Shadow Hills (Shadow Hills, #1) in Once Upon a Twilight blog

Jul 01, 2010 Raquel Vega-Grieder rated it it was amazing

Review Of Shadow Hills By Anastasia Hopcus

Title: Shadow Hills
Author: Anastasia Hopcus
Pages: 400
Publisher: Egmont
Publication Date: July 13, 2010
Source: Amazon ( http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Hills-An... ) (also link to BUY THIS BOOK)

Blurb:
After her sister Athena's tragic death, it's obvious that grief-stricken Persephone "Phe" Archer no longer belongs in Los Angeles. Hoping to make sense of her sister's sudden demise and the cryptic dreams following it, Phe abandons her bubbly LA life to attend a Review Of Shadow Hills By Anastasia Hopcus

Title: Shadow Hills
Author: Anastasia Hopcus
Pages: 400
Publisher: Egmont
Publication Date: July 13, 2010
Source: Amazon ( http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Hills-An... ) (also link to BUY THIS BOOK)

Blurb:
After her sister Athena's tragic death, it's obvious that grief-stricken Persephone "Phe" Archer no longer belongs in Los Angeles. Hoping to make sense of her sister's sudden demise and the cryptic dreams following it, Phe abandons her bubbly LA life to attend an uptight East Coast preparatory school in Shadow Hills, MA -- a school which her sister mysteriously mentioned in her last diary entry before she died.

Once there, Phe quickly realizes that something is deeply amiss in her new town. Not only does Shadow Hills' history boast an unexplained epidemic that decimated hundreds of its citizens in the 1700s, but its modern townies also seem eerily psychic, with the bizarre ability to bend metal. Even Zach -- the gorgeous stranger Phe meets and immediately begins to lust after -- seems as if he is hiding something serious. Phe is determined to get to the bottom of it. The longer she stays there, the more she suspects that her sister's untimely death and her own destiny are intricately linked to those who reside in Shadow Hills.

OMG, I was hooked from the first page. For a debut novel Anastasia writes herself a wonderful story. I love the character of Persephone "Phe" Archer (Phe is pronounced like Fee). She is one of those character's that you wish you had as a friend. Her love interest Zach is a guy you would want to date yourself. They have this instant chemistry that is just undeniable. The supporting character's of Graham, Adriana, Toy, and Brody are the perfect contrast to Zach and Phe. They compliment as well as make you want to know their behind the scenes stories. the characters Trent and Corinne are what you would consider to be the mean boy/girl. They really are characters you love to hate and give a b*tch to. I fell so hard for Zach and Phe's plight that I felt I had a vested interest in what happened to them. This was a great roller coaster ride of intrigue and who done it. I loved the whole us vs them aspect as well. It was basically Zach and Phe against the town of Shadow Hills or more accurately the council of Shadow Hill. If you love a good what is up with the town story as well as a who did it mystery than Shadow Hills is the book for you. It has a little Greek God and Goddess' history intertwined with good strong story telling. I really could not put this book down. I am praying there is going to be another book to make this a series. On a scale of 1-10 I give it a 20. Yes, I know it is off the scale but it is that good. Anastasia is the second debut novelist that I have fallen in love with. Her and Alice Clayton have such an amazing talent when it comes to story telling that I can't wait to read more from them. Anastasia is simply a fantastic author that everyone should be looking out for in the future. EVERYONE NEEDS TO PICK UP A COPY OF SHADOW HILLS. YOU WILL NOT BE SORRY.

Link:
http://www.anastasiahopcus.com/Shadow... ...more

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Dec 30, 2009 Katieb (MundieMoms) rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-i-own, arcs-i-own, signed, 2010-100-book-challenge, mundie-moms-review, debut-author-challenge

*SPOILER FREE* Shadow Hills is such an engaging read, that from the moment I started reading, I had a hard time putting it down. I was not only captured by the story, intrigued by the characters, but I was engrossed by the setting. The descriptions are so vivid that I had the urge for it to be fall and wanted to find the cemetery the story takes place around.

Shadow Hills is a good blend of mythology, mystery, and romance, mixed in with some suspense. It's the type of story you sit down to read, ...more

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Oct 28, 2009 Crystal rated it really liked it

I enjoyed this book so much. It has my favorite young adult setting - a private school. It has a gothic feel about it, the school and town have secrets, there is a graveyard and just a mystery to the place. It has a strong female lead character who still acts female. It has a hot guy (actually several). It has devious bad guys. Add to all of that a fast-paced plot and to me you have an excellent book.

Phe is a great character - she is trying to figure out why her sister wanted to go to Devenish P ...more

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Nov 17, 2009 Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy) rated it really liked it

Shelves: book-a-day, ya, tenners, paranormal, debut-2010, rev-yalr

In an effort to write a spoiler-free review, I am going to focus on how Shadow Hills lives up to my "this is a good book" criteria. My criteria looks at readability, characters, twists on the paranormal theme, and ease in recommending it.

There were two things that quickly jumped out at me while I was reading Shadow Hills. An author should write in a way that engages the reader from the first chapter. I am pretty adamant about this. There are too many good books out there to waste time struggling In an effort to write a spoiler-free review, I am going to focus on how Shadow Hills lives up to my "this is a good book" criteria. My criteria looks at readability, characters, twists on the paranormal theme, and ease in recommending it.

There were two things that quickly jumped out at me while I was reading Shadow Hills. An author should write in a way that engages the reader from the first chapter. I am pretty adamant about this. There are too many good books out there to waste time struggling through the first 100 pages of a book waiting for something to happen or for it to become interesting. Just as with reading the first chapter of the book, when I was able to finally sit down and read Hopcus's novel, I didn't want to put it down. I wanted to find out more about Persephone “Phe” Archer and the world of Shadow Hills. Part of what really gripped me was how Hopcus is able to reveal her characters' secrets without confusing me or irritating the heck out of me.

As for Anastasia Hopcus's characters, may I just say one word - Zach. Yes, hot boy with powers. I truly think I have a new fictional love interest. Despite Zach's hotness factor, what really is brilliant on Hopcus's part is that both Phe and Zach are equally matched. I am not going to reveal too much because I would then be spoiling it for readers, but let's just say that Phe is no wimpy teenage girl. I will also say I loved all of the secondary characters. There are some characters that you should really dislike and some that you should really like. Plus, I liked Phe's friends despite their very realistic flaws.

My third criteria is a difficult one for many books. There seems to be only so many twists or variations on the same theme. Shadow Hills was refreshing in that I didn't feel like I was reading the same vampire/werewolf/faery/angel book that populates the shelves of bookstores in over abundance. The history of Zach, his family and the townies and the evolution of their gifts and abilities was fascinating. Phe's ability is different than Zach's but presents with its own unique history. Though the connection between the two was not fully developed, I truly sensed that this was intentional and that in the next book we will gain a deep understanding of the connection between the two.

Can I recommend Shadow Hills? That would be a definite YES! Enough said!

After reading the book, I did have one thing I struggled with but you will probably laugh when you hear it. Let me just say, I grew up in New England. I went to college in New Hampshire and I lived in Massachusetts. And I have lived in Los Angeles. October is cold in Massachusetts. After all these years living in Southern California, when I go home, I freeze. Phe is from Los Angeles. When I think about her clothes, I just kept wanting to run after her with a jacket or a heavy duty sweatshirt yelling "You forgot something." See I told you that you would laugh?!

Shadow Hills is a great debut novel, and I am already pining for book 2. I am totally looking forward to seeing how Phe's abilities grow and how she learns more about her connection to Shadow Hills. And well, yeah, I want more Zach but that goes without saying. ...more

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Jan 05, 2010 Cynthia Lopez rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorite-books

I was ecstatic when I received a signed copy of Shadow Hills in the mail from a friend. It had been about a week since it was released and I was dying to read it. Everyone said how good it was and how I needed to read it and I finally had it in my hands. Of course I got right on it as soon as it came in and let me tell you that it did not disappoint. It definitely lived up to my expectations and had me hooked from the start.

I thought the characters were well developed and really likable, Phe and I was ecstatic when I received a signed copy of Shadow Hills in the mail from a friend. It had been about a week since it was released and I was dying to read it. Everyone said how good it was and how I needed to read it and I finally had it in my hands. Of course I got right on it as soon as it came in and let me tell you that it did not disappoint. It definitely lived up to my expectations and had me hooked from the start.

I thought the characters were well developed and really likable, Phe and Zach make a perfect couple in this one and have become one of my favorites. I loved Phe and her snarky comments, her determination to find out what was really going on in Shadow Hills and how easily she was able to love and care about those around her. Phe's group of normal human friends who are still very different from one another but very entertaining gave me little break in between the chilling mystery that the story focuses on. I fell in love with Zach, he's not the usual bad boy that we see a lot in YA which don't get me wrong I love the bad boys too. Zach is a nice, sweet, caring and responsible guy with gorgeous eyes that is not used to doing bad things and hasn't broken any rules until Phe comes into his life and attracts trouble all around her which of course drags him into it because they are attracted to each other from the beginning.

Shadow Hills is filled with secrets about the town and the people in it that had me flipping the pages and staying up late at night trying to figure it all out. It's suspenseful, mystery filled, and magical, but is also a lot of fun and the romance in it will have you falling head over heels for Zach. What really had me at the edge of my seat was the science behind the powers that Anastasia explains in the story which I thought was pretty brilliant, also the reason behind Phe's dreams and the connection she has to Shadow Hills. We get a little history of Shadow Hills and it's past, about the epidemic and what really happened there. I was unable to put it down and was taking it with me everywhere I went, I'm also very happy that it didn't leave with a huge cliffhanger but I'm still eager to read a sequel because I want more of Phe and Zach. After taking a short break from paranormal books Shadow Hills was a breath of fresh air for me, I definitely recommend it!
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Jan 07, 2010 Heather rated it really liked it

I have been waiting and waiting to read this book since I first met Anatasia Hopcus after she entered one of our blog giveaways and I found out she is Team Edward. Later she sent us the first chapter and after I read it I was hooked! So when it came in my mailbox this week as part of the ARC tour I was ecstatic!!! I must say it is a book that will keep you captivated from start to finish. Phe lives an ordinary High School life until she starts having mysterious dreams after the death of her sist ...more

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Jun 18, 2010 Damaris (GoodChoiceReading) rated it it was amazing

I have to admit that by reading the back of this book and the description of the book, it did not really catch my attention. The cover is pretty, but I was not pulled to it. Yes I am one of those who picks a book up because of the cover. Then I read the back and maybe the first two pages and if I like it I buy it. Anyway, I finally did pick it up because of the reviews and also because of Skyla11377 (http://skyla11377.blogspot.com). I am so glad that I did pick it up and listened to everyone. Se ...more

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Nov 23, 2009 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own

WOW - what do you even say - I LOVED this...I cant WAIT to read more from Ms. Hopcus...and more about Phe! What a book, what amazing characters!

Full review to come ASAP

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