Sapphire Smyth & The Shadow Five: Shadows (Part One) by R.J. Furness
Have you ever seen something you can’t explain? Did it vanish as fast as it appeared?
Perhaps that thing you saw was lurking in the shadows, and you caught a glimpse of it before it went back into hiding.
There’s a good chance, of course, that the thing you saw simply emerged from your imagination.
Or maybe, just maybe, it didn’t…
Sapphire Smyth is no stranger to rejection. When she was only a baby, her father abandoned her after her mother died. Since then, Sapphire has never felt like she belonged anywhere, or with anyone. To make things worse, Sapphire’s foster carers have now turned their back on her – on her eighteenth birthday. After living with them throughout her childhood, Sapphire has to find a new home. Is it any wonder she finds it hard to trust people?
Abandoned by the people she called family, Sapphire is alone and searching for some meaning in her life. Except that meaning has already come looking for her. When Sapphire discovers mysterious creatures lurking in the shadows, she soon realises that her fate is unlike anything she had ever imagined.
“Sapphire Smyth & The Shadow Five” is a six-part, serialised young adult fantasy story!
Rating: 
Well look at that, my orange rating foxes fit perfectly with this book’s cover. And before I get into the full review, as a disclaimer, I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. No one forced me to write what I have written here (no drakes, no shades).
R. J. Furness was already on my radar, thanks to the Orgo stories (and the Orgo Adventures). So when he mentioned this new idea I was happy to give it a go and see what it was all about.
This is a very fast paced book, despite being short. And I had to pause and make sure I knew what had just happened. There is also a lot of “secrets” and so much to find out, when I reached the last page I kinda thought !it isn’t fair, I need answers now!”
We meet Sapphire as she is running away from her foster parents home and panicking about what to do next. I know the purpose of this is to set the story, but I kept thinking that foster parents that have kept a child for 16-18 years (which is what is implied) won’t just suddenly kick the child out. If they were the kind that just do it for the money, then Sapphire would’ve been SO ready to leave and counting down to her 18th birthday (I say this as I know a couple of people who were in situations like that). The only way I can think that Sapphire couldn’t see it coming is that she is stupid, but that doesn’t really fit with the Sapphire we meet, so this is a bit of a plot issue (but I know most will see past it, and it isn’t huge, it was just a little dissonant for me).
Otherwise, the rest of the story just keeps you trying to figure out what is going on with the shadows, what Ben knows and why Sapphire is suddenly thrown into this. I actually really liked the chapter that sets things of with Michelle and Jason. I’d like to find out more about them too.
Basically, I now have SO many questions I don’t even know where to start, but the best start is probably to keep reading the book.
R.J. was super kind and surprised me with a box of goodies(see below). I have never had blackcurrant licorice sweets, so this was an intriguing surprise. I kinda like licorice but not always, so I was a bit unsure. Also, when I got the goodies I was so puzzled by what each item meant, but now I know they fit the story so well!
And of course, this cover wins because it is an orange fox, and there is a fox in the story and I want to know more about the shadow fox and what Sapphire is going to discover in the next “part”.