(Reign of Shadows #1)
Publication
Date: February 9, 2016
Hardcover, 304 pages, HarperTeen
Genres:
YA, Fantasy
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.
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