Hey, writers and readers!
It’s not a good month without an indie novel or two. Today I’ll be reviewing The Shadow’s Charm (book 3 of the Somnia Series) my dear friend, Petra van der Ploeg.
Check out the review below. I’ll be sharing some thoughts about what I love about this book and why it’s a good read for you.
Rating: 4 stars
Synopsis
He tilted his head as he looked at me. “What is going on inside that pretty little head of yours?” he wondered and then he raised his eyebrows. “Ah, a duality of light and dark. Yes. How sweet is that?”
I raised my chin, looking him straight in the eyes. “You will not bewitch me like last time. I am not the same weakling as I was then.”
He licked his lips as his fingers traced my jawline. “That you are certainly not. You’ve grown stronger. But the duality in you is still there and it’s not in balance yet. I can help you with that.” “How?” “If you give
I shook my head. “You’ll kill me.”
His eyes glistened with delight. “Perhaps,” he whispered as he leaned in, intensifying the magnetic force he had on me. “Perhaps not.”
Sophia’s life is about to take a turn for the worse. Everyone’s leaving her and she’s forced to deal with her inner demons by herself. But there’s one person who’s taken an
What I Enjoyed
I liked that this book was a mix of reliable and new YA fiction novel ingredients. There is a lot of parts of her world building that made sense to me as a newcomer but I really enjoyed the elements that I haven’t seen before. Her idea of jumping realms and having an “Ideal Realm” was interesting to me. It made me want to read book 2 where she apparently figures out this concept and masters it.
Also, van der Ploeg has a way with describing that “mean voice” we sometimes entertain. Sophia runs into a lot of guilt and shame that triggers some mental health issues and I felt like van der Ploeg really represented that mean voice all too well. Like, Petra are you a mind reader?
What I Didn’t Enjoy
Honestly, the parts of the book that weren’t my favorite were due to the fact that this is book three of the Somnia series and I haven’t taken the chance to read the other two. That’s my bad! But it meant that sometimes I was behind on who could do what. I imagine certain scenes would feel more impactful if I watched Sophia grow and learn with the other characters in the book.
All of this to say, you’ll get through this book and enjoy the story but you’ll be confused by some bits if this is your first brush with this series.
My Final Thoughts
Again, definitely read books one and two to better enjoy this book but it still holds up and tells a great tale on its own. This book is perfect for teen readers who are interested in magic and time/space travel. The book ended in a way where I suspect another book is coming soon, so I look forward to reading the rest of the series.
I hope I shared enough to still pique your curiosity without giving too much away. If you’d like to learn more about Petra van der Ploeg and her work, you can catch up with her via social media:
Do you have thoughts about this book? Share with me in the comments! You can also see all of my other book reviews by checking out the Book Reviews tab.