Thursday 14 May 2015

REVIEW: The Shadow Cabinet by Maureen Johnson

Bookish Details:
Series: Shades of London #3
Pages: 374 Paperback
Publisher: Hot Key Books (UK)
Release Date: February 5th 2015

Synopsis:
Grieving, shaken, and feeling very much alone, Rory's life as a member of the Shades of London has changed irrevocably. It's only been a matter of hours since Stephen was taken from her, possibly for ever. Her classmate Charlotte is still missing, kidnapped by the same people who tried to take Rory. Rory is no longer a schoolgirl haplessly involved in the dealings of a secret government unit. She is their weapon in a matter of life and death.

With hardly a moment to think for herself, Rory is back to work. Charlotte must be found -- as must Stephen, if he is even out there. Lines must be drawn and forces rallied. Something is brewing under London, something bigger and much more dangerous than what has come before. The Shadow Cabinet holds the key to everything, and it is up to Rory to unravel its mysteries before time runs out...

My Review:
*This review contains spoilers for the previous book in this series. Do not read on if you haven’t yet read them*

After the torturous cliff-hanger that occurred at the end of The Madness Underneath, it has been an extremely long and even more torturous wait for this sequel.

The Shadow Cabinet picks up immediately where the last book left us. Rory is still in the hospital after Stephen’s death, and is struggling to come to terms with the events that have happened. A grieving Rory is immediately faced with the task of tracking down Stephen’s ghost, whilst also searching for her missing classmate, Charlotte.

Charlotte has been taken by Jane, and while the team try to find her, they uncover facts about a disturbing cult dating back forty years. I highly enjoyed getting to learn about events of the past, and it certainly made putting the book down extremely difficult.

The story is fast paced from the start, and the second half of the book is nail-bitingly tense. Some of the scenes were downright creepy, especially the ones that looked back on the cult. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but when Jane finally catches up with Rory, I could not stop reading.

Sid and Sadie are chilling characters. Everything from their mannerisms to their appearance is disturbing. I get the feeling they are going to become a central part of this series, and I’m eager to find out whatever is it that they’re plotting. They’ve definitely added a much higher element of danger to Rory’s overall story.  

Once again, I loved the relationship between Rory and Stephen. We’re shown just the right amount of it to keep us wanting more. I like stories that don’t throw romance in your face from the very beginning, because that often leads to that aspect of the story getting pretty boring, pretty quickly. With this series, Johnson has paced out the development of the relationship between the two characters perfectly, making us keep on rooting for them.

I enjoyed this book being set outside of the school for the first time. It shows the dramatic changes that have happened in Rory’s life. Her being a student in the school seems like a whole different world away from the life she has now.

I adore this series. The characters are fantastic, the plot is always full of twists, and there is never a dull moment to be found. Once again, the ending has me begging for more, and it looks like I’m going to have yet another torturous wait.

Royal Rating:






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