This was a very interesting fantasy read that was centered around a country estate and a fertility festival. Shine keeps up the estate after her mother, who was a mage, disappeared. Shine is half mage, half ghost. She is part of the royal family but being half breed with no magic makes her a mundane and no use but basically a servant to them.  I will say all the names were very unique and most seemed based around light which was fascinating- Lucient, Blazanne, Lumina, Scintillant, Illuminant, Glisten... 

In this mage world the female line holds the strongest magic and the males are used for breeding it seems like. There is a lot of sexual activity since this is a fertility festival and they are trying to create more female mages ;) The conversations are very direct about their sexuality and preferences which makes sense due to what they are celebrating. 

There is also a power struggle among the leadership of the mages and a murder and some conspiracy happens. 

All in this crazy activity Shine is hiding an illegal Ghost under her bed named Shadow along with her telepathic cat that warns her when her mage family members might be coming near. 

I enjoyed this fast paced quirky story.  Like everyone else I am not sure if there is a story that I can relate it to which isn't a bad thing. I think she set up the story well for Shine to continue on her journey into a second book. I am hoping we learn more about her mother and what happened to her and maybe who her ghost father is.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟💫 (round up to 4)

Thank you @netgalley and @rebellionpublishing for the electronic copy for my honest and voluntary review.

TW: Stories of sexual abuse, Fighting, Drugs

3 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

Meh. This an ok fantasy. It's an easy read, but the story doesn't really go anywhere. It's listed as a YA Fantasy and while the story is as simplistic as a YA book, I think the inclusion of a lot of discussion about sex takes it out of that category. Perhaps if you're talking about college-age YA, then perhaps.

Shine is a mundane orphan without any magical power in a royal family full of mages. Because she has no magical ability she is barely tolerated by the family and left to run the family's country estate. She lives on the estate with the mundane aunt that helped raise her and a telepathic cat. When the entire family descends on the estate for the annual Fertility Festival, all hell breaks loose. There is plenty of family drama, fights, a secret letter, a fugitive from another land, and eventually a murder.

There is almost no worldbuilding in the book, so I didn't have any idea why the world was set up the way it was. There were a few allusions to a war between mundanes and mages that resulted in a pact between the two that offered protection for the mundanes, but no specifics were given. There was also no full explanation as to how the mages got their power, or what powers they had other than being able to fly and move people around. Shine's character was developed a little bit and I liked her, but she didn't have much of an arc throughout the book. There was almost no character development of any of the minor characters, although several of them were fun to read. Most of them were very one-note and the usual stereotypes.

The book was fun and interesting to read, but it seemed to meander and didn't really have much of a point. It leapt from one drama to another. The overarching storyline of Shine trying to help a fugitive get back to his homeland could have been so much more interesting if it had been developed better. The ending was abrupt and completely underwhelming. I'm not sure if this is the first book in a series or not, but if it isn't, then the ending is even more disappointing than I thought.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and Rebellion. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I’ll be honest – I’ve been a bit bemused by the negative reviews for this entertaining and really different fantasy adventure. But I’ve come to the conclusion that a lot of reviewers picked it up because of the allusion to the telepathic cat – and most fantasy adventures with a telepathic pet don’t generally come with steamy sex scenes. So I think this is more of a case of readers opening up this book thinking they were getting one type of story – and instead were confronted with something quite different. While that cover certainly didn’t help, given that it also doesn’t give any clue of the erotic charge running through this adventure.

As for me – I found Shine beguiling and enjoyed the rather claustrophobic, dangerous edge to this adventure as the Family, both mundanes and mages, gather for the annual fertility festival, where consenting adults get together for the purpose of creating more children. Routley’s worldbuilding is impressive as she creates a large family, riven with factions and infighting as the most powerful, entitled mages jockey for the prime positions. Shine is well down the pecking order, as she watches the man she has given her heart to flirt with other girls – and tries to keep away from her more unpleasant, bullying cousins. I kept waiting for her to discover that she had unexpected magical powers… And no, I’m not going to reveal if she does – but this one has lodged in my head and despite the fact that I’ve subsequently completed two other books, it won’t leave me alone.

As for the sex – yes, there are a couple of uncharacteristically raunchy scenes, but I didn’t find them unduly gratuitous. This is a society with a very relaxed attitude towards sex, especially at this time of the Festival, for it is important that there be more female children within the family, as it is female mages with most power. And the fact that Shine is a mundane with an unfortunate bloodline means she is regarded with contempt by many family members – there is nothing cosy about this bunch. But despite the fact it deals with some quite dark subjects, there is a bouncy energy and a lot of snarky humour that stopped it being a bleak read.

I will be reading more from this intriguing author – and if there is a sequel to this book, which feels as if there should be – then I’ll be hunting it down. While I obtained an arc of Shadow in the Empire of Light from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
8/10

This is a weird book. An interesting read but weird.

Shine is a member of the Imperial family but as she hasn’t no magical powers, she’s a mundane and is treated as a second class citizen by her family who all descend on her home for an annual fertility festival. The story reminds of Knives out but with magic mages, wild magical creatures (even a moving tree), a talking cat as well as politics, intrigue, lots of sex (also between cousins) with some female empowerment (the female mages are much stronger and its a matriarchal society) and lgbtq representation. It also has some dark elements of violence, sexual assault and abuse.

It’s a little all over the place and there are far too many characters to keep track of. I also can’t tell if it’s meant to be standalone or a series as it ends on a weird note. It was very easy to read and fast paced but not quite it for me. Lol - it’s just weird. Other people may really enjoy it though. 3.2/5 stars.

Shadow in the Empire of Light by Jane Routley is a fantasy book, set in a matriarchal world, with those who are mages, and those who are mundane.  Shine is a mundane with a lot of mages for family, and so she is ignored or mocked.

It's a festival where all the family come home, and so Shine has to endure them all.  This time, there's a spy hiding, a letter to be found and a death to enliven matters.

I found the story to be ok.  It was good to see a book with an emphasis on female power, but this power was abused in the same ways that they are in patriarchal society.  

Shadow in the Empire of Light by Jane Routley was published on 19th January 2021, and is available on Amazon, Waterstones and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Jane Routley on Facebook.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Rebellion.

*Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own*

2.5 stars

The book is very confusing, it has a million characters with totally horrible names to memorize.
The author's writing I found very difficult to read, she uses difficult words unnecessarily to try to make the writing more poetic.
The story itself is not bad, the plot is interesting and has several twists and turns you don't expect.
The world created by the author is not difficult to understand but I think it could have been more explored and explained.
The way the book dealt with sex, fertility, pregnancy, and abuse bothered me and I ended up not liking it, the sex scenes also didn't like, especially the way they were written, so trigger warning for all of that. I admit that I only finished reading this book because it was a very quick book to read because the story is not that good, since I didn't like the characters, the writing nor the world, after I read 50% of the book just wanted it to end.

Thank you Rebellion for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

Recommends it for: You like your story strange and the writing posh and direct. I can’t compare this book to anything

The cute cat cover definitely will fool the sweetest people – this book is a wild ride with some strange X-Rated scenes – you have been warned.

Shine is a mundane – a non-magical person in a family full of mages. Her family start to descend on her house for the fertility festival suddenly Shine is plunged into intrigue; stolen letters, a fugitive spy, family dram and even a murder which will have to force Shine to decide her loyalties and her future.

Weird, strange, unexpected; definitely best describe this quirky book.

I really enjoyed the world that Jane created. The magic and the mages were really interesting and I loved this quirky family set up and the chaos of it all.

Shadow and Shine were very interesting characters. I also really enjoyed this matriarchal world that Jane created, there are so many real-life comparisons. Shine was a little annoying at times as she just accepted all the terrible things but the narration of this story was superb, Jane is an excellent author and the very classy tone of the book was a nice surprise.

The plot was a bit thin, there was more messing around, weird unrelated story lines and politics than an actual story. At first it can be disorientating trying to understand what is happening and trying to remember all the strange names.

I think if you are looking for something strange and fresh, this book is for you.

Rating: 3
Shadow in the Empire of Light
Possibly a series
Publish Date: 19 January 2021
Cover Rating: 6/10
Adult – Fantasy – Magic - Mystery

I never got the chance to read this one before it was archived, but the idea behind it is so promising! I'm truly grateful for the publisher giving me a chance to read it, and will be looking for a physical copy in my local bookstore.

Another book that I liked a lot but for one thing: there’s no explanation about why the world is the way it is. It felt as if I’d picked up the second book in an ongoing series.

There’s magic and aristocracy — the two are connected, so if you have magic, you have money. And there are rites and rituals that the aristocrats use to keep the others in line. They fight each other to gain more power and those squabbles are often fatal.

Amongst all that glitz and glamor is born our protagonist who doesn’t have magic. Her family barely tolerates her presence while she yearns to travel. All that I understood but then she meets someone from another country who is so alien that she calls him ghost. The family has no issues with homosexuality, but they disowned a gay character because he fell for a man not befitting their status. There’s also a lot of incest and rape going on.

In short, while I liked the book, I needed to know more about the world it’s set in. Maybe a sequel?

Have not had a chance to read this yet, but will keep it on my list for a rainy day! Appreciate being offered the reading copy!

I had a really hard time getting into this one. The MC just didn't sit with me, and it took me several attempts to get through the book. I think it was the slow pace in the beginning.

Unpopular opinion: this was clumsy and weird and so not what I had expected.

I was looking forward to an empowering book about an underdog and a telepathic cat. What I got was a YA novel with characters that don't show any character development, a telepathic cat as a world building device, lots of weird words and phrases, a clumsy attempt at racial issues, and a lot of (pretend) sex scenes.

I found this book very difficult to get into. There are a lot of characters that are introduced all at once which makes them hard to follow.

The storyline has a lot going on but the huge about of characters, their relation to each other and their roles are so confusing I am struggling to keep track of it all.

Thankyou for the opportunity to read this book. However it is not for me .

This was a nice easy read. It’s really fast paced which kept me interested.

Its about a magical family, coming together in the family home for a fertility festival. Our main character, Shine, helps run the house, being an orphan, and not a mage, she is looked down upon by some members of her family.

Shine gets drawn into family drama, but I won’t say any more than that!

Needless to say, I felt quite sorry for her most of the time, she’s not had a great life, but who knows, I’m sure her time will come up as there is huge scope for a second book, it’s all left very open....

My thanks to Netgalley and Rebellion for the advance copy

Good character development and social commentary

I enjoyed this book. The story is interesting and well-paced and the world-building is good.I also enjoyed the character development. Although a fantasy genre story, it takes a very pointed view of both family and societal dynamics, making the book hard to put down. The one downside of the book was the rapid introduction of the cast of characters along with their nicknames. Even with the family tree at the beginning of the book, this is confusing. Nonetheless, it is a good read.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley for review purposes.

Okay let’s be honest, I requested this book because it said there was a psychic cat. Sadly, Katty features way too little and there’s no explanation as to why this cat is psychic and only talks to one mundane.

Now onto to the story. The writing isn’t bad at all, there are some really interesting concepts and storylines that could be developed, however there is something - for lack of a better word - basic about the writing. I was slightly surprised when the word “perspicacious” was thrown into a description (love that word by the way).

The storyline you want - Shine and Shadow going off to discover things - isn’t what happens in this book (I’m guessing that’s the next book?). This one centres completely around the family drama happening at Shine’s homestead. There’s whole world of magic and weirdness that you don’t explore.

I say weirdness because in this world Mages rules, and more importantly, female mages rule. e.(This isn’t the weird part, YAY FEMINISM! ) The weird part is that breeding is at the centre of everyone’s concerns in this world and no one has a problem with interbreeding to make it happen.

Which brings me to : the plethora of trigger warnings this books needs!
A list of necessary trigger warnings : racism, abuse, child abuse, rape, murder, addiction, homophobia, xenophobia, and incest.

It’s a lot for a YA book. As was all the sex going on. I’m not a prude by any means, but the objectification of people was kind of gross.

In all honesty, I don’t know who I would recommend this kind of book to? Someone in it for the psychic cat? Maybe out of morbid curiosity? Someone a fan of cheap romance? I don’t know. Despite that, I did need to know how the book ended. And I kinda want to know what happens next. Maybe I’m just hoping Shine will stop being a racist, ignorant wet blanket in the next book.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Very interesting read. I have enjoyed the story and the writing style. Loved meeting the characters and it was such a bliss of a journey with them.

This was totally not what I expected... I went into this book expecting a fantasy mystery and got a fantasy erotica instead. I really tried hard to finish this book but I just can't. The word "prick" appears on every other page and the author is using it in a way I've never heard of. I will not be posting a review for this book on Goodreads, Amazon or any other website. I don't want to give it an unfavorable review because I'm clearly not the audience for it and it was my mistake that I ended up with this title for a review. I should've done more research. This was my first fantasy erotica and I only managed to get through about 70% of it before I gave up. At least I know now that these types of books are not for me.

Shadow in the empire of light by Jane Routley is a family drama, fantasy novel with magical elements of magic and spirits. Since the start of the book there is not direction and only incidents upon incidents have been bombarded on the reader.

Inspite of providing with the family chart in the start of the book, the characters in the story and their relationships with eachother are quite not clearly potrayed. The read the entire book and it was kinda ok. I did not enjoy it much.

This book has a telepathic cat therefore it is awesome - ‘nuff said!

OK just kidding here’s my review:

I enjoyed this book but it definitely didn’t blow me away. It was slow to start as we’re getting to know all the characters, but it picked up about halfway and the plot ended up being quite fun. There’s a lot of family members who all have amazing light-themed names like Illuminant, Sparklea, and Splendance. I found myself referring to the family tree at the beginning of the book pretty often. The family drama gets pretty ridiculous, but there are some interesting side characters that I enjoyed.

I thought the world-building was pretty unique. Routley has created a matriarchal society ruled by female mages, where the mundane (non-magical) peasants are basically slaves. Their whole culture revolves around getting pregnant although they are not particularly fertile, so there are lots of sexual references (and scenes, as well as reference to sexual abuse) including sex between first cousins. Yep. They’re all doing it. With their cousins. All the time. Bit weird, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Anyway, our main character Shine is a mundane, from a noble family, so while she is above the servants, she is not treated well by the family, most of whom are greedy, power-hungry a-holes. On top of being a mundane, Shine’s father was a Ghost, one of the foreign Outlanders, whose society more closely resembles modern Western society. As a result, Shine has paler skin compared to her family, and tries to darken it with cosmetics, to try and fit in. Her mother disappeared when she was a baby, and so she has been relegated to care for the family’s country estate with her wayward aunt (exiled for her radical political views on mundane rights). Shine wants to travel the world, or attend university, but with no money of her own and her mother gone, she is at the mercy of her money-grabbing family. She tries to do the right thing, but feels trapped by her situation.

The plot intrigued me, with a stowaway illegal ghost, a stolen letter, a spy, and a murder all jumbled in with the family’s ambitious plots and grudges. Shine gets mixed in with it all, which ends up being pretty dangerous for her as she has no way to defend herself against the crazy mages, other than getting friendly mages to protect her. It’s not an action-packed book but there’s a few mage fights, and I was amazed at how often they end up hiding under the bed!

The writing style is quite different as well. I think the almost posh nature of the language used really suits the setting. The insults they use, like 'slime rat' and 'ride rat' are super cute.

I liked Shine, and even a couple of the mages turned out to be all right. There’s a few other interesting side characters who I’d like to see again, and I’m keen to see what Shine’s next adventure will be.

Happy reading!