Shadow, by Jenny Moss

Shadow, by Jenny Moss
YA, 2010

from fantasticfiction.co.uk:
It was prophesied at her birth that the queen would die before her sixteenth birthday. So Shadow, an orphan girl the same age as the young queen, was given the duty to watch her every move. And as prophesies do tend to come true, the queen is poisoned days before her birthday. When the castle is thrown into chaos, Shadow escapes with a young knight, whom she believes was betrothed to the queen.
Unsure of why she is following Sir Kenway, but determined to escape as far as possible from the castle, her long-time prison, Shadow sets off on an adventure with the handsome knight who has been charged with protecting her. As mystery builds, and romantic tension does, too, Shadow begins to wonder what her role in the kingdom truly is. Soon, she learns, it is up to her to save her land.

Interesting premise, right? Immediately draws you in with all the required elements, yes? I really enjoyed this story as a whole and was captured quickly by the intrigue and mystery it provided. I must confess I did guess the 'twist' as it were, but it wasn't necessarily obvious. What was obvious was how slow it took me to get through the book despite my consistent reading. At one point I stopped for a break and was surprised to find there was still half a book left - so a caution, it does have a slower pace. The writing was passive in many areas and frankly wasn't very good. While this distracted heavily from the book, the plot was still good enough and engaging enough that I was motivated to finish it.
The characters were interesting, the ending appropriate and as I closed the book I debated the grade. If when I finish a book it has my imagination twirling, that's one thing, but if I finish a book and my imagination is rewriting it? That's a whole other. I still gave it a decent grade, but I feel that Jenny Moss hasn't yet reached her full potential - if the girl can step it up on the writing then we can expect great things.

Graded a B-.