Sharon Shinn is one of my favorite authors, I've been reading her books since she started publishing her Twelve Houses series (which I loved). This is her most recent novel, although I just found out she's publishing a new one this November, and it deals with a car accident, death and death of a child, forced confinement, toxic relationship, kidnapping, murder, and pregnancy.
Pietro left the church ten years ago after finding out a terrible secret and has been wandering the country looking for...something ever since. He just wishes he knew what that was. He's coming back to the city of Corcannon now after so much time away because the earthquakes are getting worse and more frequent, earthquakes that are at the very center of the secret he discovered. On the way back to the city, he meets Cody, who works as a courier and knows the city inside and out, Jayla, a highly trained soldier looking for work in a new place, and Aussen, a little girl who has a very interesting talent. Although their meeting was spontaneous, they are exactly the right group of people to save the city, stop the tremors for good, and save the life of an innocent woman and countless innocent lives in the future from the people who would sacrifice them for the good of the many.
Let me just say, Sharon Shinn really knows how to build a universe without getting too bogged down by the details. This novel was a little less in depth, but it is a standalone novel as compared to some of her others that are in a series and have a little more time. Her characters are well developed and most of them are likeable, although realistic since they have faults of their own. But my favorite part is that Sharon Shinn really knows how to throw in a twist. There's a plot twist in this book that A) I didn't see coming, B) literally made me gasp, C) was just dropped into a conversation between two characters so nonchalantly I had to read it twice to make sure it was real, and D) completely changed the way I looked at the events in the book prior to the twist. So, so well done. It tied everything together in such a beautiful way.
This is not my favorite book by the author but I really enjoyed it. It's not as heavy as some of the other books I've read recently and still really well written, so it served as a wonderful palate cleanser. An easy read, not overly long, I'm only upset that I'm caught up on her books. I need to break out Mystic and Rider again, the first in the Twelve Houses series. I'm giving The Shuddering City by Sharon Shinn 4.25 out of 5 stars.
For more from Sharon Shinn, check out her website at http://sharonshinn.net/index.shtml
Goes well with a slice of seeded oat bread and the thrill of a ride in a fast car!
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