Pursuit of Shadows by JA Andrews
Killien, the unyielding clan chief who’s becoming increasingly volatile.
Sora, the suspicious ranger who sees more than she should.
A swarm of frost goblins that devour with tooth and claw.
The list of people and things that could get Will killed keeps growing.While Alaric is in Queensland, searching for Kordan’s Wellstone, Keeper Will is over the mountains in the hostile Roven Sweep, searching for his missing sister.
After catching a glimpse of a woman who could be her in a Keeper-hating Roven clan. Will convinces Killien to let him travel north with them to their summer homes. Under the relentless suspicions of Sora, a tenuous friendship grows between Will and Killien, who talks of building peace among the hostile Roven. Except Will’s thin disguise as a storyteller is crumbling quickly and Sora may already know who he is. The more Will gets to know Killien, the more troubling things he learns. Killien’s hatred for Keepers runs deep, and for all his talk of peace, the man’s greatest wish is to control a vicious army. And a dragon.
But Will doesn’t know that the chief has taken more from him than just his sister.
And Killien controls enough power to gain everything he wants.
This was a reread. It astounds me how much, even when I know what’s going to happen, a story can pull me in, make me feel. It’s a different experience than plunging into the unknown of a new story, but no less intense.Will is a Keeper and a story teller, and he can feel others’ emotions. He came to the Sweep in search of answers—and in search of his sister, who was stolen away as a toddler. When he finds her, slave to the leader of a clan who hate Keepers, he must hide what he is to have any chance of saving her.
This is technically the second book in the Keeper Chronicles, but the cool thing about this series is that each book easily stands on its own. They build on the previous ones, but not in a way that requires having read the previous ones to understand.I teared up so many times during this book. It’s beautiful and subtle and complex. It’s vastly different from the story of book 1, A Threat of Shadows. It’s the same world, but not. A wholly different culture, but seen through the lens of a man from elsewhere. The same magic, but approached differently. That is a big theme in this book. There are different viewpoints, different people who should be at odds—but when you see beyond differences, you can see the humanity of the individual. When you look at what you have in common, what resonates between you and them, you realize you’re more alike than you thought.It’s profound without being preachy, because it’s all experienced through the eyes and emotions of Will, and he feels deeply. He’s a fascinating, complex character; possibly my favorite of Andrews’. All the characters in Pursuit are different. All of them breathe with their own life and hearts and motivations. Even without Will’s magic, it’s easy to see how deeply they each feel. It’s stunning.
There is a romance subplot, but it’s minor. I’ve been reading romance lately, and analyzing what I liked and didn’t about each. While going through this one, I had an epiphany: the romance in this book is incredibly subtle, but it works really well. The characters don’t spend much time pining, or swooning over physical features. They spend time bonding and trying to understand each other. That felt more real to me than the romances in many romance novels.I loved this book the first time I read it. I loved it more the second time. I am certain when I read it again, it will be even better. It’s a beautiful story. I’m so glad it exists.
This review was written by Constance Lopez. Constance knows magic is real. Dragons, faeries… and don’t even get her started on unicorns. She grew up having epic duels in the woods with her siblings, and nature is still one of her favorite places to be. If she isn’t out there working on her stories, she’s dragging her children and husband on adventures (they always enjoy it once they’re outside). Except in summer. For those months she hides inside, because Texas heat is real and it hates her.
Books have always been her haven and inspiration, and now she writes her own noblebright stories, hoping to pass those feelings along to others. Fantasy, of course. Because everything is better with magic. Her debut YA fantasy will release in Spring 2021.
