Reign of Shadows by Sophie Jordan Published by HarperCollins on February 9th 2016
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy & Magic, Love & Romance, Royalty
Pages: 304
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Destiny and darkness collide in this romantic, sweeping new fantasy series from New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan.
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.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Sound:
I really liked the audio narrators! I always like when there are two narrators for a dual POV book and I thought both did such a great job. They definitely fit how I pictured the characters to sound — for example, Luna is a bit naive and the narrator for her definitely sounded young and innocent.
The Story:
I had been really excited for this fantasy and I have to say… it fell a bit short for me. It was still good and enjoyable but it didn’t blow me away. Basically, Reign of Shadows takes place in a kingdom that is in perpetual darkness ever since an eclipse occurred many years ago. At that time the king and queen were killed and the chancellor assumed power. Luna was saved by her nurse and has been hidden away in a tower all this time.
I really liked the set up (hello semi Rapunzel retelling!) and was really drawn into the story at the beginning. We meet Fowler and due to some events, they end up escaping the tower and traveling together. From that point on… I felt like not much happened for a large chunk in the middle. I was a little turned off by the instalove — I mean, Luna has literally never known any outside people and so of course she falls IN LOVE with Fowler right away. I couldn’t help rolling my eyes a little. Because of that it definitely took me time to warm up to their romance. I liked both characters just fine! It was their love I questioned for awhile.
I was interested in the fantasy world but I do wish there had been more explained or described. There are these creatures that seem zombie like to me and I was curious the whole book about how they had come about and why they do the things they do. I just wanted a bit more world building. I have a feeling we will learn a lot more in the sequel though.
I did really like Luna and Fowler and I’m very interested to see what happens next. Despite the slowness I felt in this one, I’m most likely going to read the sequel because EEK cliffhanger! I gotta find out what happens! (Sidenote: I did guess the twist though.)
In Short…
This was definitely an interesting fantasy story with characters I really enjoyed! I do wish we got a bit more world building and a bit less instalove, however I have a feeling we will get to see much more in the sequel! I definitely need to find out what will happen!
My Rating: 
1/2
Have you read this? What are your thoughts? Am I alone on the instalove? I think most people really loved them together right away!
Zombie like creatures? I hate zombies… now I’m wondering if I even want to read this. I think I have it for review on my Kindle.
It seems like every single review I’ve read for this one is middling. People liked it, but didn’t love it. I was curious about it at first but now I’m not sure if I’ll ever read it. It’s one thing to end up liking a book other people loved, but it’s another thing going in being almost 100% sure that you’ll like it but not love it. I might revise my decision though if you and others enjoy the sequel more 🙂
I agree that this one is an interesting read, but I enjoyed it a little less than you did. I felt like the ending was abrupt, instead of being a proper cliffhanger. I also agree that not many things were explained in the book, which is why I had such a struggle with liking it. I do agree that it’s interesting though, and I think I will still read the next book despite not enjoying this one. Great review!
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