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Review of The Shoppe of Spells by Shanon Grey

Book 1 in the Gatekeeper Series
Shanon Grey
When is a whole more than the sum of its parts?
When it has ties to the quaint little town of Ruthorford, GA, as Morgan Briscoe discovers when a cryptic message threatens to change her life forever.
Morgan’s relatively normal life is turned on its ear when she learns not only that she is adopted, but her birth parents are dead and she now holds half-interest in a business with their ward, Dorian Drake. Dorian is running The Shoppe of Spells and despite his riveting good looks, he can barely conceal his hostility toward his new partner.
Morgan discovers that she is more than she seems and together she and Dorian have the ability to control a portal to another dimension.
Unable to control their growing attraction, Morgan and Dorian dance around their desires and her burgeoning abilities, until danger forces them to face their destiny.
Review by Flying Frog Fairy :
This story leaves you with more questions than answers. Mostly in a good way. It starts of slowly, introducing you to Morgan and the quiet life she leads.  Then with the arrival of one letter her whole life and everything she thinks she knows about it is changed. Suddenly she has an inheritance from parents she never knew she had.  We find out she was adopted and that her parents should have told her by the time she turned 25. The author never really gives a satisfactory explanation as to why 25 was the important year. That is just one of the many details that the author brings up but then never really explains.  But there is a lot going on and the details are small so most of them can be forgiven.
One thing that tweaked me a little was the introduction of the character Jasmine.  She is made out to be a protagonist with no redeeming qualities and then the author does a complete 180 and makes her a victim.  I had a hard time reconciling this. And the explanation that is given for her actions was not supported by previous descriptions of her, or her prior actions.
There is a lot going on what with the alternate dimensions, the historical details and the perfect mate scenarios.  There are a lot of characters to keep track of and this is obviously because the author is making this a series.  As I mentioned before, there are a lot of unanswered questions and unexplained details left at the end.  It may sound like I didn’t like this book but I did. Somehow it all works and keeps you intrigued enough to want to read the next book in the series to see if you find some answers.
So I do recommend this book.  The second book in the series is due out this year and the heroine is Jasmine. I am curious to see if the author will be able to redeem her character enough, at least in my eyes, to make her heroine worthy.

6 Responses to Review of The Shoppe of Spells by Shanon Grey

  1. Sophia Rose March 11, 2012 at 4:13 pm #

    First books in a new series are quite the balance act, I think- grab the attention with a good moving plot and explain the background enough so the reader isn't clueless.

    Sounds like a good read. Thanks for sharing your review!

  2. Anonymous March 12, 2012 at 12:51 am #

    Wow this book looks really interesting the style was really unique I love it.. where can I buy this book?
    VZ 58

  3. Kelly March 12, 2012 at 7:42 pm #

    you can buy at Amazon or Barnes & Noble. If you click on the title in the post at the top it will take you to Amazon

  4. Kelly March 12, 2012 at 7:42 pm #

    hope you enjoy

  5. Shanon Grey March 13, 2012 at 11:28 am #

    Hi — Shanon here. I want to thank you for your review. I appreciate you taking the time to read it and review it. I also wanted to let your readers know that, when they click on the link, the cover will look different. That's because I changed publishers and the one they see is the second edition (which now has a prologue). I am hard at work finishing Meadow's Keep, Book II in the Gatekeepers. I appreciate your input and hope my writing and my stories get better and better (and hope you will consider reviewing Meadow's Keep when it comes out). For those who are interested I have more fun stuff on my website and would love to have everyone visit as http://www.shanongrey.wordpress.com. Thank you again.

  6. Flying Frog March 13, 2012 at 7:54 pm #

    I really did enjoy the book and look forward to getting my hands on Meadow's Keep. There are so many things I am eager to find out. I am addicted! Thanks for making the book such an intriguing read.

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