Shadow Hills

First off, I fell in love with the cover and, yes, I'm not afraid to admit it. The cover is mysterious, it's dark, it's gorgeous! Then I opened to the first page and suddenly I fell into a Shadow Hills induced trance. A book that opens with a crazy and terrifying first page? It was like Anastasia Hopcus was writing the book just for me! How did she know that this one page would hook me into an all night read?

Phe (Persephone) is fascinating. Without a doubt, she is one of the most interesting protagonists I've had the pleasure to meet in a long time. Her past is filled with grief, her present is filled with uncertainty, and yet she somehow manages to keep it all together. Although Phe is knowingly headed into a dangerous situation, she still finds time to have a normal teenage girl lifestyle! Indie music, hot crushes, numerous new friends, Phe is all around my kind of girl. Pair that with her “do whatever it takes” attitude, and you have a protagonist that I'll follow to the ends of the Earth! Or..well at least to the end of the book.

As for Zach, Phe's male counterpart and crush, there is nothing more to say than that he is my kind of guy. If you have been reading my reviews for any amount of time, you know that I tend to gravitate towards the mysterious, sweet and protective male characters. Zach meets all of these requirements, and then adds just a a little bit more. The chemistry between Zach and Phe can only be described as smoking! The “instant attraction” relationship has been done before in other books, but I feel like it was so much more well written in Shadow Hills than anywhere else.

My one issue with this book, and thus four star rating versus a five, is the pacing. The story starts at a breakneck pace, which is great for drawing the reader in. As you read above, I was invested from the very first page! However as the story progresses there are points where the lulls in the storyline are a little hard to ignore. It isn't anything too distracting, nothing that will take away from your enjoyment of the overall book, and I promise that once you near the end you'll be hooked yet again. I just felt I needed to be honest with any potential readers. I like readers to go in armed with knowledge and an open mind! Also, I wished I knew a little bit more about what happened to Phe's sister. I'm hoping that in a sequel Anastasia might let us know a bit more about her strange and mysterious death.

Overall Shadow Hills is a solid and amazing debut book! Anastasia Hopcus shows her writing prowess, and her storyline shines off the page! It was definitely refreshing to take a break from the “normal” paranormal aspect of this genre. I can only hope that in her next book we get to learn more about Phe and Zach, and until that happens I wait with bated breath. I'll admit it, I'm now an Anastasia Hopcus groupie. (I hope she doesn't mind.)

Persephone (Phe) Archer lost her sister when she fell overboard trying to sneak into a yacht party over a year ago. When she finds her sister's journal detailing the recent dreams she had leading up to her death, Phe knows that she must finish what her sister started. At first, Athena's death doesn't seem real to Phe, but when a package for Athena from Devenish Prep comes six months too late, reality starts to sink in. Now Phe has enrolled to a new boarding, with the mindset of finding out what Shadow Hills' secrets are.


With the premise of a captivating read, Shadow Hills was held up by high expectations. The potential this tale of a deadly relationship with secrets being on both ends was great. As the Shadow Hills began, I lapped up all the juicy details of the meeting between the two love birds. The friends that Phe encountered at her new school were supportive and had their one tales to tell. The characters that consisted of Zach's–the hunky, pale blue, gray and green eyed hunk's–family were believable when pertaining to their very own agendas. The townies abnormalities were something that seemed engaging and mysterious, something that will keep readers entertained. However, as Hopcus tried to develop the plot as the mystery and secrets Phe was trying frustratingly to uncover, there were times when, not only the scenes but the dialogue fell flat. The development of Zach and Phe's relationship was built out of thin air; you could see the physical attractions that drew the two characters towards each other, but there was no fundamental reason, it seemed, that this couple fell in love so quickly. Closer to the mystery's end, it seemed as if the plot was struggling to not be too predictable in it's ending. I was quite relieved when I was at the last few chapters to find out what conclusion the story would tell. While I found the background on the history of Shadow Hills' townies and Phe's connection to Heckate a bit sketchy, the ongoing suspension really kept me intrigued throughout the whole novel.

Hopcus has the potential to make a great author, and to turn Shadow Hills into a growing series, but her debut seemed more like a prequel supporting Phe's upcoming adventures in Devenish Prep.


Cover Note: I don't really think that this current cover really supports any part of the novel it encases. While it most likely will capture some readers attention, it won't be a basis as to anything that goes on in the actual book.


Grade: B