To Kill a Shadow

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To Kill a Shadow
Age Range
14+
Release Date
November 28, 2023
ISBN
978-1649374318
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Britannia meets The Mist—with a touch of Evil Dead—in this illusory fantasy horror about a kingdom left to darkness…

Jude Maddox knows nothing of love or even light. He knows only his grim duty as the Hand of Death, to lead the Knights of the Eternal Star into a land filled with nightmares and certain demise. It’s only when he sees her—a young woman with wild, amber eyes who’s as fierce, defiant, and swift as the shadow beasts themselves—that he feels the warmth of life in his blood…

The other Knights may fear their lethal commander, with his hard, merciless demeanor. Outcast Kiara Frey sees only a leader, a man who knows how to survive. A man like her. But wanting him is as treacherous as the shadows themselves…and just as seductive.

With a kingdom on the verge of collapse, the Knights must now venture into the darkest heart of the land and uncover the secrets of the misted shadows, where evil will prey upon their minds and feast on their flesh.

It will betray their senses.
It will surpass their nightmares.
Most of them will die.

But they have no other choice. Because the only way to fight the darkness…is to become it.

Editor review

1 review
intriguing YA fantasy romance
Overall rating
 
3.3
Plot
 
3.0
Characters
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
3.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
TO KILL A SHADOW is an intriguing YA fantasy romance. When the king's Knights come to town for the draft, Kiara is seen fighting her brother's bully and drafted in his place. She finds herself being briefly trained before they are to be sent into the mysterious mist that is ruining their kingdom with the hopes of finding a cure. During her training, she makes a few quick friends and is immediately attracted to the brooding commander, Jude, who is only a year older than she.

Although she is not chosen by Jude to venture into the mist, Kiara cannot let her new friends go alone, and so she follows them in. Once there, they must face nightmares beyond imagining to have a chance to collect the items they need to possibly save their kingdom.

What I loved: This had a really intriguing premise and setup - a kingdom on the verge of destruction due to something created/left by the gods that once walked among them. This curse has left the king to make reckless moves with the people in the kingdom, primarily the boys who he recruits in large numbers. In addition, there is something mysterious about Kiara that has made her an outcast in her town.

The ending definitely upped the ante as there are more secrets revealed that give the characters potential complexity that we did not see earlier in the story. There is a cliffhanger that will be interesting to follow in future books.

What left me wanting more: I wanted more depth on the characters and relationships. Kiara and Jude have an instant connection that is not really deepened later on. The same thing seemed to happen with Kiara and the friends that were intended to be a found family sort of thing. She latched onto them very quickly, and it was not clear why she was more concerned about helping them than, say, getting back to her brother who she cared about deeply.

While we get some insight into the mythology and the royalty/way the kingdom works (for the latter, this is mostly through the chapter starters), there were so many questions remaining to fully grasp this. I would have appreciated even more world-building for these to really understand what is going on politically and the pantheon of the gods/goddesses.

Final verdict: TO KILL A SHADOW is an intriguing YA fantasy that will appeal to readers who enjoy questing, mythological danger, and quick connecting romance.
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