To Kill a Shadow

To Kill A Shadow is the first book in a completed duology. It is told in a dual perspective from Commander Jude Maddox and recruit Kiara Frey, with short passages at the beginning of the chapters giving hints about the mythology of the world and the conspiracy they soon find themselves surrounded by. Kiara has secrets about the scars on her hands. We know the origin of the scars is important, but it is a frustratingly long time before it is revealed. Same with the secret of Jude’s mother and the part she played in what he is now.
Kiara has been trained since she had the incident that led to her scars by her Uncle Micah, and that is why she is deadly enough to join the ranks of the knights in her brother's stead. Jude is an incredibly skilled fighter and has survived the forsaken mist once before, and is determined to help his small unit survive it again. The training portion of the book is a bit rushed, and the other recruits are presented as poorly trained before being sent into the deadly mists.
The world's magic system is kept mysterious throughout the story. We know that the sun goddess was betrayed by her lover, and for the last fifty years, they have all lived in darkness. We don’t quite get a feel for life in the dark, or what magic people or other gods have that is at play. Jude and Kiara are on a mission from the king to find the keys to returning the light. However, what is revealed puts doubts on the King’s true intentions, and the price is higher than Jude is willing to pay, leading to the setup of the next book.
I love the cover and the sprayed purple edges. I am a sucker for slow burn relationships and worlds with magic. I enjoyed the story overall, and it held my attention steadily throughout. I do think it could have spent more time developing the characters, especially the supporting characters. It also could have strengthened the magic system and mythos that they are working within to make it stand out as a unique story beyond its tropes and starting premise presented in the summary.

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.