Reviews

The Shadow Wand by Laurie Forest

nna84's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted 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? N/A

4.0

kristylea222's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

3.75

reeducating_the_phoenix's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I'd rate it 5 stars but Forest knows what she did!!! I hate crying over fictional characters and it happened multiple times in this one!! She left me with hope in the end so we shall see for the next one...
Elloren was starting to get frustrating there for a little bit. I appreciate a strong female main character and Elloren had a lot more moments of whinniness in this one. She was giving Katniss vibes in the previous novels. She is a little more, Bella-before-the-change, in this one. After reading about her parents, girl should have more fight in her!! But she starts coming into it at the end. 
I appreciated Elloren being Lady Catherine DeBourge'd by Evelyn Grey as well, nice easter egg for Austen readers. Unlike the others, this is told from more points of view, including Tierany and Tristan.

sarahbholm's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful 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

Elloren is starting to come into her own more and buck up against the world she has been a part of for so long. This book is building up to the end of the series and the conflict is getting more and more personal and closer to the characters 

mtjordan666's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

kylosten's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional slow-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

dachshundmom's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

court1824's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

acciodaydreamer's review against another edition

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4.0

Summary
Book 3 of The Black Witch Chronicles, in The Shadow Wand we see our beloved characters separated and scattered across Erthia to prepare for the upcoming war against the Gardnerians. Now confirmed to be The Black Witch from the Prophecy, Elloren must learn to control her immense terrifying power so she can help the Resistance. But will the Resistance allow her to? Or is she too big of a threat?

Review
Out of all the books so far in the series, The Shadow Wand is my least favourite. I can why it was written the way it was; it builds suspense for the next book and provides us with additional background information regarding all the characters in the series. However, it did feel like a filler book with certain scenes and conflict being dragged out longer than I wanted.
I can see what Laurie was trying to achieve by showing us the POVs of the different characters. We got to see the different fractions in the war to come and how people were reacting to the impending doom. But…I just wanted to read Elloren’s POV. Some people’s POV, like Tristain’s, was interesting to read, but with others, I found myself skimming the chapters until I could get to Elloren’s. Also, I really wanted to see Rafe and Diana—it’s a shame we didn’t get their POV but I believe this was for a reason that we will see in the next book.
I really felt bad for Elloren. It seems like no one is on her side despite her trying to do her best to help the Resistance. I’m getting the vibes that she will turn evil because no one is giving her the chance to be good. I guess we shall see.
I enjoyed being back in The Black Witch world, even if The Shadow Wand wasn’t my favourite. Now I will try sate my cravings for the next book with other stories.

sc3chang's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious slow-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? No

3.25