Review : Shades of Doon by Carey Corp & Lorie Langdon

*Warning: This review may contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.

Publisher: Blink

Publication date: September 1, 2015

Pages: 352

Source: Own

The Story:

After cheating death, Veronica Welling is determined to savor every moment in her idyllic kingdom with both her true love and best friend by her side at last. At the same time, Mackenna Reid is enthusiastically building her new life and a theater with her prince. But just as their dreams of happiness are within reach, the world Vee and Kenna have chosen is ripped away, leaving them to face their most horrific challenge yet—their old lives.

Thrust out of Doon, the best friends are confronted with tormentors from their past and no way to return to their adopted land. When the MacCrae brothers rush to their rescue, the girls’ situation turns from nightmare to modern-day fairy tale. But their happiness could be short lived: unbeknownst to them, someone in their closest circle is aiding the witch of Doon in her bid to destroy the kingdom once and for all.

- Amazon

Rating: 

One-word Review: MAGICAL

Reading Tune:  Outlander - Main Title Theme by Bear McCreary ft. Raya Yarbrough

Opening Line:

Cheating death tends to make you live with your whole heart -- to take risks and enjoy each moment, no matter how gritty.

My Review: 

The plot of Shades of Doon was a bit interesting. In nothing but their pajamas, Vee and Kenna get shoved out of Doon to different states of the U.S.. They have to find other then find a way back to Scotland to Doon. But evil is amiss. 

Not only are the best friends confronted with the familiarity of their old lives and the spikes of their old nemesis but they must devise a plan to return to Doon and weed out the evil impostor in their circle of trusted friends.

Shades of Doon's pacing was decent. A little slow at times but not to the point where I had to put it down and grow some patience. The writing was just as fun, witty and magical as ever. Corp and Landgon never had terrible with world-building in the Doon series, and it sure did not start in Shades of Doon.

 "Nay, let me finish. You've got to stop putting barriers up against me." He took my shoulders in a firm grip, his eyes drilling into mine. "I' am not yer father, Verranica. I willna give up on ye. I love tha' you challenge me, tha' ye push me to be better. We have a divine Calling, yes. But even if we dinna, I would choose you. Over and over I will choose you until you get it through your thick-as-granite skull that I will always choose you." (page 205)

All in all, I enjoyed the continuation of Vee and Kenna's magical story. This series about two best friends finding their own, True Love, and magic hits the bookworm spot.

I turned toward the darkened end of the corridor just as Duncan stepped into view. Before my brain could command my feet to move, I was sprinting into his arms. He crushed me against him with my face buried in his neck. His unique, familiar scent of leather and sunshine banished away the darkness. I opened my mouth to speak, and the words I'd intended came out as a strangled sob. (page 315)

Character Breakdown:

Veronica -- As the progression of the Doon series goes on, Vee's character growth from Vee from Indiana to royalty. We are not quiet yet there to Queen Veronica, but she is well on her way.

MacKenna -- She was really struggling with her new life in Doon. Leaving behind Chicago and the Broadway stage but in Shades of Doon I think the pros of a life in Doon start to outweigh the cons.

Meet the Authors:

 NY Times & USA Today Best-selling author, Carey Corp, wrote her first book, a brilliant retelling of Star Wars, at the prodigious age of seven. Since then, her love affair of reinvention has continued to run amuck. Writing both literary fiction and stories for young adults, she begins each morning consuming copious amounts of coffee while weaving stories that capture her exhaustive imagination. She harbors a voracious passion (in no consistent order) for mohawks, Italy, musical theater, chocolate, and Jane Austen. Her debut novel for teens, The Halo Chronicles: The Guardian, earned her national recognition as 2010 Golden Heart finalist and more recently made the N Times Best-seller list. Coming Sept, 2015:Shades of Doon (book 3 of the 4 book Doon series), a young adult series loosely based on the concept of the musical Brigadoon, used with permission from the Alan Jay Lerner Estate & the Frederick Loewe Foundation, and co-written with Lorie Langdon.

Lorie Langdon is one half of the author team that writes the best-selling DOON series, a YA re-imagining of Brigadoon!, published by Blink/HarperCollins. She has longed to write her own novels since she was a wee girl reading every Judy Blume book she could get her hands on. So a few years ago, she left her thriving corporate career to satisfy the voices in her head. Now as a full-time author and stay-at-home mom, she spends her days tucked into her cozy office, Havanese puppy by her side, working to translate her effusive imagination into the written word.

Lorie’s first solo novel, GILT HOLLOW, a YA romantic thriller, releases September 2016!

*** Check out the Doon series' website for more information: HERE 

Happy Reading!