The Shadow Order

Crossroads Witch, Book 1

By: J.S. Malcom

Narrated by: Amy Hall

Either I defeat the monster or I become the monster.

As if being locked up in the crazy house wasn’t bad enough, I wake up to discover that the person I trust most in the world just morphed into a bloodthirsty monster. My only chance for escape comes in the form of two women calling out from within a shimmering tunnel. So, it's either stick around and get murdered or jump through some kind of portal.

I take the option that doesn’t involve dying and find myself ushered into an ancient society of witches. I'm given a choice: I can either go it alone and take my chances or join their magical training program. The problem being I didn't even know I had magic, never mind the kind that can open a doorway between realms. But that’s exactly why I’m being hunted by a Fae demon looking to settle an old score. Now, I either find a way to defeat him or he’ll be using my magic to bring in the rest of his kind. If that happens, it won’t only mean the end for the world of witches. It’ll mean the end of the world.

The Shadow Order is a fast-paced, unpredictable new urban fantasy. If you like snarky kickass heroines, fast-paced action, magic, witchcraft, and romance, then grab it today!

©2021 J.S. Malcom (P)2021 J.S. Malcom

Amaya

Even having read this book already, this narrator kept me on my toes. Her choice of voices for the main characters was spot on. Looking forward to her narrating the next two books in the series.

Get This NOW!

This is a perfect storm of amazing storytelling and perfection by the narrator! Don’t wait, I have listened to over 9,000 minutes this year alone. This one is a standout!

an obvious spinoff

This is very clearly a spin-off of something else. Because the reader is just as clearly expected to know some of the characters and the world. Plus, there comes a point where the story, from, what I assume is the previous books, is reported from one character to another. I did not know it is a spin-off.

I have not read the previous series. I did not know the characters. I did not know the world. That means I spent almost 9 hours listening to a story about people I didn’t know or care about in a world that had no limits or explanations. Further, I couldn’t even tell you with any certainty if Amaya or Cassie was supposed to be the main character!

It’s probably unnecessary to now say that this was a 100% flop for me. I think that even if I had read the previous series, I would have given this, at best, a 3-star rating. It’s just too based on a confused girl accidentally doing things and people reacting to it. Nothing felt as if it was moving toward any end-point. The ‘training’ was unbelievable, and…again…random. Which just makes the whole Shadow Order a joke. I do not think I would have enjoyed it, even if I hadn’t been uninvested. Amy Hall did a fine job with the narration.

I received a free code for this book. I chose to listen and review it.

Promising start, interested to see where it goes..

The Shadow Order (Crossroads Witch, Book 1) by J.S. Malcom and narrated by Amy Hall is a good listen if you’re looking for a book with magic, a little mystery, various creatures, and good narration. I’m interested to see where this one will go and already purchased the second in the series. Overall, I recommend and it’s a solid 4 stars all around.

What’s it about? Amaya, who’s in her early 20’s, has been living in a psychiatric hospital when strange things begin to occur. She is taken away by a group called the Shadow Order where she learns about the supernatural, friendship, love, and more. As the story unfolds, it becomes quite the fast-paced ride; magic, ley lines, skeleton’s serving food, dragon’s, demons, necromancers- there’s so much more but really don’t want to spoil it for you. There’s good character development and supporting characters. The story is told alternating between Amaya and Cassie’s (veil witch) view points. I liked not being sure where the book was heading and there’s a dark side to the story. What I didn’t care for was the “mean girl” aspect, but I guess that’s what goes with being part of a school (the book could have stood without- maybe in book two she becomes the villain? I guess we shall see).

The narrator, Amy Hall, was good overall and I enjoyed her narration. Her tones and pacing were reliable and characters were distinct. There was one voice I struggled with initially, but then adjusted after a few chapters so could just be me.

Parental guidance/trigger warnings: death, bullying, some light romance (kissing, light petting), mental health. Language used: Fx15, Sx34.

*I requested this audiobook from freeaudiobookcodes (dot) com at my request and have voluntarily left this review. Thank you for allowing me to listen and review the book!

Mysterious and Riveting!

Amaya has no memory of what brought her to where she is, no idea who she is, or what she is. All she knows is that she ended up in an asylum. Then one night all hell broke loose! The Shadow Order is an engrossing start to what promises to be a fantastic, action packed, urban fantasy series! Fabulously written and beautifully narrated, this one is stuffed to the brim with well defined, well developed, ingenious characters, fast moving action, witchcraft, magic and mayhem! Admittedly, there were a few characters I wanted to cast evil spells on, but no spoilers here, I’m not telling who! Then, there were those cats! They stole my heart! I was truly captivated and throughly engaged for the entirety of this audiobook! I loved everything about it and I can’t wait to start the next one in the series! Five fabulous stars!

Witches, and portals, and demons, oh my!

I really enjoyed the beginning of this series. I appreciate how the chapters switch points of view throughout the book. I also appreciate Amy Hall’s phenomenal voice acting. She is playing upwards of at least ten different characters and all of their voices are distinct and have their own personalities. It was more like listening to a play than narration and it really enhanced the experience.

Absolutely fantastic!!!

I'm new to audible and was completely blown away by the different voices Amy Hall used to bring the characters to life! I love Malcolm's new take on the world of witches and the other paranormal creatures that exist! I'm excited to see or in this case hear where the adventure takes us next!

Good Start to a Series!!

I loved Amaya's complexity! She's spent most of her remembered life in a psychiatric facility. She has vulnerability about her that makes you instantly root for her! I enjoyed her development as the story went on and I loved all the friends she makes!
The actual story itself has a bit of a slow start. Pretty much after the attack on the halfway house, it stagnates. Though it does take off and flow better as the story goes on. Once the story takes off, I enjoyed Amaya learning about her previous life and about her current one and what she needs to do.
One of the things I didn't like was the introduction to the characters from the previous series. Cassie took some time to get to like and was a little hypocritical for a time, so that made me take longer to tolerate her POV chapters. She does get better as the story goes on, though I don't think she needed to be so mean to Amaya.

Note: This is an interconnected series, but it is not necessary to read them before enjoying this book. I didn't read/listen to then before this one. There are character cameos, and everything is explained enough to understand the story.

I always enjoy Amy Hall's narration! She does an excellent job in this book. She voices the different POV's perfectly!

Good 1st Book in Series

I put this Audible book on this morning and kept listening until the end. Then went and got book 2, which I will start after I post my review. We start out with a young girl who is in a psychiatric facility. She just was told aftermath years there that she has gotten so much better that the next week she will move to a Out patient facility, but that night everything goes wrong when her Dr. goes on a killing rampage. Narrator does a very good job with the various characters voices and the entire storyline.

Typical Paranormal Urban Fantasy

It was a pretty interesting blurb ... starting with a crazy witch who doesn't know she's a witch and ending with a dark menace/evil that for some reason is targeting a "school" of immature witches. The story itself seems to be mostly formulaic, but the author doesn't make any gross errors to throw you off, so the book is a solid read/listen on the entertainment value alone ... but in the end, it is largely unremarkable and not very memorable (what some may call a beach read).

I was given this free advance listener copy (ALC) audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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