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Rising Shadows

by Ashley Townsend (Goodreads Author)

4.19 of 5 stars 4.19 · rating details · 21 ratings · 16 reviews

Sarah Matthews is nearing the end of another eventless summer in the small town of Bethany, Oklahoma, bringing her closer to the start of her freshman year of college. Disheartened over the reality that yet another unexciting season is coming to an end, Sarah wishes for an unforgettable adventure. When mysterious circumstances transport Sarah and her younger sister back in...more

ebook, 177 pages

Published June 16th 2012 by Kirkdale Press (first published January 1st 2012)

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Aug 19, 2012 Christina (Ensconced in YA) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: librarything-wins

I received this book from Librarything in exchange for an honest review. I award this book 3.5 stars.

Rising Shadows by Ashley Townsend is about a teenager named Sarah that is whisked away one day to an unknown land that teems with handsome strangers, loving friends, and sinister villains. I admit that I didn't realize that Kirkdale Press was a Christian publisher, but was pleasantly surprised with the product.

I really liked the characters-- they were well fleshed out and fun to read about. I thi...more

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Jan 31, 2013 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars

I read the book and really loved it, and then I got to the end all like, "Wow, that was a great adventure, all the mysteries are solved, I'm okay with the fact that Sarah never confronted Cadius, and now everything----What?! Are you kidding me? Where's the next book?!!!!!" I had every intention of finishing this "novel" and then moving on to the next stack of books on my floor and my Kindle, but then I read the cliffhanger ending and am currently freaking out. I NEED the next book. I discovered...more

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Jan 31, 2013 Kelsey rated it 5 of 5 stars

My favorite new book of the year! My friend has been trying to get me to read this since September, but I was concerned about reading a book by an author a few years younger than myself. But I was so pleasantly surprised with the storyline, depth of the characters, and overall pace of the story. I couldn't put it down! And that Will Taylor. Let me just say I was sighing everytime he walked into a scene. There was plenty of tension between Sarah, Will, and that Shadow (I'm not telling!), although...more

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Jan 23, 2013 Pamela K. rated it 3 of 5 stars

I received Rising Shadows from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers Program.
Rising Shadows is a story for teens/young adults. As a 40 something woman, I enjoyed the book. The main characters ( Sarah, Karen, & Will)were well written and likable. The other characters need a little growth and personality. The overall concept of ttime travel to the 12th century was done well. Some reviewers have mentioned the speech of the characters. But since we aren't really sure where or when Sarah and Karen have...more

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Aug 26, 2012 Rhonda rated it 4 of 5 stars

4 STARS
This is going to be the first of three book series. I enjoyed it. Thier is no sex, swear words but thier is praying.
Sarah Matthews is 18 and soon to start collage an hour way from home. Right now she is watching her sister while thier mom is helping take of a different family member.
Its starting to storm so Lilly comes into Sarah room power goes out and lightning loud.
Then all of a sudden they are not in her bedroom at night but day in a forest.
A girl sees them and says thats not what is...more

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Jun 30, 2012 Katie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

With this being her first novel, I was pleasantly surprised at the characters' depth in the story, which made for an enjoyable read. Some authors master the storyline but never seem to make good characters. I don't need relatable people, but when you are inside one person's head for the entire book, and he/she is slightly psychotic (AKA Katniss Everdeen), it is really hard to enjoy the book, no matter how ingenius the plotline.
I am an extremely picky reader, and although I love to read, it is...more

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Sep 11, 2012 Angie ~aka Reading Machine~ rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads-review-books

Book exchanged for review~Per Goodreads rules

Sarah Matthews is eighteen years old really thinks her life is boring of late wondering where her summer has gone. She has complete faith in God and his plan for her life. Yet something is clearly missing but Sarah doesn't know what. When she and her sister Lily are transported back in time to the twelfth century. Sarah gets much more than she bargained for in adventure and intrigue. Sarah and Lily meet Karen, a young girl who happens to know that Sar...more Book exchanged for review~Per Goodreads rules

Sarah Matthews is eighteen years old really thinks her life is boring of late wondering where her summer has gone. She has complete faith in God and his plan for her life. Yet something is clearly missing but Sarah doesn't know what. When she and her sister Lily are transported back in time to the twelfth century. Sarah gets much more than she bargained for in adventure and intrigue. Sarah and Lily meet Karen, a young girl who happens to know that Sarah and Lily are not from this time period. Karen is running from a posse set on catching her because she's a suspected witch. As Karen, Sarah, and Lily hide and run from the posse; Sarah spies a man in a green hooded cloak. The Green Cloaked Man or The Shadow as he's called is very interested in Sarah. Karen tells the girls that the King has fallen ill and no one knows why only that Cadeus may possibly behind the King's illness but no one has any proof. Karen leads the girls to a family farm run by The Joneses where they can stay until Karen can return the girls back to their own time. Karen is also searching for a man called The Professor who might be able to help the girls. In the meantime, they will have to wait until arrangements can be made. Karen and Sarah go to town to see if they can find anything out about the Professor when Karen is caught by Dunlivey. Sarah is stopped from also getting caught by local blacksmith Will Taylor. Will Taylor usually minds his own business yet interferes in Sarah's business. Will kinda likes Sarah and tries to help her out. She asks if Will knows the Shadow because she needs his help. Will The Shadow help Sarah? What is Will hiding? Can Sarah free Karen? What is really causing The King's illness? How will Sarah's faith and love in God help her? Your answers await you in Rising Shadows.

I loved how the author wove the story threads together in such an intriguing way. She captured the spirit of one young woman's unwavering faith and love in God that you didn't feel pressured or force feed someone else's beliefs. It was a gently questioning of your own faith that didn't leave a bad taste in your mouth afterwards. The pacing and tone for the book was just right and made it easy for you to ask questions about your own faith and love in God. Experience this book for yourself.(less)

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Sep 02, 2012 Carolyn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I received a complementary copy of this ebook in exchange for a review from LibraryThing. This is no way affects my review.

Preface: The opinions in this review are my own. They are not up for discussion. I am an atheist. I do not want commentary about said atheism. I offer this review from my non-religious stand-point for other like-minded people.

I have to be brutally honest. I wanted to hate this book. I really, really, really wanted to hate it. As shallow as it is (and yes, I recog...more Disclaimer: I received a complementary copy of this ebook in exchange for a review from LibraryThing. This is no way affects my review.

Preface: The opinions in this review are my own. They are not up for discussion. I am an atheist. I do not want commentary about said atheism. I offer this review from my non-religious stand-point for other like-minded people.

I have to be brutally honest. I wanted to hate this book. I really, really, really wanted to hate it. As shallow as it is (and yes, I recognize it is shallow), I felt suckered into choosing this book for my LibraryThing review list. No where did anything indicate this book is Christian Fiction. Once I was selected, a link brought me to Kirkdale Press, the publisher. “Kirkdale Press is a new digital publishing imprint from Logos Bible Software. Focused on Christian living and new voices in Christian fiction, Kirkdale Press builds on Logos Bible Software’s 20 years of leadership in electronic Bible study.” WHAT!?! I was NOT a happy girl!

Of course, if I ever wanted a book or ebook to review from LibraryThing again, I had to honor my commitment. I could have just faked a review. But I am waaay above that. And besides, I’ve read many of the classics and inevitably religion rears it’s head in them. I could survive.

So, I read it. I’ll get it out of the way first and say, yes, there is a bunch of religion in the book. Did it detract? Not particularly. Did it add to the story? Not particularly. Would it have been just as good without it? Of course, my opinion is yes. But I do think others would agree.

I will say that religion in the classics is handled much differently than contemporary fiction. It is almost like contemporary authors have the need to lead the reader by the nose through bible verses in order to get their message across. A little more subtlety could be just as effective.

I rate this book 3 ½ stars. Why does it get 4 in the review? Simply because I WANTED to hate it and I couldn’t. So, I rounded up. But, please understand that 4 stars is extremely high in my book. Only my all-time favorites get 5 stars. Out of 321 books on my Goodreads, I’ve given out a 5 only 22 times.

Riding Shadows is the story of a young girl who goes back in time, accidentally. Of course, this storyline has already been written. But Townsend is able to put a few twists so that we are kept engaged. Her character development is extremely well done. We are given a complete look at many of the characters and her stereotyping of others (for brevity) was appropriate. Her settings are so descriptive that I could easily see the forest for the trees (a pun – a lot of the book takes place in the forest). I have no idea what imagery she used, but it was fluid and refined. Nothing clunky about breaks, changes, or word choice.

There were a few loose ends not tied up, or plotlines not pursued. What the heck happened to the professor? Why even have Lilly in the story if you’re just sending her back right away? Why does Karen stay in the barn all the time? The end of the book made it obvious that this will be a series. Maybe these questions will be answered then. I’m actually looking forward to reading further in the series.

As with many ebooks, there are a number of editing errors. They were less than many ebooks I’ve read recently, and not as distracting, so I did not count off for that.

This review has been posted to LibraryThing, Goodreads, and Amazon.(less)

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Jun 21, 2012 Faye rated it 4 of 5 stars

An action-filled adventure...in another time...

Sarah and her sister, Lilly, are swept from their life in the present day to a medieval time though historic with a rich history, is not remembered by time. There Sarah meets a mysterious man in a green cloak, who fights silently for what is right. What adventures will Sarah experience in this land that time seems to have forgotten?

Written in an engaging easy to read fashion, with accurately flowing, descriptions perfect for a fast paced novel. I re...more

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Sep 13, 2012 R.T. Wolfe rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance

I enjoyed Ashley Townsend’s simple writing style. Rising Shadows was easy to follow and the characters were logical. Uniquely, I liked how Townsend often moved her story into another character’s point of view by backing the novel up a few minutes to see how the other character viewed a scene. Very intriguing. Sarah is a curious woman who is victim of an unwanted time travel. She meets the sweet and wonderful Seth as well as the mysterious Shadow. Townsend’s mixture of Christian references and pr...more

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May 15, 2012 Kelli (I'd So Rather Be Reading) rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a neat book! I am a sucker for time travel novels, especially when characters are transported back in time. Historical fiction is my favorite genre, and given that Rising Shadows is historical Christian fiction, I was really in for a treat.

Sarah is just your typical girl, getting ready to start college. One day, during a thunderstorm, she and her younger sister Lilly are transported to the twelfth century. Upon their arrival, they meet Karen, a college student who is also from the futur...more This was a neat book! I am a sucker for time travel novels, especially when characters are transported back in time. Historical fiction is my favorite genre, and given that Rising Shadows is historical Christian fiction, I was really in for a treat.

Sarah is just your typical girl, getting ready to start college. One day, during a thunderstorm, she and her younger sister Lilly are transported to the twelfth century. Upon their arrival, they meet Karen, a college student who is also from the future. Karen is in the twelfth century with her adoptive father, who is a professor and coincidentally developed the time machine, which is really more of a neat time-travel set of watches. Karen and the professor ended up in the twelfth century by mistake, but while there, discovered a plot against the king and are working to bring the king's brother to justice, and therefore save the king's life.

There were a lot of things I liked about Rising Shadows. I liked Sarah and her levelheadedness. I liked her approach to problems, and her loyalty to others. I especially liked her faith in God, and how she turned to Him in times of trouble. I liked Karen as well. She was unpredictable (something I love in a character) and a great friend to Sarah. Will was a mystery for much of the book but I grew to really like him too. The minor characters were well fleshed-out and added a lot of depth to the story. There were several surprises along the way, which I loved. My favorite parts of Rising Shadows were the historical element and the Christian element, both of which were very well-handled.

I had a couple of problems with Rising Shadows. The first was that there were some predictable parts to the book. I knew who The Shadow was long before Sarah did. My second problem was that the ending was choppy. I hated Sarah's decision at the end of the book, then all of a sudden, the book was over. I kept clicking the 'next page' button on my Nook in vain, hoping for more, not wanting to believe that Townsend could leave me with such a cliff-hanger! I like being in suspense for the next novel, but leaving things so open between books always leaves me feeling frustrated. For sure, it's a fine line between an ending that leaves you wanting to read the next book and a chopped-off ending with series novels, and it's something that I think is very hard to get right. Rising Shadows is the first in a trilogy, so hopefully book two will answer the many questions I have after reading book one.

Overall, I enjoyed Rising Shadows. I plan to keep reading the series, and look forward to more from Ashley Townsend.
(less)

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Jan 07, 2013 Cyn rated it 2 of 5 stars

2.5 STARS

First off, I want to preface this rating with kudos to the young author, who has realized her dream of being published. This is an accomplishment to feel good about. Writing was my dream when I was in my teens, but I never got around to churning out a full-length novel until just a few years ago (still revising though - busy schedule and all that).

Having said that, there are some things about this book which I feel are a bit ... rough around the edges and could do with some more polishi...more

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Aug 19, 2012 Sorcha rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: er, 2012

Received as an ebook from the publisher as part of Librarything's Early reviewer giveaway.

Partway through reading the book, I was flicking through and found that this is Ashley's first book and she is a young author too. This makes this début novel the better, with a decent storyline and some good primary characters. For those who dont like Christian themes in books this is not for you - Sarah has a strong relationship with God, as do some other characters, though Ashley does well to not make th...more

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Aug 24, 2012 Lydia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Rising Shadows is an impressive feat for a young author. There are many complex characters and relationships, and the plot is not as predictable as many books are. The book also explores God's boundless love from the perspective of a young adult, which I found quite interesting.

The writing is not always fabulously polished, but I think it is very well done considering the age of the author.

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Sep 18, 2012 Marnie rated it 5 of 5 stars

I received a copy of this book through Library Thing Early reviewers. I liked the story and the plot was interesting, however it was all a little bit far fetched. It was seemed to me a bit strange that Sarah could understand everyone perfectly. All being said it was a good story from a first time author.

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May 15, 2012 Ashley Townsend rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author)

The summary for my book is now available. I'd love for you to check it out! Stay tuned for updates.

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About Ashley Townsend

Ashley Townsend is a twenty-one-year-old college student and author whose greatest passion lies in creating stories that captivate and entertain her audience. Born in Southern California and raised in Colorado Springs, Ashley dedicated her free time between homeschool classes with her mom to devouring adventure novels and defending ice castles in her backyard. Her thirst for books expanded until s...more

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