yet again a book in a series that was not clearly marked as not being the first in a series!
And while in most aspects i guess this could stand alone i sometimes did feel as if was missing something and since i have not read the first one i don't know if the moments that didn't really make sense for me where because they were explained in the first one or if those moments where just not that well done...

All in all its a nice paranormal story but it wasn't the best for me personally and i really wish publishers would mark series books more clearly, especially if they are NOT the first books in a series!

The Shimmering Road is the sequel to The Gates of Evangeline by Hester Young. As usual, I had seen TSR and requested it on a whim without realizing it wasn’t a standalone. For once, I decided to do the right thing and bought Evangeline straight away. By the time I reached the final pages, I was completely in love. This is an amazing series but I absolutely think you need to read The Gates of Evangeline first. If not, it would simply be a spoiler fest and it really isn’t the same.

What I liked the most about The Shimmering Road (and The Gates of Evangeline) is that it’s not your typical fast-paced read. It’s a captivating novel, no doubt, but it’s so atmospheric that I didn’t want to race through it. Instead, I wanted to pay attention to every detail and I found myself not wanting to finish it. The action doesn’t start right away, but once you get to it, the excitement never ends.

The characters in this book feel so real that I already miss them. They’re not perfect by any means, and Charlie is quite honest about that. She comes across a bit condescending sometimes, but she quickly admits she’s wrong and is truly brave and kind. I also love how even though she has her own beliefs, she’s open to discussing nearly anything. I was thinking that she reminded me of some other character, someone who also does crazy things to help people… and I realized it’s Erica Falk from the Fjällbacka series. I love how Charlie follows her dreams (literally, her dreams) in order to help those who she believes are in danger...

As for the plot, it was pretty different from the previous book, but equally engaging. While the first was kind of a “southern gothic mystery” set in Louisiana, this one was also southern but way different. Set in Arizona and Mexico, it gave me a raw and dry feeling, kind of like when I read All The Ugly And Wonderful Things. It was amazing. Still, I think you should know that this series features a heavy supernatural angle. There’s also a love story going on… but I didn’t mind that this time.

Simply put, this has quickly become one of my favorite series and I already love the characters as if I had known them forever.

This is the second in the series but the first for me, I found it fine as a standalone. A heavily pregnant Charlie has ESP visions and premonitions. A recurring one is of her being shot in a shower which is disturbing her and her boyfriend, Noah. She is reluctant to settle in Sidalie, Texas, where Noah and his thriving business is based as there are too many reminders of Carmen, Noah's ex-wife. She sees a vision of a child running through a blood soaked scene, who turns out to be Micky, the daughter of Charlie's half sister Jasmine. It turns out that there has been a fatal double shooting of Jasmine and Charlie's long estranged addict mother, Donna in Tucson, Arizona.

Charlie and Noah set off to see Micky, who has temporarily been placed in foster care. Noah is enthusiastic about adopting her, Charlie is far more ambivalent and has concerns about coping with a heavily traumatised child. She slowly gets to become aware of the circumstances involved in the shootings, and the characters involved in Jasmine's and Donna's life, such as Pam, her mother's partner and ex-cop, Teresa who runs a charity that her mother worked at, Micky's father, Ruben, residing in Mexico. It soon becomes clear that the adoption process is laborious and one that could take years. To speed the process up, Noah and Charlie consider moving to Arizona. A number of factors have Charlie intrigued and curious about who is behind the murders and she is not going to let this go. This leads to Charlie and Noah making trips to Mexico, further visions, encountering tremendous danger and a ruthless killer who has no intention of being caught.

There is a strong sense of the desert location in Arizona, the heat and the pressurising and grim living conditions of people encountered in Mexico. We get a glimpse of the human face of US immigration policies as they affect real people and children, such a hot topic at the moment This is an atmospheric novel that immediately captured my interest with ease. Charlie has an interesting and complex backstory, she's lost a child, is a journalist, and experiencing the kind of problems ordinary people do. It is understandable that she is cautious about taking on Micky given how much she has on her plate, but it comes down to it she is a good woman. I loved this book and recommend it highly to others. Thanks to Random House Cornerstone for an ARC.

I did not read the first book, The Gates of Evangeline, so it would make sense to any future readers to read that one first. having said that, it did not stop my enjoyment of this book. I did like the descriptions and the setting of Nogales in Mexico. A little bit of a paranormal theme going on and I loved the relationship between Noah and Charlie. Started off a bit slow but kept me interested to the end, I hope there is a third book. Thank you Net Galley for my copy. I reviewed on Goodreads.