Shades Of Doon

With a final burst of effort, I lunged for Vee’s hand. Our fingers touched for an instant, and then I was plunging backward into the dark. Spinning into nothingness, I lost Vee, the room, everything but the nauseating sensation of blindly swirling out of control. I was Dorothy Gale – but without a house, minus a little dog, and with no hope of encountering a good witch at the other end of my journey. I was at the mercy of evil, helpless to resist the Wicked Witch of Doon.

Book: Shades of Doon (A Doon Novel) by Carey Corp and Lori Langdon, Blink (Zondervan Publishers), 2015

Genre: Fantasy/Supernatural

Target Audience: Girls 16+

Subjects: Magic, Witchcraft, Dating Relationships, Friendship, Family Relationships, Love

Summary: Confidence is theirs at last. Both Vee and Kenna know that Doon is where they belong. As soon as they decide though, it seems the choice is taken out of their hands. They are thrust back into the modern world without the rings to take them home to Doon again. In Doon, a friend has turned into a betrayer, and the witch is launching a plan to return herself to Doon. Truth lies hidden in old documents. Visions of tragedy may hold the solution – but at what cost? How many lives, hopes and dreams will be forfeit to save the kingdom?

Notes: Doon is a the third in a spin-off series about the legend of Brigadoon or Bridge ‘o Doon, the story that a village in Scotland, in an attempt to fight off the evil influence from the rest of the world, prayed and was blessed with the ability to disappear into the mist and only make contact with the world every hundred years. In this story, characters can come and go from Brigadoon during that time as well as any time if they are wearing one of two magical rings. This story is very focused on the romance aspects. Both girls have just graduated from high school, both come from broken or at least single-parent homes and are looking to control their own destinies. Doon is a world that encourages the exact opposite. They have a strong belief in magic and destiny and some form of ultimate-being. The spiritual elements are hinted at all throughout this series. The two girls wonder and doubt and consider the possibility of the power of prayer and how much God is or should be involved in their lives. One of the people in Doon explains their views that the civilization’s “Creator” or “Protector” is outside the laws of nature and does amazing things that for lack of a better understanding, people call “magic”. Everyone in Doon attends church and to the girls, the princes seem to hold a strong faith. But the book is careful to not make anything too clear. They never outright say that God is the “Protector” of Doon or that putting one’s trust in Him for salvation is necessary. The “Protector” is a benevolent, powerful being, but not necessarily involved in their day to day lives at all, more just there for emergencies. The characters are extremely moral – notably in issues of sex. Jamie gets mad at a character for walking around in his underwear in front of Vee. Neither boy is willing to go too far with the girls.
In this third book, the spiritual elements all but disappear. The characters have to rely on themselves to fight the magic of the witch. This story focuses a bit on the Vee’s negative relationship with both of her parents. There is also an element of trusting those around you. Vee is used to trying to fix things on her own but learns she needs to trust her friends to help her.

Overall, this is an entertaining series, but there isn’t much of spiritual value in it. Any hints of spiritual matters are just left in vague, unclear terms, leaving the reader to just form their own opinions rather than presenting the Scripture.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 1/5

Entertainment Scale: 4/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

James 4:13-17 – Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

Thank you to Book Look for providing me with a free review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.