Shadows 0f Nightshade, Excerpt, Review and #Giveaway

This is my post during the blog tour for Shadows of Nightshade by Lyla Oweds. Shadows of Nightshade is a ghost story for romance and tragedy lovers.

This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours and the tour runs from 13 till 26 March. You can see the tour schedule here.

Shadows of Nightshade (The Garden of Eternal Flowers #1)
By Lyla Oweds
Genre: Paranormal Romance/ Paranormal Horror
Age category: Young Adult/ New Adult
Release Date: 8 March 2023

Blurb:
I dream of a time where I was warm, safe, and loved.

But my waking reality is starkly different.

Anxiety plagues me and spirits haunt the shadows. No matter how fast I run, I can’t seem to escape my past.

The only solace and steady force in my life is my best friend, Finn.

And now… there’s a ghost haunting me. And I’m not certain if it wants help or if it wants to kill me. There’s only one person who can understand: Finn’s brother, Damen.

However, in reaching out, I’m betraying Finn and setting things into motion that cannot be undone.

But nobody ever said that doing the right thing was easy.



The Garden of Eternal Flowers is a re-envisioning of my Grimm Cases series. Eternal Flowers has taken my original vision of Bianca's story and transformed it into something new and beautiful. Some chapters are similar, and some dialogue is the same, as The Grimm Cases, Origins, but overall, about 75% of the book has been entirely revisioned with new plot points, mystery, and interpersonal relationships. Also, unlike Origins (originally a Wattpad release), there is now a clear beginning, climax, and conclusion in each individual novel, which allows them to be read alone or as part of the ongoing series.

I hope that you will enjoy Shadows of Nightshade as much as I enjoyed writing it. Truly, it is an honor to write about Bianca and her boys, and all of these characters are near and dear to my heart.

Trigger Warning: This series deals with the aftermath of severe childhood trauma.

Links:
- Goodreads
- Bookbub
- Amazon
- B&N
- Kobo
- Radish

About the Author:
Lyla Oweds is a paranormal / urban fantasy author who resides in the beautiful Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania with her husband, children, and animals. While she enjoys all genres of fiction, she has a deep appreciation for fantasy, romance, mystery, crime, and horror. Lyla has a bachelor’s in anthropology and will be completing her master’s in information technology in 2023.

Writing is her moonlighting passion, and she loves having the opportunity to share her perspective as a disabled (profoundly hard of hearing) woman. During the daylight hours, Lyla works as a principal / lead design and development specialist focusing on user experience and accessibility. When not working, Lyla is usually indulging in one of her many hobbies such as amusing her children, gardening, crocheting, interior decorating, baking, cooking, or playing video games.

Author links:
- Website
- Facebook
- Instagram
- Amazon
- Goodreads

EXCERPT:

 “It’s nothing,” Miles muttered. “Just… ghosts.”

 
“Oh.” That was it? Did he not like ghosts? But did he not realize that ghosts were everywhere?
Although, to be fair, I did not like to be around most people. And they were everywhere too. I, too, was exhausted from the overstimulation. 

I could relate.

“Don’t worry.” I squeezed his hand. “We can work together. Okay?”

Miles slowed down, and my chest tightened as the rude nature of my question hit. “I-I don’t want you to do everything for me!” I clarified. “It’s… I thought, maybe if we worked together, we could get finished faster.” His expression remained unchanged, and I added, almost begrudgingly. “I’ll give you some money, obviously.” 

It made sense, if both of us were doing the job, we should share the profit.  

His nose wrinkled in distaste. “I’m not going to take your money.”

“But…” I’d been keeping track of their spending and was working out a payment plan with interest. “I already owe you—”

“I’m not taking any money from you,” Miles interrupted. “Ever. Do you understand?” 

“Okay.” I understood that he believed this, but who knew what the future held? Where there was a will, there’s a way. 

Miles narrowed his eyes. “Why do I feel you don’t actually understand?” 

 He looked at me before his shoulders slumped and he sighed. “I’m too tired to think.” 

He was kind of cute, all disheveled and confused. When he was this vulnerable, it was easy to ignore the rest of the world and focus on him. His arm brushed against mine, and my heart began to beat a little faster. 

There was something horrifying beginning to curl in my stomach.
I could never let him know. Even acknowledging such feelings was unsafe.

Giveaway
There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Shadows of Nightshade. One winner wins a paperback copy of Shadows of Nightshade.

For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

 

MY REVIEW

I understand that this is a rewrite of the original series. I have not read the original, which I am quite happy about since it means I came to this version without any preconcieved ideas and was therefore not in the position of being either pleased or disappointed when comparing it with the original.

 

I have to say I found Bianca to be rather annoying. At times she seems indecisive and flighty,  although since she has apparently had severe trauma in her past, which probably accounts for it. At other times though, she shows an inner strength and sensitivity which kept me reading and rooting for her. I enjoyed the world building and the other characters are complex and intriguing.

Despite being somewhat irritated by Bianca, this book still kept me turning the pages, there were so many questions I wanted to be answered, and the story is fast paced and intriguing. However,  I can only give four stars rather than five, since it came to - what to me at least - seemed to be quite an abrubt end. I fully expected there to be another two or three chapters and while I know it is the first of a series, I had expected it to be more of a 'complete' story. Nevertheless, I would definitely recommend this book as an interesting and enjoyable read, and it left me wanting to read the next book in the series.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Love, Loss and Life in Between

This collection of short stories gives a glimpse into life, love, loss, and the inexplicable in between.

Including themes of grief, finding hope and second chances, facing the consequences of your actions and getting help from the unlikeliest of places.

 

• 
  As Cecilia helps the dying, she questions what happens to their spirits. But is she ready to find out?

• Can a mother's race through the New Forest save her son?

• Will visiting a medium bring Christina the closure she needs?
  

• Can an intruder help an old lady with her loneliness?

• Will the start of another wet and miserable Monday morning end with Maeve’s happy ever after?

 This anthology includes the prize-winning flash fiction story - 'Spirit Song'.

Purchase Links

Love, Loss and Life In Between - Audible link  

Love, Loss and Life In Between - Amazon link

REVIEW

An eclectic and delightful selection of short stories, which are perfect for listening to when you fancy a few minutes relaxation, or you just want to dip in and out. They range from the slightly eerie to the 'feelgood' and 'cosy' tale, so there is something for everyone, including cat and dog lovers. Sometimes I wanted to know a bit more, but then that is the nature of the short story and an indication of the way the stories held my interest.

The narration was crisp and clear, although sometimes I found the accent the narrator used a bit jarring, but that could just be me.

That said, I found this anthology  a very enjoyable listen.

Author Bio –

Suzanne lives in Middlesex, England with her husband, two teenagers, a crazy cocker spaniel and an adopted cat that thinks she's the boss.

Suzanne’s writing journey began at the age of twelve when she completed her first novel. Giving up work to raise a family gave her the impetus to take her attempts at novel writing beyond the first draft, and she is lucky enough to have a husband who supports her dream - even if he does occasionally hint that she might think about getting a proper job one day.

Now an author of four novels including the Silent Sea Chronicles trilogy and her debut, Visions of Zarua, plus three short story collections, Suzanne hopes the dreaded ‘W’ word will never rear its ugly head again!

Suzanne collects books, is interested in history and enjoys wandering around castles and old ruins whilst being immersed in the past. She likes to combine her love of nature and photography on family walks, but most of all she loves to escape with a great film, binge watch TV shows, or soak in a hot bubble bath with an ice cream and a book.

Social Media Links –

Website

Twitter

Goodreads

BookBub

Newsletter sign up

Narrator Bio –

Having attended Drama school in Liverpool as a teenager Sandie moved into a variety of jobs varying from Hotel Management/Merseyside Police/Motherhood to name just a few but for 25 years she taught worldwide as a Pilates Tutor Trainer.

During lockdown Sandie's interest turned to Audiobooks and it was from there she embarked on her own journey as an Audiobook Narrator.

Social Media Links –

https://sandiekeane.com/  

Facebook  

 Instagram

For insider news and subscriber-only info, subscribe to my occasional Newsletter. I promise not to spam and your in-box will only see an email from me every 3 or 4 months or so - unless of course I have something really Newsworthy to share! I also promise that I never have and never will share your information or email address with anyone or any organisation.  http://madmimi.com/signups/196357/join