REVIEW

Veil of Shadows by Chasity Bowlin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Okay, so book one was a three star-not a bad beginning. BUT nothing like this installment! Oh no, Veil of Shadows has redeemed this series.

Will I continue to book three?

Yes, yes, yes!

Even as my finger hovers over the buy now button, I must first share the highs and lows of Veil of Shadows.

HIGHS:

* The dots were beginning to connect on the spirits residing in the Llewllyn mansion. Every story needs a great antagonist and Frances has the stage. The wicked sister-in-law is effortlessly reaching the pinnacle of evilness. She's more than willing to spill blood to achieve her goals. She'll stop at nothing. She's a bad bad seed, folks!

* New characters were introduced. A pair of spiritualists come to the aide of Adeline and Eldren, upping the ante. And oh boy, do things get interesting!

* Eldren gives in to his 'no hanky panky' policy. Thank goodness he makes his poor, neglected wife a non neglected wife in every sense of the word. I was so tired of Adelaide's whining about it.


* Presumably, Eldren and Adelaide have a unique solution to their haunted house problems. Who needs holy water when an arsenal of dynamite will blast the spooks away?

LOWS:

* A single afternoon with a fortune teller grooms Adelaide to be a seasoned spiritualist. Suddenly, she develops the ability to decode ancient writings and discern a murder in the works when only weeks earlier, she boarded a ship that was destined to sink.

Obviously the editor of this book (assuming there was an editor...although I have to wonder) realized that Adelaide's newly developed talents were too much for the reader to swallow at this early stage. The author does some damage control through Eldren's dialogue. He mentions to Adelaide on several occasions that he doesn't understand her newly found talents. So, the fortune teller reveals to Adelaide that she's always had the gift, but wasn't coached on how to use it.

Okay, this is only fiction so I'll give the author some wiggle room, but there were other timeline discrepancies in the first book that have not been addressed. I was hoping they would be resolved by now, but that's not the case. (Its always a good idea to pay an editor before publishing anything)

* A relationship between the spiritualists blossoms into a full blown marriage material in ten seconds flat. Not sure why this is a plot point or why it's written into the story. Perhaps the answer will come in book three.

THE WRAP UP:

Frances is in cahoots with the entities haunting the estate (she confessed to the murder of the footman who impregnated her). We are left in suspense...will Frances have the ability to cause more problems from the walls of a sanitarium?

Ah, can't wait to find out in book three!

THE RATING:

Single Shot of Espresso was needed the next morning = Four Stars

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