When I was three-years-old, I was found homeless in the woods, alone and feral. When asked how I survived all of those years by myself, I had one answer: the Shadow Man.I have no memory of that time. No memory of anything, really, before the accident. I rely on stories from my fathers about this supposed imaginary friend.Got into a fight at school? The Shadow Man made me. Stole from a store? He … me. Stole from a store? He forced me to. Snuck out of the house? He came with me.
I had almost completely forgotten about him.
Until I move into the horror house – the house rumored to be a gateway to hell. Strange things keep happening, and I am helpless to prevent them.
More importantly, people keep dying.
Particularly, people that harm me.
It’s already a struggle to survive a new high school and town (including the attention of a dangerous gang), but now I have to survive ghosts too?
One thing becomes painstakingly clear:
The Shadow Man wants me to come home.
This is a young adult, slow-burn, horror reverse harem romance. It is the first in a series and WILL end in a cliff-hanger!
Author’s Note: While this is a full-length, 70k word novel, it does have a serial-style formatting. That means that not every question will be answered, and you may even be left with more questions by the end. These questions will get answered as the triology continues. If that bothers you, wait to read it until all three books are released! Everything WILL be answered and explained by that time. However, for those of you who like mysteries, I have tiny hints throughout the book that will foreshadow events in later books. Read at your own risk. Thank you!
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I didn’t find Katie May as an author until she’d released Greed. After that, I sort of binged everything she wrote. Even though I was super impressed with Greed and Together we fall series, I was really on the fence about a straight up horror RH. I mean, I like horror films and will watch them, but I do it from under blankets and peaking through my hands. Nothing against the author (I’m really impressed with her writing style in general), but horror BOOKS just aren’t normally my thing. However,I decided to give this a go, and I am so glad I did.
Cami is a bit of a different main character than I normally prefer; I feel like she starts out a little weak in my opinion (I definitely prefer a strong girl trope), but that’s because she has been letting people drag her down, and that’s part of the story. Katie May doesn’t shy away from the difficult (and I commend her for that), and a big part of this book is Cami battling herself and some mental health issues, like depression and anxiety. Normally, I wouldn’t give away something like that, and it’s not something that’s overtly done but rather those feelings of self-doubt that often linger after having “conquered” mental health issues. I appreciate that when someone is battling/has battled mental health issues themselves, descriptions of the anxiety and feelings she goes through could be triggering for some people. That said, Cami starts to find herself in this book as she’s basically hit with a barrage of things to deal with, from being uprooted from her home, to starting at a new school meeting new people to crazy things happening to her and causing her to question herself.
This book is a slow burn, for anyone interested. We meet a few guys in this book (I’m writing this after having read book 2), but it is very much just meeting them and getting to know them. By the end of this book, you’re left questioning who’s actually going to be in, and who is just going to be a friend. They’re all very different, and I quite like them. There are some mysteries there, and you definitely want to know more about them. One thing I want to mention is that technically, Cami has a boyfriend in this book. He’s not one of the new guys we meet, and he’s a total a$$h@t/toxic person (in my opinion). BUT if you are someone who has a hard line about cheating this may not be the book for you. Let me be clear about this, personally, I believe that Cami at no point leads anyone on while having a boyfriend, but someone does kiss her (knowing she has a boyfriend), and Cami ends the kiss because of feeling bad about said a$$h@t. Spoilers, I know, I’m sorry, but if you’re the type of person who feels that she shouldn’t even be talking to other guys as friends, admiring other guys, or that someone else making a move on her is her fault while she has a boyfriend then weigh carefully if you want to read this book. I only mention it because it’s inevitable that someone will read this who has a super hard line about cheating, they will find it hard to get past that one aspect of the book, maybe DNF it, and rate it badly but only complain that Cami is a cheater, and it’s despicable without actually explaining anything else. I appreciate that some people don’t like certain things and find them very upsetting, so it’s not worth the time potentially getting upset and the bad rating because of it, when there is so much more to the book than that one particular aspect that most people wouldn’t have issue with. Again, I personally feel no cheating occurred in this book, but that’s my opinion and someone else may feel differently.
The plot had a good pace on it. It wasn’t so fast you felt like you missed something or it was disjointed, and it didn’t drag. It felt well-developed and well-written/edited. There are definitely some parts in this that get your heart rate going from the scare factor, and the ending is pretty explosive. It’s a definite cliffhanger, but book 2 is out now, so it’s not as big of a deal, but plan on binging them.
Cami was found in the woods, feral, when she was 3, and when she would mess up she would say the Shadow Man made her do it. Fast forward and Cami is a senior in high school and moving to a new town, and into a house that people say is haunted. Freaky things start happening and she is in the middle of it all, There are 6 intriguing guys hanging around her. I liked seeing Cami get her confidence back, and I really want to find out what else is going one and who all is involved.
Wow….the author provides such an amazing cadence. The balance of drama and humor is impeccable. I was on the edge of my seat until the very last sentence. I absolutely cannot wait for book 2.
I don’t know exactly what to feel or think about this book. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed this romantic suspense thriller from the author. This book had me at the edge of my seat and constantly thinking what was happening. Half the time, I was debating if Cami is suffering from split personality (Camz as her other violent, dark self). Whenever she closes her eyes, it is Camz who took over and did this horrific murder of those people who have somehow attacks her or that it is really her who was the Shadow Man. I was proven wrong by near the end of the story. I was also thinking if Dorian is really alive or a real person. There is no part in the story that Cami asked someone about Dorian or that she saw him at their school. Also, may I just say that ending was really creepy? There were actual goose bumps on my arms while I was reading it. I cannot wait to read book 2 and find out the answers to some of my questions.
This book is creepy and sad and dark, if you don’t like cliffhangers you won’t like this book.
I however enjoy a cliffhanger… I enjoyed this book and getting to the end and gasping in horror knowing the story was over.
I liked that the MC was struggling emotionally and was not perfect. She struggled with being loyal and her own self worth, as we all do as teens. I enjoyed her meeting all the fellas and the relationships developing. I loved the family dynamic.
I don’t want to go into much more because I don’t want to give anything away. This is a great book, give it a chance.
Ya. Horror. Rh. Slowburn. High school setting. Cami and her family recently moved into a house the locals call the “Hell House”. She starts having nightmares and murders start happening. It’s all good times and mind f***s. Cliffhanger ending. Will definitely be reading the next one.
Some parts of the book was freaky spooky, like feet of the floor blanket around shoulders jumping at sounds freaky. But it sucked me in and I couldn’t let it go. I eagerly await the next book.