Reviewed by Amie Lou

Jacy Lane has what most would consider a near perfect life, but after her father's unexpected death, it takes a sharp turn for the worse. Everything Jacy thought she knew about her father, her life, and her very being gets thrown up into the air with her desperaely trying to catch the peices. After discovering her mother is a slave and not the woman who raised her, several issues in Jacy's life click into place, but several more rise up. Jacy must make the hard decision to free her biological family and her new love interest from their bondage. Jacy is reluctant to see them go and decides shortly after to follow. But her path differs greatly from theirs as she flees to the North after them. She tries to sail north on a lighter boat, is almost caught by her ex-fiance, flees into the swamp, is accosted there, trapped by a slave hunter, turned over for bounty, whipped and much more. I feel Ms. Schwab is attempting to show the plight of all through a single journey, but it is almost a little much as one thing after another happens to Jacy with a speed that is nearly dizzying.

However, the book is intriguing, well written, and a definite adventure. The research is accurate and thorough, lending an authentic air to Jacy and those around her. I felt for Jacy as she struggled to find her way when all was lost. She doesn't belong with the whites or the blacks. But must instead determine who she is among both. You'll find yourself holding your breath in hopes that Jacy can make a new life for herself and those she loves in a world she doesn't understand.

Favorite Quote: "Ugly comes in all shades, Jacy. Don't pay her no mind."

http://www.romancing-the-book.com/2011/08/review-shadow-of-quarter-moon-by-eilee... ( )

For the first little bit, I had low expectations of how this book would turn out. The characters were predictable - even without reading the back cover, I could tell who Jacy's mother, brother, and love interest would all turn out to be, long before she figured them out. The dialogue often seemed stilted, overly verbose and well-formed for conversations. Anyway, it got better.

The story derails from most expectations at about page 150, leaving over 200 pages left for great historical information and an often exciting plot. It's rare that historical novels manage to combine seamlessly incorporated historical details with some great action, but this one made it work. First of all, Jacy ends up in a maroon colony in the Great Dismal Swamp. How often do you find novels about maroon colonies, much less ones in the Great Dismal? Um, I know of one other book, and the colony part comes at the very end, in Florida. Not only does Schwab cover Carolina maroon colonies in Shadow of a Quarter Moon, she also goes into the Underground Railroad network (and makes it be viewed as how it would have been seen in 1839, not as *the* all-famous, well-formed Railroad of modern perceptions) and the continued problems of bigotry and hatred that former slaves faced once they reached the North. Not to mention that Jacy herself is an interesting part of history, occupying the odd place of being raised white despite being born to an enslaved mother. Towards the end, it seemed like the author was trying to cram a bit too much into the book, which also made the conclusion come off as a bit rushed - events and emotions kept flip-flopping back and forth - but it's excusable because of the wealth of historical bases that are covered within less than four hundred pages.

Disclaimer: I received my copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review. ( )