Review Detail

A reimagining of the ancient myth of Hades and Persephone, BETWEEN SUN AND SHADOW takes place on a distant planet that stopped spinning after being struck by an asteroid. Kori is the heiress to the Daylands, the side of the planet bathed constantly in bright sunlight. Adria is the new ruler of the Shadowlands, the part of the world that has been tainted by darkness and the asteroid that struck the planet. When Kori’s ship crashes into the Shadowlands and Adria decides to keep her as a bargaining chip, the two are forced to interact. Learning more about each other, and about their worlds, as time passes; will their feelings turn into something deeper?

One of the greatest strengths of this book is its two main characters. Adria and Kori are complex characters, with layers of emotions and history. The book splits between their two POVs, allowing readers a deep glance into both characters’ minds and emotions. There are dark moments, moments when the characters are unable to face what they have done in their lives. While this might not appeal to all readers, I enjoyed getting a glimpse into the side of these characters that felt distraught and pained.

The romance between Kori and Adria is a pretty interesting one. There’s a bit of intrigue from the beginning, both characters curious about this other person who is so very different from them. It slowly expands as the two spend time together, especially when Adria can’t seem to resist spending more time with Kori even though she should be fighting back a rebellion. Some extra time to develop the relationship post-story might’ve been nice, but it also wasn’t necessary.

The pacing of this story is inconsistent. The beginning of the story drags, bogged down by pages and pages of worldbuilding and information. Then it slowly picks up steam a bit more, the crashlanding forcing the book to move at a higher clip. But the plot didn’t really captivate my attention until the last third of the book or so. That was when the plot seemed to really pick up steam, careening down a hill and just throwing reveal after reveal at the reader.

The reveal and overarching plot of this book is fairly solid. Some of the reveals might be predictable, but they work well within the context of the story. On the other hand, some of the reveals weren’t really given enough time to truly breathe. This book is definitely best experienced without spoilers, so I’ll refrain from specifically saying those plot points.

The action scenes are fantastic. The author leans into the way that the two areas, Daylands and Shadowlands, would fight with their given experience and it makes the fights feel memorable. Like a movie brought to the page, you can picture the events as they unfold.

There are also a handful of side characters in this book and they honestly make the book more fun. Especially Aspect. I loved Aspect from the get-go and that only deepened as the book went on.

BETWEEN SUN AND SHADOW is an interesting take on the Hades and Persephone myth. The characters are solid and the plot is interesting, but the pacing holds it back from truly gripping readers early.