Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of “Of Silver & Shadow” by Jennifer Gruenke. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

The story begins with Ren besting a man at cards. She then uses her magic to break into a store and steal herself a new coat. Someone starts following her, she stabs him and is knocked unconscious. Awakening later, Ren is tied up so we can get a info-dump history lesson about the kingdom and magic (called silver wielding) being outlawed but Ren is needed to start the rebellion. But she’s a tough fighting stealing loner orphan who grew up on the streets so she’s having none of this. But the hot brothers offer to pay her handsomely to participate in their revolution so then she’s on board with risking her life even though she gets no money up front.

It just really started off like a mashup of the same old things I’ve read before. Maybe I’m a little burned out on fantasy I don’t know. I was not feeling this one.

2/5 stars

Intricate and intriguing; this well-thought out, multiple POV upper-YA dark high fantasy is full of action, plot twists, and surprises. LGBTQ+ friendly and recommended.

Of Silver and Shadow


I DEVOURED this book in one sitting, it was this good.
The overall feeling of the story and the characters especially made it a wild and funny ride with all the feels.

I mean it. The characters and their relationships were absolutely perfect. I barely ever love every character, but with this book I couldn't do anything but fall head over heels for everyone and everything and ship them in my head! The characters were witty, funny, dark (Ren) and overall sarcastic and lovable. The dynamics within the group was adorable and I loved that not everyone is in love with each other, but that the characters were more like a group of misfits on the run. Especially Ren wasn’t the perfect and cute main character that was expected and I loved that!
The banter and slow burning romance in this book Wass just perfect - and kept the balance between character development and story development!

The idea of the world Ren is living in also had its appeal and the twists and turns kept me breathless most of the time. Especially Kellen has a place forever in my heart, because he made this world so much better and more mysterious. For me he was the gemstone in this world AND group!

I can’t wait for more books form this author to come! Because Ren and her friends (and secret enemies) crept into my heart slowly but thoroughly and will never leave again!

This book was alright. I had a hard time getting into the story. I never felt connected enough to the characters and feel that they weren’t developed enough. In addition, having the story told from so many POVs made it feel disjointed. However, I could see the potential this book has, which is what kept me reading. I feel like the concept of silver wielding and overthrowing an evil king is interesting and it could be a really good series, it just didn’t quite get there. Despite these hangups, it was still a fairly fun book to read. 3 stars.

This was a fun and fastpaced story. Great diversity and inclusive characters. I enjoyed the varied perspectives and the insight into why each was as they were. A little romance and lots of adventure, I enjoyed the universe and the author's style. I never felt confused despite many characters taking lead and everything wove together perfectly. Highly recommend!

Of Silver and Shadow combines so many things I love in a book; magic, a rebellion, and a power hungry monarchy, count me in. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and even wish it were a bit longer.

In my opinion the characters were the best part about this book. By the end of the book I did feel like I knew them fairly well and there was a depth to them as well. Since we are mainly following Ren and the rebellion, it did feel a bit one-sided and I would like to have seen more from the King’s point of view (but that could also be because I love to get into the heads of the proverbial bad guy).

The world building was good, the story mainly focused on one region even though others were alluded to. Even though I felt more information could have been given to build the entire world this is a stand-alone so less could be considered the better option in this case. The magic system is fairly simple and easy to follow and worked well with the story.

The story is well paced overall and there was no point in which I felt like it was dragging. I do feel like the second half could have been drawn a bit more as the ending came across a bit rushed.

This is marked as a young adult fantasy and it is true to that, although the older end of young adult. This can be recommended for both avid fantasy readers and those looking to take a step into the genre as the fantasy elements are light and easy to follow.

Advanced copy provided by NetGalley

I must admit I walked into this world expecting a little more.
"Of Silver and Shadow" unfortunately got lost for me in the endless pile of revolution/motley crew of misfits seeking to do X, Y or Z.

The book delves straight away into the main story arc, and while that could've resulted in a fast paced adventure, I kept waiting to feel that connection to the characters but it never happened. The writing seemed specially abrupt in the beggining as well. The negotiation of Ren's pay out was very rushed, and wasn't very convincing, even for YA.

I never got a full grasp on what "silver wielding" actually means. I understand that given the circumstances of magic being outlawed, Ren never had access to any form of education when it comes to her abilities - but I expected at least some explanation. Some times it seems to have actual metallic characteristics but most of the time it seems to just be the name for the telekineses she displays. Some times the silver is also referred to as almost sentient? I feel like I read an almost 500 page book about a silver wielder but somehow still don't really understand what it is.

The enemies to lovers trope is one I usually thoroughly enjoy, but the dialogue and exchanges didn't really convince me. I also wondered just how many times there had to be mentions of Ren's corset.

Weirdly enough, there was some dialogue that seemed very derivative of other works. Especially some exchanges between Ren and Darek - the "displeasure of meeting" and "barely tolerable" scenes instantly placed me in dialogue had by Lizzie Bennet and Mr. Darcy in Pride & Prejudice (2005 film), to name a couple.

Things really feel apart for me towards the end. Some concepts where introduced so late in the story that they lacked credibility. While the story didn't have a satisfactory enough conclusion to establish it as a stand alone, I don't really see a point in a sequel.

The world and characters have a lot of potential and I wish the story in this book had been split into two, giving us more time to get to know the characters and forge stronger connections to them. World building is such a delicate process and I kept wanting to know more about Erdis, about the place, the culture and the people.

If I were to sum up my review of this book in one phrase, it would be: “Could be worse.” Because this book could have been a lot worse than it was. It also could have been better.

First, it was readable. The writing was decent. The story was interesting. I liked most of the characters. Despite this, I couldn’t read too much of it at once. I would read a few chapters, and then I would have to stop because it started to irritate me. It took weeks, but I was able to finish the book. Also, there were details and revelations that came out of nowhere. They had no setup or were described as if the reader was supposed to know them, but hadn’t been explained before.

I liked most of the characters, but I’m not sure most of them were developed enough. Ren, the protagonist, has all this trauma from her past that the reader learns about, but it’s never more than that. From her behavior, it clearly affects her, but that’s it. It’s like we were given three quarters of a character, then stopped. Darek is an utterly flat character whose only development is going from being apparently indifferent to Ren (though being attracted to her) to being in love with her. Kellen was my biggest disappointment. He has about two inches of depth, despite being in a very complex situation. I found myself wanting more from him and never getting it. Adley is the only character, in my opinion, who had depth, but even she barely changed from the beginning to the end. There were other important secondary characters, especially Holland, who deserved more page time.

This may have been a pacing problem, but the entire book felt like exposition. If this was the first book in a series about the rebellion, I could understand, but to my knowledge it’s a stand alone. I kept waiting for something to happen to spark the story along, but it never came until the very end.

I might have liked the book more, but the plot twist with Heath that came out of nowhere lost me. Plot twists can be a great story tool, but this one had no setup and felt pointless, like the author didn’t know how to tie up all of her threads so she found a random idea that could snip a bunch of them where they were.

In conclusion, maybe you’ll like it more than I did, but I can’t recommend it. Saying that, it wasn’t terrible. There are parts of it that I liked and someone else might love enough to overlook parts that I couldn’t.

3.5 stars!

With its intriguing premise, unique magic system and interesting cast of characters, Of Silver and Shadow is, in my opinion, a pretty solid debut novel. It gets quite dark at times and doesn't soften the brutality of certain situations, but I felt it was neccessary to understand the world the characters live in and why they are the way they are. All of them have their own set of issues derived from their circumstances and what they have had to go through in life, and their personalities are a reflection of that.

The story is told from 4 different POVs, but I liked the other side characters just as much. The pace of the book gets a bit slow at times, but it still kept me intrigued and wanting to know how everything would unfold. And the last 20% of the book was really fast-paced and so entertaining!

I enjoyed getting to know the characters individually and delving into their minds, but when I got really invested was when all of them cross paths at last! In fact, I really hope there's a sequel planned, cause I feel that, the way this book ended, there's a lot of potential for character growth and for further exploring the dynamics between all the different players. I'd love to see how everyone adapts to their new situation and evolves accordingly. I feel that now that the world is set and we know where the characters come from, the story could only get better! That ending definitely left me thinking "what now?" and "I want more!". Hopefully, I'll get my wish!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This already has lots of helpful reviews. I'm not a YA so my enthusiasm is toned down, but this is a good one. Recommended for fantasy fans.

Thanks very much for the ARC for review!!

I really enjoyed this book. A great debut novel.

While this is a YA novel - characters' ages fall squarely into YA range - this book is long and well-developed. I've read (and enjoyed, mind you) YA novels with similar stakes that have been trite, unsurprising, and a bit juvenile and naive. I'm pleased to say that's NOT AT ALL the case with this one.

This book has some meat on its bones. Characters think before they act and don't make many stupid decisions. There's no blind instalove. These streetwise characters act streetwise, and it's nice to see as an adult reader of YA fiction. I wish there was a "mature YA" category, because this would fit into it.

Pros: Great writing and description. Great dialogue. I got sucked into the back-and-forth between Ren and Darek, so much so that I occasionally forgot I was reading. This doesn't happen often for me.

I liked the tense romance between Ren and Darek. You knew they would end up together, but you wondered whether or not it would be before the end of this book, or in a sequel.

Main characters were well-developed. I liked Ren and Darek each as characters (although Darek seemed almost too good to be true), and Prince Kellen. I liked Adley a little less, mainly because I wasn't convinced that she could have a good heart and still survive being a King's Child. I am curious how she fares in sequels, and if her girlfriend Lesa also happens to have a heart worth redeeming.

Cons: Few surprises. On the one hand, this means great foreshadowing, which I appreciate.

I felt that the rebellion accepted the help of Adley and Prince Kellen a little too easily. On the one hand, I was glad to see them just take the help to advance their cause, but it seemed that there should have been more behind the scenes discussion between characters about whether to accept the help.

I devoured this book and loved it. The ending seemed to be a little pat (both with the rebellion issue I described above, and the resolution between Ren and Darek), so I'd say it's a 4.5. It's apparently a standalone novel (I love them, but they're a rarity nowadays, it seems!), but I would happily read more if Jennifer Gruenke decides to write more standalone novels featuring the same characters. I hope we see more facets of Adley, and more of Markus and Holland.

I received a copy of this book for free via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

DNF for now. I may try to pick it up at a later date.
I liked that the chapters seem to fly by but I could never really get into the story. There are some pretty dark parts early in the story so beware of that. I think Of Silver and Shadow will appeal to fans of Red Queen, Six of Crows, and Ace of Shades.

THAT. COVER. THOUGH. 😍💙

Thank you to Netgalley and North Star for the opportunity to read and review this book.

**Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy from NetGalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.**



PROS:
+ Quick pace;
+ Interesting and thought-out magic system;
+ Easy to understand, but complex world-building;
+ Multiple POV story;
+ Similar reading to "Ember in the Ashes" in regards to Lesa and Adley's story line - which I loved!

CONS:
- Typical rebellion story line, but it still works well within the story and each character's motivations.
- Ren is annoyingly unlikable in the beginning and throughout most of the story, and it seems forced upon the reader to understand just how much SHE DOESN'T CARE about anything or ~whatever~. Also, she's super hot.

Overall, though? I loved this story. I read almost half of it the first night and had to stop myself. The magic system, the characters, the ~twists~, were all enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley and North Star Editions for the E-arc copy Of Silver and Shadow.
I was so pleased with this book that I will be recommending it for purchase. It has a little something for all readers. The characters are rich and the plot moves at a great pace.
#OfSilverandShadow
#NetGalley

A fun read! I didn't know what to expect when I started this one, but I liked the cover, and the blurb sounded fun. I really enjoyed it, though, and am glad I got the chance to read it! I enjoyed the characters, and the story was well written!

Ren Kollins was born with a power that shouldn't exist. In a world where the magic has been eradicated from the country and only held by the royal family, Ren is an orphan born with the ability to twist silver to her whim. As a result, she is drawn into a secret rebellion against the king and his sons. Darek Hollistair is one of the leaders in a rebellion movement to bring down the cruel king and his sons. They want to bring change to their world, to free their people, and make their lives better. These two will be drawn to one another, despite one joining the rebellion only for money and the other hoping to make their world a better place.

Adley Farre is one of the King's Children, a warrior and an assassin, and she hopes to become the King's Fang and earn her freedom. Though the King's Children are not allowed to fall in love, she has fallen for fellow assassin, Lesa Ghana, and she would do anything for the two of them to be together. She has held onto her heart and her goodness, and she wants nothing more than to get free of the king and his cruelties. Kellen Lyandor is the kind son of a cruel king. He wants nothing more than to spend his time with Holland, his girlfriend, and find some way to prove himself. But he is better than the rest of his family, and he holds a secret they must keep the city from learning.

Together, these characters and their intertwining stories will uncover secrets and overthrow tyrants. They will plan a rebellion and they will carry out what they must to accomplish their goals. This is not a story you want to miss out on. All these characters are amazing and will find a place in your heart.

I put this book down at about 60%. I couldn’t connect to any of the characters, was never wowed, and struggled to convince myself to pick it up to read.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with the eARC in exchange for an honest and fair review.

“We’ve all done things we’re not proud of. We’ve all made mistakes. Your demons might be louder than mine, but we each have one or two hanging around. ”*

Knife wielding lesbians, reluctant heroes, enemies-to-lovers, rebellions, oh my!

Writing

Not much to critique about the writing. The novel is written in third person, limited which is a personal preference of mine so I was very pleased about that. It’s very easy to get into the story. The reader is given a small amount of backstory early on and easily becomes invested in the main character Ren in a scene that is reminiscent of the opening scene of Nocturna by Maya Motayne. There aren’t an overwhelming number of characters to keep track of, and the POV characters all have distinct voices.

Synopsis taken from GoodReads

Ren Kolins is a silver wielder—a dangerous thing to be in the kingdom of Erdis, where magic has been outlawed for a century. Ren is just trying to survive, sticking to a life of petty thievery, card games, and pit fighting to get by. But when a wealthy rebel leader discovers her secret, he offers her a fortune to join his revolution. The caveat: she won’t see a single coin until they overthrow the King.

Behind the castle walls, a brutal group of warriors known as the King’s Children is engaged in a competition: the first to find the rebel leader will be made King’s Fang, the right hand of the King of Erdis. And Adley Farre is hunting down the rebels one by one, torturing her way to Ren and the rebel leader, and the coveted King’s Fang title.

But time is running out for all of them, including the youngest Prince of Erdis, who finds himself pulled into the rebellion. Political tensions have reached a boiling point, and Ren and the rebels must take the throne before war breaks out.

Story

The main story is one of rebellion. While that one thread binds all the points of view, each character undergoes their own personal rebellion too. We have Ren, the main character, who reluctantly joins the rebel cause because she has a large debt to pay to a gang leader. Ren carries deep trauma from surviving a fire set to kill her and her family for harbouring a silver wielder, a direct threat to the royal family who are supposed to be the only people with magic.

Adley, a King’s Child, in a fierce competition to become the King’s Fang -- the only way to escape being a King’s Child with your life -- while fighting to keep her love secret. She falls in love with fellow King’s Child Lesa, a fact that could get them both killed as they’re not supposed to form attachments. These two knife wielding lesbians have been trained to be ruthless killers from childhood, but they manage to find softness with each other.

Kellen, the youngest of the king’s sons who does not identify with his family’s reign of terror. He has learned that in order to protect his softness he has to act like a lush. I don’t have much to say about him other than he needs to be protected at all costs.

And finally we have Darek, who carries on his mother’s legacy of fighting for a better Erdis and orchestrating the rebellion. This tall, dark, and handsome man feels like a perfect balance for Ren. They bicker, they fight, there are buckets of sass. One of my favourite things about Darek was how poignantly it was described that he’s demi-sexual (a person who does not experience sexual attraction unless they form a strong emotional connection with someone).

The story builds at a comfortable pace, carrying deftly from tension to tension and leading to an explosive ending. There were twists at the end that I had not been expecting even though -- in hindsight -- the clues were there. One of my notes was genuinely “that was not how I was expecting that to go...” closely followed by “OH SH*T!!!”

Overall

It has taken me so long to review this book because I didn't want to admit to myself that it was over. A thrilling story with some beautiful underlying messages and such rich world and character building. And the LGBT+ representation? Genuinely a read that started my 2020 on a very strong note, it’s going to be hard to beat. Plus have you seen that cover?! It’s stunning! Really a book where the beauty of the cover matches the inside. To me this book is among those setting a new standard for YA Fantasy.

Some of my favourite messages direct from the text:

“A good person in pain was not the same as a bad one.”*
“Your father’s wrongs do not belong to you.”*
“We’ve all done things we’re not proud of. We’ve all made mistakes. Your demons might be louder than mine, but we each have one or two hanging around.”*
*taken from the NetGalley digital arc, text might change

I really enjoyed of silver and shadow and was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it, at first I didn’t think it was going to be a book for me but as I kept reading I got sucked into the story.
Thank you to the publisher and author for allowing me to read and review and give my honest thoughts.
I truly enjoyed it and will be looking out for more books from this author.

“Of Silver and Shadow” is about Ren, who is a self-taught silver wielder that nearly escaped death as a child before she went into hiding in the Kingdom of Eris, where magic is outlawed and being outed could be the death of her. While attempting to survive by succumbing to thievery, card games, and dangerous pit fighting to pay an overdue debt, along the way she encounters a Rebel, King’s Children, and Prince that pulls her towards a rebellion she wants no part of in which case forever alternating the course of her life forever.

And…. Holy. Shit.

Now that’s what I call a near-perfect debut YA novel and if you haven’t checked out my rating, this is a must-read for 2020! It had all the elements I was looking for: badass heroine, characters that actually had depth and growth, fantasy, magic, fighting, and mild dosage of romance that wasn’t so instant.

It was an addictive page turner that I nearly finished in one sitting. In addition,“Of Silver and Shadow” showcased fantastic character development, decent worldbuilding along with surprising tropes I wasn’t expecting, and let’s not forget the author's phenomenal writing style that made it easier to immerse myself on Ren’s journey in joining the Rebellion. Needless to say just about everything about this novel was superb and I would highly recommend everyone to add this to your TBR.