Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This was a good fantasy novel that had great potential. While it didn't keep my attention the whole time, I did want to at least finish it. The story line just didn't grab me. It's a good book, just not great in my honest opinion. The character fell flat.

It's hard to get started with this book. The first chapters feel like I'm picking up in the middle of a story rather than starting a new one which made it a confusing and difficult read.

When I first started this book I was really excited to get reading - but as soon as the main character's family was introduced I felt confused and unsettled. The amount of characters made it hard to distinguish who was who and to keep up. I was also alarmed by the amount of suggested incest in the book and the themes made me really uncomfortable. Unfortunately, I put the book down at this point.

It has been a long time since I've last read anything by Routley - I may have been a freshman in high school, barely, the last time that I picked up her books. But, I remember immediately counting her in with my favorite fantasy authors, so I have long kept my eye out for anything new from her, so needless to say, I was so pleased to see this one pop onto my radar! Plus, I was totally in the mood for a good fantasy!

And I am so glad that I dove right into this one! I really had a lot of fun reading this! Our narrator, Shine, is a mere mortal (though she can telepathically communicate with her cat!) in an illustrious family of mages - including the Empress herself. Orphaned and frustrated with her uncertain place in their family, the book takes place over the annual Blessings Festival - which becomes filled with intrigues, secrets, magic, trysts and plenty of plotting. The world-building here feels both seamless and sturdy (I certainly think that this is a strong enough foundation for more books to be set here!). There's humor, excitement, and some interesting societal ideas, too. It really feels like a great start to a new series- though this doesn't end on a cliffhanger. Shine is sympathetic and the book, though there are some darker plot points, is on the whole a fast and fun read. I will definitely be eagerly awaiting more!!

I like house party mysteries, heroines who are disadvantaged but plucky, and fantasy matriarchal societies, so I should’ve liked this book. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work for me, largely due to the amount of content warnings.

“It was odd to be the strong one here. Mages have the power, not mundanes. Odd to be the one giving help instead of receiving it.”


The worldbuilding is interesting, once you get enough information about it. The empire where the book is set is a matriarchal society where a person’s standing is very much based on whether you’re born with magic, and females are by default more powerful mages than men. Those without magic are immediately lesser and subject to the whims of their more magically capable family. It’s so bad that Shine actually refers to some of her non-magical relatives as “Cousin Two” and “Auntie Four” – apparently they’re not even worthy of names. Supposedly there are laws in place to protect the non-magical from the worst of the abuses, but, from what we see in the book, I have a lot of doubts about whether those were actually enforced. Men are basically studs – at one point, one of Shine’s cousins confesses that he was essentially [drugged and raped (hide spoiler)] by another cousin, and Shine’s only advice is to stand up to her bullying (?!?!). I really found myself struggling to like Shine, which was rough, since the book is told from her first person POV. While I think she generally meant well, she was also very much a product of her upbringing in a way that was very reminiscent of the British empire – she doesn’t seem to see Shadow, a pale-skinned foreigner (commonly called “ghosts” by Shine’s people) who ends up literally hiding under her bed, as fully human, constantly steamrolls over his boundaries (she even spies on him while he’s changing even after he tells her he’s uncomfortable with that because she wants to see if he’s equipped the same as a “regular” man), and despite being half-foreign herself, sees foreigners as something like uneducated savages. While she does grow as the book continues, I was still deeply uncomfortable with the framing and never felt like it was fully interrogated. There’s no pushback and no justice for the wronged family members.

“So I was in an uncomfortable place where someone I liked had done something I deeply disapproved of for reasons I understood. What stance should I take? How did I react? Was it even for me to judge?”


Pretty much all the characters are horrible people. Shine’s father was a foreigner, so Shine’s paler than the rest of her family, and they never let her forget that or that she doesn’t have magic. Even the cousins that are vaguely nice to her, Lucient and Klea, seem only to do it to get her to do things for them. The amount of abuse (physical, emotional and sexual) among the family members was extremely uncomfortable for me. Pretty much the only character I liked was Katti, Shine’s psychic cat, but there’s not enough of her and she doesn’t really serve any purpose in the story. By the end of the book, while we’re told Katti is unusual, we’re not really told why or given much backstory for her. I mean, I kept waiting for someone to explain why Shine, who’s supposedly non-magical, is psychically connected to a giant cat, but no one else seemed concerned with that. I mean, I also liked Shadow, the “ghost” foreigner, but due to his initial issues communicating with Shine and her general inability to see him as a person, we don’t get too much of him as a real character, either.

My other issue was that the plot was a complete muddle. Shine is constantly being pulled between running the household despite the ridiculous demands of her visiting relatives, trying to hide the “ghost,” and solving a mystery for her cousin. I kept expecting each of these plot lines to be woven together (the rebels, the mooncat, the missing letter, the presence of the ghost, the murder, etc) but in the end, they didn’t. It was a bit like expecting a soup (where all the elements had cooked together and melded) and ending up with a salad.

Overall, while the overall premise and worldbuilding had promise, the execution didn’t work for me.

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I feel misled by the synopsis. I expected a light hearted possibly Harry Potter - esque read. However, the content was a lot more adult/darker than I was prepared for. The story in itself was interstinf making this an ok read, but it’s not one I’d want to read over and over and have on my shelf.

This book isn’t badly written but I think it’s not going to suit a lot of people... On the one hand I like books that are heavy on the interpersonal relationships. On the other hand pretty much all the characters in this book are horrible people. Also while it isn’t super explicit there’s a lot of sex mentioned if not shown. Everyone has retired to the country estate for a fertility festival after all... I also think that this book deserves a bit of a content warning not for the fertility festival aspect but for the non consensual aspect and mention of child molestation with lack of help for the child. This book is going to be too much for some folks because of that...
With all that said I’d try another book by this author. She’s set up a potentially interesting world. I would be curious to see a bit more of it with a bit less somewhat off putting sex...

I received an ARC of SHADOW IN THE EMPIRE OF LIGHT thanks to the publisher through NetGalley.

The idea of murder and a telepathic cat caught my interest but after reading the first 18% I was checked out. The concept of the book was nothing like the summary had promised, at least not in what I read. On top of that it gave me a really creepy feeling, like skin crawly nose scrunched feeling.

A fundamental part of the world building is essentially breeding to the point where those without magic are literally a number. While there are times when breeding stories are interesting, this one was not a breeding for survival but just to make a larger family. It didn’t make any sense.

I was really hoping for a story with magical animals and a murder mystery. But that isn’t this book.

Did not finish sadly. I did however order the physical copy so I will attempt again when it arrives.

I was hesitant to actually read this, as I had a look at some of the reviews on Goodreads before starting, and they are generally quite negative. I surprised myself and ended up really enjoying it. It felt a bit like reading a Diana Wynne Jones novel, but adult rated. It was pretty much what I was expecting - a light, entertaining read. I thought the worldbuilding was pretty fun, and I thought Shine was pretty funny in parts. A good holiday read!

I enjoyed this a lot: it's a good mix of light-heartedness and darkness (VERY dark in the case of one character's backstory which emerges towards the end). I liked the way it treated its magic: it could have been dominated by mage battles with them blasting one another all over the shop, but instead those moments are sparing (and more exciting for it).

I liked the world building too: there are so many little aspects (the hunting cats; the 'ghost' race; the uncomplicated approach the characters have to sex; and the matriarchal society where the male mages are very much second best to the female mages) that made me want to know more.

There were a lot of characters in the family, so some didn't get much page-space to round out their personalities beyond their surface attributes (nice/nasty/libidinous etc), but that clearly leaves scope for more stories in this family – but also in this world, if Shine breaks free of her shackles.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an advance reader copy (ARC) via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I was really intrigued by the premise of this book, centring around a family drama with magic and even a telepathic cat called Katti! The main character, Shine is an orphan without magic surrounded by a family of mages.

Unfortunately I found this book quite difficult to get into and was confused by all the different names used. Within the first few pages there is reference to the characters Bright, Shine, Impi, Graceson (also referred to by his first name Stefan), Katti, Lumina, and Klea. I found it quite confusing and hard to imagine what was being described so actually DNF this.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this before publication.

I unfortunately DNF this book around 20% through. I really struggled with the authors writing style and found the story line a little ridiculous in parts

I kept hearing about the telepathic cat and so, obviously, I had to know more! I was a little confused by everything happening in the story, but overall not a bad book!

Thank you to NetGalley and author Jane Routley for the opportunity to review an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book.

The book introduces primary character Shine, a minor member of an extended Imperial family, within a matriarchial, magic wielding society, in which nobility is granted based upon one's ability to use magic. Shine, as she is unable to wield magic herself, is reduced to gentry in a backwater rural village. The book introduces a society whose sexuality is vastly different than ours, in which sexuality outside of relationships, even for the purpose of procreation, is encouraged, and in which discussions of paternity are considered inappropriate. Women run the households, as their magic is typically dominant over that wielded by males. The author explores how sexual conflict and tension could still arise within relationships and families, even with these differences.

The author introduces a series of family and social conflicts, which impact events throughout the book, including economic, political and social conflict between magic and non-magic wielding people; racism; incest and domestic abuse; substance abuse; and trafficking in banned or restricted goods. There are graphic sexual scenes and scenes that could serve to trigger strong emotions due to rape and physical abuse of family members. The author also introduces the reader to a breed of domesticated, intelligent, telepathic cats. While there are violent scenes, they are not particularly graphic and serve to advance the plot. Due to sexual content, I would suggest careful review of the book before sharing with an adolescent, as it may not be appropriate for all, depending on their level of maturity.

The author introduced numerous secondary characters, which were adequately developed within the narrative, most of whom were extended family members of Shine, or were members of the household or community. The narrative's pace kept me engaged throughout my reading of the book. While the Advanced Reader's Copy does not make reference to this book beginning a series, I can see it would easily continue into a series, and I would continue reading it without doubt. Nonetheless, the book feels complete at the end, without a lurching stop that some books beginning series leave. I will say the book left me feeling a little depressed and sad for Shine, despite her situation improving at the ending of the book, as she really suffered a lot in a short space of time within the book.

I will be looking to grab my copy when it is released and hoping the author decides to continue writing about this character and world.

Unfortunately, I DNFed this book at 21%. It was leaving a weird impression of me, and by weird I mean messy and complicated and not well-explained.
If this was a part of a sonner -established fantasy world, I wouldn't say anything - but this is supposed to introduce the reader to this environment for the first time and all the author did was throw horridious infodumps at us. All the relations and relationships and gossip and politics were too much, even though she included the family tree. It's different than when Tolkien did it, he put those into the appendix for the readers who are interested in those tiny details, like he himself was - he could have lived without them -, but here I needed to look at the tree every few minutes and it was SO annoying.
I'm honestly disappointed, because the premise seemed unique and intersting, but the book itself turned out not to meet my expectations.

OK, the first page was a little...ho hum. But I persisted, and I'm really glad I did. It's a great romp of a fantasy - Routley has obviously had a lot of fun writing this. She has also created a complex world that hangs together really well - a world of mages with magical power, a world with a low fertility rate where family power depends on having children who will become mages, a world where female mages are stronger than males. That adds up to some very interesting power dynamics, enthusiastic sex and a believable heroine navigating the different power streams in her life. And cats. Psychic cats. Oh, it's fab. 

As soon as I finished this one I went to look for other things written by her. I'm really hopeful there will be a sequel. There are a few strings left..

This book really wasn’t to my taste. Too many horrible people - even a paedophile. Really not what I want to be reading about.

I really liked the idea of Katti, Shine’s telepathic cat. I also enjoyed the Mooncats. I’d have liked to have seen a lot more of these two aspects.

There were too many different characters introduced too quickly for me to keep track of. Almost none of them had enough page time for me to get to know them. The vast majority of them were nasty, and only out for themselves, just wanting to spend their time drugged, drunk and having sex. Every single character seems to look down on “the peasants”, and even Shine, who does consider them to some extent, seems to see them mostly as a mass of nameless servants.

The plot itself seemed to take forever to get going, it wasn’t until three quarters of the way through that any progress was made. Unfortunately, the finding out what happened to Shine’s mother plotline was postponed until (I assume) the next book.

Shine did finally permit herself to leave at the end of the book, which redeemed it a little. But the constant misery and powerlessness of the only characters I cared about meant that I didn’t enjoy this book. However, if you prefer your magical worlds darker, you may enjoy this book.

I was given a free copy of this book, my opinions are my own.

I went into this book thinking thats it's a cool YA fantasy but it turned out to be more of a family drama set in a fantastical land of mages and mundanes and matriarchs and crystal smuggling. Don't get me wrong, I liked the premise. I liked what the author was trying to do here. The xenophobia, homophobia, illegal 'aliens' - these are pretty much the same as in the real world. But the plot was way too convoluted for my liking. Too many characters with ridiculous names made it difficult for me to remember them, let alone relate to them. Seventy five percent of the book was just meandering around politics, family relations and Shine grumbling about everything and everyone, before the 'murder' actually occurs. Shine doesn't grow as a character at all. She lacks depth. All she does is complain and doesn't try to stand up against the wrongs being done to her and hers.
That being said, a lot of issues were covered well. Was this book a satire? I hope so. The narration was sharp and witty. I loved Katti and the mysterious mooncats. Sirra Shadow was an interesting guy. I would have liked more scenes with these characters.

Thank you Netgalley for the e-ARC.

I expected a nice YA-ish fantasy with an underdog main character and a telepathic cat.
Well, this book had both, but not in a good way. The main character is not a strong woman and shows no character development. The telepathic cat was lame. There are so many books with good animal sidekicks which make the story better, but in this case, it is just a story tool for introducing the bit of worldbuilding at the start of the book.
There is a lot of sex for a YA, which I don't mind, bit feelings for and/or pretended sex with a cousin raises an eyebrow.
This book tries to be empowering and tries to deal with a race issue, but fails completly to do so in a respectful way. It just feels clumsy.

Also, there were word choices that were just "wtf?!". Why "leather body shaper" instead of corset? Is it because of bad or no research, that corsets are big evil no-nos?

This is a very different story than what I have read before, there is too much mystery and many characters, seriously many characters all of them mysteries in a story that is full of magic and hot situations.