Shadow Silence by Yasmine Galenorn is the second book in the Whisper Hollow series. Kerris Fellwater is spirit shaman, and she is responsible for getting the dead to pass over. Kerris left Whisper Hollow when she was eighteen and did not return for fifteen years (because of abusive grandfather). Kerris has returned to take over for her Grandmother Lila who passed away. Kerris is learning her job with the help of Grandma Lila’s journal. She also has help from Bryan, her protector, guardian, and boyfriend. Kerris’ friend, Peggin has to find a new place to live. She has decided to buy a beautiful old Victorian in the Foggy Downs subdivision. There are ten houses but only two of them are occupied. It is dangerous to live there because of the Lady. The Lady lives in the nearby lake and she devours souls. Her siren song lures them to the lake where the Lady captures them. Kerris tries to talk Peggin out of buying the house, but she is determined (even though the Lady has been very ravenous of late). Others tell Kerris to stop trying to talk Peggin out of her purchase (they all should be trying to talk Peggin out of buying this house). So Kerris reluctantly helps Peggin move into her new home. Soon Peggin disappears (it is the same day) and they frantically look for her. Kerris, Bryan, and Dr. Divine (Peggin’s boyfriend) see her on the pier and then are running to save her from the Lady. They are able to rescue her from the Lady, but Peggin has been marked. The Lady is angry that she was thwarted and she will not be stopped. Can Kerris and her friends save Peggin from the Lady?

I had a hard time reading Shadow Silence. It took me three days to work my way through this novel (I normally finish a book in just a few hours). This book sounded so interesting, but I found it to be extremely predictable. Why would you buy a house near the lake? And then are shocked when the Lady lures you in? Shadow Silence can be read alone. All the information from the first book, Autumn Thorns is rehashed in Shadow Silence. The author repeats the same information over and over (for example that Bryan’s her boyfriend and lover; that she was gone for fifteen years; Dr. Divine and his sculptures that come to life). The writer is very descriptive. She describes everything in extreme detail. I never connected with the characters in this book especially Kerris. I give Shadow Silence 2 out of 5 stars. I told you about the main storyline, but there are several side stories going on. There are many characters in the book (I could not keep track of all of them). I should mention the foul language and explicit sex scenes (this book should be X-rated). I will not be continuing with the Whisper Hollow series. ( )

I gave it 3.5 stars

AUTUMN THORNS was a fantastic read that quickly had me wanting to read more about the world and the characters of the Whisper Hollow series. I was really excited to get my hands on SHADOW SILENCE and although I really enjoyed it, it didn't wow me as much as I was hoping.

So as I finished SHADOW SILENCE and prepared to write this review I had to sit down and ask myself what was wrong with it. Not a ton, but I quickly pinpointed that the over descriptive explanations and irrelevant additions added to the story killed some of the flow for me. I can't even begin to tell you how many times Kerris mentions that her breasts are big—giant really—and how she has to get special bras and how men in her past just dated her because they had big boob fetishes and oh yeah, her boobs are giant. I got it the first time, I didn't need it repeated and cried over throughout the whole book. The info was injected into situations that it just didn't seem to fit in. On top of that there were a lot of filler things added into SHADOW SILENCE that I could have done without—having to read the steps in which Kerris feeds her cats, washes her hair, etc.

Having gotten that out of the way, I still really enjoyed the characters and the overall storyline. There is a lot of focus on Peggin in SHADOW SILENCE and I enjoyed learning more about her and her relationship with Deev. Kerris and Bryan's relationship continued to grow as well, but I felt like their relationship aspects of the book were kinda just thrown into the story as a background subject. I will pick up book two when it's time to see if the Whisper Hollow series stays on my must-read list.

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ( )