I read this in one sitting so this book had that going for itself. But I didnt like this like at all. I found the writing to be extremly basic and the story itself to be very generic. It read as a very middle grade Game of Thrones. The book opens in the middle of some political drama which leaves the reader confused and makes it hard to care.

Descent of Shadows, Ryanne Glenn's debut middle-grade fantasy novel, is a bit of a mixed bag in terms of success in satisfying the reader. There is very little descriptive prose which meant it was nigh on impossible to imagine the setting and the characters, and there were times that new individuals were introduced without so much of a word as to who they were or why they were relevant to the story.

I liked protagonist Anna as she was a strong and feisty female role model, and it's clear the author intended her to be inspirational, however, this was not as successful as the author likely hoped. Anna had much adversity to overcome, but this was not reflected in the way she acted and so was rather lacking in believability. I would've appreciated it more had she struggled to come to terms with the events in her life and then slowly evolved and grew over time. I feel it's important to portray the genuine struggle we all go through and not to make it seem as though it's normal to "just get on with it" without it affecting our thoughts and behaviours.

There was a lot of action, perhaps too much, and the events that happened occurred serendipitously and therefore lacked realism. Things wrap a little too conveniently for my liking. When you enter a world that works differently to our own the author really must explain the way it works, but there was no such explanation here leading to confusion and frustration. I hope the next instalment is better as the story certainly has potential. A fun, fast read that may appeal more to middle-graders than older readers such as myself.

Many thanks to Atthis Arts for an ARC.

When we start reading this story it's difficult to stop
It is really fast paced and well written
I discovered a new author to look out for

*i received a copy of this for review from Netgalley*

This book was okay. I liked the plot but I think the book would have been better served stretched out into maybe 2 or 3 books as she grows up and comes into her own. Because it was rushed everything was super convenient and I found myself rolling my eyes at all the things that went so right to propel the story and make the main character this flawless hero. Just not a fan of the pacing

I'm going to go ahead and give this a 3.5/5.0 stars. It's not great, but it's still pretty good. There are bits where it's really cliché and some characterisations that just seem unrealistic, but I enjoyed the plot, and while this book finished in a kinda satisfying way, it also sets up nicely for the next instalment.


I decided to just include the notes I took while reading this (BEWARE OF SPOILERS!!!):

- Just finished chapter 1. i’m intrigued, but i feel like parts of it are a bit clumsily written
- …really? both alex and anna have gone through traumatic experiences VERY recently, but they don’t act like it at all. the ease with which they talk to each other is pretty unrealistic
- Characterisation of Anna and the other kids feel a bit off
- uhh… i’m confused… is roland not the main villain? is there someone worse than him? i don’t get it
- Really enjoy the “break” chapters where we get to see things from other viewpoints (Roland and Collins)
- no, i’m sorry, who the fuck is jonathan? you can’t just introduce a new character that the mc apparently knows without giving us any information except his name!
- ….why would Anna take weapons from the armoury when she knows they don’t have that much and she already has two wraith daggers? that’s just not very smart...
- There is A LOT of dialogue, and it doesn’t always feel natural
- Kinda hard to believe that Anna takes to fighting, and then commanding, so naturally, considering her parents apparently thought her too young to train? but also a bit contradicting information on that, so i dunno
- i was pretty much laughing throughout the entirety of chapter 15 - kids outsmarting the “experienced grown-ups” is always funny AF
- Colonel Wells is off suspension after, like, 2 days? Wtf??
- page 117 - total fail in the guarding of barrier - actually leaning a quarter open while doubling another (chapter 16)
- chapter 17 - of course there’s a traitor! I’m thinking Jonathan / Alex / Liam (in that order (and maybe ian but probably not))
- update - page 126 - it’s fucking alex isn’t it? why else would he hesitate?
- Rly? promoted to captain already? i know she’s proved her worth, but shouldn’t it take her longer?
- wait… if even anna didn’t know collins was leaving, who did?
- Already suspected ages ago, but the continued hints of healing and some weird fighting power - anna is totally part wraith, isn’t she?
- oooo, the female wraith was roland’s mate? and he felt her death? nice!
- Honestly… Some of these reactions are just so over-dramatic and unrealistic - also, sometimes they say things out loud that they could have just thought instead, which would be more natural
- Really? Another promotion? Already?? Also, the fact that her second is just automatically promoted without anyone else even talking to him… like no. stop. (this will also be really bad if it turns out alex really is the traitor, which i’m getting more and more certain is the case)
- Oh my god, that cheer is so basic lmaooo
- This Ransley Elwin seems to really hate Lieays. You know who else really hates Lieays? Roland. Maybe they’re the same person?
- fucking called it
- Although… how the fuck did the journals end up back in the sanctuary? Especially the last one where he became a wraith?
- Okay, actually translating stuff will include a lot more stumbling around than that. How does it sound so official and formal when she’s literally translating it on the spot?
- Oh, so ALL the members of Anna’s regiments are descended from the magicians? AS IF! (well, except jonathan, but we all know he’s kinda just an extra)
- we don’t really need Anna’s commands word-for-word every time they go out on a mission or train or whatever else - it’s getting a bit repetitive
- yup, alex is the traitor. no other explanation. who else would have had the time to send word to king roland?
- Wait… nearly two years have passed already? It only feels like maybe 10 months! the time-skips really aren’t very clear, and hints at ageing or general passing of time are very few…
- “couldn’t sleep” my ass - you were just going to betray your friends, that’s all. i fucking hate Alex!
- boiiiiiiii - “care about you”? AS IF! If you did, you wouldn’t be a fucking traitor!!
- yaaaayyy they saved michael! <3
- I mean… with all those hints that may or may not have been a bit too obvious, the “big reveal” of the wraiths’ informant isn’t really that much of a plot twist - we all saw it coming (but the fact that he agrees to kill anna just so he can become a wraith makes me lose any hint of sympathy i might have had for him)
- awww they all trust her with their lives this is adorable! (in a sad, kinda morbid, way)
- “why can’t you just die”? really alex? she’s the protagonist, of course she’s not just gonna die in some easy way (i was kinda expecting her to get captured when she got all tired tho)
- waitwaitwait - he didn’t even wait until they were alone? wow, he’s desperate
- ….well, that was anticlimactic
- oh, she’s a general now? i would hate to be one of the more experienced officers, getting passed up left and right for this teenaged girl
- so… roland is dead… just like that… what is with all this build-up for so short sequences?
- i would say she’s gonna die, but there are enough pages left and the whole healing thing makes me think she’ll survive
- of course she survived…
- would’ve been more interesting and added a kinda symbolic self-sacrificial thing if she had actually died
- i wouldn’t personally have made that time-skip and then collins thinking back - instead it would have worked better with either jonathan’s or collins’ POV immediately as they find anna
- seriously? she’s just gonna run away? after all that whining about how she wasn’t a kid, she sure does act like one
- OF COURSE the wraiths aren’t gone!

Well butter my biscuit, we have one heck of a story!

Descent of Shadows is a fantasy that reads like a middle grade and the first page opens with Anna, our young main character, climbing a tower to eavesdrop on her father speaking to the Captain of the Guard who are talking about soldiers going missing and Roland, a notorious king who controls the wraiths, shadowy creatures with glowing red eyes that brutally ravage villages.

We are then immediately thrown into another scene with a PUNCH! It’s literally Game of Thrones Red Wedding up in here. A slaughter. Yes it’s in the synopsis. No I will not tell you anything farther because I don’t think it should be in the synopsis. Books you should go into knowing nothing: Descent of Shadows

Anna herself was a cute feisty gumdrop. She doesn’t care to wear the dresses her mother wants her to look presentable in. YO GIRL JUST WANTS TO WEAR HER LEGGINGS AND THIS IS LITERALLY ME! She wants to be out in the forest and climbing trees and listen to the wild life. Well, her wish is granted in a disastrous fashion and is now having to survive on her own (until she meets a boy.. hmm) and travels to a location called Sanctuary where she meets new people and gets a thirst for her enemies.

It becomes very clear here how serious this war has become.

This is a story where I found myself excited to pick up my kindle and dive back in again. There were so many cool magical elements incorporated like Anna’s necklace which glowed and pointed her to safe houses sprinkled throughout the country, the wraiths golden weapons that enhanced their power, the magical barriers surrounding villages and kingdoms. I was entranced by the writing, and the world.

My one con was how nonchalant most of the characters acted in this dire situation they were in. Anna loses everything she has ever known and there seems to be no effect on her mentally. She meets King Roland and his army face to face and yet, she cracks jokes and doesn’t seem to be scared. I didn’t believe any of it.

All in all, this is a fun and fast read I highly recommend, an author to look out for, and a story to root for. I will be talking more about this in my November wrap up video on YouTube!