Review: Reign of Shadows by Sophie Jordan
Reign of Shadows (Reign of Shadows #1)
by: Sophie Jordan
Publication Date: Feb. 9, 2016
Publisher: Harper Teen
Genre: Fantasy
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: e-ARC received via Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 304 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4/5 stars
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.
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.
When I first heard about Sophie's new series, I was immediately in. I adore her writing and she can write some seriously swoony romance! I enjoyed Reign of Shadows, loved the characters, and definitely loved the blossoming romance.
Luna was such an awesome heroine for me. She has been in hiding in a tower because of her identity as the lost princess. However, there's definitely more to it than that. It was quite the surprise to me, so I obviously won't spoil it. She is practical above all, which I really appreciated. She knows her guardians won't always be there with her, so she is determined to prove that she can take care of herself. Her guardians naturally worry for her, because of the darkness and the deadly dwellers that roam the lands. We don't know much about them or how they came about. Are they a product of the Eclipse? Were they once something else? We also do not know what brought the Eclipse on either. I am hoping we will find out more in the sequel though.
After sneaking out, Luna finds herself helping three others her age. Fowler has traveled a little ways with the others, but is very much a loner. He has his reasons for that, which I do understand, so he was hard to like at first because of how prickly he was. I do love grumpy heroes though, so it ended up working because I liked seeing Luna thaw his frozen heart. I called who he was pretty quickly though even though the big reveal isn't until later on.
This book was definitely a darker fantasy. Jordan does not hold back in certain aspects and they really hit me hard. You can see the desperation of those living in this world and the lengths they would go just to survive. It's truly horrific.
Fowler and Luna's romance definitely offered us some hope though. Fowler didn't want to depend on anyone ever again, much less let him feel something for another girl. However, Luna's pure heart and goodness isn't something he can ignore. She is resilient and a bit stubborn too, which made me appreciate her all the more. Oh and there's kissing. Which is always a win.
I will go ahead and say this book does end with a cliffhanger. I am definitely anxious for the sequel and hope everything will sort itself out because NO SOPHIE JORDAN YOU CANNOT DO THAT TO ME.
8 comments
I'm reading this now... I was hoping to have finished already but life lol. I think I know what surprise you are referring to though and OMG totally caught me off guard. Deff like that aspect and can't wait to see how that plays into the story. Great review!
ReplyDeleteI've been dying to read this one. I love dark fantasy, and the premise of Reign of Shadows just really intrigues me.
ReplyDeleteMajanka @ I Heart Reading
This sounds like a great story! I am very intrigued by Fowler. He sounds like my kind of guy. :)
ReplyDeleteOOoh niiiiiice!!! I am SUPER excited to read this one...and yet...that cliffhanger I keep hearing about is SERIOUSLY making me consider waiting until next year and binging the duology!! Either way, I find I am going to be tortured with waiting! LOL! Great review!!
ReplyDeleteI'm so torn about this one... I wasn't too sold on it for starters but since reviews are so polarized to love or hate... I don't know if I want to read it or not!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you really loved it, Jess!
I have yet to read anything by Sophie Jordan but I definitely want to read this one^^ So far the initial reviews have been super promising - I love the way you described Luna, the dark fantasy aspect and the romance :D Fantastic review!
ReplyDeleteI too loved Luna! I am so glad I read this book and got to meet her. I like Fowler too. This whole book was just a lot of fun. The next book needs to come out like yesterday!
ReplyDeleteGreat reading yoour blog
ReplyDeleteLeave me some comment love! And I will get around to commenting back!
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