Game of Shadows by Erika Lewis

Game of Shadows by Erika Lewis
Publisher: Tor Books
Release Date: February 28th, 2017
Purchase: Amazon

Ethan Makkai thought that seeing ghosts was the worst of his problems. Between his ethereal gift and life with a single mother hell-bent on watching his every move, he feels imprisoned. When Ethan sees a chance to escape, to leave the house by himself for the first time in his life, he seizes it, unaware that this first taste of freedom will cost him everything.

Ethan is thrown into a strange and eerie world, like nothing he's ever seen. He's assaulted by dive-bombing birds and rescued by a stranger who claims to be his bodyguard. His apartment is trashed, and his mother is kidnapped to a place Ethan never knew existed—a hidden continent called Tara.

Travelling to Tara in search of his mother, Ethan discovers that everything he knows about his life is a lie. His mother is royalty. His father is not dead. His destiny is likely to get him killed.

Confronted by a vicious sorcerer determined to destroy the Makkai family, Ethan must garner strength from his gift and embrace his destiny if he’s going to save his mother and all the people of Tara, including the beautiful girl he’s fallen for.

My Thoughts:
Game of Shadows was so much fun!!  I loved the adventure and I thoroughly enjoyed the rich Celtic mythology!

Ethan has grown up sheltered.  His mom will not let him out of her site and as you can imagine this is quite embarrassing for a fourteen year old boy.  All he wants is freedom so when an opportunity pops up to walk to school alone he takes it.  He never imagined his life would turn upside down from that one walk, but it does and Ethan's life is changed from that moment on.

I really enjoyed this story.  I thought Erika Lewis did a great job at pacing the story and the build up was incredible.  Right from the start the story starts out with adventure and I got totally lost in all of it.  My favorite part about the story though was the mythology.  I have missed reading books that contain mythology and a touch of paranormal so this was right up my alley.  Lewis did a great job weaving in her magic with the Celtic magic and it all really worked.  I did get a tad lost when the backstory was being discussed and I honestly think it is just me.  I tend to gloss over details unfortunately and well you can't do that with fantasy novels.  After I went back and reread the parts that confused me I did get a better grasp and Lewis does work her way through everything by the end so I did eventually get it all. It is a complicated story, but one definitely worth figuring out.

The characters were also really fascinating.  My favorite of course was Lily, but Ethan was great too.  They were a great pair and complimented each other very nicely.  I also really liked that the author had adults thrown into the mix.  She let Ethan take the lead, but it was nice to see he had adult back up when he needed it.  His story line with his mom and Runyun was great and I honestly can't wait to see where that line goes.

I even liked the romance.  SHOCKER!  It was very well done and made me laugh quite a few times, because the author managed to capture love at fourteen brilliantly.  It isn't perfect and it shouldn't be at that age.  Lewis through in so many hilarious moments that fit the character and his age and I appreciated the effort. 

I honestly had no issues to complain about with this story.  I did figure out one twist early on, but I don't think it was that big of a deal.  And actually that twist didn't go as far as I thought it would so there was still a bit of surprise with it.  All in all this was a fun story that totally captured my attention.  I read it in two sittings because I just couldn't put it down. I am definitely eager for the sequel!  Game of Shadows ends on a cliff hanger so beware, but it's a good cliffhanger that brings Ethan's story full circle. I loved that the author went in this direction and I can't wait to see the fall out!

5 snowflakes