The Shadowless: At the Corner of Eden and Darkness by R.J. Garcia centers around Mae Dawson, an 18-year-old girl deeply affected by her family’s dysfunctional dynamics, especially her stepfather's aggressive behavior. During the summer, Mae and her sister, Emmie, spend idyllic days at their family’s remote cabin. Mae's life comes to a sudden standstill when Emmie is abducted unexpectedly. Mae's quest to find Emmie ends in heartbreak, opening her world to strange paranormal events along the way. While recovering from grief, Mae tries to rebuild her life through therapy, enrolling in college, and pursuing a stable relationship. But anonymous phone calls and a run-in with Brandon, a mysterious childhood friend, bring back missing memories from her past. Can Mae confront the darkness within and save herself while there is still time?

R.J. Garcia's The Shadowless: At the Corner of Eden is a coming-of-age tale that merges loss, healing, family drama, and supernatural events into a deeply emotional narrative. R.J. Garcia tells this story in a way that is easy to follow but full of surprising twists. Through Mae's attempt to grapple with Emmie's sudden abduction, she delivers a heartfelt portrayal of how people cope with trauma and still find the strength they need to overcome the many hurdles in their lives. The secondary characters, like Mae's family, friends, boyfriend, and Brandon, add new layers of drama, tension, and realism to the storyline. Together, they weave a compelling story that is hard to put down. The use of folklore and paranormal events makes the story original and thought-provoking. If you love YA books that blend reality with fantasy, this novel is worth reading.

The Shadowless is the first book in the At the Corner of Eden and Darkness series by R.J. Garcia. Mae Dawson's life turned upside down with the inexplicable disappearance of her beloved sister, Emily. However, things take a turn for the worse when Mae somehow arrives at Emily's grave in the woods, confirming that her sister is dead. Meanwhile, their creepy stepfather, Walt, is still roaming free, finding new ways to torture Mae. Added to the mix is Mae's sweet boyfriend Benji, her best friend Aaliyah, and the mysterious Brandon Sills, to whom Mae feels an odd attraction. With messages from beyond haunting Mae's dreams and secrets of the fae slowly revealing themselves, can Mae distinguish between friend and foe? Will she be able to bring her sister's murderers to justice?

The Shadowless is the perfect read for young adult dark fantasy lovers. If you're a fan of the Twilight series, you will love this book. Laced with mystery, romance, and a dash of the supernatural, the narrative flies by without a single hitch, featuring a plot that has more than enough surprises in store to keep you guessing until the end. Author R.J. Garcia paces the plot beautifully, building on an intriguing murder-mystery premise that soon turns out to be a supernatural conspiracy with suspense and thrills galore. Teens and young adult readers will definitely be able to relate to the characters. Mae and her friends go through a host of teenage problems, particularly in terms of relationships, notwithstanding their involvement in their supernatural endeavors. Overall, it's a fantastic dark fantasy novel for young adult readers.

The Shadowless by R.J. Garcia follows Mae, a teen whose life falls apart after her little sister, Emmie, is kidnapped and murdered. Mae and Emmie were spending the summer at their family’s cabin in the small town of Willows End. It is a haven compared to the family tension—caused by their stepdad—they are normally accustomed to. But when Emmie disappears, extensive searches for her prove futile. Mae experiences a deep sense of loss, followed by hallucinations and bizarre dreams about a blond boy in the woods. A series of supernatural events guides Mae to Emmie’s grave, and an arrest is finally made. Mae slowly begins piecing her life together again, bit by bit. But strange calls, dreams, and the return of a childhood friend occupy her every thought. Is she experiencing echoes of unresolved past trauma, or is something supernatural afoot in Willows End?

The Shadowless is a mesmerizing YA novel that blends trauma and the supernatural world. Initially, it starts as a mystery about Emmie's disappearance and the events that follow. But beneath the surface, it’s an emotional tale of how Mae, her sister, confronts her feelings of loss and guilt after Emmie's fate is revealed. As a result of Emmie's unfortunate death, Mae is deeply affected—both psychologically and emotionally. Her emotions are profound and real to the point where the story begins to intertwine mythical narrative elements into it. At this moment, author R.J. Garcia does something truly incredible—she begins to merge Mae's reality with her fantasy world, leaving readers to wonder which events are real and which parts are imagined. This blending of worlds is flawlessly, captivatingly, and creatively crafted. If you enjoyed Alice in Wonderland, but you are looking for a YA novel with deeper psychological meaning, this story will intrigue you from start to finish.

The Shadowless: At the Corner of Eden and Darkness by R.J. Garcia is the first book in a gripping dark fantasy trilogy. When Mae Dawson and her sister were little, they often felt they were being watched when they were in the mysterious forest near their family cabin. They began to believe in fairies when they saw a beautiful young boy for a fleeting moment, who mostly appeared to them in their dreams. One summer day, Mae's sister disappears, and she begins to suspect everyone, even the new guy she just met. Could he be her sister's kidnapper? Yet, shortly after her stepdad, whom she detests, is arrested for a murder, Mae starts receiving strange signs from her missing sister. Then her friend starts acting as if possessed, and the good-looking guy she met recently seems to have some answers that Mae needs. However, her stepdad breaks out of jail, and Mae learns that her stepdad and a demonic force are after her.

In The Shadowless: At the Corner of Eden and Darkness, R.J. Garcia delivers a suspenseful, twisty, and dark page-turner that blends a modern fairy tale with real-life suspense, mystery, murder, white and black magic, hidden realms, and more. This beautifully written story contains a great amount of enthralling twists and turns that revolve around mortal and magical forces that conspire against the protagonists, featuring paranormal events and romance, family dysfunction, and secrets of the fae to uncover. It's a must-read for all dark romance fantasy fans, especially for those who love stories in which he falls in love first. I look forward to reading the next installment to learn what happens next.