Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately I have been unable to get into it. DNF @ 12%.

I really enjoyed reading this book! I read this book in one sitting because I could not put the book down, I highly recommend reading this book!

The writing and characters just didn't appeal to me.

A good start to the series but not what I was expecting. I don't think I'll carry on with it. I didn't connect to Brooklyn and I didn't really follow the story all that well. Well written though and do recommend to people who like books like this.

I am really sorry but this book just wasn't for me unfortunately. That is in no way through fault of the quality of writting and book plot, I just couldn't get into it.
Thank you for allowing me to read and review the book

Even from the first couple of chapters, you can't help but become mesmerized by Brooklyn Amari. She starts out by appearing like an average girl but as the story progresses you quickly learn that she is far from average even in regards to the magical world she lives in. Detached yet emphatic, she dedicates her life to saving others - as long as they are good-hearted. In a way, she seems to mimic the angels described in the beginning of Christianity. What might come as a slight shock to readers is the occupation that Brooklyn decides to take on - a firefighter. Even in this world where magic coexists with mundane, this is still not a typical profession for women. However, Brook does a stellar job, and her demonesque - or I should say Shaar’Naath abilities do lend her a helping hand. However, Brooklyn soon finds herself in the middle of an ancient war between two ancient civilizations. Will she help save the world or destroy it? Matthew Cox seems to pull from different supernatural series to create a character and a world that is easy to get lost in. My only issue with the book is the ending, I have so many unanswered questions. Hopefully, in the next book The Shadow Collector, Cox is able to answer them.

Excellent first book in a series: great story, characters and humor

I loved this book. Matthew Cox created a great story about magic and demons without falling into clichés. Character development is excellent and the action scenes are great. Although there is a little graphic violence, it doesn’t interrupt the flow of the story and I am not sure how Cox did it, but he was able to incorporate humor. Some scenes had me laughing out loud. I look forward to reading more books in this series.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley for review purposes.

I didn’t really know what to expect from this; I just requested it from NetGalley and Curiosity Quills Press on a whim from its description.

Brooklyn, our first-person protagonist, is cool under fire—literally, for she is a firefighter. She discovers that, courtesy of her estranged father, she isn’t fully human. She’s half-human, half … something else. Something that the uninformed would term “demonic”. It explains a lot about Brooklyn, about her past and her present attitudes. Yet it also opens up so many other questions, not to mention a little problem about the balance of the entirety of existence….

For me, this book is an easy one to like but a tough one to love. Cox’s writing style, particularly with regards to the narrator, never endears itself to me. Brooklyn is very expository but also very flat. She goes to great lengths to describe certain things, particularly the clothes she’s wearing, sometimes providing far too much information than I need for a simple scene. There’s a lot more telling, rather than showing, going on here. The same goes for almost all of the conversations: lots of information exchange, less so the character building. It’s convenient, and all, that Brooklyn and her dad can just hang out in an alley for minutes at a time after Brooklyn has just tossed someone out a window … but there were probably other ways to deliver the big breakdown of this entire fantasy world. Cox’s way is valid, just not particularly exciting or interesting.

This is a shame, because Nascent Shadow’s fantasy world is interesting. Magic is commonplace here, although not everyone has magical talent themselves. As such, certain technologies we rely on were never invented in this world—Brooklyn ruminates, at one point, how humanity would travel great distances if they didn’t have portals. And contrary to what I said above, when it comes to the workings of this world, Cox doesn’t overload us with extraneous information. Brooklyn just mentions things in passing, casually enough, like she assumes we’re with her on it, but with just enough context to help us figure things out.

Similarly, I love Brooklyn’s occupation. Not only is her affinity for fire related to her heritage, but her role as a firefighter involves her in the mystery that proves central to the book’s plot. With so many urban fantasy books featuring cops or private investigators as protagonists, this is the first time I’ve encountered one about a firefighter. Cox does a good job working this into the story, showing us both the emergency and non-emergency aspects of her job, without spending too much time on the details.

I wish, though, that the actual main plot and mystery had been more satisfying. There just isn’t quite the right balance between plot and subplots here. Although this problem is present throughout the story, it’s most glaring at the very end … in that the ending came extremely abruptly. Like, I turned the page, expecting a new chapter, only to hit the acknowledgements page. Um, what? So apparently the cryptic conversation Brooklyn overhears before she crashes the evil dudes’ party, and maybe her conversation with a possible ally, is the most resolution we’ll get in this book. Fine. Somewhere along the way, though, I lost the plot. I thought it was bigger, broader, but it turned out just to be … that.

So I’m left unsatisfied. Nascent Shadow has a lot of potential, some really great ideas. Yet its writing and plotting are uneven and embedded within exposition too excited to escape rather than lie low and bide its time before pouncing upon the unsuspecting reader. It lacks, as I stress to my students, unity. And so while I liked parts of it, overall I was left wanting more, but not in the good sense of the phrase.

Brooklyn Amari knows she's different. From making a guys head explode at the tender age of ten, to surviving a house fire at her family home with no explanation, she's known there's something a little strange about herself. During a routine night shift as a firefighter, things take a turn down a mysterious path as Brooklyn comes to learn that there may be more to her abilities than she first thought - and the ability to wield magic can lead to some rather odd promotions at work.

I was immediately drawn to the concept of this. The ideas behind the story are great, and not your stereotypical urban fantasy. Brooklyn is more of an antihero, described as a demon - she reminded me of Hellboy, with the matching antipathy for the world. I liked that she never shied away from showing how much she really didn't particularly want to save the world, or anyone really. It was a refreshing change from the usual protagonist in these sorts of novels.

However, I did have major issues with quite a few things in this book. There wasn't enough world building for me. At certain points, particularly in the first half of the novel, various characters describe various 'eccentricities' seen in their world (such as ovens driven by crystals, the classification of magic taught in school etc.) without much explanation. Nothing is greatly developed, and details like this are skimmed over. More time spent explaining the world would have helped to gain a greater understanding of the plot and the type of environment these characters were living in.

The characters themselves, especially Brooklyn, were also lacking in any kind of emotional depth. There are some pretty tense scenes that occur throughout the novel, but it felt like there wasn't much emotion behind them. Everything is described clinically, almost as if it's a third person narrative within a first person role, and also tended to bounce around with a lot of information thrown at us quickly. A pause for breadth, with some description of how the characters were really feeling, would have helped.

Brooklyn also just seems to accept all of her new abilities without question, and displays no emotions, as if she isn't really bothered. I'm sure this is a reflection of her 'laissez faire' personality, but it grated on me personally, and meant that I ended up not really caring either.

The concept for this was good, but fell a little short in execution.

I tried to write a summary for this book but I don’t know how. I’d advise to just jump in.

I seriously loved this. The main character, Brooklyn, is a fucking badass and I loved her so much, I can’t even begin to explain how much. She was fierce and just all over awesome.
I really liked the side characters too, especially Brooklyn’s neighbor Ashley and her best friend, Max.
I liked the world it was set in, I liked how it was described. It could have been more thorough but I didn’t really mind. I can’t wait to learn more in the next books tbh.
I read this super fast too. I could not stop reading.
All in all, great intrigue, great characters; I can’t wait for more!

I hate it when I am approved for one of these books on netgalley, and then I end up not caring for it all that much. It makes me feel like I am a bad person or that I wasted the author's/publisher's time by reading a book before its publication date and then not leaving a favorable review.

However, since I agreed, when joining this site, to write honest and accurate reviews, I feel like that is what I must do.

So, as I have said, I did not care for this book. It started out really well. It was pretty gripping, and I thought it was going to be awesome. I have never read anything by this author before now, but I was instantly a fan of her writing style. She is very Diana Rowland-esque, and that is definitely meant as a compliment.

Diana Rowland has this knack for taking out of the norm, marginalized, sometimes even victimized women and turning them into (excuse my language) some totally bad-ass bitches. This author, Matthew Cox, started his novel out in much the same way. It surprised me, actually, being that Matthew is generally a guy's name... Not many men can write female characters and make them seem cool and strong and independent. However, that is exactly what Cox did.... at first.

As the story went on, however, you could see glimpses that it was obviously told from the perspective of a female that had been written by a male. It was a huge turn-off for me. Also, there were some pretty big, gaping holes in the plot that just did not make a lot of sense. For instance, the main character, Brooklyn, has never met her dad, and her mother NEVER talks about him. Brooklyn has lived her whole life HATING this man because she believes he raped her mother. Then, suddenly, her dad turns up, says, "Hey. I didn't rape your mother, and I would have loved to have gotten to know you, but I wasn't allowed."

And the chick just buys it. Eats it right up. Wants to hug her dad and wants him to stay and keeps thinking about how awesome (and sexy) he is. Yeah. Right. No. In reality, that would NEVER happen. NEVER. It is completely unbelievable.

The budding relationship that Brooklyn has with her co-worker is also quite unrealistic. It has no substance. It just wasn't there one second and is there the next, in full force. It is not a relatable romance, and it ends up coming off as more corny than anything else.

FURTHERMORE! The reactions to people who see Brooklyn's true form are another glaring example of unreality. Yes, I realize in this book people have lived with magic their whole lives and therefore, it does not come as a shock to them when they see something magical. That does not explain the cool, calm, and collectedness of those people when they see this skinny, pale chick turn into -- for all intents and purposes -- a demon. You might have one in ONE HUNDRED people who would be cool with it -- after a momentary freak-out, but the chances of every person who finds out about her being okay with it with NO freakout period (and we are talking a little girl, a little girl's abused mother, the firefighter she is semi-dating, and an old man who hates magic anyway) whatsoever... yeah, that stretches the limits of credulity.

All in all, the book was just much too unrealistic for me to enjoy. There were too many instances of me stopping to think, "Really? REALLY?! Yeah freaking right." I can't possibly enjoy a book that makes me stop and question the reaction of characters in every other scene.

I want more! This was such a relaxing read and I loved the world, it is both fantasy and the hint of realism. Let me explain. The book has features of a fantasy novel but it is set in regular places; Philadelphia. There was so much world building and I loved all the descriptions of it. The ending was a little abrupt but I stil enjoyed it. There are a lot of questions that still need to be answered and I can't wait for the next one to come out. There were so many funny aspects in this book which I loved because who doesn't want a good humorous scene? This book also has a hint of romance which I loved because who doesn't love love? There are certainly some ships to be made!

The fantasy novel is a definite read, if you are new or want to try out fantasy you should definitely pick this book up because it has many attributes of the real world but it has the hint of fantasy which is tasteful. 

This is a definite must read so go check it out! Overall I recommend this to people new to fantasy and 13+ as it does have some detailed parts that are a little gory.

I received and advanced copy of Nascent Shadow (Temporal Armistice #1) from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The first thing that caught my attention about Nascent Shadow was the beautiful cover – take a minute to enjoy it. Well-designed covers with a dark color palette are less common than I would like. The description fully drew me in and made me more than willing to give it a try.
Brookline isn’t like normal girls (a fact that will be pointed out multiple times). She’s a firefighter, an avid video-gamer, oh yeah, and a half demon. I’ll admit the idea of a half-demon firefighter is both hilarious and appropriate. I can’t believe I haven’t seen that character design before; it seems so obvious now (in a good way).
I had a lot of trouble getting through this book, and not because I hated it. I just felt like I wasn’t given any reason to care about Brookline or the plot. Her character was just too one-dimensional for my liking. Add in the mix of her gaining ability after ability (and not really reacting to said new abilities) and I just feel like she was a walking Mary Sue. Sorry to be harsh, but it’s the truth. I would have been willing to overlook this had any of the other characters been developed, but they were all just as flat.
Speaking of flat, or rather the opposite of; Brookline’s chest gets brought up an awful lot. Sometimes it’s just in context of her wings (yes wings) ripping her shirt, or fire burning off her clothes. The constant reminder of her chest and chest size got pretty tired extremely fast.
There was minimal world building – which is a shame because the glimpses shown seemed fascinating. Magical terms and items were thrown around but their context wasn’t always explained or dug into. Brookline clearly has magical abilities (based on what she is) but even she doesn’t know much about magic or the effects it can cause. This would have been a fantastic opportunity to teach us about magic through her. Perhaps that will happen more in the next book?
I really liked the base idea for Brookline’s character – a half-demon firefighter? That’s amazing! I can’t believe nobody else has thought of that! I wish the author had capitalized on this unique quality more, and not rushed off to other things quite so quickly. There was just so much potential to this idea, I can’t help but be a bit disappointed by the turnout. This is likely the reason I couldn’t give it the three stars I wanted to.
Speaking of the plot, I sort of felt like it wasn’t fully resolved - which was probably intentional for the sequel. My concern is it felt like the book just…ended. One minute I’m reading about her babysitting Ashley, the next I’m turning the page to see the acknowledgements. I was a bit thrown if I’m being honest.
Overall I have to give this a two and a half star rating. I didn’t love it or hate it. It has a fantastic concept but poor execution. I’m sure that Matthew Cox has potential however, and will be curious to see what he comes up with next.

Nascent Shadow is a very fun and engaging read. Armed with inventive items and awesome action sequences, it got the captivating goodness of a fantastical story set in a contemporary world. The protagonist, Brooklyn, was a genuine ass-kicking character who knows how to hold her own, not because she's half-demon (let's just put it at that) but because she's a fiesty lass with a heart.

The whole story is written from Brooklyn's point of view, which is... something else. Why? Because she's a demon and it shows in the way she thinks. She has a detached manner of looking back on her actions that make you wonder whether or not she really feels.
Apart from that, I had to laugh out loud quite often while reading. The comments she makes, the puns she comes up with - Okay, okay. The puns Matthew comes up with. - are simply hilarious at times. It also gives the novel a lighter feeling when things are getting more tough.
In a way it even makes the grosser bits... Simply put, not gross. I was distracted by the things Brooklyn was thinking every single time.

Another element of Matthew's writing are the geeky additions he makes. Brooklyn is practically a bit of a tomboy who loves to game, as does Matthew himself. Honestly, it felt like a fitting way to incorporate a piece of himself and his interest into his work. I absolutely loved that.

When it comes to the world-building, it's pretty much done in a way that I'm not used to. Instead of dedicating the first chapters of the novel to explaining the world, Matthew does this through the entire story. Bits and pieces keep being added whenever something needs explaining. In a way it may seem as if he just comes up with things whenever he needs something, but it never felt that way. It just felt like something that hadn't been mentioned because it wasn't necessary up until that point.

I loved this story, I loved Matthew's writing and I was satisfied by the ending, which was wrapped up as much as could be with a cute touch to it on top.

I'm giving Nascent Shadow a solid 5 / 5!

* Review will be posted on my blog one week prior to publication*

'Nascent Shadow' is a fantasy book with both a supernatural and crime element set in a world where magic is present but not fully accepted. Brooklyn Amari is a firefighter for the Philadelphia Fire Department and knows she is a little strange- killing a man when she was ten and developing a fascination with fire after surviving a fire that destroyed her childhood home are the tip of the iceberg. A routine call out at a hotel turns deadly as the fire spreads quicker then normal putting not only herself but one of her fellow firefighters in danger. As she turns to instinct to save them both, somehow she changes into a demon with enhanced strength, immunity to fire and the ability to fly- which explains a lot of the prior strangeness in her life. While Brooklyn works on accepting that she is not fully human and explores the range of her abilities, a major fire at a restaurant has supernatural undertones, prompting her to be asked to assist in the investigation. Little did she know how dangerous the investigation would go, how incredible her powers are and that her mother and father are not who she thought they were.

What I Liked 

The magical world- I love books that are set in worlds where magic is present and acknowledged but not fully accepted. 'Nascent Shadows' is set in the modern world but it is widely know that supernatural creatures and people with supernatural abilities exist-but still some parts of society haven't embraced magic or just don't care to integrate it into their lives. It reminds me a little of 'The Dresden Files' and I really want to explore the setting more, especially the hints of a battle between two opposing supernatural races that somewhat resemble angels and demons.

Brooklyn's Character- Brooklyn was one of the reasons I loved this book. Her narration is on point throughout the story and she provides a humorous yet serious view on the events that unfold. She is extremely confident in herself (her demon like nature gives her weak impulse control among other things) and despite being treated differently at her workplace as she is a female in a predominantly male workplace, she holds her ground and gets the respect of her fellow firefighters and her superiors. She is also a badass demon that protects children and assists in arson investigations too-how could you not like her?

The Storyline- Matthew Cox does a great job at writing such an in depth and enthralling story. I really enjoyed how the arson investigation plot line was introduced and developed, along with the minor plot arcs involving her father and her growing relationship with one of her coworkers. The pacing is also perfect and not once did I get bored while reading or feel like a scene was unnecessary or too long. 

What I  Didn't Like

Writing-This may be a personal preference, but I felt the writing at some points of the book was a little weak and I got confused trying to follow along some sentences. Some of the descriptions were a little weird too, but this was nothing that got in the way of me reading and loving the book. 

The Ending-The ending was so anti-climactic! It was fitting for the story in a way, but I wanted a little more closure or set-up for the the next book in the series. After all of the action and supernatural 'coolness' of the book, I was yearning for a slightly more interesting ending. 

Overall I really enjoyed this book and read it in just over a day as I was so enthralled by the setting and the story. It is part of a series and I will be keeping my eyes out for the next book in the future :)

This cliff hanger is killing me. This was a very interesting read. Very original and different from what I am use to. The concept of Angels and Demons have been around forever but the slight twist in this book makes it even more interesting. Seeing Brooklyn navigate her anger and empathy for humans while trying to find her place in the world is endearing. I can't wait to see what the outcome of the possible coming war may entail and how she plans to save man kind.

Nascent Shadow (Temporal Armistice #1) by Matthew S. Cox is an awesome fantasy book I requested from NetGalley and the book publishers and the review is voluntary. This is another wonderful book from one of my favorite authors! I love everything he writes and it is another winner. This is so unique and such great fantasy! This is a world where runes and magic are not uncommon. You can buy spells, enchantments, and have special divisions in the fire department for investigations for this.
Our gal of the story, Brook, survived somehow a fire when she was young and now that she is older, she is a firefighter. One day while fighting on one of the higher floors, the building started to collapse and her wings, yes wings, came out and she saved herself and a co-worker. It became their secret. She knew she was different. She could sense people's intentions, she was stronger than most, and she was very pale when her mother was hispanic. She didn't know her father. This is such a fun story. Full of great fantasy and as the story develops, Brook develops more and more gifts and meets trouble. Great dialogue, humor, plot, and wonderful character development. Cox has a way of writing a book that puts the reader in the action, feeling the suspense, enjoying the ride, and begging for more! Already I can't wait for book 2. I have read many of his books and I think this will be my favorite series, at least I hope he makes it into a series!

Brooklyn Amari has issues! There's probably not a crime she hadn't committed by 16, and probably have her mother numerous heart attacks. Becoming a respectable firefighter is maybe not what anyone would have expected, but she's still got some fiesty attitude.
Magic exists in abundance in this book. Made me laugh at Brooklyn's humour and want a best friend just like hers.
Do angels and demons exist? Or is that just a strange story humans tell?
Love this book and desperately looking forward to another!

There was some doubts going into this book. A lot of novels like this sound like they will be amazing, but end up flat. I decided to try and read it anyways, thanks to netgalley for the arc for an honest review.

It was absolutely great. I was in love with Brooklyn and it was such an intersting read. So much different from a lot of supernatural novels where it is the "same book, different characters" kind of novel, but it WASN'T. It was so different and fantastic!