This is my first post (yea!). Since I’ve just barely started my current book I’m going to post a review I wrote sometime ago. I have a number of reviews already written so I’ll be posting them along with reviews of books I’m currently reading. The Shadowy Horses – Susanna Kearsley Back Cover Blurb Verity Grey has never been a woman who recoils from a challenge. But when she is invited to a windy coastal town in Scotland to work on an archaeological dig, she wonders if she has stepped over the line. “It’s not the ancient Roman history that intimidates Veity — even when that history takes the ghostly form of a slain Roman sentinel — it’s her co-worker David Fortune, who frustrates her with his remoteness. “As the group of archaeologists strives to uncover the truth of the mysterious Roman campsite, science must contend with the paranormal. The ghost’s appearances become more urgent and more chilling until Verity can no longer deny its message — someone is in great danger. Could the deadly warning be for her or for David? Somehow they’ll have to communicate with each other, which is proving to be the biggest hurdle they face at the dig site … “The wild Scottish landscape is a perfect backdrop for intrigue, as Verity learns that outside the scientist’s laboratory the shadowy horses of history carry messages from the past.” My Review I can’t believe I left this book languishing in my TBR pile for 4 years. There are so many things I loved about this book. First and foremost is the atmosphere. The atmosphere in this book is so present and defined it’s like a character itself. It was perfectly spooky without being out and out scary. The ghost of the sentinel is wonderfully drawn and such a tragic figure walking the same lines night after night and did not come off cheesy or hokey at all. I loved the fact that the author made the ghost such an integral part of the story rather than just throwing him in a opportune times to scare the reader. The book is written in the first person and although you only get inside Verity’s head, I had no problem understanding the rest of the characters in the story they were so 3 dimensional and well written. This book worked for me on so many levels but I can see why it may not work for all romance readers. The romance between Verity and David is equally balanced with the mystery of the ninth legion and then again with the suspense plot of the present day danger to either Verity or David so people looking for the love story front and centre may be disappointed. With that being said, I found the relationship to be wonderfully drawn between Verity and David and I loved watching these two find one another. The sexual tension between these two was so hot it didn’t matter that everything outside of kissing happened behind closed doors. The other problem readers may have (which wasn’t a problem for me) is that the mystery is not all that hard to figure out. I didn’t figure it out but I was so distracted by all the characters that when it was revealed I felt kinda silly for not realizing it earlier. This book is most definitely going on my keeper shelf and probably into my conversion kit for non romance readers as well. I think as long as your not going into this book expecting the main focus to be on Verity and David most people will really enjoy this book. It’s books like this that make me positively giddy when I look at my bookshelves because I can’t help but think how many other fabulous books must be in there waiting for me to pick them up… even if it takes 4+ years

Grade 9/10