Shadows Rising from Amanda Berthault

 

Shadows Rising by Amanda Berthault
EdenEcho Publishing, 295 pp

July 5, 2022

Contemporary Action

Ebook $3.99

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About the Book
Music has the power to bring unexpected soul mates together. But their dark pasts collide—with deadly results. An evil force will stop at nothing to end it all. There is nowhere to hide.

Shadow McKinley has rebuilt his musical career, successfully regaining his status as one of the best heavy metal singers in the world. But with success comes the adoration and worship that had driven him away before. As he finds himself drowning once again, he meets the one person who truly understands him. A soulmate who brings as much danger as happiness.

Stunning Dutch metal singer Nicoline Aldenberg also has a dark past of bad decisions. As Shadow falls deeper under her spell, he faces the wrath of her violent ex-husband who will stop at nothing to kill him. Onstage and off, from Atlanta to Tilburg, nowhere is safe. Can Shadow survive the most impassioned—and deadliest—choice he’s ever made?

My review: 

Shadow McKinley has never known love or acceptance for who he was. A touch feels like fire; meeting someone’s eyes is a struggle, and talking to strangers physically painful. So how can he figure out how to handle love when it runs into him like a tidal wave?

 

Something strange and brutally frightening overwhelms Shadow, a heavy metal rock star. He’s returned to his career after a brief hiatus on the run and serving time for a past mistake. His fans have forgiven him, and now he must forgive himself. With the help of his best friends and bandmates, he works out his extreme fear of crowds to accept an invitation to perform with heavy metal stars from around the world at a concert in the Netherlands. The overwhelming part comes in when he’s paired with a stunning Dutch singer. Waves of emotion cause him to make an unusual gaffe during rehearsals. It takes Shadow’s friend Tommy to talk him down from his strange euphoria and help him navigate this strange landscape of not only accepting romantic love, but learning how to return it. Trouble is, the stunning Dutch singer Nica comes with more baggage than Shadow in the form of a lovely young daughter and a savage ex-husband out for more than revenge.

 

Once again Berthault explores unusual relationships and the concept of family and the devastation of abuse, set across continents at concert venues, hotels, and the sanctity of home. Once Nica’s ex learns of her budding romance with Shadow, and his daughter’s adoration for Shadow, he goes berserk and schemes to take back by any means what is his, and remove any obstacle in his way. As Shadow’s bandmates surround him with encouragement, advice, and support, Shadow begins to enjoy his music and his life in a way he’d never imagined possible—all because of a special woman and her daughter.

 

The threat escalates with each move until mortal danger becomes a terrifying reality. Shadow takes control of his life by working out his fear and anger through physical fitness, worrying Nica further that he’ll put himself in harm’s way to protect her, should her ex grow more violent. But Shadow needs to do something to channel his rage at the thought of the danger Nica is in, and continues to build physical strength as well as self-esteem. As their relationship deepens, Shadow and Nica must learn to trust each other even during the worst moments of their lives.

 
This second installment of a planned trilogy is well-paced and page-turning.

Berthault, a native Chicagoan with a passion for music, gives readers of contemporary romantic suspense and action a thought-provoking novel about self-acceptance, sacrifice and the depth of passion. I have one wish, that the f-bombs be cut back and used as shockers rather than part of everyday speech. Told through Shadow’s viewpoint, the story unfolds in crisp and honest real time as he begins to come to terms with his self-worth. Hopefully Berthault will get her wish that Heavy Metal Fiction will become a shelf label.

 
About the Author:

Amanda Berthault is an author, editor, and music lover who wants to make “Heavy Metal Fiction” a real genre. She has a BA in creative writing from Columbia College Chicago and has had multiple musically themed short stories published over the past two decades. She lives in the Chicago suburbs where she runs a freelance editing business helping other independent and self-publishing authors.

Heavy Metal Fiction with Amanda Berthault

 

Shadows Unveiled by Amanda Berthault
EdenEcho Publishing, Chicago, IL, August 10, 2021
Electronic, Print, 229 pp.

About the Book
Heavy metal singer Shadow McKinley has faked his death to leave behind what he considers a torturous life. While disguised under his new identity as Shanley, a traveling pool hustler, he meets Macy, a teenage runaway and fan of his former band. Her plan to find her father in Los Angeles has fallen apart, and together they begin a cross-country road trip to get there. But Shanley makes one huge mistake, and their adventure turns into a desperate escape from the police and a struggle to stay alive. And with Macy unknowingly tormenting him with flashes of his past, Shanley must fight to keep his secret—not only from her, but from a world that is determined to find him. 

My review:
Shanley, a mysterious pool hustler, arrives in Kansas with little more than a truck to live in, dwindling cash in his pocket, and a need to earn money yet stay on the move.

The drama escalates when a young girl, obviously alone and defenseless, arrives in town wearing a t-shirt that means trouble to Shanley.

This contemporary action adventure opens with a noir feeling as Shanley’s favored costume is a black fedora and sunglasses worn at all times. As we peel back the layers of secrets, we’re drawn into a life on the run. Shanley and Macy are engaging people, lovingly drawn and wholly engaging. Who couldn’t cheer them on as Shanley reluctantly agrees to help young Macy travel across country? Their innocent adventure turns harrowing as they encounter the underside of humanity.

Shanley and Macy come from deeply flawed backgrounds and fight for survival after emotional and physical abuse. Shadows Unveiled shows the reader through narrow points of view and flashbacks how each of them learns to take the best of themselves to work together to accomplish a common goal and face the consequences of their actions.

Ultimately a story of survival and friendship, Berthault, a native Chicagoan with a passion for music, offers a novel that will start serious conversations about how we listen to each other and care about ourselves and our friends. I appreciated the reality of hearing how it sounds when I think I’m offering helpful advice. Plumbing the depth of someone else’s pain, letting them speak their story and not pushing them deeper into an inability to cope by sharing platitudes and empty shoulders isn’t true support. Shanley is able to turn his experience around and do something that helps teenage Macy, whose outside life seems idyllic, as much as his own is obviously dysfunctional. And maybe Heavy Metal Fiction will become a shelf label. I was intrigued by the way Berthault’s characters were so deeply affected by the music and lyrics in different ways. Shadows Unveiled is the first book in a planned trilogy and I look forward to reading more.

About the Author:

Amanda Berthault is an author, editor, and music lover who wants to make “Heavy Metal Fiction” a real genre. She has a BA in creative writing from Columbia College Chicago and has had multiple musically themed short stories published over the past two decades. She lives in the Chicago suburbs where she runs a freelance editing business helping other independent and self-publishing authors.