Today we are very excited to share an interview with Author Lynette Noni (SHADOW REAPER)!
Meet the Author: Lynette Noni
Lynette Noni is an Australian author who studied journalism, academic writing, and human behavior at university before venturing into the world of fiction. She is the #1 bestselling and award-winning author of the Prison Healer series, the Medoran Chronicles, the Whisper duology, and Wandering Wild. Her books have sold more than one million copies in over twenty countries. When not writing, you can find her living on the beautiful Sunshine Coast, baking, reading, watching Disney movies, and—always—dreaming of more adventures.
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About the Book: SHADOW REAPER
“This year’s must-read YA fantasy.” —Rebecca Yarros, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fourth Wing
A young reaper hunter must conspire with her enemy to uproot the ancient evil that threatens her world in this heart-pounding romantic fantasy from the bestselling author of The Prison Healer.
The city of Aravell is in peril, plagued by a deadly blackmist that kills all it touches and reapers who roam the streets, stealing magic from innocent children in their thirst for power. Seventeen-year-old Viridia Solace has trained for years to hunt these reapers, but their ranks keep growing, led by the man who murdered her parents: the Reaper Priest.
When the Priest’s most loyal follower, Reeve Ashton, is captured, he offers Viri a chance to avenge her parents . . . for a price. She knows better than to bargain with a reaper, let alone this reaper, but his offer is too good to resist.
Soon she’s breaking him out of prison, colluding with his crew of magic thieves, and following him deep into the blackmist forest in search of an ancient legend, all so they can stop the Reaper Priest’s plot to doom the city. Viri is staking her life on Reeve’s plan, but how can she trust a silver-tongued criminal to keep his word? And how can she trust her own heart when a buried secret could shatter everything?
Full of relentless twists, enemies-to-lovers romance, found family, and high-stakes action, Shadow Reaper is the start of a breathtaking new duology from international bestselling author Lynette Noni.
~Author Chat~
YABC: What inspired you to write this book?
The main inspiration for Shadow Reaper came from one of those “shower thoughts” moments when, out of nowhere, an image popped into my mind of an attractive guy leaning against a wall looking like he was waiting for someone. The casualness of his pose intrigued me because, in the mental image, he was in what appeared to be a dungeon cell, yet he seemed completely unfazed by his situation. I immediately wanted to know more:
Who was he?
Why wasn’t he worried about being locked away?
Who was he waiting for? (And why?)
Those questions marinated in my brain and I worked backwards from there.
YABC: What scene in the book are you most proud of, and why?
Not a scene, exactly, but I would have to say I’m most proud of the journals. In the book, we have the narrative story where we follow the main character/s in their current timeline, but every few chapters there is also a short journal entry written from the POV of a mage living in ancient times. These journals provide a historical account of the world and its magic, as well as insight into the then-vs-now differences. The entries weren’t included in the early drafts of the manuscript — I only wrote them during the editorial stages, and I really love the extra layers they add to the story!
YABC: Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a writer from then to now?
To be honest, I’m still trying to learn it, but the main thing would be to have (and maintain) a better work/life balance and to not sacrifice so much of myself along the way. I definitely made mistakes early on that led to years of acute burnout (that I’m still trying to crawl my way through), so if I could tell past-me one thing, it would be to protect myself and my non-writing life as much as possible.
YABC: What do you like most about the cover of the book?
Can I say everything? This is seriously the cover of my dreams! The colours! The shiny foil! The mystery! Even the bold, dramatic font! I love everything about it! But I especially love how many parts of the book are incorporated into it: the cloaked hunter figure, the magic fading away as if it’s being siphoned by a reaper, the Mistwood, the three mountains, the comet (and other celestial things, like the moon and stars)… I really, truly love this cover!
YABC: What is the main message or lesson you want your reader to remember from this book?
Like all of my books, I try to remind readers that even when things feel dark, when everything is terrible and you can’t seem to see a way forward, there is still light, there is still hope. You just have to keep going, keep believing, keep fighting.
YABC: What are your favorite themes or tropes?
I’m a mood reader so it changes from book to book, but the one thing that I will always love is a found family trope.
YABC: Do you have a playlist you listened to while writing?
Definitely not. I’m the kind of writer who needs absolute silence to get anything done. Distractions and me do not mix well — if I’m listening to music, I’m more likely to start singing along with it than anything else. (And trust me, no one nearby wants that!)
YABC: Do you have an unusual office supply that helps you in your writing routine?
I’m not sure if it counts as “unusual,” but I do use a treadmill desk — ie. a treadmill under my desk which allows me to walk while I’m working. (I’m actually walking while answering these questions!) I have frequent chronic pain and inflammation flare-ups and I find that my body doesn’t love sitting for long hours at a time, so I do a mix of treadmill and non-treadmill work throughout the day. I also find that walking while writing can often help get the creative juices flowing, so that’s an added benefit on top of the health side!
YABC: What would you say is your superpower?
Look, this may sound weird, but I can make chocolate icing (as in, for a chocolate cake) using the tip-and-pour technique and without fail end up with perfectly rich and fudgy icing every single time. It’s never too sweet, never too bitter, never too runny or dry, always the absolute perfect taste and consistency — all without using any kind of measuring. It might not be teleportation or reading minds or anything else fancy, but if you want delicious icing on your cake? I’ve got you covered! (Please note that this only applies to chocolate icing. My superpower begins and ends there, alas!)
YABC: How do you cope with criticism from editors or the public?
Shadow Reaper will be my fourteenth traditionally published book in eleven years, so I guess I’m just pretty used to it by now? It’s par for the course, in this industry. That said, it’s important to keep in mind that a (good) editor’s critique is intended to help improve the story, so whenever I get edit notes, I make sure to remember that they want to help me create the very best version of the book that it can be. They’re on my side, not my enemy! As for public critique, I always remind myself that there are books I love that some people hate, and there are books I hate that some people love. That’s the beautiful thing about reading — we all have different tastes and opinions!
YABC: What new release book are you looking forward to in 2026?
There are some Really!Big!Books! coming out later this year, many of which are on a lot of peoples’ lists — like the next ACOTAR book by Sarah J. Maas and the upcoming “Not Book Four” Empyrean release by Rebecca Yarros. But beyond those, there are quite a few well-known YA authors who have their adult fantasy debuts this year, and, at the risk of sounding nerdy, I’m really looking forward to seeing what changes there are (or aren’t) in their writing from a craft perspective with the shift in genre. Three books/authors that immediately come to mind are Victoria Aveyard with Tempest, Adalyn Grace with The Wretched Divine, and Alexandra Bracken with Immortal Rose.
YABC: What’s up next for you?
I’m currently finishing the draft for the sequel to Shadow Reaper and then I’ll be deep-diving into the edits for that over the following few months. After that… you’ll have to wait to see! *Insert wink here*
Title: SHADOW REAPER
Author: Lynette Noni
Release Date: 6/2/26
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Genre: Fantasy
Age Range: 14+
