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The Morrow Secrets #2
The Shadow of the Swarm
The Shadow of the Swarm
The Second Book in The Morrow Secrets Trilogy
What will Tallitha do next? How will she escape from the sinister castle at Hellstone Tors and the grip of the Morrow Swarm? Will she ever see Winderling Spires again?
Grand Witches, Hellstone Shroves, evil relatives, strange creatures and supernatural powers abound in the second book in Tallitha Mouldson’s exciting adventures in the strange land of Breedoor.
Find out what happens in the next instalment of The Morrow Secrets and meet some exciting new characters as Tallitha and her trusted friends’ battle to free her from the Swarm and the spell of Hellstone Tors.
The Second Book in The Morrow Secrets Trilogy
What will Tallitha do next? How will she escape from the sinister castle at Hellstone Tors and the grip of the Morrow Swarm? Will she ever see Winderling Spires again?
Grand Witches, Hellstone Shroves, evil relatives, strange creatures and supernatural powers abound in the second book in Tallitha Mouldson’s exciting adventures in the strange land of Breedoor.
Find out what happens in the next instalment of The Morrow Secrets and meet some exciting new characters as Tallitha and her trusted friends’ battle to free her from the Swarm and the spell of Hellstone Tors.
357 pages, Hardcover
First published March 27, 2014
2 people are currently reading
209 people want to read
About the author
Susan McNally
4 books460 followersSusan McNally's love of books and haunting tales began in her early childhood spent in the north of England. Her parents were inspiring story tellers, recounting ghost stories and fairy tales which ignited her life-long love of fantasy and mystery genres.
After building a successful career in business Susan was inspired to write her first novel after purchasing an Edward Ardizzone illustration from a children's book. This evocative print rekindled the memory of Susan's perfect day, reading for hours, lost in the wonder of her story books.
Writing her novel, that's what Susan wanted to recreate, a gripping tale and a fantastic epic adventure story that children could not put down. She wanted to transport them to a strange, make-believe world full of weird characters and a girl with supernatural powers who had to unearth a dark family secret. So began the idea for The Morrow Secrets...
Susan lived in North London with her husband. After a long and courageous battle with cancer she died in December 2018
After building a successful career in business Susan was inspired to write her first novel after purchasing an Edward Ardizzone illustration from a children's book. This evocative print rekindled the memory of Susan's perfect day, reading for hours, lost in the wonder of her story books.
Writing her novel, that's what Susan wanted to recreate, a gripping tale and a fantastic epic adventure story that children could not put down. She wanted to transport them to a strange, make-believe world full of weird characters and a girl with supernatural powers who had to unearth a dark family secret. So began the idea for The Morrow Secrets...
Susan lived in North London with her husband. After a long and courageous battle with cancer she died in December 2018
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 8, 2020
Jako zanimljiv serijal, lako te uvuče i konstantno se dešava nešto, puno punoooo plot twists. Brzo se čita i stvarno mi se dopada, sutra krećem treći deo.
Nije najbolje napisana i ima puno delova gde me nerviraju junaci, par sitnijih problema i zbog toga 4 zvezdice.
Nije najbolje napisana i ima puno delova gde me nerviraju junaci, par sitnijih problema i zbog toga 4 zvezdice.
November 13, 2014
Again, Susan McNally’s, outstanding series exceeds expectations, and I regard her as the next JK Rowling.
This is the second book in The Morrow Secrets trilogy, and it’s even better than the first.
I found the book very easy to read, it has a lot of mystery, and it will keep you hooked all the way through. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book.
As I’ve said before, Susan McNally is clear competition to JK Rowling, and I hope one day her books will bring big success.
This is the second book in The Morrow Secrets trilogy, and it’s even better than the first.
I found the book very easy to read, it has a lot of mystery, and it will keep you hooked all the way through. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book.
As I’ve said before, Susan McNally is clear competition to JK Rowling, and I hope one day her books will bring big success.
November 9, 2015
This and my other reviews can be found at Amethyst Bookwyrm
Thanks to Sweet Cherry Publishing for giving me this book to review.
Tallitha is trapped in the castle, Hellstone Tors, along with her brother, as she has been betrayed and is being forced to become one of the swarm. She is determined to free her Aunt Esmerelda who is trapped in the Bleak Rooms, a terrible prison, and to also break the pact before she becomes one of the swarm. With a mysterious boy following her, is she able to trust him or does he have his own agenda?
The Shadow of the Swarm is the enjoyable sequel to The Morrow Secret, and it has action, suspense and a mysterious and creepy feeling. I found this book more interesting than the previous book as it is not as slow and has more POVs.
Tallitha is not as trusting as she was in the last book but just as determined to do what she has set her mind to. With more POVs we also get to see what is happening at both Hellstone Tors and at The Winderling Spires. Quillam was an interesting character and I wish we could have learned more about him, and I was still really annoyed by Tyaas and I wish he would grow up.
I liked this book more than the last one and am looking forward to the final book in the trilogy The Dark Spell. I would recommend The Shadow of the Swarm to fans of the first book The Morrow Secrets.
Thanks to Sweet Cherry Publishing for giving me this book to review.
Tallitha is trapped in the castle, Hellstone Tors, along with her brother, as she has been betrayed and is being forced to become one of the swarm. She is determined to free her Aunt Esmerelda who is trapped in the Bleak Rooms, a terrible prison, and to also break the pact before she becomes one of the swarm. With a mysterious boy following her, is she able to trust him or does he have his own agenda?
The Shadow of the Swarm is the enjoyable sequel to The Morrow Secret, and it has action, suspense and a mysterious and creepy feeling. I found this book more interesting than the previous book as it is not as slow and has more POVs.
Tallitha is not as trusting as she was in the last book but just as determined to do what she has set her mind to. With more POVs we also get to see what is happening at both Hellstone Tors and at The Winderling Spires. Quillam was an interesting character and I wish we could have learned more about him, and I was still really annoyed by Tyaas and I wish he would grow up.
I liked this book more than the last one and am looking forward to the final book in the trilogy The Dark Spell. I would recommend The Shadow of the Swarm to fans of the first book The Morrow Secrets.
December 16, 2014
The Shadow of the Swarm begins just where The Morrow Secrets ends and Tallitha learns what her fate will be. There are more character introductions in this book, some nice some not so nice but all play an important part in the story. We discover many more Morrow Secrets and throughout this book things start slotting into place. I think Tallitha is a very brave girl and she is an amazing character.
Susan McNally has penned a fantastic read, I enjoyed it even more than the first book in the series.
There are still loose ends to tie up and I really want to know what happens next. I am looking forward to returning to this series when book three is released.
Susan McNally has penned a fantastic read, I enjoyed it even more than the first book in the series.
There are still loose ends to tie up and I really want to know what happens next. I am looking forward to returning to this series when book three is released.
August 12, 2018
3.5 stars
I received a copy of The Shadow of the Swarm by Sweet Cherry Publishing in exchange for a honest review. Thank you!
Now THIS has improved quite a bit from the first instalment! There were literally a lot of "unputdownable" parts in the story when you just had to keep reading because each chapter was getting more intense than the last!
I would say the flaws in the first book went on to become one of the strengths in this one - the treachery and pure evilness oozing from the characters, while felt awkward and out-of-character in the first instalment, helped build towards the intensity and made me rooting for Tallitha, our protagonist, as the plot progressed. I liked that role of the shroves in the Morrow family were explored and more fleshed out; it was fun to read about an entire shrove community and how they worked around each other -conniving little creatures as they are- to serve the Morrow clan. However, while I appreciate the author's efforts to keep the cast simple, it backfired and made the extra effort feel unnecessary.
I must say though, the reason this book is so much better than its predecessor is the fact that the story stresses more on plot than its characters and their personalities. There is still so much better the author can do to improve her characters but thankfully we aren't plagued with descriptions of how "sick Tallitha is of listening to orders" or how the Morrow sisters are always backstabbing each other. Honestly, almost every one of the teenagers that make an appearance in the story is either flighty or rebellious. Like, c'mon - you can do better than that!
The pacing in this story still has my praise - it doesn't waste time dilly-dallying around. I was swept into the story pretty quick, but the way the author was changing POVs in almost every chapter was confusing. It was hard to wrap my head around the different scenarios playing out at the same time. Sure, it certainly made for an entertaining story, but there were also a lot of moments where I just had to stop to try and make sense of it all in my mind.
I have a bone to pick with that cliffhanger; it felt like it ended too abruptly with no premonition of the book coming to an end, but overall an improvement from the first!
I received a copy of The Shadow of the Swarm by Sweet Cherry Publishing in exchange for a honest review. Thank you!
Now THIS has improved quite a bit from the first instalment! There were literally a lot of "unputdownable" parts in the story when you just had to keep reading because each chapter was getting more intense than the last!
I would say the flaws in the first book went on to become one of the strengths in this one - the treachery and pure evilness oozing from the characters, while felt awkward and out-of-character in the first instalment, helped build towards the intensity and made me rooting for Tallitha, our protagonist, as the plot progressed. I liked that role of the shroves in the Morrow family were explored and more fleshed out; it was fun to read about an entire shrove community and how they worked around each other -conniving little creatures as they are- to serve the Morrow clan. However, while I appreciate the author's efforts to keep the cast simple, it backfired and made the extra effort feel unnecessary.
I must say though, the reason this book is so much better than its predecessor is the fact that the story stresses more on plot than its characters and their personalities. There is still so much better the author can do to improve her characters but thankfully we aren't plagued with descriptions of how "sick Tallitha is of listening to orders" or how the Morrow sisters are always backstabbing each other. Honestly, almost every one of the teenagers that make an appearance in the story is either flighty or rebellious. Like, c'mon - you can do better than that!
The pacing in this story still has my praise - it doesn't waste time dilly-dallying around. I was swept into the story pretty quick, but the way the author was changing POVs in almost every chapter was confusing. It was hard to wrap my head around the different scenarios playing out at the same time. Sure, it certainly made for an entertaining story, but there were also a lot of moments where I just had to stop to try and make sense of it all in my mind.
I have a bone to pick with that cliffhanger; it felt like it ended too abruptly with no premonition of the book coming to an end, but overall an improvement from the first!
March 25, 2021
I loved how this book evolved and the fact that it really is unique and as far as I ve read not repetitive at all with a well structured magic system and lots of intrigue!!!
November 14, 2014
You can read the full review on my blog. :)
In the end of The Morrow Secrets I really started to get into the story. In this installment, Tallitha and Tyaas are stuck in Hellstone Tors, separated from Esmeralda and their friends the skinks. This made for an opportunity to play with the POVs, which I am happy to say the author took. We get chapters told by Cissie and her family who meet up with the Skinks, Esmeralda, and the Morrow Sisters back at Winderling Spires. I like the new and old characters so this method was a a refreshing change from book #1 :)
The novel is much bigger than the first, but a lot more happens so it can be excused. I also think the writing got a lot better, not colorful for the sake of being colorful like before but more natural.
The art and cover were, as always, gorgeous. Recommended for a strong young reader, or for a spooky bedtime story to read to kids a bit at a time.
In the end of The Morrow Secrets I really started to get into the story. In this installment, Tallitha and Tyaas are stuck in Hellstone Tors, separated from Esmeralda and their friends the skinks. This made for an opportunity to play with the POVs, which I am happy to say the author took. We get chapters told by Cissie and her family who meet up with the Skinks, Esmeralda, and the Morrow Sisters back at Winderling Spires. I like the new and old characters so this method was a a refreshing change from book #1 :)
The novel is much bigger than the first, but a lot more happens so it can be excused. I also think the writing got a lot better, not colorful for the sake of being colorful like before but more natural.
The art and cover were, as always, gorgeous. Recommended for a strong young reader, or for a spooky bedtime story to read to kids a bit at a time.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews