Review- A Light Amongst Shadows by Kelley York and Rowan Altwood

A Light Amongst Shadows on Goodreads

 BOOK SUMMARY:

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. 

Release date: June 1st 2018

Published by: x-potion designs

Page numbers: 

REVIEW: 

In case you did not know, I am a huge, huge, huge fan of Kelley York. She is one of my favourite authors, who has given me some of my favourite reads like Hushed and Made of Stars. I missed her collaboration with her wife, Rowan Altwood the last time when they wrote Other Breakable Things, so when I heard about A Light Amongst Shadows, I was super excited to read it. I was also so glad to be finally reading something by Rowan Altwood, and it was truly worth the wait. 

A Light Amongst Shadows started out as a very magical book as it reminded me of Hogwarts with the grand description of the boys school, Whisperwood. Discovering the school with the protagonist James was incredible because with time, I formed a bond with him. Going to the dining hall from the dorms to the secret tunnels, the graveyard and the forest was an adventure and I literally felt as if I was there with James. 

James was a very typical Kelley York character who I loved. He had a dark past and he worked hard towards a bright future. His friendship with Oscar, his roommate, reminded me so much of previous friendships Kelley has written about. And his relationship with William was incredibly well done. For two boys to be so comfortable and confident with and about each other at a time when such stuff was out of the question, was magnificent to see. 

The story of A Light Amongst Shadows revolves around James and his extremely sharp mind which starts discovering really odd stuff at the school. He takes it in his hands to find out exactly what happened to his roommate when he disappears one day. I would have liked to know more about the whys behind the discovery that James makes at the end, but the how of it was sad but satisfactory. I also found the story to be slightly slow in terms of pace, but it was something I could pass as I didn't want the book to end anyway. 

Overall, A Light Amongst Shadows came as a pleasant surprise because it's very different from what I'm normally used to from Kelley York. There is no doubt that she does LGBTQ really well, but now I know that she does historical really well, as well. So when the two came together here, it was a win win situation. I would definitely recommend this one, but if you are a regular Kelley York reader like me, this isn't like the author's previous works, so just be prepared for that. 

*Note: A copy of this book was provided by the Kelly York in exchange for an honest review. We thank them.

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