Review: Reign of Shadows by Sophie Jordan

Reign of Shadows

Sophie Jordan

(Reign of Shadows #1)

Publication Date: February 9, 2016

Hardcover, 304 pages, HarperTeen

Genres: YA, Fantasy

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Seventeen years ago, an eclipse cloaked the kingdom of Relhok in perpetual darkness. In the chaos, an evil chancellor murdered the king and queen and seized their throne. Luna, Relhok’s lost princess, has been hiding in a tower ever since. Luna’s survival depends on the world believing she is dead.

But that doesn’t stop Luna from wanting more. When she meets Fowler, a mysterious archer braving the woods outside her tower, Luna is drawn to him despite the risk. When the tower is attacked, Luna and Fowler escape together. But this world of darkness is more treacherous than Luna ever realized.

With every threat stacked against them, Luna and Fowler find solace in each other. But with secrets still unspoken between them, falling in love might be their most dangerous journey yet.

With lush writing and a star–crossed romance, Reign of Shadows is Sophie Jordan at her best.

My Review

Took me over four years to get to this book, but I finally did it. It’s so exciting to knock a backlist title off of your TBR, especially ones that have been on your shelves for a long time, and even more especially, ones that you went to an author signing for.

I’m going to start off this review by pointing out that Reign of Shadows is a quick, fun read. Nothing more. Nothing less. Which is entirely okay, but no one should go into this book looking for the intricate world-building of a Sarah J. Maas or Leigh Bardugo book. It’s a book that’s meant solely to entertain, and it accomplishes its goal.

Reign of Shadows is a mix between the 1990 Tremors film, The Walking Dead, and Disney’s Tangled. The Tremors and Tangled references are obvious: there are monsters that live underground that come out and eat people, and Luna lived in a tower for a majority of her life. As for The Walking Dead, the “people are the true monsters” storyline is one that plays out often in this book.

Luna is a lot like Rapunzel. She’s resourceful—though there are no frying pans, unfortunately—and she can take care of herself. However, she doesn’t have long, magical hair. Instead her “magic” is seen in an ability associated with her blindness. She’s actually kind of like a medieval Daredevil. She can shoot arrows and run through forests even though she can’t truly see. Fowler, the male main character, is a darker version of Flynn Rider, simply because he’s not as suave and he has a tragic backstory.

This story doesn’t have the typical YA fantasy setting. It’s about monsters, mostly of the creature variety with a sprinkling of human baddies thrown in for dramatic effect. It does have a cute reluctant romance and a major cliffhanger ending, though, if you’re into those kinds of things.

All in all, Reign of Shadows isn’t for everyone, but if you’re looking for something to read between larger tomes, you might consider picking this one up. It’ll only take a few hours to finish.

*Note: I purchased a copy of this book myself. This in no way affected my opinion/review.