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My Review:Title: A Light Amongst Shadows
Author: Kelley York, Rowan Altwood
Series: Dark is the Night #1
Published by: Indie, Tantor Audio
Release Date: June 1, 2018
Format: Audiobook, Kindle Book
Narrator: Kale Williams
Pages: 344
Length: 8 hours and 12 minutes
Genres: LGBT, Young Adult, Gothic Horror, Historical Romance, Horror, Supernatural
Potential Triggers: View Spoiler »
Source: Hoopla
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2021 Audiobook Challenge, Lenoreo's 2021 Backlist Reader Challenge, Lenoreo's 2021 COYER Fall, Lenoreo's 2021 Diversity Reading Challenge
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ iBooks ✩ IndieBound ✩ Libro.FM
My rating:
Blurb:James Spencer is hardly the typical “troubled youth” who ends up at Whisperwood School for Boys. Instead of hating the strict schedules and tight oversight by staff, James blossoms, quickly making friends and indulging in his love of writing, while contemplating the merits of sneaking love poems to the elusive and aloof William Esher.
The rumours about William’s sexuality and opium reliance are prime gossip material amongst the third years. Rumours that only further pique James' curiosity to uncover what William is really like beneath all that emotional armor. And, when the normally collected William stumbles in one night, shaken and ranting of ghosts... James is the only one who believes him.
James himself has heard the nails dragging down his bedroom door and the sobs echoing in the halls at night. He knows others have, too, even if no one will admit it. The staff refuses to entertain such ridiculous tales, and punishment awaits anyone who brings it up.
Their fervent denial and the disappearance of students only furthers James’s determination to find out what secrets Whisperwood is hiding... Especially if it means keeping William and himself from becoming the next victims.
4.5 stars — Well this book lived up to the spookiness I was looking for without traumatizing me! Yay!
I switched between reading and listening to this one, because while I LOVED Mr. Williams narration, honestly it scared me a bit more listening than reading and I just couldn’t paralyze myself in bed at night. Something about his quiet countenance, the atmosphere, the pacing…something was just spookier somehow. I think I could control reading better as well — like if things were getting crazy, I could put it down and take a breath. Harder to do with an audio. So I highly recommend the audio, just…if you’re a big chicken like me, you might want to listen more during the day.
James…James James James. Wow. I wasn’t expecting certain pieces of his story, and they broke my heart. He was such a cheeky little devil — always with the smart quips, always with such a sunny countenance. I think that made knowing he had something hard in his past just that much worse. I loved the way he saw *everyone* and often sought out the overlooked. He definitely wasn’t perfect — he had a bit of a temper at times, and he could jump to conclusions. But he felt so many things, and I loved how he was only as afraid of who he loved insomuch as society forced it upon him. He didn’t question or feel shame. It was really nice.
William was a strange one indeed — so different from James, but maybe that’s what made them work. I expected him to have struggles, but they weren’t any more or less than the rest. He was just unfortunate to have been a bit bullied by strategic people, and he didn’t bother to fight rumours. But he was more down to earth, he kept James tethered in some ways.
And they were pretty adorable together. This story was equal parts horror/ghost story and romance, and I delighted in the romance between these two boys. It was exactly the story balance I needed.
I don’t think I knew what to expect from the horror aspect, but let me tell you it scared me! Funnily enough, it was the quieter subtler stuff that freaked me out the most. I kind of loved that there was this little bit of mystery to solve, even if it was a gruesome horrific mystery. I don’t think I necessarily had anything exactly figured out, but I didn’t mind that.
LOTS of great secondary characters, and it delights me to see that other books in this series includes some of these peeps. I loved the friendships that James developed, especially with Oscar, but also with Preston and Benjamin. Interesting teachers, horrible bad guys (and a few different kinds of those).
So yeah. Definitely going to have to check out the next book, though I am sad Mr. Williams is not narrating it. I understand, but I really enjoyed him.
COYER Scavenger Hunt #46: Step outside your comfort zone and read a book in a genre you have read less than 3 times this year. I have only read one other horror book this year.
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