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It is also not quite as dark as the first book although it is still tough to read in parts. What this book does have is some romance. I was happy how this book ended, and am worried what horrors Jamie may go through next. Jamie has been through so much, it is like just leave the poor girl alone! But, by the time you finish these first two books, you feel so connected to Jamie that you have to know what happens next. Hopefully Jamie will get the HEA she truly deserves. These books are unlike anything in lesfic I have ever read before.

Hagin really is pretty brilliant. I would absolutely recommend reading these books in order. The story is too connected not to. View all 5 comments. Oct 15, Stephanie rated it really liked it. The "lightest" of the three books. This one is more about chosen family and love. It still has it's dark side but not quite as grim as the first. Jamie, our heroine, gets 5 stars, no questions asked. She's a wonderful character, smart, strong and at the same time so very broken.

But not beyond repair and she fights her way back to sanity with the help of the occupants of Great Hill awesome bunch of people there and Adele. The PTSD is very well done; just like Jamie, me, the reader, had a very difficult time to distinguish between reality and her phantasms. But then I thought the story bogged down in a mire of political intrigue. What didn Jamie, our heroine, gets 5 stars, no questions asked.

JUDITHE HERNÁNDEZ: A DREAM IS THE SHADOW OF SOMETHING REAL | Discover Los Angeles | California

There's a major conspiracy out there and Jamie is in the middle of it. And, for me, it ended in a huge anti-climax. Why was he there? What exactly is his beef with Jamie? She escapes again and after a lengthy interrigation she decides on a whim to go the house of the Aunt, where The Bastard shows up again, this time ending in his death. How did he die? Jamie doesn't know and no one tells her. She's granted an honorary early discharge from the Marines and Great Hill chips in and Jamie can go off to college.

So, 5 stars because Jamie, 3 stars for the story. Jul 06, M rated it really liked it Shelves: Hhmm, not sure what to make of this book. It's very well written and tightly plotted, however, I feel that compared to the first book it misses out on some of the depth of plot as the story expands beyond the immediate warfare of the first book. While I liked the characters, the fact the humble marine seems to have joined the most perfect family in existence, did kind of set off a minor alarm bell.

Suddenly she is perfectly placed to access vast wealth, the most cutting edge technology and the wo Hhmm, not sure what to make of this book.

JUDITHE HERNÁNDEZ: A DREAM IS THE SHADOW OF SOMETHING REAL

Suddenly she is perfectly placed to access vast wealth, the most cutting edge technology and the woman of her every desire. The description of the PTSD the view point character suffered was necessarily unpleasant and debilitating. My major concern was that the ending seemed rushed and that all the loose ends were wrapped up very neatly.

Suddenly we have a major "Bay of Pigs" type coup underway and this is introduced and resolved in approx 50 pages. While I appreciate the necessarily narrow focus afforded by the single view point character narrative, I wanted more of background and a better understanding of the forces at play. A good but flawed book.

Feb 01, Penny rated it it was amazing Shelves: Definitely a 5 stars book. I'm completely taken with Hagin's writing style: This achievement is due the fact that the technical parts are all interpolated with extremely humanized parts, full of emotions. This long overdue sequel to Whatever Gods May Be is totally worth the wait. However, she is mentally and physically broken from her horrific ordeal.

In addition to the physical scars, she suffers from survivor's guilt, is beset by endless nightmares, and just can't get over a brutal accidental shooting. The first part of the book is a little hard to read, as Jaime attempts and fails miserably to climb out o This long overdue sequel to Whatever Gods May Be is totally worth the wait. The first part of the book is a little hard to read, as Jaime attempts and fails miserably to climb out of the mental rut she's stuck in.

But the author's powerfully evocative prose turns what is normally an excruciating read the PTSD part into a very raw and moving experience. I also love the development of Jamie's relationship with the Senator. Their scenes together are few and far between, but are always filled with such emotional depth.

Their conversations are some of the most heartfelt and memorable in all of lesfic. And then of course there is the romance. Whatever Gods May Be lost a star from me because the blurb seemed to imply that Jamie found love in it, which technically she didnt. I had already tempered my expectation for this book, but surprisingly, the romance was amazingly well done. Even more so considering most of this book is about war, the fallout of war and the business of war. There is a bit of military jargon, some techspeak, James Bond-y gadgets and some political wheeling and dealing, but it doesn't overwhelm the average lesfic reader.

On the other hand, they lend authenticity and realism to the book. And last, but not the least, is the intrigue. The limited 3rd person pov works wonders for the 'nothing-is-as-it-seems' tone of the book. The events in the first and second book may appear to be random coincidence, but how many times do things need to happen again before it starts to smell like a 'conspiracy'? This book defies pigeonholing.

And it does all of it equally well. I highly recommend this book if you want something substantial to sink your teeth into. Definitely not a light and easy read. Jul 01, D. Leigh rated it it was amazing. Not so with "Shadows of Something Real. She is still healing from devastating injuries suffered when she took a heroic stand against the enemy so that the group she led from a Prisoner of War It's been three long years since I finished "Whatever Gods May Be," put it down and said, "Wow. She is still healing from devastating injuries suffered when she took a heroic stand against the enemy so that the group she led from a Prisoner of War camp could reach safety.

Even worse, every time she closes her eyes to sleep or stumbles into a mental trigger, she plunges right back into the torture she experienced during her brutal months as a POW. She tells herself it's just an illusion of her damaged psyche. But when things start happening around her to the people she has come to love, she is faced with the impossible task of sorting out what is real from what's not. It's about family and relationships Hagin wields her pen like her heroine does her sniper rifle -- with deadly accuracy. Sometimes you are no more sure than Jaime of what's real and what's not, but Hagin always seems to know to clear the fog right before Jaime explodes and the reader get too frustrated.

I recommend reading "Whatever Gods May Be" first. It's not required to understand "Shadows of Something Real," but I believe it would enhance your ability to fully experience Jaime's frustration, fears and struggle to find her place again. If you have served in the military, if you know someone who has served, if you just like intrigue, or, damn it, you just like a story that sucks you right into the main character's head, "Shadows of Something Real" is a must must-read. This book is also a chillingly insightful look at the power politics fed by the greed of private military contractors.

May 24, Ameliah Faith rated it it was amazing. Adele is a Red Cross worker visiting her sister when she meets the wounded warrior. Can she be the anchor Jamie needs to keep her in the here and now long enough to heal so she can keep her new family safe from those who are trying to kill them?

Or is she too badly damaged to see the truth and be set free? Plus she has a great place to stay while she's on convalescent leave—and a steady supply of the best lemonade on earth. But flashbacks and nightmares shadow her as she tries to decide: Attempt a return to active duty, or Jamie doubts she can ever achieve the peaceful life she dreams of—until she meets smart, idealistic Adele Sabellius. As their relationship deepens, almost anything seems possible. Soon, however, Jamie learns that something more menacing than nightmares and flashbacks has begun to twist the restless shadows around her.

Though she may never understand why Adele loves her, Jamie will do whatever it takes to keep Adele safe when relentless enemies emerge from those darkening shadows to threaten yet another war. By Sophia Kell Hagin. Jamie Gwynmorgan doesn't believe in prayer. She doesn't believe in anything much. Except that people can't be trusted—certainly not anyone she's ever met. But Jamie knows some things. She knows if she died, nobody would give a damn.


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Nobody would even notice. She knows the better she can fight, the safer she'll be. That's why she can't resist the sleek, dark lethality of the weapon—and the recruiter's promise that yes, if she's strong enough, good enough, she'll get to fire that weapon in combat.

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She doesn't care about the uniform. And screw the pretend-camaraderie. Only Safe matters—and if she can do combat, then maybe she can fight her way to Safe. Jamie expects a grueling fight that she might lose. What she never expects is to win love. War veteran Jamie Gwynmorgan had made a sweet life for herself.

Or who did it. Utterly alone, only rarely able to hear a human voice, prohibited from seeing human faces, even her own, Jamie endures in a sinister, disorienting fog that devours her memories of before and weakens her grip on sanity—until a bit of contraband darts into her imploded world with a message, and with hope. And if she can remember before , then maybe she can find her way home to reclaim the life and the deep, abiding love some unknown enemy has stolen from her.


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