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Shari Marshall grew up in a less-than-conventional household as an only child in rural Ontario. She had a great deal of time on her hands and an active imagination. It wasn’t uncommon to find her perched on a tree branch, reading, storytelling, or lost in a narrative rolling around inside her head. Her passion for writing grew out of her love of reading. She describes the stories she started committing to paper in grade school with the three Ms: magical, mystical, and mysterious. Since then, Shari has become an award-winning author of the prequel novel Vizard, which is part of her debut urban fantasy series, The Ember Files. Her nonfiction title, The Funny Side, won the Literary Titan Gold Book Award in May 2025. Shari has been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul, Parents Canada, Mamalode, and The RCMP Quarterly. She’s an active blogger at Brewing Coffee, Twisting Words & Breaking Pencils.
When she’s not writing, Shari enjoys traveling, camping with her family, reading, doing puzzles, and drinking coffee. She lives in Alberta with her husband, their two sons, and two boxers.
Reviewed by Chinazo Anozie for Readers' Favorite
In Shari Marshall’s world of magic, Juniper Berry, a 13-year-old, lives with her parents, who love her and teach her how to hone her powers. However, one fateful night, Juniper’s world comes crashing down when unknown assailants kill her parents. Juniper’s ability to see visions and her vision of the imminent attack enabled her parents to hide her from the attackers. Alone and an orphan, Juniper remembers her parents’ instructions on using her powers and begins to search for answers and, possibly, revenge. She meets friends and foes, encounters friendships, betrayal, and loss, and through it all, the once sweet and protected Juniper Berry adapts and evolves into Rye, a master of disguises. Join Juniper on her journey in Shari Marshall’s Vizard: An Ember Files Side Story.
Vizard by Shari Marshall is part of the Ember Files series. I haven’t read the other books in the series, but this didn’t detract from my reading pleasure. It is a testament to the author’s superb writing skills that I could follow the plot without any problems and am indeed intrigued enough to now delve into the whole series. I enjoyed following Juniper as she grew from her teens into adulthood and everything she went through. I ached with her in times of sorrow and was happy when she found friends who were as good as family. A combination of romance, action, and drama, all wrapped up in a YA fantasy, makes Vizard an immensely compelling read.
