Scan barcode
relly's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars
I enjoyed this one. I liked the fact that we had an older heroine and hero.
When you start a business you have the passion and dedication to see it through, but when you finally achieve enough success that you can take a step back or your life outside of work takes up your time, you hope the people you leave in charge share the same passion you do, and when that doesn’t happen you get what happened here to Shadowlands. Z and the masters had created this magical community where people felt safe, and then their outside lives needed attention, the masters now mostly have partners and some of them families, so time was not as free as it had been, so no one was watching the newbie who should had kept the ship sailing, took it in a totally different direction. I can totally see to an extent what happened happening, maybe not to the extent it did, but it’s also only a book and things need to progress quicker here. I also question why not one person contacted one of the masters, no matter how busy and let them know what was happening.
I really enjoyed Valerie. She had some hang-ups, which were kind of lost during everything going on, but as a whole package she was really together, she didn’t have hang-ups about what she wanted in the bedroom, she just went with it. I thought her kids needed a swift kick up the backside to be honest and they are lucky she is the woman she is, or things would have ended very differently.
Ghost was also a delight. He was so calm and talked through everything. He gave Valerie the confidence to be the best version of herself. He believed in her and taught her how to protect herself, without making her feel weak or stupid. It was great to see a couple actually talk and hear each other and their point of view. There were no unnecessary breaks, but time was also spent in retrospection and allowed the characters to make their own decisions.
I did feel like Ghost and Valerie’s story was lost a little bit as the book worked through what was happening with the rest of the group. I didn’t mind the parts with Olivia and Natalia, it was nice to see them work their stuff out, but it also took away from the main couple.
Looking forward to seeing who Saxon lands with. Also maybe a new series with the guys from club Chains?
I enjoyed this one. I liked the fact that we had an older heroine and hero.
When you start a business you have the passion and dedication to see it through, but when you finally achieve enough success that you can take a step back or your life outside of work takes up your time, you hope the people you leave in charge share the same passion you do, and when that doesn’t happen you get what happened here to Shadowlands. Z and the masters had created this magical community where people felt safe, and then their outside lives needed attention, the masters now mostly have partners and some of them families, so time was not as free as it had been, so no one was watching the newbie who should had kept the ship sailing, took it in a totally different direction. I can totally see to an extent what happened happening, maybe not to the extent it did, but it’s also only a book and things need to progress quicker here. I also question why not one person contacted one of the masters, no matter how busy and let them know what was happening.
I really enjoyed Valerie. She had some hang-ups, which were kind of lost during everything going on, but as a whole package she was really together, she didn’t have hang-ups about what she wanted in the bedroom, she just went with it. I thought her kids needed a swift kick up the backside to be honest and they are lucky she is the woman she is, or things would have ended very differently.
Ghost was also a delight. He was so calm and talked through everything. He gave Valerie the confidence to be the best version of herself. He believed in her and taught her how to protect herself, without making her feel weak or stupid. It was great to see a couple actually talk and hear each other and their point of view. There were no unnecessary breaks, but time was also spent in retrospection and allowed the characters to make their own decisions.
I did feel like Ghost and Valerie’s story was lost a little bit as the book worked through what was happening with the rest of the group. I didn’t mind the parts with Olivia and Natalia, it was nice to see them work their stuff out, but it also took away from the main couple.
Looking forward to seeing who Saxon lands with. Also maybe a new series with the guys from club Chains?
middlefinger's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
shaelyn_m's review against another edition
3.0
It was an easy and good read, but not my fave book of the series. There wasn’t much of a wow factor
becbeach's review
5.0
Loved it. As a mature reader it's so great to get stories for my age. Ghost is the sexiest masochist and Valarie was such a wonderfully strong and intelligent woman despite all the supposed loved ones who tried to use her while strangling her potential. The interactions between Ghost and Valarie were hot hot hot filled with m/s plus some. Loved how the children's ultimatum at the end was handled. Can't wait for Saxon's book.
alleskelle's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 STARS
Overall I really enjoyed my time back at The Shadowlands. I loved seeing more of all my favorite Masters and Shadowkittens!
If you're familiar with the series, this one is for you, however I wouldn't really recommend it as a gateway to Ms Sinclair's work.
I loved Valerie and Ghost together. Always a pleasure to get mature characters in romance or erotica and the author makes it a point to showcase this particular aspect in her books, especially in this one, with the heroine finally putting herself first at the age of 50.
I could have done without the over the top villains, I had to remind myself this wasn't a prop for the next Jerry Springer show or whatever else reality trash tv show. Even the confrontational scene with Valerie's children at the end had me rolling my eyes, it was unimaginative and a rushed resolution of so many chapters witnessing her ex husband and slaves putting her down.
My critical brain also had a hard time believing the state of affairs at the club and the reason behind it. After all it's been 15 books now we've been told Master Z is so astute, insightful and sentient yet he cleared a smarmy manager before flying off to Europe for family matters? Why not delegate club matters to trusting Masters instead of a stranger? That seemed odd and out of character and felt like poor plotting to me.
As always, I'm looking forwrd to the next book, which looks like is set to be Saxon story.
More reviews and book talk at :
You can find me here too ☞
Overall I really enjoyed my time back at The Shadowlands. I loved seeing more of all my favorite Masters and Shadowkittens!
If you're familiar with the series, this one is for you, however I wouldn't really recommend it as a gateway to Ms Sinclair's work.
I loved Valerie and Ghost together. Always a pleasure to get mature characters in romance or erotica and the author makes it a point to showcase this particular aspect in her books, especially in this one, with the heroine finally putting herself first at the age of 50.
I could have done without the over the top villains, I had to remind myself this wasn't a prop for the next Jerry Springer show or whatever else reality trash tv show. Even the confrontational scene with Valerie's children at the end had me rolling my eyes, it was unimaginative and a rushed resolution of so many chapters witnessing her ex husband and slaves putting her down.
My critical brain also had a hard time believing the state of affairs at the club and the reason behind it. After all it's been 15 books now we've been told Master Z is so astute, insightful and sentient yet he cleared a smarmy manager before flying off to Europe for family matters? Why not delegate club matters to trusting Masters instead of a stranger? That seemed odd and out of character and felt like poor plotting to me.
As always, I'm looking forwrd to the next book, which looks like is set to be Saxon story.
More reviews and book talk at :
You can find me here too ☞
tiggerreads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
It was so nice to get back to the Shadowlands. It's been so long that I had only slightly remembered Ghost. I did learn to love him, though. I did like Valerie and her learning that she needed to take care of herself. Valeria and Ghost fell into a lovely relationship. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the couples involved in this one. It felt like the original group of couples. The Shadowkittens and their Masters are there to help, guide, and support the new couple. There to make friends and fold them into their found family. I was very glad that they all jumped in to figure out what was going wrong under the new manager and to fix things, as well as help Master Z to set things to rights.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Alcoholism, Violence, and Racial slurs
kifirth95's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
serukis's review
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Reading a Shadowlands book is always like coming home to old friends. This is the fourteenth book in the series, and so obviously there a lot of previous characters to catch up with, and I think Cherise Sinclair does it quite well without it overshadowing the new relationship being set up.
The main relationship in this book is between Valerie, a fifty-year-old university professor, and Ghost (Finn), an ex-special forces widower who is also a university professor. I loved reading a relationship between older people, especially with both of them coming out of previous relationships (though Ghost was much further along in that process than Valerie was). I also loved Valerie as a character, and my heart broke at how shattered her self-esteem was.
There was also a minor relationship in this book between Olivia and Natalia, who had their own storyline going on. This could maybe distract from the main relationship, which some people would find annoying, but it didn't bother me at all.
There was also a subplot about the club, because Z has been away for a while and the other Masters/Mistresses have been super busy, so the club has been left in the hands of a hired manager - Wrecker. You can probably tell this was a terrible idea from his 'scene name'. The club is no longer the nice, friendly place it has been in previous books and is in a little bit of disrepair. So the subplot is trying to get the Shadowlands back to the best it can be. I liked this subplot too, though I did question why Z, normally a good judge of charater, hired the literal *worse* person ever.
A solid entry into the Shadowlands series. Not my favourite, but I really enjoyed it. I'm hoping for a Saxon book next. :D
The main relationship in this book is between Valerie, a fifty-year-old university professor, and Ghost (Finn), an ex-special forces widower who is also a university professor. I loved reading a relationship between older people, especially with both of them coming out of previous relationships (though Ghost was much further along in that process than Valerie was). I also loved Valerie as a character, and my heart broke at how shattered her self-esteem was.
There was also a minor relationship in this book between Olivia and Natalia, who had their own storyline going on. This could maybe distract from the main relationship, which some people would find annoying, but it didn't bother me at all.
There was also a subplot about the club, because Z has been away for a while and the other Masters/Mistresses have been super busy, so the club has been left in the hands of a hired manager - Wrecker. You can probably tell this was a terrible idea from his 'scene name'. The club is no longer the nice, friendly place it has been in previous books and is in a little bit of disrepair. So the subplot is trying to get the Shadowlands back to the best it can be. I liked this subplot too, though I did question why Z, normally a good judge of charater, hired the literal *worse* person ever.
A solid entry into the Shadowlands series. Not my favourite, but I really enjoyed it. I'm hoping for a Saxon book next. :D
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment
shadowem66's review
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
rainydancer's review
5.0
"Seems like that kind of heartening news should come from an old friend, don't you think, Saxon?"
4.5 stars
I will probably always read these books the day they come out. Shadowlands is such a guilty pleasure. I adore all the characters and want to hang out with them. In this book, a half a star fell off for me because in no universe do I see that happening to all knowing Z's sanctuary. Not possible- and you aren't going to convince me otherwise. We get two love stories here, including one I have been waiting long time for! The end gives major spoiler to who is next too!
4.5 stars
I will probably always read these books the day they come out. Shadowlands is such a guilty pleasure. I adore all the characters and want to hang out with them. In this book, a half a star fell off for me because in no universe do I see that happening to all knowing Z's sanctuary. Not possible- and you aren't going to convince me otherwise. We get two love stories here, including one I have been waiting long time for! The end gives major spoiler to who is next too!