Book: Overshadowed by C. Marie
Reviewed by Booksbystarlightandshadows
Rating: 4/5
I really enjoyed book one and couldn't wait for more secrets to unravel after the cliff hanger in Firestorm. The ripples from that ending carry over as Skye tries to reconcile what happened with Landon, the attack at the academy as well as figuring out the Crusader's plan. Skye is also dealing with Levi's return and I haven't quite worked him out yet.
I am so invested in the plot thread about links being potentially manipulated. There are little hints dropped more than once about the expectations of how chains are meant to function and how the ones we have seen don't seem to align, and I was really surprised no-one has quite joined the dots yet nor pounced on Levi's comment about Aiden's parents. The Lauren situation is also super fishy and Wyatt's dad gives me the absolute creeps. Big Handmaid's Tale vibes coming from that direction.
As much as I love Zephyr, I wasn't a fan of the hookup with Mia and Willow (I do love the addition of Dani though). Largely because Zephyr, who has previously been described as a bit of a playboy, getting together with his sister's only friends pretty much immediately just felt a little off. Had they been links or more of a slow burn I'd get it, but given Zephyr's relationship with Wyatt at that point too, it just felt a bit on the nose. The stubbornness over the leg break was also a step too far for me as I'd hoped they'd both turned a corner after fighting it out when even Skye was getting fed up of Zephyr's animosity on her behalf.
The star of the show is still Rafe for me though and I'm really enjoying his development. I'd hoped to see more of his and Wyatt's relationship with Skye in this book as Aiden has cemented his place whilst also being established in book one. I actually though at one point Aiden's death was going to be properly faked with him hiding away with Zephyr which is why he was so prevalent compared to the others if he was going to held apart from Skye for a while. I do like the dynamic between Aiden and Skye as well as all the relationships evolving at different speeds but with addition of another link on the horizon, I was ready to start seeing more depth in the other relationships too beyond Rafe waiting his turn and Wyatt's grovelling. With the complication of River, things are about to get a lot messier in book three!
My interpretation of the star system;
3 stars - I enjoyed it; would read the author again
4 stars - I really liked it; I am invested and definitely want more from this author/series
5 stars - I loved it; I engaged with this book completely until I finished it and it is one I will re-read