Shadowed Ground by Vicki Keire

GoodReads Summary: Chloe Burke has only two choices left: run or fight.

As she wakes from a poisoned sleep with silver scars across her back, her aunt’s diary may provide the only clues about the creatures of fire that hunt her.

Separated from her last living relative and the only home she has ever known, Chloe must rely on the deadly Eliot Gray to guide her through the strange world she suddenly finds herself inhabiting. It’s a world where the Abandoned wear human bodies like cheap suits, where the Landing finds itself threatened by its nearest neighbors, and Chloe and Eliot must watch their every move.

A dangerous road stretches on before them, and Chloe and Eliot must learn to work as a team against the deadly predators that threaten a whole new world. As the bonds of trust grow, they must be careful not to tread upon time-honored boundaries: those forbidding Guardians to act on feelings for their Wards. Determined not to let the only home she remembers suffer the same fate as the world of her childhood, Chloe finds herself in a race to reach Gray’s Landing before it is too late.

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I don't usually read novellas, but this is one I am definitely going to stick with. Volume 2 in the Chronicles of Nowhere picks of where Words Burns Through left of.

In volume 2 Chloe begins to learn more about her past, and as she comes to grips with being Gray Landing's only hope for a future she struggles with her feelings for Elliot, her Guardian. A relationship between a Ward and Guardian is forbidden, but as the two come closer together their trust strengthens and they form a sweet friendship. Elliot is an awesome male mc, he's fiercely protective of Chloe and will stop at nothing to keep her safe. I love that Keire takes her time building their relationship up, there is no hint of insta-love in this series.

Alexander, is a brother who's desperate to save his sister from the Abandoned. Charlotte is not the younger sister he once knew and as she slowly begins being drained of her emotions it's clear that she won't last much longer. Fueled by anger and mistrust he enlists the help of his one and only friend Carson, who quickly analyses the situation and come to the conclusion that in order to survive Alexander must cross the river to Gray's Landing.

The action in this book was great, even though Elliot is there to protect Chloe from the Abandoned her headstrong ways means that when push comes to shove she's willing to fight for herself. She's a brilliant mc, who I easily connected to and her flaws made her all the more realistic.

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