2.07k reviews for:

Shadows So Cruel

Liv Zander

3.89 AVERAGE

meuyi's review

2.0
dark emotional tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
jjbremner's profile picture

jjbremner's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 37%

I'm mad at myself for even picking this up after the first book was such garbage. More rape scenes, straight up SA. There's no plot need for this, it's all just awful. 
dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Update (7/17/25) I went back and finished the rest of the book because I’m a firm believer that if I’m going to be a hater, I have to follow through and at least read the whole thing.. needless to say, my opinion hasn’t changed, but at least I can say I finished it lmao.

DNF’ing at the 50% mark.. personally, I feel like the plot just wasn’t there compared to the 1st book. This one was mainly smut WHICH normally I would never complain about (lord knows I love my smut.. 👀) but it was basically just hardcore SA and I couldn’t stomach it anymore. This paired with me accidentally spoiling one of my fav characters deaths via TikTok made me say “yeah, I’ve got other books on my TBR waiting for me.”

** Never will I ever judge someone else for loving this book because we’re all different and just because something isn’t for me doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be for anyone. If you loved it, I’m genuinely so happy for you! And if you didn’t love it.. same. 🥲✌🏻 
adventurous dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark emotional sad 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: Yes

Solid ending - definitely more emotional that I thought it would be. Wayyyy steamier than the first book, almost too much. 

serav's review

3.75
adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced
adventurous dark mysterious sad tense 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
mwalser's profile picture

mwalser's review

4.0
challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense

too many exclamation points, too many hmms. some cheesy dialogue but good story. 

readingisnotenough's review

4.0
dark emotional tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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