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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Shadows of the Lost
by Maxym M. Martineau
Fantasy Romance LGBT
Erotica
NetGalley ARC
Gaige used to be able to form bonds with magical beasts until he died and was brought back to life as an Immortal Assassin, losing that bonding gift and exchanging it for the ability to control shadows, shaping them into weapons that could kill just as well as a real one, if he could learn how to control them. This was not the life he wanted, he loved his magical beasts, not the shadows. And every time he loses control the animals of the woods become aggressive.
Kost, the leader of the assassins who chose this life for Gaige can only watch him rage against his new life, fearing every time Gaige loses control that Gaige will succumb to the shadows and be lost to them all.
Written in first person, this book is told from the perspectives of Gaige and Kost, (but a few others do have their own chapters) and is mostly centered around Gaige whining about not wanting the life and not being able to control his shadows. Kost whines about not being able to help Gaige and is racked with guilt because he was the one who decided to have Gaige brought back to life.
At first, I thought the characters were teenagers, but no, they are adults.
And worse, both of them whine about their feelings for the other and how they can't be together, and this whining takes up the first fifty percent of the book. But the world, its magic, the people, etc. is brushed over because it has already been established in the previous series, which I had no idea this book was a spin-off of. Had I known this, I would not have requested this book since I haven't read that series. I am taking away a star for this because I had no background, nothing to connect with, or a reason to care about the characters. It would've been simple for the publisher to make this fact known. And because of the endless whining, this book loses yet another star.
Then it turned into porn. Bye-Bye star...There is nothing listing this story as erotica, and this is erotica. There are details, pages of graphic details of sex acts, and they are not your 'typical' acts. Had I known this was thirty percent of the story, I would not have requested/read it. For me, romance leaves those acts behind closed doors.
So to sum up, this book is sixty percent whining, thirty percent erotica, five percent story, and five percent index/quiz/author info.
Had there been more about the world and the magic, and less whining and porn, I think I might've liked it more! And had I known this was a spin-off, I would have read that series first.
Will I read the original series now? It sounds interesting, but...
Will I read the next book in this new series? Doubtful!
2 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Liked
*Dual cast narration
*Gay fantasy romance
*Great chemistry and slow burn romance
*Well done smut 2 š¶
*The different creatures
Disliked
*Didn't realize this was a spin off series so the world felt very established and I was lost when it came to the why's and how's of this world
*Didn't feel a strong emotoonal connection to any of the characters
*Dual cast narration
*Gay fantasy romance
*Great chemistry and slow burn romance
*Well done smut 2 š¶
*The different creatures
Disliked
*Didn't realize this was a spin off series so the world felt very established and I was lost when it came to the why's and how's of this world
*Didn't feel a strong emotoonal connection to any of the characters
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ARC Audiobook for my honest review! The audiobook narrators first off were phenomenal! Their performances were great and it was so nice to have a different voice for each POV. One of the last audiobooks I read had two different POVs and only one narrator and I would forget whoās perspective we were on. I loved the relationship between Gaige and Kost and the slow burn of their romance. Forewarning there are 2-3 explicit sex scenes in the book, but, even with my disliking of them I still greatly enjoyed the book. The action was constant and there wasnāt a time I was bored from the story. This is a spin off of the authors other series āThe Beast Charmerā and I didnāt do my diligence before reading and see that so I went into the novel a little confused. It still does a good job of explaining things in āThe Beast Charmerā world, though Iām sure I would of enjoyed this more reading the previous series beforehand.
Unfortunately, I did not realize when requesting this that there was a prior trilogy that this relates to. This is completely my fault.
However, this world the author creates is beautiful and magical. The creatures, the shadows, all amounted to a very intriguing ambiance. I wish I could have connected more with this story and it's characters but I have no doubt those with more knowledge of this world will enjoy this!
Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!
However, this world the author creates is beautiful and magical. The creatures, the shadows, all amounted to a very intriguing ambiance. I wish I could have connected more with this story and it's characters but I have no doubt those with more knowledge of this world will enjoy this!
Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Shadows of the Lost is the new book in the Guild of the Night series, featuring Gaige and Kost. While they appear in the previous Beast Charmer trilogy, this book can be read as a standalone. Gaige is struggling with his new life as an immortal assassin. He finds it impossible to control his shadow powers, which will soon lead to dangerous consequences if he canāt master them. Meanwhile, Kost is trying to show Gaige that life as one of the immortal assassins isnāt as miserable as he fears. When a destructive and strange new power manifests, Gaige and Kost will need to work together to stop it and reveal who is behind it.
Gaige and Kost have a very sweet romance and I enjoyed watching them form connections while trying to unlock Gaigeās control of his power. Gaige is mourning the loss of his beasts, which I really liked learning more about. Kost was able to help him create a beautiful solution to his loss. There are plenty of supporting characters from the previous trilogy and also intriguing new ones. Iām hoping to learn more details about the villain in the next book, because they felt a little over the top at times.
I loved the tight bond between the band of brothers; even when Gaige was having the most difficulty with his powers they never gave up on him. I also loved the acceptance of the queer-norm world. It seems clear that Ozias and Calem have future romances to come, which Iām looking forward to. The world-building excels in creating types of creatures and their powers. Shadows of the Lost would be perfect for anyone who enjoys stories about magical creatures, shadow powers, and sweet queer romance.
Thank you to Maxym M. Martineau, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Gaige and Kost have a very sweet romance and I enjoyed watching them form connections while trying to unlock Gaigeās control of his power. Gaige is mourning the loss of his beasts, which I really liked learning more about. Kost was able to help him create a beautiful solution to his loss. There are plenty of supporting characters from the previous trilogy and also intriguing new ones. Iām hoping to learn more details about the villain in the next book, because they felt a little over the top at times.
I loved the tight bond between the band of brothers; even when Gaige was having the most difficulty with his powers they never gave up on him. I also loved the acceptance of the queer-norm world. It seems clear that Ozias and Calem have future romances to come, which Iām looking forward to. The world-building excels in creating types of creatures and their powers. Shadows of the Lost would be perfect for anyone who enjoys stories about magical creatures, shadow powers, and sweet queer romance.
Thank you to Maxym M. Martineau, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I actually loved this book so much. It was a great book. I also loved the characters and the relationships. I can not get over the book and the fights and the beasts that can be called. The book was amazing. There was spice in the book. I can't wait for the next book and to see what happens next.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was an arc from Netgalley and hereās my review
Overall I would rate this 4.25 and will give it 2 peppers for spice.
Please note that this series picks up from after the Beast Charmer series. I personally have not yet read that series so I definitely feel lost at times since the world pretty much was already built, did that stop me from really enjoying this? It did not! I picked up what was important and I understood it enough to really get into the story.
Now letās talk about the slow burn, and damn wasnāt that so angsty and just made you want Kost and Gauge to āJUST BE TOGETHER ALREADY?!ā
Overall I enjoyed the plot and the characters and I would recommend this series to everyone who loves How to train your Dragon or Pokemon but with a slow burn romance š
Overall I would rate this 4.25 and will give it 2 peppers for spice.
Please note that this series picks up from after the Beast Charmer series. I personally have not yet read that series so I definitely feel lost at times since the world pretty much was already built, did that stop me from really enjoying this? It did not! I picked up what was important and I understood it enough to really get into the story.
Now letās talk about the slow burn, and damn wasnāt that so angsty and just made you want Kost and Gauge to āJUST BE TOGETHER ALREADY?!ā
Overall I enjoyed the plot and the characters and I would recommend this series to everyone who loves How to train your Dragon or Pokemon but with a slow burn romance š
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
I received this as an ARC. It was intriguing, but many of the plot twists were things I realized from early on. It also felt reminiscent of pokemon with the way these magical beasts were perceived in society, with only certain people interacting with them. I finished it because I wanted to know what happened, but did not feel emotionally invested in the characters or their relationships at all. I had many questions while reading as major backstory events were casually thrown in. I would also like to know how old all the characters are or are perceived to be (what with them being undead and all) because it seemed like people were maybe immortal and things happened "decades ago" but they still felt young? After reading reviews (after reading the book), I found out that it is a spinoff from a trilogy (The Beast Charmer). This would have been good to know. Perhaps if I had read the trilogy first, this book would have made more sense and I would have connected to the characters more.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
I really loved this book. It was fast paced with an interesting plot (gave me PokĆ©mon vibes but with more action and a bit darker) I will say, I wish there was some more world building. We got thrown into the story and I felt like I was missing information throughout the book, even towards the end with some of the charactersā past and things that were mentioned that I had no clue of. Is this a spin off series??? Besides that, the characters were loveable (we got multiple POVs) and had flaws that made them more endearing than anything. I loved the romance between Kost and Gaige and Iām excited for the next books! Iām hoping we get more of Ozias and Calem!