Couldn't wait to read this second in series fantasy adventure,
Wow, what a roller coaster ride is this whole venture
With a dying father, an heir disinherited, a new quest,
Phantoms, savants, journeys, wondering what'll happen in the rest!

Action packed, surprising,
World building, realising,
Dramatic, tension,
Their future, reinvention!

Twelve bones to make up the crown,
Marcus has the job to hunt them down.
Reconnecting them the world to save
With friends who are also so brave.

But some aren't on the same side,
Beware who you trust as you ride.
Riddles to solve as all unfolds
And prophecies are told.

A fascinating sequel to such a great read,
Now book three is just what I need!
So many aspects resolved in this one
But I need the adventure to carry on!

If fantasy adventures with heroic deeds
Are what you also enjoy to read
I highly recommend this book to you
And hope you'll enjoy reading it, too!

For my complementary copy of this book, I say thank you,
What a thrilling, epic fantasy - and this is my honest review.

Curse of Shadows is the second book in the Amassia series by A.K. Wilder. This story was fascinating. I love the magic of the story and the fact that anything that could happen at any given time takes things to the next level. The characters are well-written, with a captivating storyline that kept me on the edge of my seat, wanting more.

I loved this book! I have looked forward to reading this book since the moment I finished the previous book in the series, Crown of Bones. I was in a bit of a reading slump with nothing really grabbing my attention until I started reading this book and I was immediately captivated. I love this group of characters and the magic system in this world is incredibly interesting. I really enjoyed this newest adventure.

The book is told from several different points of view and I loved getting to see the perspectives of the various characters. This book picks up shortly after the events of the first book so this is a series that really should be read in order. A second sun has risen and The Great Dying is imminent. Marcus is no longer the Heri but he has been given the task of collecting twelve whistle bones from various lands. Marcus, Ash, Kaylin, Piper, and the rest of the crew have quite the task ahead of them and there are those that would do whatever they can to stop them.

This story was very exciting. I love the magic of the story and the fact that anything could happen at any given time just takes things to the next level. The characters in this story are incredibly well done. I wanted to see good things happen for Ash, Kaylin, Marcus, and the rest of the group. There were plenty of twists and turns in the story and while I was able to figure out some of them, there were others that took me completely by surprise. This was one of those books that was almost impossible to set aside once I picked it up.

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this series to others. I have found it to be an incredibly entertaining and original series. While I wouldn’t say this book ended on a cliffhanger, I feel like I need to get my hands on the next book in this series just as soon as possible!

I received a digital review copy of this book from Entangled: Teen.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Teen for the Advance Reader Copy, I am voluntarily leaving my honest review.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Curse of Shadows picks up with the continued story of Ash, Marcus and crew after Crown of Bones ended. You get answers to questions that formed during Crown of Bones, but I was thrown for a loop because things didn't quite go the way I was thinking. The storyline introduces new characters - some are fun, but many are more suspicious and raise questions about what is actually going on. There are a lot of politics, posturing, and jockeying for power.

I liked this second book in a series, and I can't wait to see what happens next given the ending of Curse of Shadows.

Minor issues that I encountered: some of the plot pacing was very fast, so at points descriptions felt a little skimpy, a couple of spots felt really jarringly disjointed (this is later resolved and is a plot point that is fully explained, but the initial reading was rough), and trying to understand the rationalization behind some of the character actions was, at times, unclear.

Recommend for those that like unique magic systems, mixed party quests, and multiple points of view.
If you liked Percy Jackson, Fellowship of the Ring, then give the Amassia series a try.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in the series, this one had me pinned to the pages all the way to the last page.

Ash is not herself. Not only are there massive holes in her memory, but she feels as if a part of her has been ripped away. But there are bigger concerns as Marcus, the Heir, has been side-stepped for his rightful place on the throne, and the next Great Dying is approaching. Now, the task switches to collecting the bones to form the crown and the only means of saving the world before others do.

This is not a stand-alone and continues where book one left off. While book one ends in a cliff-hanger, this one starts with a settled state, leaving Ash with the consequences of the last event. But she...nor anyone else...isn't sure what happened. Luckily, this frustrating state doesn't hold through the entire read (which I feared it might), and instead, it's only a stepping stone in another amazing adventure.

There are plots and subplots twisting and turning, new characters to love and hate mixing with the 'old' ones from book one, and so many surprises. The intrigue splits and spins as various fronts join with their own goals concerning the Great Dying and the bones. Some, who were thought to be important, fade, while others, who seemed weak are suddenly showing their true faces. This isn't only in comparison with book one's events, but within these pages too. It's packed, it's fast-paced, and it's very well woven.

The characters gain depth and take some unexpected turns, which promises even more excitement in the next book. Ash's lack of clarity in the beginning, allowed other characters to slide further to the front and gain more depth. A few new ones also joined the plot...and these added new points of view to the mix as well. I would have liked to get to know a little more about some of the villains, and there are still a few loose ends after Ash comes back to center stage in the later part of the book. But all of this just had me eager to dive into the next novel and see where it all leads...because so far, it's been amazing.

This book was everything and more that a second book can be! The storyline was so well done, the characters are enjoyable and keep growing throughout the series, and the plot kept you intrigued throughout the whole story! This book was wonderful and can't wait until the next one comes out! This is an underrated series in my opinion and it deserves so much more attention than it's gotten so far, but it is wonderfully done. Highly recommend to anyone who wants a great story!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

What a ride! An excellent epic fantasy full of twists, featuring great characters and an interesting world building.
I can't wait to read the next story.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Characters raising various types of phantoms to help battle enemies – it’s something I hadn’t come across in a YA fantasy and one of my favorite aspects about the first book in this series. With loads of secrets, mysterious characters, and ancient scrolls, this sequel was on my list of most anticipated releases this year.

This is one of those reviews that will be difficult to write without spoilers, so it may be brief. The prophesied Next Great Dying is approaching, and the only way to prevent it is to gather the original twelve whistle bones scattered across the world. Former heir Marcus lost the throne to his younger brother, but has now been named the Bone Gatherer and is tasked with collecting the whistle bones. Assisting him in this quest are several friends from the first book, including Ash and Kaylin. Suffice it to say, the journey is filled with life-threatening danger, exciting adventure, and mind-numbing revelations.

POV rotates mainly between Marcus, Ash, and Kaylin, but much of this story belongs to Ash. My list of suspicions about her in the first book was pretty long, and some are confirmed, but other reveals surprised me. Kaylin continues to be my favorite character, and he comes with some pretty unexpected reveals of his own. His relationship with Ash only grows stronger in this sequel, and that ending left me pretty anxious – and possibly screaming in frustration.

Pacing isn’t as consistent as the first book, but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment. This remains one of the best YA epic fantasies I’ve read in the past couple years, and the third book has already made my most anticipated release list no matter when it arrives.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I just love how fun and fast-paced this story is! I really enjoyed this next installment in the Amassia series. It continues to be filled with epic adventure, heartmelting romance and strong friendships, and so many secrets, deceptions, and mysteries abound. The short chapters this time definitely increased my reading experience and had me reading for longer stretches. I loved the new points of view we got and the reveal of certain plot points. I'm equally excited to discover and uncover the remaining hidden truths in this tale!

AND OMG THAT ENDING WAS SO EXCITING AND SATISFYING!

This is an amazingly layered epic fantasy! If you like young adult, high fantasy stories with unique magic systems you definitely need to check this series out.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT:
💨 fast-paced storyline
🗣️ short chapters x multiple POVs
💥 hidden identity x power
🧠 missing memory
⛪ sanctuaries x ancient artifacts
⚓ expansive land x sea quest
🧜🏻‍♂️ landers x mar people
🗺️ thrill of adventure
👑 kingdom & political intrigue
🙌🏻 when the title makes sense!
🤯 cliffhangers!

Thanks to Entangled Teen for the early e-copy!

This one picks up right where Crown of Bones ended and holy heck I haven’t been this excited to read a sequel for a while! First of all, it’s EMBARRASSING how much I cried while reading this one, seriously.. umm excuse YOU @a.k.wilder for that. Anyways, tears aside, once again we have a book where the author goes above and beyond with the details to ensure that you understand the magic that’s happening in their world, and I’m HERE. FOR. IT. This back is jam picked with information, so get settled in for a long read cause you’re all about to LEARN, SON. I enjoyed the first book a lot, but I LOVED this one. LOVED.

Magic, betrayals, fights, emotional rollercoaster, this book is a whole damn vibe and I don’t know why more people aren’t talking about it in all honesty. What are we all doing? Can we please collectively start spamming people with this book? The holidays are right around the corner and I’ve already got a copy of this ordered for 4 people (along with the first book)… they WILL like it.

Thank you to Entangled Teen and NetGalley for the e-arc.

Curse of Shadows picks up pretty quickly after the ending of Crown of Bones. The gang are back in Baiseen and Marcus is coming to terms with his father choosing his father to be heir to the throne while they were away.

Marcus is given a new task: collect the original Whistle Bones. The survival of the realms depends on him successfully completing the task.

The world building in this story is so rich. Through their travels over Amassia, we are introduced to so many new characters, places and cultures. It has very little massive information dumps, which is something I struggled with in the first one.

Ash and Marcus also develop more in this book. I found Marcus suuuper annoying in book 1 - very self centred and rude to Ash, who was supposed to be his best friend. He gets more tolerable in this book. Ash is strong willed and smart as usual. Kaylin, our mysterious sailor, is back in action and his relationship with Ash is so lovely and mature for teenagers.

I totally recommend you pick this up if you love adventure fantasy, magic, several points of view and found family!

Thank you to Entangled Teen and the author for an advanced copy of this book!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the free E-ARC in return for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this, but honestly it feels as though this sequel has a case of second-book syndrome. The first book was such a ride, but the characters I loved in book 1 felt completely different than in this sequel. It caused me to be disinterested in the book at times, which I found really sad because book one was so interesting! I really wanted to like this one, but sadly it wasn't it for me.

The quest continues as a Bone gatherer must find bones, a journey recorder must deal with getting their memories back, and complicated relationsihps and secret. Ash is a journey recorder who has lost her memories but is gaining them back, she is also dealing with the fact that she is in love with Kayling, her swash buckling sailor who is hiding his own secrets and the fact that she has to hide their relationship while on her journey with Marcus her friend. Marcus is the Bone gatherer who must journey to find the bones before it’s too late, he’s also heavily crushing on his best friend Ash and is jealous of Kaylin. Kaylin is actually part of the sea kingdom and was sent to kill Marcus, Ash and their crew but has saved them instead and has not told Ash the truth of who he is but he does know one thing, he is in love with her and willing to do anything for her. This is the second book in the series and honestly, it went absolutely nowhere and dragged on, I found myself not caring at all about any of the characters or the plot besides the one about Ash and Kaylin and even then it was SUPER SUPER light on the romance between them, like 2 moments tops in a 400+ page book. The story definitely had a lot of unanswered questions and while I absolutely loved the first one this one fell flat and sadly made me disinterested in it. The story didn’t feel like anything happened despite it being so long and I really didn’t care for Marcus at all. While the first book had a great moving plot and interesting characters, this one just kind of did nothing and really just had me wishing it was over. This one did not feel like a romance read at all more like two moments happen and the rest of the book is Marcus just pining over Ash while Ash and Kaylin act like adults in their relationship.Sadly this one missed the mark for me, and suffered the issue that many sequels do: moving plot, character development, and just growth overall.

*Thanks Netgalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC, Entangled: Teen for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I was excited to dive back into this world after the initial shock from the cliffhanger of the first book. It was such a thrilling book filled with humor, adventure, and plot twists. Who wouldn’t want to continue on?

Unfortunately, although I liked parts of the sequel I didn’t find myself having the exact same feeling as the first book. Things just felt a bit different. I will say that it could potentially be due to my mood since Fantasy hasn’t been my top genre lately.

The book is told from multiple point-of-views just like in the first. I always like seeing this and was surprised to see a couple more point-of-views as well. It made for interesting developments and added to the overall plot to help have everything come together. I did like some characters more than others. Marcus was a good one and had a lot going on when it came to his family as well as learning what his new role meant. Ash also had more going on for her, mostly at the end though which was kind of disappointing especially not knowing if there will be another book. I haven’t heard anything so I can’t confirm. It does have a cliffhanger so who knows!

There were a lot of plot twists happening as the book progressed. I felt like some were more dramatic than others and that could be due to one happening to a character that hasn’t been present until this book and even then he didn’t have much page time. It makes it hard to connect and feel something when I don’t know much about him.

I feel like this book lacked the humor the first one had. Kaylin was very charming and had a very swoon-worthy persona. It could be due to wanting more from his relationship with Ash but there wasn’t much development there either.

Overall, this was a decent sequel. I didn’t love it but I liked aspects of it. I am curious to see if there is going to be another book because of the ending. Only time will tell!

I liked this. I liked seeing the progression of the characters and experiencing everything with them again.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Real note: 3.75
The second book of this series and I won't lie, I had high expectations for this book since the first was great, but it doesn't meet my expectations. I like the evolution of the character we know from the original novel. Kaylin is definitely my favorite and the way he cares about Ash is really sweet. His character definitely stole the show from Marcus. The first book ends with a big revelation and we begin this second like nothing happens. The more you read, the more questions you have, but not all of them are answered in the end. There were some new characters that weren't an add-on. Do I love HEA? Yes. If you want a fully happy ending, perhaps that book isn't for you.

4.5 stars

Curse of Shadows picks up a few weeks after the end of Crown of Bones. Marcus and his group are back in Baiseen, where they are working on rebuilding the capital city after the attack of Tann. Marcus is still reeling from the discovery that his brother is now the heir to the throne, but he is soon given a new purpose and tasked with the mission to gather all the original Whistle Bones before Tann can do so. The survival of all the realms depends on it.

As in the first book, there are chapters from different characters, namely Marcus, Ash, and Kaylin, but there are also new perspectives added, which allowed us to see the bigger picture at times, and also to get to know some characters more in-depth. One of the new perspectives was particularly intriguing to me, as I considered them as one of the “villains” of the story even though their goal is not to be evil and they actually have good intentions. While I understand that this character will probably have a bigger role to play in the next book, I am still wondering what exactly they are responsible for, and how much they will impact our heroes’ quest.

The world-building also expands in this book, as Marcus and his group have to travel all around Amassia to collect the whistle bones. We can see different people with different cultures and ways, and I like how the author also weaved mythology, prophecies, and history of the realms in this book, without making it too heavy on the details, or having massive info-dumps. The magic system with the savant being able to raise phantoms is still very interesting to me. I love it, and I loved seeing how Marcus and his phantom struggled because Der’al has such a feisty and strong personality.

I liked that there was more than one villain to face in this sequel, and I liked Atikis, but I find it sad that we had no backstory at all and knew nothing about him before he first appeared in this book. Clearly, he is a renowned high savant, known and feared by all, but we never heard his name before he arrived in Baiseen. He is an intriguing character, but the threat would have felt more real I think if we’d known about him and his reputation before.

The rest of the characters are as well developed as in the first book. They have depth and personality, and I liked following them around the realms. Ash is still strong-willed, driven, and very loyal to her friends, but also to her beliefs and her intuitions. She struggles as she has memory issues after the battle happening at the end of Crown of Bones, and she feels like she is missing a vital part of herself. Still, she learns to trust herself more in this book, and we can see how Marcus comes to realize that she deserves more recognition for all her knowledge and her hard work.

Marcus is becoming more likable too in this book since he is a little less self-centered. In the first book, it was all about him controlling his phantom so he could fulfill his destiny. Now, he realizes that there is more to his life than his status and the recognition of his people. He also has no choice but to see that there are much bigger problems coming their way than him losing his status as an heir.

Kaylin remained my favorite character, alongside Ash. He is still this roguish, mysterious, and very attractive sailor, and I love their dynamic and their complicity. They bring a hint of sweet romance to the series, but as in the first book, romance is not the main focus at all. They know their mission, and they know they can’t put their feelings first if it means endangering their quest, but they are also very “grown-up” about their relationship. They don’t hide their feelings for each other, they have mature conversations and can make good choices about their relationship and their mission.

One of my criticisms of the first book was that the bigger picture or main plot didn’t become clear until the last part of the book. The plot was more straightforward and clearer in this book. From the very beginning, we know what Marcus’ mission will be, and who are their main enemies. There is action, fighting scenes, betrayal, and abductions, a hint of sweet romance, and the last part of the book broke my heart a little bit. After the 70% mark, I was desperate to know how things would unfurl for Ash, Kaylin, and Marcus, and I kept reading “just one more chapter” to see how it would end.

I think this is an underrated fantasy series that deserves to be known. I loved both books, and I am already looking forward to the third book, even though I know it’s going to be a long wait.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book; however, I have gotten to the 50% mark and have decided not to continue reading it. I find Marcus extremely annoying and Ash unbelievably naive. And having the very necessary and important conversation between Ash and Kaylin just continuing being put off is beyond frustrating. I tried putting the book aside for a while with the hope I would come back to it, but I know that's not going to happen. Sorry!

An incredible sequel! I loved Crown of Bones so I was both excited and nervous for the second book, Curse of Shadows. It did not disappoint! I loved the adventurous plots of these books and the fast pacing of the story. The characters are well written, their arcs in this book were fun and stressful to read about, and Ash is still my favorite character. Her pov’s were my favorite chapters!

I could not put this down!!! I got this thru NetGalley and did not know it was the second book, bought the first book read it in one day! Then this book being longer took me about a week with work and life but o man can book three come out already !?!! No spoilers from me but ash and kaylin!!! I need book three.. Buy this series it is sooooo goood! I will be buying this one too and rereading this