Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Dancing in the Shadows of Love
    Unavailable
    Dancing in the Shadows of Love
    Unavailable
    Dancing in the Shadows of Love
    Ebook311 pages4 hours

    Dancing in the Shadows of Love

    By Judy Croome

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Lulu, Jamila and Zahra are three ordinary-but-extraordinary women struggling with the complexities and heart-wrenching sorrows of life. They must dive into the shadows of their pasts, where their demons of hatred, ambition and greed lurk.  Each yearning to love and be loved, they first need to define what love is and, in order to do that, they must learn to forgive. Along the way, the women each forge a friendship with the mysterious stranger Enoch, their guide for this spiritual journey. 

    Lyrical and atmospheric, buoyed by touches of magical realism, this haunting story offers hope, peace and love as the three women search for the divine love that will fulfil their hopes and save their souls...if they can recognise the masks of those who seek to lead them astray.

    DANCING IN THE SHADOWS OF LOVE is a story about love and betrayal, lust and trust, and learning to live again. 

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJudy Croome
    Release dateNov 13, 2018
    ISBN9780639983103
    Unavailable
    Dancing in the Shadows of Love
    Author

    Judy Croome

    Judy Croome lives and writes in Johannesburg, South Africa. Shortlisted in the African Writing Flash Fiction 2011 competition, Judy’s short stories and poems have appeared in various magazines and anthologies, such as the Huffington Post and the University of the Witwatersrand’s Itch Magazine. Her books "a stranger in a strange land" (2015), “The Weight of a Feather & Other Stories” (2013), “a Lamp at Midday” (2012) and “Dancing in the Shadows of Love” (2011) are available. Judy loves her family, cats, exploring the meaning of life, chocolate, cats, rainy days, ancient churches with their ancient graveyards, cats, meditation and solitude. Oh, and cats. Judy loves cats (who already appear to have discovered the meaning of life.)  She is currently researching child murders for her next novel while working with her husband on a South African Tax Law book. You can visit Judy on www.judycroome.com or join her on Twitter @judy_croome

    Related to Dancing in the Shadows of Love

    Related ebooks

    General Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The White Fox

      Oct 13, 2017

      The White Fox
      10 min read

    • Article

      Life In The past Lane

      Aug 27, 2021

      Life In The past Lane
      5 min read

    • Article

      Two Poems by Phillip B. Williams

      Dec 15, 2017

      The masters are yet dead. Wanting to be human,I tried to rewrite The Waste Land. The canon’s reachcasts ruinous light. The masters’ pens breachthis page where, above, my own hand spectates. Babylonrisen, exorcism in reverse, whose nature upended now?

      6 min read

    • Article

      Excerpts From The Works Of The 2024 Whiting Award Winners

      Apr 10, 2024

      The 2024 Whiting Award winners were announced Wednesday night. Below are excerpts from their work.

      19 min read

    • Article

      A Thousand Embers

      Aug 13, 2023

      The old man’s grave hung like a mist over the whole of the wops. The world was still and soundless. Even the owl that watches over this place had ceased to call its name. Ru-ru. And though it wasn’t cold, an eerie chill possessed us, our breath visib

      3 min read

    • Article

      Three Poems

      Jan 1, 2020

      In class, I stared because of the blood going blue.The chalk that coated our fingerly teeth.The way we lapped each other (on the shorewhere the flowering). I gave away our location. Smacked my lips in the coat closet.Sucked at her teeth. We, on all e

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Silence of Witches

      Dec 10, 2019

      The Silence of Witches
      6 min read

    • Article

      Form Seven Alpha

      Oct 10, 2023

      So here I sit with it again, Form 7⍺. It is printed on cheap paper with low-quality ink that smudges under my fingers. The option they judge least bad for me has been scored through, unavailable, while the four other options remain. Since the last ti

      26 min read

    • Article

      The Wind Feels Loss

      Aug 8, 2019

      The Wind Feels Loss
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Thin Place

      Nov 16, 2020

      We looked out of the window at the torrential rain. We’d booked tickets for the Castle’s Halloween event. The Castle was famous for being haunted by the ghost of its last court jester and made the most of this reputation every October, hosting a fair

      6 min read

    • Article

      Melt With Me

      Mar 17, 2022

      Melt With Me
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Family Plot

      May 7, 2020

      The Family Plot
      10 min read

    • Article

      Tomorrows

      Mar 15, 2022

      The night, as most nights, was like a dream. At ten, once I’d fed the dog the last scraps off the stove. Once I’d cursed the cat for scratching up my mama’s antique furniture, then welcomed him back into my arms. Once I’d slicked my hair into a ponyt

      26 min read

    • Article

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary

      Jun 17, 2020

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary
      7 min read

    • Article

      Lucky Were the Bodies

      May 3, 2022

      Lucky Were the Bodies
      8 min read

    • Article

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary

      Jun 17, 2020

      Mrs Macarthur’s Secret Diary
      7 min read

    • Article

      Haunted

      Sep 27, 2023

      Haunted
      6 min read

    • Article

      Holiday For One

      Mar 24, 2023

      Holiday For One
      4 min read

    • Article

      Seven Poems

      May 1, 2023

      There was a boy even stranger than I waswho’d call me in the eveningto see if I’d come to Scouts. Something in mehesitated. Then one morning during eighth grade English we got hall passesand did it in a stall in the bathroomtaking turns over the john

      3 min read

    • Article

      Yara And The Witch Queen

      Oct 1, 2019

      I knew the dangers of witchcraft. My parents had told me about the time before I was born, when magic plagued our desert kingdom of Bahati. Untrained witch doctors trying to cure warts ended up paralyzing their patients or turning them into crocodile

      10 min read

    • Article

      The Postmenopausal Fairy Tale

      Feb 4, 2019

      The Postmenopausal Fairy Tale
      9 min read

    Reviews for Dancing in the Shadows of Love

    3.5/5

    23 ratings23 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Dancing in the Shadows of love by Judy Croome.Zahra, Lulu and Jamila fight their own battles with the ghosts of their past, the abuse, the poverty and the non-acceptance by the community. But they also fight with love and being loved, believing love comes from outside. The liberation of their own belief systems gives them space to live. An absolutely wonderful book to read and re-read, and to think about our own ghosts of the past.
    • 1/5
      Lulu, Jamila and Zahra are three very different women whose lives are somewhat entwined. The story takes place on a world much like our own, however the author has invented her own terms and phrases. I found the writing style to be odd and hard to follow. I kept having to refer back to the glossary, which was a huge downfall. Overall, I did not enjoy this book
    • 5/5
      WOW!!! This was an excellent story. I will definitely read it again and recommend to all. I loved this book!!!
    • 3/5
      Once the reader's mind settles in to the three characters and sorts each life, past and current, the book dances you through symbolism and faith to a point where those three characters meet in the shadow of one man, one destiny, one point in their lives where they realize things can change.Readers are brought through the pains of abuse, the frustrations of the under class not fitting in with the upper, and the sadness of being excluded through prejudice. Along the way they might find a change in themselves or find an understanding of someone they love who has been through something that is the same.As with the three characters being an integral part of the story, I found three elements to be the key pieces that held me to this book: The story is somewhat futuristic, but also modern. It belongs and yet it doesn't belong to so many places in the world. The religion isn't the type that is necessarily what we would recognize, but is inclusive into the lives of the well written characters. Perhaps these elements will bring others on their own journey.Note: Though this book was a free gift from the author, the content of my review was in no way influenced by the gifting. The book speaks for itself and my review would have been worded just this way even if I'd gone out and bought it. I also give bonus points for Text To Speech enabling on Kindle format.... but that also wasn't a factor in the above review.
    • 3/5
      Others have called this book spiritual and I suppose it is that. It's a bit too spiritual and religious for my own personal taste. It's well written, no complaints there but just not my sort of thing. It's a story about three women, all of whom have had early lives that ranged from humiliating to downright abusive. All of them have reacted in different ways, rage, cold indifference or denial. Two of them have rejected the Spirit King, one has clung to her belief in order to bury her past indiscretions. All of them must learn to love themselves and forgive themselves and learn the true nature of love.
    • 5/5
      DANCING IN THE SHADOWS OF LOVE by author Judy Croome is a fantastically woven tale of the lives of three women and their journey to find peace within themselves.Lulu, Jamila and Zahra each have their own secrets from their past. There's the elegant Mrs Grace Templeton to whom Jamila and Zahra aspire to as they search to find their own place as a Templeton wife. Lulu is an albino who has faced strong prejudices throughout her life, and has been betrayed, but her strength is formidable as she learns to trust in human nature again. Jamila and Zahra have their childhood secrets of severe poverty and abuse to fight as they struggle toward an improved, more ideal life for themselves. This story has well developed characters and the depth to the characters and intense emotions portrayed is simply fantastic and satisfying.The story moves along a good pace going through these three main characters past and present and we get to know them along their journey.War, love, betrayal, hardship and prejudice have always been a fact of life and would always be. And by this book you grasp that by being as timeless and as placeless as you want to be. DANCING IN THE SHADOWS OF LOVE is a truly magical read and I eagerly await the author, Judy Croome’s next book!
    • 5/5
      Dancing in the Shadows of Love is what you expect a book from Oprah's now defunct book club to be like. It is brilliantly written, giving voices to three women and their elegant stories of trials and errors that we all make in life and yet still come through it all. I don't want to give the story away because you MUST read this book. It is a keeper!
    • 5/5
      Dancing in the Shadows of Love is the kind of book that makes me wish I knew how to write a better review. I’m simply overwhelmed. Judy Croome has written a book that’s gorgeous, brilliant, heart-breaking, uplifting, empowering … and more!Although the story takes place in a purposely undefined place and time, the characters are painfully real. The story follows three women, each with a damaged soul, as they yearn to be loved, but first they need to define love and, in order to do that, they must learn to forgive. The mysterious Enoch is their guide for this spiritual journey.Judy Croome’s writing is impeccable and her insight into the soul of man astounding. I believe this book came straight from her heart—and that heart is a large and beautiful one.If I could, I’d give this book six stars. I’m definitely looking forward to her next one.
    • 5/5
      Dancing in the Shadows of Love was a very unexpected book. The setting is somewhat futuristic yet now. It is not specified and as such really could be anywhere projecting the universality of the story.The main characters are three very different women. All three are compelling; you feel for them even as some make the wrong choices.The situations they survive - abuse, poverty, prejudice - all apply to so many people in so many different parts of the world. Again, this adds to the universal nature of human experience.The religious overtones in this book are unmistakable. However, they come across more spiritual in nature rather than dogma and preaching.This book made me feel and made me think. A great combination!*** Reviewed for member giveaway ***
    • 4/5
      This is an emotionally powerful book and the reader has to be prepared to allow the author to expand his/her knowledge of forgiveness. Jamila, Zahra, and Lulu all have complicated, unhappy pasts-Lulu is an albino and Jamila and Zahra lived in poverty and abuse. The author does an excellent job of developing these characters and helping the reader to understand them and think of them as friends. The reader will be rooting for these three throughout the novel. Lulu needs to learn to let go of her own prejudices and trust again while Jamila and Zahra work towards a better life, escaping their past by living well in their futures. The book is fast-paced, but the reader has enough time to comprehend all of the tough subjects addressed. The author does not skate over these issues, they are out in the open. This book is recommended to young adults/adults who enjoy reality fiction.
    • 4/5
      Received this book as an Early Reviewer.Dancing in the Shadows of Love is about 3 women- each has their demons and desires. Lulu demon is her own skin, she is albino, and has suffered greatly for her difference. Her journey to self love is fraught with betrayal, pain, isolation. She seems to find a place where she is accepted, even befriended, only to have that seemingly turn out to be a ruse. Only when she realizes that she is just as prejudiced and judgmental of society does she see that her life is defined by what she chooses to feel and think- not others.Zahra is a woman who has clawed her way to the pinnacle of social standing. She is a grand lady, living in a beautiful home that she has carefully crafted. However, her demon stems from her years of being an incest victim. She sees herself as two people, Little Flower, who is the representation of all the soft desires, jealousy and guilt. Zahra is steel, tough uncompromising. Jamila appears to have achieved the high point in her life. She was a beggar child, her father was a her shame, losing the battle to his demons. She ultimately abandons her siblings, leaving her guilt ridden. She becomes a devout follower of the Spirit King, believing that her success stems from her devoutness. During her rise, she makes a Great Error, having a sexual encounter with a friend of her fiance. She realizes that her demon is passion, and she strives to hide it behind her facade of spirituality. Ultimately, all three women experience epiphany, with a appearance of a man named Enoch in their lives. He is obviously a model of Jesus, but more earthy and real. He is their quiet guide, bringing them around to true love and acceptance. All except Jamila, who I think is just beginning her journey as the book ends.This was a very nice book- religion is a big part, but not in a traditional in your face way. It is earthy, real, and believable. The writing is good- although in the beginning it was hard to read, until your mind started thinking in the authors voice. Then it flowed, poetic and understandable. Although this is not my traditional fare, I did enjoy this book.
    • 3/5
      Dancing in the Shadows of Love by Judy Croome was an interesting book. I wasn't too sure that I wanted to continue reading the book to the end due to the parallels in this and other religious books. However, I made it through and enjoyed the character development and the interweaving of the characters lives.Lulu, Zahra and Jamilla all come from different and difficult pasts to find their way in life during their young adult times. Those who affected these three in their past by betrayal helped mold these young women in their futures.Pride and prejudices in our lives are written out in the pages of this book. I recommend others read this with an open mind and heart to experience the growth of each of these women and take a lesson from each of them.
    • 4/5
      What is Love Anyway? Judy Croome's spiritual fiction work, Dancing in the Shadows of Love is a fine example of how fiction can be an attractive medium for conveying an intended message. "The driving motivation of my characters is the search for love in all its forms." Set in southern Africa, Judy has created a spiritual enclave—the Court of St Jerome—that proves to be the point of convergence of the principal characters, three of whom are women of diversely troubled backgrounds. All three are indeed seekers of love, but to find or obtain love, they must first learn what true love is. The lessons are often exquisitely painful; and they are, I think, uniquely feminine lessons. In truth, Dancing in the Shadows of Love is a very feminine story. At times, I felt somehow embarrassed while reading, as if I was included in conversations/thought processes inappropriate for my male presence in them. In any case, the writing is good: if it is slightly redundant on certain points, it is perhaps so in keeping with the redundancy of the mind, which maddeningly returns to the same issues again and again. The novel is also one of insistent symbolism. This aspect of the work, I wasn't quite sure if I liked. The symbols are quite clear, for the most part (to my mind they were obvious references to Christianity and Catholicism), but the use of alternate terms, for instance, was perhaps necessary for Croome to convey her own notions of love and spirituality without the constrictions of religious convention (it is not religion fiction). I would perhaps have liked to see her find a way to write directly within the context of Christianity, since it seemed so present anyway, but I'm not harboring any real judgment in that regard. For a first novel, her approach and her execution are very admirable. Ultimately, each of the three characters learns the lessons she needs to learn. Do they find love, any or all of them? Well I won't say. Is it a love story? Yes. Is it a unique love story? I do think so. It is worth reading. I recommend it to those who are interested in exploring the question: What is love anyway? As always, I hate using the stars, but I'm giving it four of them. Have to save some room to go up as I expect Judy Croome's writing to get even better. 1 like flag
    • 4/5
      I recevied this book from LibraryThings member give away program and found the story compelling. We learn about the lives of 3 women, LuLu, Jamila, and Zahra and their struggles to find acceptance in life, love, and overcome their past, and the choices they make to shape how they feel about themselves and others. The characters were well written and very compelling women that faced trials that helped shape how they looked at life and those around them. I really enjoyed reading this book and would recommend to all who want a great read that will make them think of what it means to really love and be loved.
    • 3/5
      Lulu, Jamila and Zahra are females trapped within society expectations, religious beliefs, and cultural bias. The first quarter of the story detailed their historical past. The rest focuses on their lives as adults although it jumps intermittently back to the past. There is a bit of sadness for the situations that carry throughout the book even though it comes down to the simple choices the women make. The glossary of terms is indicative of any uniqueness found in the story line.
    • 2/5
      This got me confused. I just don't get this story. Don't get me wrong, it was beautifully written but words are meaningless if it does not convey what it is supposed to impart. Who the hell is Enoch? Is he a magical creature? Is he a prophet? Is he liken to the Spirit King? It left us with no explanation. How about the war? Everyone dies in it, why is there a war in the first place? This book just left me dizzy.
    • 2/5
      I received Dancing in the Shadows of Love as an AR book. This was a very difficult book for me to get into. The book tells the stories of 3 women but they don't really seem to go together for a VERY long time in the book. The author also used many words as replacement words for things such a church so I personally spent the first few times I sat down to read revisiting the glossary in orde to really understand what I was reading. Now, I read a lot of different things but for some reason I had a difficult time "getting into" this book. I honestly probably would not have finished it if I hadn't been asked to review it. That being said I am sure that this would be a much more interesting book for others. It had quite a bit of the dark and twisty in it and is definitely NOT a light read. As long as you know that going in- and don't mind having to check the vocabulary it could be a great book for you. It just wasnt' a great book for me.
    • 3/5
      Had a hard time getting into the book but once I was into it I didn't want to put it down. Very interesting ending, a lot of twist and turns along the way. I would recommend this book to others. Loved the glossary of words that may not be known to most, made a lot easier to read.
    • 2/5
      When I started this book I thought, "ooh this is gonna be good" but then i kept reading. The concept was imaginative but the story fell short just by a hair. There was a lot of jumping around which you get used to and each character had an interesting background (which I loved how the author introduced these histories. These were the parts that made me go my going oh my gosh). However, I felt with such a unique idea on transporting real life religion into a sci fi book it would go farther then it did. Albino's being ostracized? Definitely unique, but it just didn't go in deep enough. SO CLOSE, but not quite.
    • 2/5
      For some reason I actually did not like this book. I couldn't figure it out where or when they were and then the story just didn't take a hold of me. The story followed three women, all scorned by love, and how they have to learn to love again. I got bogged down and lost interest in what they were saying because it was so depressing at times. I felt nothing for Zarha and hated the way she acted. Then I would skip whole paragraphs because it was filled with metaphors that didn't help me understand the story or the characters.If you like that kind of reading, then more power to you. This book just wasn't for me and I'll pass it along to someone else to see if they like it.
    • 4/5
      Dancing in the Shadows of Love by Judy Croome provides a thorough look into the essence of the protagonists. The women in the book are complex and troubled-very troubled. There is a binding common thread amongst them and that is that they all want a better life. While their backgrounds are different, they share a quest for love and acceptance.Lulu was an abandoned child who was labeled a "Pale One" because of her physical appearance- her skin and hair are too light. She was shunned and ridiculed. Eventually she came to believe she had found the love she so craved, but it ended in tragedy and she served years in prison for a crime she did not commit. Her life was devoid of hope and love. Jamila was forced to beg as a child and as she grew older she would do whatever it took to never be poor again. Because she, too, was a victim of ridicule she promised herself that she would show kindness to other victims of cruelty. Her attempts to find love and respectability became complicated and resulted in tragedy, too. Zahra suffered unspeakable abuse as a child . She managed to survive by reinventing herself. She married into wealth and longed for love and respect, but the price she paid was expensive on many levels.The three different stories are each filled with the same things: sadness, longing, unfulfilled desires and misplaced priorities. The women learned that things are not always what they appear to be. Eventually their lives intersected with surprising results. I found this to be an unusual and fascinating book. The author skillfully gives voice to the characters and in doing so the reader becomes enthralled with their lives. She leaves the reader with much to think about.I received this book for free from LibraryThing Member Giveaways and I give this review of my own free will.
    • 5/5
      It never breaks. The haunting tone of this book, with its aura of simmering emotion, never breaks until the final word. Ten pages into the book, I was already flipping through it trying to find a picture of the author. Who writes like this? Who names their main character Lulu?This is about three ordinary-but-extraordinary women and their struggle to ride the waves of life. It’s about love, betrayal, lust, trust, and learning to live again. So, yeah, it’s about God.Dancing in the shadows of love. This one kept me uncomfortable the whole time, wishing the three of them would just step out of the shadows into the light. It’s not that the plot is terribly captivating, it’s just that the words are arranged so … artfully? Grippingly? Hauntingly? Now that I’m finished (and after a sleepless night) I confess Croome is a fascinating author, and I’m terrified of the day she hands me another book to review. I know I won’t be able to turn it down.But what is her book doing on my religion blog? Well, the problem is, an explanation would also be a spoiler. Its value is spiritual, even if its religion is foreign. But don’t worry, her Spirit King and his mysterious representative will overlay nicely atop whatever beliefs you espouse, if you do just a little stretching here and there.Note to Ms. Croom: Page 165 still holds me spellbound. And I’m a guy.
    • 4/5
      Zahra, Lulu and Jamila. 3 woman born in proverty trying to find their way in a harsh world. Intricate story lines make for geed read in this tale of 3 women whose lives meet and entwine . All three try not to show their fear and weakness to all while trying to make a mark on society, but in the end learn it is not where you came from but where you are going. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon in the sun.