Elaine White's Life in Books

Book – Illuminate the Shadows (Shatterproof Bond #1)
Author – Isobel Starling
Star rating - ★★☆☆☆
No. of Pages – 157

Cover – Okay
POV – 3rd person, omni-present
Would I read it again – No.

Genre – LGBT, Crime, Contemporary


** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK, BY THE AUTHOR, IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW **



**BEWARE: There WILL be adult language and spoilers ahead!**



Upfront, I'm going to admit that I always find it really squidgy to see anyone dating their brother/sister's brother or sister. It's just a little too close to 'related' for my tastes. However, as I knew this was going to happen, after As You Wish, I'm not going to let that affect my rating.

To start with, I have to admit that the accent still grated on my last nerve. Declan is meant to be from Edinburgh (though that isn't as heavily noted in this book as it was in As You Wish), but he has the accent of an Aberdonian or Highlands person. The misrepresentation is broadcast by the phonetic spelling, which really ruins the believability.

So, with a combination of that and jumping into a sex scene, right off the bat, it didn't go well. I hate starting a book with sex. Even when I know the characters, it just doesn't feel natural to begin a story with explicit sex. It's a pet peeve of mine. Though, having it continue straight from the events at the end of As You Wish was good.

For me, the writing is very confused and inconsistent. We jump straight into omni-present POV, though the majority is 3rd person, single POV. The switch between the two is unnatural and confusing at times, while completely disorientating at others. There's also inconsistency in the use of Declan's accent – at times it's confined to thoughts and dialogue, then it begins seeping into the main text unexpectedly.

There were moments where we were given quite quick and dismissive recaps of the previous book, which is awkward and strange, considering that reading As You Wish is only recommended, but not necessary to understand this novel. I'd disagree. There's a lot mentioned in this story that would be confusing and make no sense if you hadn't read the prequel. I'd say it's required reading.

Throughout, there are quite a few spelling and grammar issues – misplaced commas, capital letters where they're not needed, hyphenating “in-love” etc – (not caused by the conversion!) and a lot of flowery over-description. I have never heard the term “jobby jabber” in my life! It's kind of disgusting, as well. Some of the sex scenes, to be honest, were kind of cringe worthy and I ended up skim reading them more often than not.

There were numerous phrases that just didn't sit well with me. It's more of a personal complaint, as other people probably won't care, but they're definitely things that make me say “Ew!” and feel really gross about the whole thing. I'm not going to list it all, because it would take a while and it's not necessary. There were just numerous phrases, words and such that aren't romantic to be, but that were used in a 'seductive' manner within the story. It really knocked me right out of 'the mood'.
Not to mention the totally disgusting pervert that James Aikins is revealed to be.
“As always, he was enjoying the wonderfully eccentric spectacle of the thick, bulletproof glass ceiling, high above his head – doubling as the bottom of a 'lap lane' swimming pool which ran the length of the hall.”

It irritated me that Sam began the story by continually calling Declan by his last name “Ramsay”. He'd never really done that before and it felt out of place here, especially when used in the bedroom scenes. Both main characters – Declan and Sam – were the same as the prequel, As You Wish, but there were definitely moments that really didn't feel authentic to their personalities. Sam was much more authoritative and Declan a bit more weird and helpless.

Following on from that, I take serious issue to Sam's ridiculous thought processes, where Declan is concerned. When walking into a rank, unclean room, his first thought isn't to gag, then open the window. It's this, which is highly gross and insulting at the same time -
“Sam's instinctive first thought was that he wanted to roll in Declan's soiled sheets like a happy pig in muck.”

The fact that Declan nearly killed Sam, by strangling him, just because he suspected he might have cheated on him, was also a massive overreaction. It really made me mad, since Sam is really the only character of these two that I like. Sam's personality is the most open, fun and logical of the two, that he's the only one I feel connected to or care about. I certainly didn't like the way Declan often treated or spoke to him like a baby or a fuck toy.

I also have to say that I found the “interview” scenes to be unexpected, unwanted and a little incredulous. Not only were they misinformed (see point 1 below) but we got at least 10-20% of the “interview” process, but when it came to Declan doing his training at the end of the book, we were just told he was gone for six weeks and shown nothing. It felt inconsistent and a little half-assed, to be honest. As though the important stuff didn't matter.

1 – my big issue is with the BP machine, during Declan's “interview”. He has it placed on his left arm, then has a cannula inserted (it's not clear which arm this is on, at the time). That seems fine, until much later on when we discover that the cannula was put in his LEFT arm, on the same arm where the BP cuff was left on his arm for hours and continually rechecked, while the cannula was still in his arm.
This is HIGHLY inaccurate. A BP machine should never cut off circulation or blood flow to an arm that has a cannula inserted, as this can be dangerous and damage the vein being used. (This from someone who has had many cannula's and BP's attached)

Along with the “interview” I found some of the situations to be predictable and incredulous, sometimes at the same time. I can get over how selfish Declan is at times, blaming Sam for his kidnap by A.L.L. By saying “this is where havin' a curious fuckin' cock has led ye!”. This is just one of many reasons that I left this book feeling like Declan didn't deserve Sam.
I was also shocked that his first thought, after being kidnapped, was “Am-ant I supposed te be in bed, wi a full belly an' a satisfied cock?” As if that's the most important thing on the planet.
The fact that Declan could interfere with so many A.L.L. cases and remain completely clueless about it. He never read a newspaper report or online news report that spoke of an event happening where he had just been the night/week before? There was never any hint or wonder over the very strange incidents that were going on around him?

~

After reading this and the prequel, will I be continuing with the series? No. Sorry. Though I do believe that a lot of people will like the book and the series, there's something about this author's writing style that just doesn't work for me. I also have some serious issues with the research – the accent and medical knowledge included – when it comes to things that I know a lot about and have personal experience with. Our idea of “sexy” doesn't mesh either (e.g. I don't find jockstraps, the words “piss” or “spunk” sexy or enjoy the constant talk about 'holes' as though it should be a major turn on.)

For me, this is a book of 2 halves that doesn't really venture anywhere definitive. The first half is about Declan being inducted into A.L.L. Which, incidentally, I was unprepared for. I had no interest or expectation of reading about torture, hallucinations and mental fuckery when I picked this book up. The second half focused more on Sam and Declan's relationship, some weird stalker, and just felt like it was the beginning of another story altogether, that wasn't finished by the time I reached “The End”.

I expected a continuation of the “romance” vibe from As You Wish, with a little more spy work involved. I didn't expect the mental torture, the bondage, the edging and BDSM scenes. Nor was I in the mood to read them, so unexpectedly. For me, this probably should have been cut in half and released as two shorts – one about Declan's kidnap and the other as the start of a novel that continues in the next story, because the second half felt incomplete.

Personally, it's just not for me.