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A review by ashley_apairofreaders
Empire of Shadows by Jacquelyn Benson
5.0
A healthy dose of Romancing the Stone, Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror, The Mummy, and the reimagined Tomb Raider all mixed together, Empire of Shadows gives the perfect mixture of history, fantasy, and adventure.
Benson does a wonderful job of drawing the reader into a world of mystery through her FMC's POV. I loved Eleanor's take-charge attitude, her suffragette spirit, and her desire to learn more about the past. She was such a fun character to follow, especially once she meets Adam Bates. Adam was the perfect foil -- a happy-go-lucky adventurer that does an humorous job of ruffling Ellie's feather's on their adventure together.
I loved the plot that mixed the history of Maya with touches of fantasy. Having discovered a map to mysterious ancient city, Eleanor travels around the world to discover it before her foes do. It is clear that Benson did her research to craft this story, which I truly appreciated it. The plot moves along pretty quickly as Adam and Ellie have to keep one step ahead of their enemies, who are on the trail of an ancient site. Ellie and Adam's escapades are tinged with misadventure moments (his poor boat) and humor. I loved watching the connection between Ellie and Adam grow throughout the book (the cave wall has seen some things...iykyk).
Book Two -- Tomb of the Sun King -- is already on my preorder list. This is one series I cannot wait to continue. If you are a fan of books like What the River Knows and Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries, then check out this one. You will not regret it.
Benson does a wonderful job of drawing the reader into a world of mystery through her FMC's POV. I loved Eleanor's take-charge attitude, her suffragette spirit, and her desire to learn more about the past. She was such a fun character to follow, especially once she meets Adam Bates. Adam was the perfect foil -- a happy-go-lucky adventurer that does an humorous job of ruffling Ellie's feather's on their adventure together.
I loved the plot that mixed the history of Maya with touches of fantasy. Having discovered a map to mysterious ancient city, Eleanor travels around the world to discover it before her foes do. It is clear that Benson did her research to craft this story, which I truly appreciated it. The plot moves along pretty quickly as Adam and Ellie have to keep one step ahead of their enemies, who are on the trail of an ancient site. Ellie and Adam's escapades are tinged with misadventure moments (his poor boat) and humor. I loved watching the connection between Ellie and Adam grow throughout the book (the cave wall has seen some things...iykyk).
Book Two -- Tomb of the Sun King -- is already on my preorder list. This is one series I cannot wait to continue. If you are a fan of books like What the River Knows and Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries, then check out this one. You will not regret it.