Secrets and Shadows: A 13 to Life Novel Kindle Edition

Being someone who really enjoyed 13 to life I was really excited to get this book. However, as I started reading it took me a little while to get into everything that was going on. I felt like the book had a slow start, or maybe I just forgot everything that happened in the last one so I need time for my brain to get moving again. Either way, I took me about 100 pages to feel invested in the story again.In 13 to Life I fell in love with Pietr, but in this book he was frustrating me quite a bit. Boys and their guilt, it really does get in the way of a lot doesn't it? Pietr begins to push Jess away since he thinks she is in danger because of him. Watching the main characters suffer apart from each just makes reading it not as enjoyable for me. I know relationships are rocky, especially ones in the paranormal world, and I understand he is trying to do what is best for Jess, but I really want these two to just work it out. So I pushed through hoping to be happily surprised as the book continued.I will admit, that when Russian phrases came up in the text, I did reach for my computer to translate some of them. I know I should be patient and wait, but I just could not help it. I don't like not know what is being said, so I the phrase Pietr said to Jess in the beginning of the book is definitely one where I reached for the translator. ;)I did like seeing more into the lives of Rusakova's, they are very interesting and Cat kept me entertained with her humor. The most surprising character though, was Max. I did not really give him enough credit in the first book. He was cracking me up in this one, he is a little bit of a jerk at times, but I think he has some very redeeming qualities that won me over.While the Rusakova's were great to see Sarah, not so much. Not really a fan of girl stealing another girl's guy, it rubs me the wrong way. Plus, Sarah as a character has never really sat right with me, so my judgement of her is a little skewed. Maybe she will grow on me in future books, but as of right now I am not in her corner. Though, I can't really 100% blame Sarah since Jess pretty much forced her into it. I was glad to see that this issue did have a resolution within in this book and will not bleed over into the next book, hopefully.Overall, I like this book, but not in love with it. I was glad to see many issues get addressed and the story definitely picked up towards the end, but I am still left wanting at the end of this one. Hopefully the next book will get my blood racing a little more and really excited about this series again.

I have been looking forward to the release of Secrets and Shadows, the second book in the 13 to Life series by Shannon Delany since I closed the cover on book one in September. Ms. Delany does not disappoint, in fact I'd say she exceeds expectations!I know some readers were frustrated that Secrets and Shadows does not pick up right where 13 to Life left off, but really, I never expected it to. We come back a few months later. Jessie is having trouble dealing with not only her mother's death, but her recent run in with the Russian mob, constant intrusion by the CIA, and a werewolf boyfriend who is dating her best friend and who seems to be pulling away from her. It'd be a lot for any teenager to handle. And even then it wouldn't be so bad except that strange things have started to happen all over town. Perhaps there are scarier things out there than a family of werewolves...I love that we learn more about Jessie's friends and acquaintances, although there is not necessarily a lot to love about what we learn about them. Jessie is a little slow on the uptake that Pietr is pushing her away to protect her (which is funny, because she mentions that she's read Twilight) to the point of me wanting to shake her a couple of times. Unlike Twilight, however, she doesn't sit around mooning over it, but tries to move on. She's even trying to keep the peace by becoming the mediator between the Ruskova's and the CIA. However, there are so many forces working against them, many of which she knows nothing about, it seems a bit of a Sisyphean task.This was hard to put down. The action just keeps rolling as Jessie's life keeps unravelling. I found Delany's writing to be much smoother in this book, with far fewer instances of plot-line jumps. There were still a couple of times I backtracked to see if I missed something, but those times were few and far between. As a reader though, I would surmise that if you haven't read 13 to Life recently, there are things that back-reference which a casual reader might miss. Not that I found it an issue, but if you're one of those skimmers, I'm giving you fair warning.If 13 to Life was the snowball that started the avalanche, Secrets and Shadows is the express train that barely slows for passenger embarkation or disembarkation. As it raced to the finish line, things foreshadowed come to fruition and things unimagined unfold. Needless to say, I'm thrilled that I will only have to wait until mid-August (8/16 to be precise) to continue my journey with Jessie and the Ruskova's in Bargains and Betrayals. If you love YA paranormal romance, you must check out this series!READ MORE: [...]

I had pretty mixed feelings about the first book in this series, 13 to Life, but I still wanted to carry on with the series regardless as I hoped it would get better.I had a bit of a love/ hate relationship with Jess in the first book and unfortunately, this didn't change for me with the second book. One of the main problems that I had with her before was how she always went on about caring so much for her friends but didn't show it and she kind of does the same thing here only not on such a grand scale. The good things about Jess though were that she is still outspoken and pretty fierce. Jess isn't afraid of any of the crazy things going on around her and infact, she wants to be more involved which I had to applaud her for. If I found out some of my friends were werewolves I would probably run a million miles. She has guts for sure and this one factor of her character was the redeeming factor.The relationship between Pietr and Jessie annoyed the hell out of me throughout the first half (and maybe a little more) of this book. Both characters made silly decisions regarding the other and whatever was happening around them and I just didn't understand why. Some reasons are given later on in the book but I really didn't feel as though the choices were justified enough. However, I did still love Pietr just not as much as I did originally. His use of Russian gets me every time and it was tied in extremely well with his relationship with Jess. Although I didn't understand some of his actions, they were finally justified a lot more than Jess's were in the end. Pietr has a lot going for him as the hero of the story and I can't wait to see what the next book has in store for him.Secondary characters in the form of Pietr's family and a couple of Jess's friends were, again, what made this book good. Due to the expansion of the werewolves' story, we get to find out a whole lot more about the Rusakova family and their history. Getting to learn of their past, what drives them to make certain decisions and understanding their actions was by far the most interesting part of this book and even though there was quite a lot of this, I still wanted more. I think I could read about this family all day long and still be happy. I was also really happy to see Jess's friends included more in the main story as they were just there for the sake of it last time around.The pacing of this book was much, much better than that of 13 to Life. I didn't feel as though the story was disjoined in any areas this time around and now, it flowed really well. The book begins pretty much where the first book left off and had a nice build up to the excitement. There are quite a few twists and turns in Secrets and Shadows and although most of them were quite obvious, there were a couple of massive twists that I didn't see coming at all. I loved that I could know instantly what would happen in some areas of the story but then other parts would shock me completely. There was a really nice mix of knowing and mystery throughout.While Secrets and Shadows was not amazing, it was still a pretty entertaining read. There were aspects that I loved, hated and felt unsure about but overall, I still finished this book quite happily. I really think that Delany is getting much better with each book she writes and for this reason, I will carry on with the series.