the boys in this book, cause I know you want to know about them! Yuuhi, the vampire, is one of my two favourites characters in this book. We learn how his life is and what means to be a vampire. Although he is supposed to be Kali’s partner and rival, he starts to care for her and becomes a huge friend and one who will help her a lot. I spent the entire book shipping him and Kali, actually. I just wanted them to be together.
Jason… Jason, the one whose book is suposed to revolve around. He is, apparently, Ares reincarnation but no one knows that for sure at the beginnig and that’s how this whole “must-get-into-high-school” mission starts. He doesn’t know what he is but figures immediatly what Kali and Yuuhi are so its obvious he understands the whole paranormal world. I never really understood his relationship with Kali, it’s a complicated one. One moment everything is okay between them and then everything falls apart. I don’t know how to feel about him yet, but damn, I reallu really really want more POVs from him in the next book!
Now, this book would probably have a higher than 4 chibis from me if two things would have happened. One is the fact that I had a hard time right when I started reading the book figuring out whose POV I was reading. There was no character name at the beginning of the character and sometimes I though Kali was narrating but later I would understand that it was actually Yuuhi or Jason or one of Kali’s brothers. Then, I would personally like if there was some kind of explaining of the whole world where the book is set. For example, I though demons and vampires were a secret to society but later learned that the whole world knew what was out there: schools had guards with silver guns, students learned in class what demons were and their story, etc. There should be probably a better world building. But there is definitely a visible progress throughout the book, we get to learn Ares story, who he is really and why it’s such a big deal if he “comes back”.
Apart from that, Dance in Shadow and Whisper is a great book that will leave you laughing hysterically or crying your heart out. By the end I was bawling like a baby. Yeah… I’m not proud of that. And that ending, JUST GIVE ME BOOK 2 NOW. WHAT?? Just… you can’t leave a person hanging like that, it’s mean. Some things I was expecting but what happens to Kali?
*Dance in Shadow and Whisper was provided by the authors in exchange of a honest review.*
ladymab's review
5.0
You might be thinking "oh gosh vampires? Demons? I thought we moved on from this. Aliens are en vogue." Stop. Stop right there and go reflect on what you said because you're wrong.
In this alternate Pittsburgh, a booming supernatural metropolis where public high schools have "history" classes on non-human species and guards roam the campus toting silver bullets, demons and vampires might not be creatures of myth, but they still need to keep a low profile while masquerading as humans.
The story focuses around a young, naive demon named Kali and her rag-tag adoptive family as she watches over the boy the Powers that Be believe might be a reincarnation of the war lord Ares -- reborn to restore the balance that came with his untimely end ages ago.
The plot moves along at a brisk clip, keeping you on the edge of your seat and engaged in everything that's happening. Ripe with witty dialogue and vibrant characters, 'Dance in Shadow and Whisper' is all you could ask for in a brand new urban fantasy YA. Gritty and wry and will leave you alternating between fits of giggles and "oh god no why"s. In all the best ways possible.
(/cross-reviewed at Amazon)(/ARC review)
In this alternate Pittsburgh, a booming supernatural metropolis where public high schools have "history" classes on non-human species and guards roam the campus toting silver bullets, demons and vampires might not be creatures of myth, but they still need to keep a low profile while masquerading as humans.
The story focuses around a young, naive demon named Kali and her rag-tag adoptive family as she watches over the boy the Powers that Be believe might be a reincarnation of the war lord Ares -- reborn to restore the balance that came with his untimely end ages ago.
The plot moves along at a brisk clip, keeping you on the edge of your seat and engaged in everything that's happening. Ripe with witty dialogue and vibrant characters, 'Dance in Shadow and Whisper' is all you could ask for in a brand new urban fantasy YA. Gritty and wry and will leave you alternating between fits of giggles and "oh god no why"s. In all the best ways possible.
(/cross-reviewed at Amazon)(/ARC review)
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