I really had no idea what to expect except for the product description. After reading the introductory material, I found the format a little confusing. The author has a lot to say about her own faith journey and how she chose to write this book, but I still was not clear on how to use it, the switching of dates, and a whole dated section that I didn’t know what to make of. (More about this later)This book is too “orthodox” for me. It is best suited for those for whom Christmas is just getting started in late December. It follows the liturgical readings from the Book of Common Prayers and Lectionary, an Anglican prescription for scripture reading. While the author is right that Christians of all varieties will find these inoffensive, this definitely was not the sentiment I was hoping for in an advent devotional. The author goes to great lengths to describe her family’s slow start into Advent and Christmas traditions ending in January with Epiphany. It’s simply not the tradition in our home, which leads me to the next piece that isn’t for me.The first week is quite dark. The “Shadow” Part of the title, I suppose. I’m used to Christmas devotionals that emphasize our need for a Savior - the Light of the World entering darkness, and our “weary world.” That need and anticipation is an important part of Advent, but the art and music caught me off guard. I thought I wasn’t finding the art she intended because I thought it looked like a horror piece. (Cropped photo included in review.) another reason I didn’t feel like I would share this with my kids. Most, but not all, of the art suggestions are modern and not my style, nor do they inspire a Christmas mood in me. The classical and old world pieces are much better. The author really dug deep to find the obscure pieces, for better or worse.The same was true of the music collection. The author provides a Spotify list, but I relied on my Apple Music subscription to look for the songs. I’m still unsure if I found the right songs for many of the ones listed. I love a good hymn, and we’re a musical family, but a listenable version can be hard to find on the fly. The ones I was confident in, turned out not to be my style at all. Certainly not the kind of song I would ask a child to sit and listen /reflect.Lastly, because the author chose to follow the liturgical readings of Psalms (I love to read the Psalms!), the story of Christmas is not prominent. To solve this problem, the author includes 25 dated readings to tell the story of Christmas, by either adding them in or substituting for the other readings. She just kind of throws a second plan in there, in case we don’t like the first plan. Aside from my initial confusion about how to read the pages, the special instructions for December 18, and then the dated story in the back (but not this December 18th, the other one), the readings were not what I was hoping to find in an Advent devotional.I prefer a devotional with a Christmas-y feel to focus my mind on anticipating the savior while the December traditions swirl all around me.There’s nothing particularly wrong with this book, (well maybe that scary “Christmas” painting) but it just isn’t what I was hoping for. The vocabulary and interest level is not for young children, in general, and older children could be dragged along for the ride, but there are plenty of great family devotionals available for that.