New Release Thursday and Behind the Shadows Review

I'm doing another new release and review on the same day. I wasn't sure if I was going to review Behind the Shadows (more on that later), but I changed my mind. Trying to catch up on all the work I missed over the last two days. Apparently when I only get four hours of sleep, my brain is like mush. That's how it felt yesterday.

Oh, and I've also started to link the pictures in my "Currently Reading" box to their amazon page if you want to know more about them.

Touch by Francine Prose

What really happened at the back of the bus?

Did they, or didn't they?

Did she, or didn't she?

Something happened to fourteen-year-old Maisie Willard—something involving her three friends, all boys. But their stories don't match, and the rumors spin out of control. Then other people get involved . . . the school, the parents, the lawyers. The incident at the back of the bus becomes the center of Maisie's life and the talk of the school, and, horribly, it becomes news. With just a few words and a touch, the kids and their community are changed forever.

From nationally acclaimed author Francine Prose comes an unforgettable story about the difficulties of telling the truth, the consequences of lying, and the most dangerous twist of all—the possibility that you yourself will come to believe something that you know isn't true.

Behind the Shadows by Patricia Potter Review

Summary:

In a race against time to save her mother's life, Kira Douglas is stunned to discover something that turns her world upside down. The woman who raised her is not her biological mother. Kira was switched at birth by someone with a mysterious motive...

Desperately searching for answers--and the woman who can save her mother--Kira uncovers a tangle of clues that leads her to a beautiful heiress who refuses to see the truth and a handsome, ruthless man who is either Kira's darkest nightmare--or her greatest destiny...

Review:

Now, the reason I wasn't sure if I was going to review this book is because it is an adult book, and I mostly write and talk about YA. But it's a good story whatever you call it, and I wanted to talk about it anyway.

The story jumps right into the action from the beginning, which I liked. Sometimes it's nice to get to know the characters before the trouble starts, but best to get to know them as they struggle through the conflict.

It's written in third person, and told by several people's POV. The main three are Kira, the girl whose mother is dying; Leigh, the heiress whose parents were killed; and Max, Leigh's attorney who struggles to protect both Kira and Leigh, while his loyalties lie with Leigh's deceased grandfather. A couple other characters enter the story at various times, bu they're minor ones.

The characters were quite well done. They all had pasts, desires, secrets, and agendas of their own. But there were times when I just wanted to slap them. For example, there was one character who I'm still trying to figure out. Her decisions don't seem to fit her character unless you really think about them. All the characters were well-rounded with their own personalities, but I didn't feel like I really knew them. Some books it feels like the characters are my best friends I know them so well, and this wasn't quite there.

There was a huge twist towards the end. One that I didn't see coming at all, but definitely enjoyed when it did. It's nice to have a twist at the end, as long as you don't do it for the sake of surprising everyone. And this one wasn't done in that way at all.

Ending wasn't unexpected, but it was good. The epilogue nearly made me cry and that rarely happens anymore. Beautiful ending.

Overall I give it an 8/10.