Reviews

In Shadows We Fall by Devin Madson

clockworkbook's review

4.0

3.75

roku's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

ashryn's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

theshaggyshepherd's review

5.0

Wow! I mean, WOW. I absolutely loved this novella. It’s not often that I read such a short story that I become this invested in. Madson put so much detail and history and emotion into this book. I read it in one sitting pretty much because I just could not tear myself away. Technically this is a prequel I’m assuming (0.5 of the series) but it is such a well-rounded and finished story in itself that you could totally read this on its own. This does make me look forward to the whole series though and is easily one of my favorite reads of the year so far.

wildfaeriecaps's review

4.0

Excited to read more by this author! The story was captivating the whole way through and I'd love to know more about the characters and world.

petealdin's review

5.0

A superb prequel. Action oriented, tense from the opening paragraph and a story that places the main character in constant peril. If you’ve read the trilogy, or even book one , you will thoroughly enjoy this.

bookdragonemiri's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

 4.25 STARS:

Did I read this book to get one more book on my reading challenge for this year? Yes. Did I absolutely love it? Also yes. Did I go and buy the first book of The Vengeance Trilogy by this same author, as well as her book We Ride the Storm because I need more?? Double yes.

I have almost no complaints. The characters were immaculate, the pacing was fast and addicting, and the twists were extremely well done. My only complaints were that the ending was a tiny bit abrupt with the conclusion (but I understand that that is just to set up for the actual series), and that I could have done with slightly more descriptions of the characters so I could have a better picture of them. But those were easy to overlook.

Overall, I am seriously looking forward to reading the next series, and for once I’m actually going to do the proper reading order (this novella, followed by the Vengeance Trilogy, then We Ride the Storm). I highly recommend if you want a great, fast-paced political thriller fantasy with great characters. 

yrc's review

4.0

I've heard great things about Madson's books and decided to try out her first novella.

In it a potent combination of politics, blood, loyalty, betrayal and more can be found. We follow Empress Li as her husband the emperor decided to banish her from court with some of her children. But, the empress will not go quietly, even if it means taking advantage of her son or fighting a near invisible assassin. While I did have a slight problem with the pacing in the first quarter, the rest of the novella was quite good and I highly recommend it.

loe_ming's review

4.0

4/5 stars
The writing style make this book very engaging, I devoured it in one sitting. The weak point is the ending, because it's significantly an open ending, which I didn't have any clue about the last character who popped up in the epilogue

jvilches's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

3.75