Review: The Shadows by Megan Chance

Set in New York in the late 1800s The Shadows by Megan Chance paint a picture of the economic and cultural issues being faced during that time of economic depression, specifically for those of Irish descent. The incorporation of the myths and legends into this novel pull the magic of Ireland's past into the more modern setting. Chance manages to balance the two in a believable fusion.

Grace Knox, seventeen year old Victorian debutante, is the focus around which the stories she had heard as a child have come to life in a time when she wants nothing more than to live without the fears the economic distress has had on her family. To her Ireland is very far away and has no bearing on the choices affecting her future, but there are many other Irish Americans who do not hold that opinion and are in fact helping the rebellion in Ireland to overthrow Britain and gain their Independence.

Megan Chance creates a rich world for readers to dive into. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Review: The Visitant by Megan Chance

In Megan Chance's novel The Visitant, Elena Spira is sent to Venice to escape a mistake that could disgrace her family, and to atone by caring for the ailing Samuel Farber. But the crumbling and decaying Ca’ Basilio palazzo, where Samuel is ensconced, holds tragic secrets, and little does Elena know how profoundly they will impact her. Soon she begins to sense that she is being watched by something. And when Samuel begins to have hallucinations that make him violent and unpredictable, she can’t deny she’s in mortal danger.

Then impoverished nobleman Nero Basilio, Samuel’s closest friend and the owner of the palazzo, arrives. Elena finds herself entangled with both men in a world where the past seeps into the present and nothing is as it seems. As Elena struggles to discover the haunting truth before it destroys her, a dark force seems to hold Samuel and the Basilio in thrall—is it madness, or something more sinister?

Chance keeps you guessing till the very end as Elena tries to uncover the hidden secrets that the residents of the Basilio keep. Chance shows readers the side of Venice that the tourists do not see, and Elena learns that the City of Dreams she is now in is not the same as what she read in her guide books. The romance side of this novel pushes the boundaries a little with what might be considered appropriate for young adult readers, but the issues dealt with are more realistic and translate well from the late Nineteenth century to today.