Reprise Review: School of Shadows by C.W. Schutter

 

Genre: Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy

Description:

“At Shadow Academy, every romance is a paranormal romance. But what happens when you fall in love with someone whose destiny is to kill you? For a girl named Destiny, an invisible dork everyone ignored, a dangerous paranormal romance is a creepy, but exciting dilemma. The first day at school she is plunged into a world of magic and meets Liam, a super-hunk sorcerer who jumps out of a limo and into her heart. Way easier to meet the man in the moon then getting someone like Liam to notice her.

Then why does he suddenly start paying attention to her?

Although Destiny has long-forgotten her imaginary playmate, Liam is haunted by the supernatural romance they shared as children. But Liam has a deadly secret.

Only Destiny can free powerful, imprisoned archangels who intend to raise a Nephilim army to seize control of the world. Tormented by opposing forces of good and evil warring inside, Liam knows he must obey the fallen angels and turn the girl he loves to the dark side or kill her. To stay together, the lovers must trick or defeat a terrifying worldwide network of evil spirits and demons.”

Author:

Originally from Hawaii, C.W. Schutter says she “grew up listening to fascinating stories of her family and the people around them from her mother.” Books have always been her passion and at the age of eight she wrote in a notebook, "I want to grow up to be an author." Ms. Schutter is a screenwriter as well as an author. She now lives in the mountains of Colorado.

You can follow Ms. Schutter on Facebook.

Appraisal:

Destiny is charming, full of spunk and sass. It is not hard to like her from the very beginning. She is smart, down-to-earth, easy-going and completely out of her element at this new school. She is immediately drawn to Liam and soon learns that this is no ordinary school. The small group that she is placed in are far more special than the rest of the students though, they are an elite group with special skills that need refining as they each come into their own.

This is a complicated story with a lot of theology and mythology woven into the plot that is set on a contemporary earth that gives it a very real feeling. The characters are well developed, the dialogue and the interactions between the students on a human level is palatable. The demonology and history of angels in this story as it relates to the students is unnerving, I am sure there are truths woven in here. The author has done a good amount of research to make her story seem possible.

I was intrigued by the possibilities and a bit scared for their future as well as our own. The plot is well paced and the implications in the story-line are huge. This story is not finished, there is room for more. Unless the author is leaving the end for us to finish on our own, choosing what we are most comfortable believing.  That is an interesting thought that I hadn't realized until now. Hmmmm...

Buy now from:    Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Added for Reprise Review: School of Shadows by C.W. Schutter was a nominee in the Paranormal Romance category for B&P 2014 Readers' Choice Awards. Original review ran December 5, 2013.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant editing errors.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 80-85,000 words