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tofugal's review
I really, really wanted to love this book. YA dark fantasy with a morally gray archer who has the supernatural ability to drive her foes literally insane? Yes, please! But while this was well-written with solid word building, it never hooked me. I found myself losing interest, zoning out, and switching to other books. It took me a while to figure out what wasn’t working for me, but ultimately I realized I just didn’t connect with any of the characters. After three months of stopping and starting in an attempt to get into the story, I finally gave up and DNF at 61%.
Readers who connect with the characters shouldn’t have the same problem, since everything else about the book was very well done.
I received an advanced copy from the publisher and am voluntarily leaving this review
atrailofpages's review
4.0
Adele has been imprisoned for many years and only taken out to use her ability as the Fayatin Interrogator. There’s one trip Adele takes where she sees someone from her past heal someone with their blood and now Adele is determined to find out the truth about who and what she is, and that starts by escaping and returning to her home that she was taken from 8 years ago.
This book did NOT go the way I expected! This was a pleasant surprise! This world is different and the magic system is a bit of a mystery until you learn more about the people and the world and what’s actually going on
This book did NOT go the way I expected! This was a pleasant surprise! This world is different and the magic system is a bit of a mystery until you learn more about the people and the world and what’s actually going on
luckybookjunkie's review
4.0
3.5 stars
We love a strong, headstrong, independent FMC - and this story delivers on that. Interesting plot and concept, fast paced, and a few twists to keep you interested. I like to think Aelin would’ve been this fmc’s role model!
The writing is a little fast paced or clipped, and there were a few moments that took me out of the fantasy world - but all in all a good read for all of us ready to take control of our own fate!
We love a strong, headstrong, independent FMC - and this story delivers on that. Interesting plot and concept, fast paced, and a few twists to keep you interested. I like to think Aelin would’ve been this fmc’s role model!
The writing is a little fast paced or clipped, and there were a few moments that took me out of the fantasy world - but all in all a good read for all of us ready to take control of our own fate!
magneticice's review
4.0
Something about this book caused me to remember getting lost in the world of books at a young age. I think maybe because how the story was set up. But it was such a fun read. Yes it was a very easy read, yes it is not the most perfect book out there but you know what? That did not effect it at all. I loved it and the characters and the world building you know there is going to be something awesome coming in the next books. Besides I think this is gonna be a fun book to read with my daughter. Thank you so much Kimberly for allowing me to be on this journey with you. I can tell how much this book means to you and I cannot wait to see what happens next.
jessicaaa__reads's review
5.0
“There’s no rule that says you can’t do both—heal and protect.”
Are you a fan of dark fantasy with tons of suspense? Are you looking for a new book that’s unlike anything else you’ve ever read? If so, you should check out Shade of Light by Kimberly Grymes. This book will have readers hooked and unable to stop reading. And if you’re wondering….yes, it’s THAT good.
The plot is refreshingly compelling, the world-building is genuinely fascinating, and the characters are incredible. Adele is an amazingly strong and badass character who goes on a journey of self-discovery as she tries to learn about her special abilities, or as she calls it, the curse. Rune, a Shade girl, is another incredible character. She has an inkling that something is abnormal in her world. It’s almost as if she has difficulty remembering herself. The two woman, with the help of Adele’s old friends, work together to figure out who they truly are.
The memory blockages will have readers wondering what happened to the characters and where they originated from. I was on the edge of my seat trying to piece information together to understand who Rune and Adele were! Kimberley Grymes gave a significant amount of information about the world and the characters but left just enough blank for readers to try and figure things out.
I highly recommend reading this book!
Are you a fan of dark fantasy with tons of suspense? Are you looking for a new book that’s unlike anything else you’ve ever read? If so, you should check out Shade of Light by Kimberly Grymes. This book will have readers hooked and unable to stop reading. And if you’re wondering….yes, it’s THAT good.
The plot is refreshingly compelling, the world-building is genuinely fascinating, and the characters are incredible. Adele is an amazingly strong and badass character who goes on a journey of self-discovery as she tries to learn about her special abilities, or as she calls it, the curse. Rune, a Shade girl, is another incredible character. She has an inkling that something is abnormal in her world. It’s almost as if she has difficulty remembering herself. The two woman, with the help of Adele’s old friends, work together to figure out who they truly are.
The memory blockages will have readers wondering what happened to the characters and where they originated from. I was on the edge of my seat trying to piece information together to understand who Rune and Adele were! Kimberley Grymes gave a significant amount of information about the world and the characters but left just enough blank for readers to try and figure things out.
I highly recommend reading this book!
kellywriting's review
4.0
A mind-invading monster, Adele shuts herself away from the world, allowing herself only a single friend - and never allowing anyone to touch her in case her magic activates. But when she sees her aunt healing someone, she sets out for her childhood home. There, she finds answers in the form of a mysterious Shade, and together they must decide if they will remain monsters or choose another path. This was a good book with a unique lore that I haven't seen anywhere else. The main character felt a little bland at times, but the world building is worth the price of admission and it grew stronger as it went. I love everything about the world, lore, and magic here, and hope there is much more to come and to grow for this author!
prose_and_plots's review
3.0
I received the eARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion on Shade of Light.
leopardsummer8's review
4.0
Shade of Light is a quick and easy dark fantasy read that's perfect for your fall TBR.
The story focuses on Adele, a young woman with mysterious powers as she navigates the world in an attempt to uncover the truths about her path.
The worldbuilding was original and intriguing. I enjoyed the concepts of the magic system () and I think that there's room to expand upon the possibilities in future books.
The plot was extremely fast-paced and while I didn't find it to be overly complex, I enjoyed it. This book is probably one I would recommend to readers unfamiliar with the fantasy genre or who are just beginning to read dark fantasy because it's easy to comprehend and the magic system/plot is relatively uncomplicated. There were a handful of twists too. I will say that I found the end to be a bit anticlimactic and that I wish the story addressed Adele's past with the General a little more, but those were my only main complaints.
As far as POV characters go, Adele was pretty cool. I did find her to be a bit rude and unrelatable at times, but that can be attributed to her past. Her internal monologue was more tolerable than those of other main characters. Personally, I liked Elijah and Rune more than Adele. Elijah was sweet and I wish we learned more about him. I liked Rune because she fell into some of my favorite character tropes (
Official Rating: 3.75/5
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC.
The story focuses on Adele, a young woman with mysterious powers as she navigates the world in an attempt to uncover the truths about her path.
The worldbuilding was original and intriguing. I enjoyed the concepts of the magic system (
Spoiler
especially the angels versus demonsThe plot was extremely fast-paced and while I didn't find it to be overly complex, I enjoyed it. This book is probably one I would recommend to readers unfamiliar with the fantasy genre or who are just beginning to read dark fantasy because it's easy to comprehend and the magic system/plot is relatively uncomplicated. There were a handful of twists too. I will say that I found the end to be a bit anticlimactic and that I wish the story addressed Adele's past with the General a little more, but those were my only main complaints.
As far as POV characters go, Adele was pretty cool. I did find her to be a bit rude and unrelatable at times, but that can be attributed to her past. Her internal monologue was more tolerable than those of other main characters. Personally, I liked Elijah and Rune more than Adele. Elijah was sweet and I wish we learned more about him. I liked Rune because she fell into some of my favorite character tropes (
Spoiler
non-human character who is clueless about the workings of the human world, wings, etcOverall, I enjoyed the book and while it's not the most nuanced of fantasy stories, it's a great read for beginning fantasy readers. (Also, it's more fantasy-focused than romance, which is a nice switch from the romantasy that seems to have the book world in a chokehold right now).Official Rating: 3.75/5
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC.
literarylauraj's review
3.0
If you like a simple, easy read, this is a good choice. The idea is very unique and filled with plenty of unexpected turns. I wanted to love this book, I really did. I did enjoy reading it because it was a short read, but found myself skimming far too much by the end. I’d give this book at best a three, which is being generous. The prologue had me hooked, but by halfway I was as lost as Rune was for most of the book.
We meet Adele, the feared Interrogator for the infamous general Onica as she runs from her life in search of answers. The reason for this is a chance sighting of her aunt in a random town years after Adele leaves home and her aunt heals someone with her blood. But you learn very little, if anything, about Adele’s actual past except that she was an orphan for a while before she took up her job as Inquisitor and had a stuffed animal that looked like a potato. No one ever questions who put her on the boat across the strait the day the Shades came. She frequently mentions how the general and Alister made her life hell and she hated her job, but she never explains how they did this. She even mentions that she could have left at any time but chose to stay.
Adele is constantly contradicting herself.
She clings to the one friend she has and laments that it’s her only friend that got her through the aforementioned, un-described hell. But there is no mention of any actual aspects of their friendship or what makes them so close. For someone who clings so desperately to her one friend, the moment Elijah comes back into her life, she wants nothing to do with him. For a seemingly lonely person, she really doesn’t like people. I was trying to understand her hesitations for avoiding people altogether. I understand her abilities are deadly, but even with gloves she keeps everyone at a distance. It seems she has a good handle on her abilities, so why is she so standoffish?
When Adele finally learns the truth of her abilities, she has a breakdown, which is entirely out of character (although I hadn’t had a firm handle on her character to begin with). She had always seen herself as a monster and when, in her opinion, it’s confirmed, she is in shock.
Character growth for everyone in the story is lacking or is thrown in haphazardly when convenient. Elijah really had potential to go from the weak little boy that Adele remembered to something great, but the best we got was him actually managing to make an arrow hit a target.
Rune is another loose end. She becomes more of a plot devise than a character when she discovers her true nature. Our characters are in a predicament? Throw Rune in to save the day! Her whole personality disappears the moment she figures out who she is (again, didn’t know if she had an actual personality to begin with).
I felt constantly held by the hope that there’s some plot twist coming that will answer all the questions I have, but this wasn't quite the case. There was very little alluding to what the reality of the beings in this book actually are. Although an intriguing concept, and one I don’t see often in books these days, I would have loved maybe some allusion to it beforehand or a set belief system that supported their existence.
We learn so little about General Onica and Alister that when Adele returns to the castle and then later faces these characters again, it’s more of a nuisance than a plot twist. “Oh great, you again,” we’re my exact thoughts. Also, what roll did Onica actually play in the government of this world? She’s a conqueror but… why???
At the end, I am still stunned that an entire town allows a woman who has been absent for 8 years to be their new leader, along with a girl who only just showed up plus Kit and Elijah. Where are the other townspeople? Why didn’t they step up?
Other notes: About halfway through there’s an entire chapter that just seems like an odd jumble of random info dumps that distracts entirely from the story. There are a lot of plot holes and secrets the author is clearly trying to hide from us to build suspense and mystery, but very little that might help lead you to those unexpected conclusions.
In finishing, I love what Grymes is trying to build. It’s a very unique world and one I’ve rarely seen before. I’m curious to know what future novels do to build on this, but the development is sorely lacking. The characters don’t have any defined personalities. If we had more basis of Adele’s life before she runs away, as well as an established belief or “other realm” system, this book would soar! There’s just too much going on and very little to back it up. Maybe a lot of my questions will be answered in future books.
The big question: Would I read book 2? Unfortunately, no.
We meet Adele, the feared Interrogator for the infamous general Onica as she runs from her life in search of answers. The reason for this is a chance sighting of her aunt in a random town years after Adele leaves home and her aunt heals someone with her blood. But you learn very little, if anything, about Adele’s actual past except that she was an orphan for a while before she took up her job as Inquisitor and had a stuffed animal that looked like a potato. No one ever questions who put her on the boat across the strait the day the Shades came. She frequently mentions how the general and Alister made her life hell and she hated her job, but she never explains how they did this. She even mentions that she could have left at any time but chose to stay.
Adele is constantly contradicting herself.
She clings to the one friend she has and laments that it’s her only friend that got her through the aforementioned, un-described hell. But there is no mention of any actual aspects of their friendship or what makes them so close. For someone who clings so desperately to her one friend, the moment Elijah comes back into her life, she wants nothing to do with him. For a seemingly lonely person, she really doesn’t like people. I was trying to understand her hesitations for avoiding people altogether. I understand her abilities are deadly, but even with gloves she keeps everyone at a distance. It seems she has a good handle on her abilities, so why is she so standoffish?
When Adele finally learns the truth of her abilities, she has a breakdown, which is entirely out of character (although I hadn’t had a firm handle on her character to begin with). She had always seen herself as a monster and when, in her opinion, it’s confirmed, she is in shock.
Character growth for everyone in the story is lacking or is thrown in haphazardly when convenient. Elijah really had potential to go from the weak little boy that Adele remembered to something great, but the best we got was him actually managing to make an arrow hit a target.
Rune is another loose end. She becomes more of a plot devise than a character when she discovers her true nature. Our characters are in a predicament? Throw Rune in to save the day! Her whole personality disappears the moment she figures out who she is (again, didn’t know if she had an actual personality to begin with).
I felt constantly held by the hope that there’s some plot twist coming that will answer all the questions I have, but this wasn't quite the case. There was very little alluding to what the reality of the beings in this book actually are. Although an intriguing concept, and one I don’t see often in books these days, I would have loved maybe some allusion to it beforehand or a set belief system that supported their existence.
We learn so little about General Onica and Alister that when Adele returns to the castle and then later faces these characters again, it’s more of a nuisance than a plot twist. “Oh great, you again,” we’re my exact thoughts. Also, what roll did Onica actually play in the government of this world? She’s a conqueror but… why???
At the end, I am still stunned that an entire town allows a woman who has been absent for 8 years to be their new leader, along with a girl who only just showed up plus Kit and Elijah. Where are the other townspeople? Why didn’t they step up?
Other notes: About halfway through there’s an entire chapter that just seems like an odd jumble of random info dumps that distracts entirely from the story. There are a lot of plot holes and secrets the author is clearly trying to hide from us to build suspense and mystery, but very little that might help lead you to those unexpected conclusions.
In finishing, I love what Grymes is trying to build. It’s a very unique world and one I’ve rarely seen before. I’m curious to know what future novels do to build on this, but the development is sorely lacking. The characters don’t have any defined personalities. If we had more basis of Adele’s life before she runs away, as well as an established belief or “other realm” system, this book would soar! There’s just too much going on and very little to back it up. Maybe a lot of my questions will be answered in future books.
The big question: Would I read book 2? Unfortunately, no.