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A Shadow of Time

by Louann Carroll (Goodreads Author)

4.83 of 5 stars 4.83 · rating details · 12 ratings · 5 reviews

Consumed by a childhood filled with terror and pain, Kellyn O’Brien strives to create the perfect family.Then, disaster strikes. Her husband is dead. Three weeks later, she discovers her son is heir to Shadow Ley, a nineteenth century estate located in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

Still reeling from Michael's death, Kellyn moves to Shadow Ley. Soon after her arrival, the o...more

Kindle Edition, First, 257 pages

Published July 2nd 2012 by Crescent Moon Press

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Mar 28, 2013 Lillie Roberts rated it 5 of 5 stars

Kellyn is torn between keeping her growing family safe, fed, and living in a home; and leaving the only place she's known as home. Without Michael, it's going to be hard, and it's already breaking her heart. All she's ever really wanted was a home and a family.

Shadow Ley looms in her future, but can she live there, so far from home? She decides, yes, if it will mean she doesn't have to worry about her children. But, there's something strange going on inside the house, and all the legends say Sh...more Kellyn is torn between keeping her growing family safe, fed, and living in a home; and leaving the only place she's known as home. Without Michael, it's going to be hard, and it's already breaking her heart. All she's ever really wanted was a home and a family.

Shadow Ley looms in her future, but can she live there, so far from home? She decides, yes, if it will mean she doesn't have to worry about her children. But, there's something strange going on inside the house, and all the legends say Shadow Ley is hiding a secret.

Then, into her life strolls Dr. John Aldrich, and the dreams start... sometimes with Michael and sometimes with another, and sometimes with the reincarnated image of John... and she discovers more than life extending beyond the mortal existence, but planes of existence that she can't even begin to imagine.

The question becomes.... even though Shadow Ley holds her past and her present, can she, her children, and her new love, John, survive the entity existing within its walls? Will it contain her future? Or bring her death?

A Shadow of Time by Louann Carroll is aptly named, it is but a shadow of time shown through the multidimensional layers of existence. Are these layers, planes, existing all at the same time? Are the shadows of the past? Visions from another time? Kellyn is both disturbed and intrigued, the legends surrounding her new home are mystifying. And the old caretaker, he seems to appear from nowhere and disappears just as quickly. Then, the anxiety attacks start again, making her question even her ability as a mother. Can she do this? Bring a new baby into her life when, already, she's struggling to keep Scotty and herself together? She has to make the best of it, Shadow Ley and the fortune attached to it, is her only hope. When the enigmatic doctor walks into her life, she drawn, and not only by the man he is now, but the one who visits her dreams, can they be one in the same? As terrified as she is, she comes to realize that her only hope for peace is to discover the answers and the destiny of Shadow Ley.

A Shadow of Time is a mesmerizing read. It captured my attention and held on to the very last page, and I have to say, I love the cover, the timepiece fits the story perfectly. I found myself relating to the main character, Kellyn, both disturbed and intrigued. The being living within Shadow Ley has been trapped and denied for so long, and now it's hungry, in fact, it's starving. It craves human interaction, it craves the souls of those living within its walls, it craves what it can't have and demands. It promises Kellyn peace and happiness, and only brings chaos. John doesn't want Kellyn living in the old monstrosity, but he's almost as drawn to the place as she is. It wants to capture him as well, revealing truths from the past, but will it be their future or swallow them whole? Will it trap them, use them, or will they break free, slay the monster, and live happily ever after?

A Shadow of Time tells a twisting story, multidimensional, much like the planes existing in the story. It's also a bit of a ghost story, a bit of a horror story, and a bit of a love story. It's a tale of twisted realities, past and present interposed on each other. If you love a tale that makes you question reality, you'll love A Shadow of Time. I certainly did. Ghost story lovers need to pick this one you, you'll be surprised at the depth of the story that lingers after the pages are finished. Paranormal Romance lovers will also love this story of love and redemption. You'll want to give it a try.(less)

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Oct 12, 2012 Denna rated it 5 of 5 stars

A Shadow of Time by Louann Carroll was a little different story from my usual read. I seldom have dreams about novels I’m reading, but this one must have hit a nerve. It scared me. Of course, I like someone to try to scare me. :)

Kellyn O’Brien has just been widowed, has a young son, and is four months pregnant. Not a position most young women would want to find themselves in. On top of that, she learns her husband lied to her from the start about his family. He told Kellyn he’d been adopted, th...more A Shadow of Time by Louann Carroll was a little different story from my usual read. I seldom have dreams about novels I’m reading, but this one must have hit a nerve. It scared me. Of course, I like someone to try to scare me. :)

Kellyn O’Brien has just been widowed, has a young son, and is four months pregnant. Not a position most young women would want to find themselves in. On top of that, she learns her husband lied to her from the start about his family. He told Kellyn he’d been adopted, the same as she had been. After he dies, Kellyn is left pretty much penniless, but she soon learns her son has inherited her husband’s family home. After the shock wears off she learns she could be set up pretty much for life with both children, all she has to do is move into Shadow Ley, a large home located in the California foothills, with her children. Doesn’t seem like much of a hardship, until she gets there.

Shadow Ley is not what it first appears. There is strange goings on there, such as rooms that magically clean themselves, furniture and floors repaired right in front of them. And there could be a djinn living beneath the enormous home named Shenahobet, a guardian of sorts, and he might have evil in mind where Kellyn, her kids, and her new friends, are concerned. Kellyn and her friends soon learn they have more in common than they thought even. All of them have experienced strange dreams about past lives, but after Kellyn’s arrival what were once only strange dreams become realistic visions during the daylight hours. Everyone is at a loss as to the meaning behind them.

A Shadow of Time is a novel one has to pay close attention to because of all the different twists and turns we take, not only in the present, but with lives they may have lived in the past. How much of their past lives are connected to the present, or even the future? Shadow Ley and Shenahobet are the connection Kellyn needs to figure out before one or all of them ends up hurt or killed. Somewhere in the past a wrong was done and if they don’t find a way to correct it, these friends are destined to keep reliving it over and over again.
I enjoyed this story and the twists and turns involved as it escalates toward a surprise ending.
(less)

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Jan 15, 2013 Isis rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: member-give-away, horror, paranormal-sci-fi-and-or-fantasy, mystery-and-or-fantasy

A Shadow of Time - Louann Carroll

An interesting paranormal mystery/love story, this book manages to cover numerous eras throughout history, all the way back to the ice ages and maybe further.

Kellyn is a young widow with a three year old and three months pregnant. Shortly after the death of her husband Michael she gets a strange call from a law firm, claiming to represent Michael's parents will. This is strange to Kellyn because Michael had always told her that he had also grown up an orphan, not...more A Shadow of Time - Louann Carroll

An interesting paranormal mystery/love story, this book manages to cover numerous eras throughout history, all the way back to the ice ages and maybe further.

Kellyn is a young widow with a three year old and three months pregnant. Shortly after the death of her husband Michael she gets a strange call from a law firm, claiming to represent Michael's parents will. This is strange to Kellyn because Michael had always told her that he had also grown up an orphan, not knowing any family and longing for family and a place to call their own. Now, with his death, Kellyn wonders if anything her dead husband had ever told her was true. She mourns his passing, her loss, and is angered by what she feels to be his betrayal.

The lawyers say that for her son to inherit the family estate & fortune, Kellyn must agree to move just outside of Jackson and living in the family house until he reaches his majority. That is the only way that Scott will get the urgently needed funds. And Kellyn refuses to allow her kids to grow up anywhere near the way she did. She will give them a stable home, food, clothing, and love, for their entire lives.

Upon her arrival in the strange new town Kellyn discovers what she pictured as a charming Victorian is, well, not. Larger than anticipated, the house is not what it seems. Surprisingly Kellyn quickly meets a few people in town that almost instantly become her closest friends ever, which is challenging for Kellyn since she'd always been shy.

The four of them soon discover they have more in common than anticipated. Even the mother of Kellyn's new best friend Connie becomes involved in this mystery they must unravel. Luckily for them, Leanore is not only Connie's mother, she is also a spiritualist who may be able to assist them before time runs out for all of them . . . Again.

Decent character building in this book, and some very well crafted visual imagery. The plot begins a bit slow, but once the characters are established the story really takes off from there. The energy builds to a fever-pitch near the end of the book. . .

Unfortunately, like another of Ms. Carroll's books, I felt cheated by the end. Too much was left unfinished. It is almost as if the book(s) will become the first in two different series - there is that much important material left unexplained. Possibly intentionally? But as of this review I am unaware of a second book in the works for this, or Gemini Rising. Maybe I'll create my own reality in which all my questions get answered either in the original books or in sequels. Until then I then I suppose I will need to make do with the rather somewhat harsh concept that the ending was published while still in draft form.(less)

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Dec 17, 2012 Maer rated it 5 of 5 stars

A Shadow of Time by Louann Carroll is a rich, complex story. Carroll deftly leads us through, interweaving the past with the present and taking us from the normal to the supernatural. Her characters are realistic and likable. The heroine, Kellyn, is well written and easy to care about. Kellyn's love for her son and unborn child act as the catalyst that lands them in Shadow Ley, her late husband's family home.

Winding through dreams of the past to decipher the mysteries of the present, Kellyn and...more

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Feb 14, 2013 Lon Sander rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was intrigued from the beginning to just before the ending. I was not taken by the "supernatural" ending. I don't think death was needed to bring an ending to the story.

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About Louann Carroll

Louann Carroll is a Native Californian living in the Sierra Nevada foothills with her husband, Dennis.

Mother to three children, she is an avid rock, fossil, and gem hunter who enjoys sharing her finds with family and friends. She is a student of alternative religion, archaeology, anthropology, and paleontology.

After leaving her position as C.E.O. in the Bay Area, she has pursued her writing career...more

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