Three and a half
I thoroughly enjoyed the original Beast Charmer trilogy that this follows but sadly did feel somewhat dropped into this subsequent spin off. A damaged, lost soul trying to find his place in a world he really doesn’t want to feel a part of is our protagonist Gaige. Kost is his well here it’s hard to find the right words, friend, ally , would be lover ? All of those apply but the anger, disappointment and bitterness filling Gaige means this is a slow burn romance between these males . I do enjoy this world that the author has created but sadly this wasn’t my favourite book by her. What I will say though is the cover art is gorgeous and very different to the first book I read by her.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

This first book in a series by Maxym was such a fast paced adrenaline rush! Yes these are characters from another series but you can easily read this alone with no problems. The world and character building is pure magic.

magine Fantastic Beasts meets Lord of the Rings, and that’s this book.

So full disclaimer, I had no idea this book was a spin-off when I started it. But the whole time I was reading it I was like “I feel like there’s a whole backstory here we’ve glossed over? Like what happened in this war they keep talking about?”

Well turns out I’m the dumb one! But honestly this book does an incredible job of explaining everything from the first series to someone who hasn’t read it. Like I still fully understood everything happening, but had a feeling that there was a bigger story here. Personally, if you haven’t read the first series, I think you can start here. This book has made me want to read the first series.

I honestly loved this book. At first I was confused because I was thrown into a world that already seemed pretty developed. But as the story went on, I began to really love the world and characters! I think the premise is so fascinating and I like how it had a bit of a mystery element while also being a typical epic fantasy.

The romance was done so well, mixed in perfectly to where there was just enough to combat the intensity of the plot. Honestly, I just wish this book was longer. I really got into it and ended up reading the last 75% in one sitting.

I highly recommending picking this up when it comes out! But until then, catch up on the first series so you can get the full effect!

The story picked up from the previous series. I felt that this could be read as a standalone, but you'd get a better understanding of the world and the characters if you read the Beast Charmer trilogy. This book was told in multiple POVs. The pacing was good! There was a good amount of slow burn, and thankfully the pay off was worth it.

They got their happy ending here, no cliffhanger kind of ending. However, there were some unsolved mysteries at the end of the book and I cannot wait to see those mysteries solved in the upcoming books.

This was an arc from Netgalley and here’s 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 let’s talk about the slow burn, and damn wasn’t that so angsty and just made you want Kost and Gauge to “JUST BE TOGETHER ALREADY?!”

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 😉

“ To those of us who've felt uncomfortable in our skins--vou are loved.”
“ One way or another, the shadows would come calling. And the only person who could stop them was Gaige.”
This book was amazingly good!!! I’m a kingdom where the King Nic and Queen Leena are trying to create unity after a terrible war with the forces of the shadows, Kost is the main commander of the Charmer Guards and Gaige is one of the best soldier they have but he, like the others, just came back to life as a Charmer after dying. While trying to understand and control his power and his shadows, trying to avoid hurting the people he loves, Gaige will have to navigate his complicated and difficult relationship with Kost. They are both trying to save their people but they will have to deal with more than just Gaige’s uncontrolled powers or whatever tension they both are feeling because … the Lost is threatening them. I loved that this book has multiple povs chapter and I loved how new adult fantasy but also spicy romantic it was until the very end !!! The very spicy scenes were second only to the action and magic scenes happening in this story !!!!! Also I am very intrigued by the epilogue so … I am really looking forward to book two !!!!
"I am the Lost." His shadows inched him closer. "And the Lost are me."
"Gods, Gaige I want you so bad the thought of it just tears me up inside.
Not having you is torture. The only thing worse would be having you and then losing you."

I got to only 9% in the review before I clicked out of my ARC copy and searched this author up on Goodreads. Why? Because this book felt like being dropped into the middle of a series where character relations, major plot points, and world-building was already done and developed and now we were just rolling having the expectation that we knew the world, characters and magic system already. And low and behold, I was right. The author has another previous 3 book series that takes place with some of the characters in this book. This book is supposed to be the start of a new series and is not pitched anywhere as having a previous series set in this world and nor does this book stand well on it's own to not need the other series. This book feels like it replies too much on already established facts to truly stand well on it's own.

This book gave me the feeling that one would have if they read King of Scars before the Shadow and Bone series, or reading The Dark Artifices before The Mortal Instruments. You get what I'm saying? You can't help but be confused on what happened between Gaige and Kost. They are supposedly enemies (but they're actually not) and it's never given backstory or even a flashback on exactly why. Just mentioned that Gaige was turned Undead and blames Kost for part of it (but then why isn't Gaige angry at the rest of their group of friends? See what I mean? It's not explained what Kost did specifically).

Honestly, what is the magic system? Why can some characters control shadows? Is there other magic outside of Charmers/Shadows? Do only Charmers or Mages have that power? What's the difference between being Undead vs Alive (in terms of life span, magic, ANYTHING)? What do the Beasts serve in the story? Are they helpful fighters or rare creatures to protect? It's never explained.

The romance was lackluster because as stated above, it feels like it replies heavily on a preestablished backstory that was already established in the authors previous series. The action wasn't anything great either and by the time something interesting happens, you're basically at the end of the book. Maybe if we knew the importance on why Gaige was losing control of the shadows I might have had more understanding on the significance of it and the villain that's terrorizing the towns.

The next thing I have to mention is the POV. There are around 6 different POV's (two of them really only had 1 or 2 chapters) but let me tell you - the voices all sound the same. AND it's in first-person for the whole book. It's pretty standard in the fantasy genre that if you are going to have multiple POV's, you should have it be in the Third-person tense. All the voices were the exact same. Multiple times I forgot who the POV was because the voice didn't differ and it wasn't in 3-rd person tense to give it any differentiation. So I had to either go back to the beginning of the chapter or wait for someone to say the characters names.

This book was overall very underwhelming and one I can't really recommend to anyone without at least reading the author's previous series (but this is just a guess, otherwise, even if this was written to supposedly stand well on it's own, it doesn't. And that just makes it a poorly developed fantasy).

Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca, the author, and Netgalley for my eARC.

This book is a spin-off series of another series that I have not read and I didn't realize that when I requested this ARC. That being said, once I figured that out it wasn't hard to pick up on the story elements that might have come from the previous series and to catch up. I enjoyed these characters and the story concept.

Thank you , Netgalley for this arc.

I didn't realize this book was part of a series until today when I read other Netgalley reviews , where the reviewer had said that they didn't know it was part of the series either. And that this was a spin off or something.

I was wondering why there was no world building and why the story ended up picking up at what feels like in the middle of the story or something. Wondering why at 54% , I still didn't really feel anything for these characters. I guess you could say I felt LOST.

I did enjoy that Gaige was starting to feel like he has a purpose and everything. That Gaige started not feeling so 'Lost'

I decided to DNF this at 54% I kept feeling like I should finish it.

First off, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book! I initially picked it up because of its intriguing description and wonderful cover. Set in a fantastical world and told from multiple POVs, Shadows of the Lost is a bewitching tale of love, camaraderie, shadows and monsters. To be very honest, the story started off on the slower side, and it took me a while to get past the 40% mark. However, I’m so glad that I kept on it, because the story’s pace definitely picked up once it’s past the halfway point, and I’m sure that everyone, like myself, would have a difficult time putting it down.

The world-building was spectacular and very creatively done. Typically, stories would describe the world and its system first before delving deeper into where the characters fit in them. However, in this book, we learn more about the world as the characters live through them, and doing so really provides readers with a more dynamic and involved reading experience. Of course, I cannot write this review without RAVING about Gaige and Kost. Their emotions, care and chemistry throughout the story was OFF THE ROOF. Let me include a sample excerpt from the story on Gaige’s thoughts towards Kost:

“He said nothing as he stood next to me, but his stable presence was enough. I listened to the cadence of his breath and felt my own lunch slow to match his pace. His eyes were somber, but also guarded. I never was the best at figuring out what went on his mind, but that’s always what had made him so damn intriguing. He was my favorite game, the kind I’d never grow tired of playing.”

*INTERNALLY SCREAMS* they are SO CUTE together, and all I want is for them to be happy together. What really elevates this book is its beautiful prose (as seen from the excerpt) that makes it so easy and enjoyable to read. Not only do we get a good sense of each character’s complex emotional depth, but it allows us to understand their thought processes when making every decision. Not to mention it also creates a beautiful world that readers would like to step into themselves.

Overall, amazingly strong first book in the series! I hope that I’ll get to see more of the beasts, and Calem and Ozias’ stories in the second book. And of course, who can forget the mysterious “The Lost”? Completely recommend for all fantasy lovers who love some spice in their stories! Out on June 6, 2023!

Impeccable descriptions of beasts and dark shadows, their verdant world and stubborn, brave characters. This tale flows with strength and courage, acceptance and conviction, love and lust and is very well written. I was rooting for all of the key players. I also agree that marketing this as the spicy LGBTQ book that it is would be a smart move. 💗

I loved this book so much. I wasn't expecting to like it like I did. The world building, the characters, the scenarios, everything was beautifully written. Gaige had a big change in his life and he just couldn't adjust, I felt so bad for him. All he needed was to trust in himself and in his abilities. Kost was trying so hard to resist him but he couldn't in the end. He was always helping Gaige even if it didn't seem like it, he just wanted Gaige to be happy and safe, no matter what, with or without him. He deserved Gaige's love especially because he thought he didn't. They were so good together, they really were soul mates. Their love was just amazing to watch.

Unexpectedly fell in love with this one! Love how quickly the story got going, beautiful world building, extremely loveable characters, and . I was surprised how quickly this book drew me in, I went in blindly and was not disappointed!

If you haven’t read the original series that this book spins off of- it’s okay, Maxym has a way of subtly keeping you up to speed and I don’t think you have to read the others before you dive into this one. While it would be helpful, and might feel a bit more rushed into the plot if you haven’t, don’t let that deter you from picking this book up.

I flew through it in 2 sittings, hungry for more!
4/5⭐️
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC copy for review :)

Very intriguing main couple which grows on you slowly as you dive deeper into the story which lets you get to know them bit by bit. Very interesting magic system and an extremely action-packed ending which totally left me out of breath! Amazing read!

4.5
Imagine Fantastic Beasts meets Lord of the Rings, and that’s this book.

So full disclaimer, I had no idea this book was a spin-off when I started it. But the whole time I was reading it I was like “I feel like there’s a whole backstory here we’ve glossed over? Like what happened in this war they keep talking about?”

Well turns out I’m the dumb one! But honestly this book does an incredible job of explaining everything from the first series to someone who hasn’t read it. Like I still fully understood everything happening, but had a feeling that there was a bigger story here. Personally, if you haven’t read the first series, I think you can start here. This book has made me want to read the first series.

I honestly loved this book. At first I was confused because I was thrown into a world that already seemed pretty developed. But as the story went on, I began to really love the world and characters! I think the premise is so fascinating and I like how it had a bit of a mystery element while also being a typical epic fantasy.

The romance was done so well, mixed in perfectly to where there was just enough to combat the intensity of the plot. Honestly, I just wish this book was longer. I really got into it and ended up reading the last 75% in one sitting.

I highly recommending picking this up when it comes out! But until then, catch up on the first series so you can get the full effect!

This book comes out on June 6, 2022!

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for the ARC!

I did not read enough of this book to rate it.

I was very confused throughout the beginning of this book. It felt like it jumped right into the middle of a story, rather than the start of one. I did a lot of searching and I believe this is a story about characters from another series. I think I would enjoy this book a lot more if I was familiar with the characters and world. That being said, Martineau did a fantastic job at world building, based on what I did read.

I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't picked up a lot of male MC books lately, so this was refreshing, and even better with an M/M romance.

I expected the beginning to be a tad confusing since it's the beginning of a new series, but there were a few times I wondered if this was actually the second book. While I wouldn't prefer an info dump per se, there was a lot of "keep reading and hope it makes sense" moments for me.

However, I loved Kost and Gaige's relationship! It was hard for me to root for them at first because I didn't know their backstory. But seeing them open up to each other was sweet.

The magic was super cool! I've never read a book with animal/beast charmers. Many assassin's guild members could summon their own beast, and each beast had different powers, kind of like Pokémon! The guild was also interesting because they were all dead essentially, just revived with shadow powers.

The last 25% of this book was GREAT! So much action with high stakes. I loved the mission into the shadow world and seeing more of the main characters' powers.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed this! I'd give it a 2/5 for spice and 4.5/5 star rating.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Shadows of the Lost by Maxym M. Martineau, a good next book in the series. Picks up the general types but from a different characters perspective. If you are a fan of the series, go read this book.

I did not realize, when I requested this book, that it was connected to an earlier series. As a result, I felt thrown into the world with no explanation or context for what it means to be a charmer, how resurrection is accomplised, what "keys" are exactly, and while these things are semi-explained, they're explained in the sort of cursory way that would be more effective as a reminder to people already familiar with the world than actual worldbuilding for new readers.

The writing style does not really gel for me. References to "legendary" as a category of beasts (rather than a descriptor) felt video-game/Pokemon-ish, as did the way the magic was described, the "powers" of the beasts, etc. I'm sure some people will enjoy this feature, but that's not what I generally enjoy in fantasy.

I love a good story that involves magic, charm, mystery but also has a bit of a darkness to it. I also love when I get into a series from book one. So this was a win, win for me and I am so glad I got to read and review it.

This is one of those books/tales that really does take you on a journey and doesn't leave you even after you have finished the book. That is what makes me always want to read more.

In this story the author makes a magical and mystical world, one you can picture in your mind. The characters are wonderful and imaginative and the story is deep and at times dark. There is a lot going on but it red and flowed beautifully and I didn't feel at all lost. The pace was great and I didn't want to put it down.

Having read a few other reviews I think it would be in my interest to read some of the other books by this author and I am definitely going to do that.

Great book, wonderful and fantastical read.

Loved the premise of this book but the opening failed to grab me and the writing style just wasn’t for me. Frustrating because I can see why other people would love it, but it just didn’t gel for me.