A Plague of Shadows Book Review

Synopsis:
Enter the world of O, where a plague of shadows creeps through the land, ensnaring those it infects and turning them into soulless shadow people damned to pollute all of the nine worlds along the world tree. Fear of these darklings, and the magic they possess drives people to kill those that appear different or go against the light.

At nineteen Abagail Bauer should be setting off on her own, not still caring for her father and her family home as she’s doing. The hard life has made her practical, and she has little time for flights of fancy, unlike her sister, Leona, who insists her doll can predict the future. That all changes one day. While tending their bees she encounters a blackness spreading through the hive. Abagail knows what it is: the shadow plague, the sickness that will creep into ones soul and make them nothing more than a shadow, a darkling bent on the destruction of all things good. And now she’s caught it. She doesn’t believe in other worlds outside of the land of O, but when her father finds out she’s infected he decides to send her to the one person who can help her learn to control this weird power: her Aunt Mattelyn in a distant world called Agaranth, and for Abagail everything she’s believed to be myth becomes a staggering reality.

Joined by her neighbor, Rorick Keuper, on a quest of revenge against the darklings who destroyed his home, and her seer sister, Leona, Abagail sets off across the rainbow bridge to another world in hopes of curing herself of the plague. But Abagail finds that her infection is only the beginning of her ill fate. When she arrives in the new world, she’s far from where she needs to be. Braving the winter of this new land, along with the darklings that hunt her, will Abagail be able to find her aunt before the shadow consumes her, or is she destined to become a husk of who she once was and kill those she loves?
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

My Review: 
I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

The Plague of Shadows is book one in The Harbinger of Light series.  The story begins with Abagail waking from a very strange dream.  Abagail lives a normal like in O, one of the nine worlds.  After her father hurt his leg, she and her sister Leona assist with the day to day chores.  Little did she know, helping her father that day with their bees would change her life forever; it seems as if the bees somehow have the shadow plague and now she has been contaminated.  Her father sends Leona, Rorick and herself through the portal she never knew existed, to find his sister in Agaranth to teach her how to control the darkness before it consumes her.  Everything she once thought was a myth has now become a harsh reality and this is how their adventure begins.

Once again Travis Simmons has created an amazing world in vivid detail.  You are immediately drawn in and fascinated by the characters.  As Abagail comes to terms with her powers, you see her slowly gain the courage needed to keep Rorick and Leona safe.  I was really sad when Leona had to sacrifice her doll, but I hope Skuld isn’t gone for good.  You can sense a love triangle in the works; after all, the sisters and Rorick are close friends.  I also love the fact that they have encountered an elf and pixie so far.  There are lots of unanswered questions running through my mind that I hope book two will cover.  Once again, I’m in eager anticipation of the next book in the series.
About the Author: 
Travis Simmons was kicked out of magic school because he enjoyed mundane habits like canning and cooking instead of using spells. Forced to travel the world selling his sword and (often defunct) sorcery, he stumbled upon a pack of normal dogs that he mistook for magical animals and imagined he could communicate with them. Still, they enjoyed the pizza he would toss their way, and they adopted him as one of their own. When a roving horde of zombies attacked his new family, Travis used all of his abilities to call upon aid from some witch friends who helped him fight the undead horde. But, always the introvert, the witches realized Travis was rather boring, so after the excitement of battle was over, they went back to their magical ponderings elsewhere. But alas, Travis Simmons was bitten by a zombie, and in order to save himself from turning, he became an apprentice to a necromancer who promised to teach him necromancy and cure his impending undead affliction for a hefty sum. Deciding the life of adventure wasn’t for him, and worried that winter was coming, Travis settled down with his dark master and started writing weird tales of fantasy and science fiction. While his master much preferred Travis spend his time learning the esoteric ways of the occult, Travis dreamed of things like aliens, and life on other planets. His master didn’t like when Travis started pondering steampunk, and instead made his life a horror with magical studies. Now he spends his time chasing his dreams, while trying to save himself from the demon virus in his blood.
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