
Member Reviews

I loved the premise of this book, it had similar vibes to other fantasy books & series I have loved. However I spent the majority of the book incredibly confused, the history of the Realms and the connections of some of the characters was insanely confusing,
The main character often seemed quite silly and some descriptions of her thoughts felt like they came out of nowhere, also some plot twists seemed forced and thrown in at the last minute to explain away plot holes elsewhere which is very infuriating as a reader.

Epic world-building, unpredictable and kept me on the edge of my seat. Action-packed with swoon-worthy male characters to boot. I cannot wait for the second installment as the cliffhanger has me on the edge of my seat months later! Fantastic writing.

The story is well-written, easy to get into, and interesting to read.
I enjoyed the characters and the world was explained well enough.
It is not a new favorite, but it was a fun read.

Now this was a very interesting read! The concept, while not original in fantasy, was so well produced. The character arcs and the world building was tight—I finished the whole book in a night. Loved the ending, can’t wait for more

This is an interesting story. I honestly was intrigued by the synopsis however I think that it didn't gave me what I wanted and felt like this could have been better.

I really loved this book. The story was very gripping once it got going, i really liked the characters, the world building and the storyline. Would definitely recommend.

This wasn’t my favorite book, i was a little lost throughout but i liked some of the imagery and overall it was a decent book. I probably wouldn’t recommend it although the cover is pretty

A Realm of Ash and Shadow tells the story of our MC, Valeria, who is the lost heir from the kingdom of Empyrean who is sent to the mortal realm for her protection.
There’s definitely a lot going on in this book in terms of the world building - little snippets of explanations are littered throughout so pay close attention to get a better understanding of the world.
Parts of this book read more young adult, so be prepared for Valeria to make mistakes, get caught up in her emotions, and make the opposite decisions that you might make with a fully developed frontal cortex.
I did have some issues with some of the abuse that went on in certain scenes. Sometimes Valeria’s actions seemed really extreme compared to how her character was introduced.
Overall a good read and start to the series. I have some thoughts on where I think the plot and some of the characters might end up, so will check out the next book to see if I’m right.

Okay, so i didn't dislike this story. I just felt old reading it.
At times it felt a little all over the place, i dunno, maybe my heart wasn't in it.
I did however, enjoy the characters and there were times where i was shocked and enjoyed the plot twists. It was also pretty fast-paced. I just felt it could have been structured a little better.

"A Realm of Ash and Shadow" by Lara Buckheit is a fascinating and addicting fantasy book that tells a story of political intrigue, power battles, and strange partnerships. Princess Valeria Breault is banished from her kingdom of Empyrean. On her prom night, devils show up and start a fight to the death. She almost got caught by the Realm of the Forsaken, but when she did, she was reluctantly taken back to Empyrean, where she found a nightmare instead of the utopia she had imagined. Valeria's fight for the throne puts her in dangerous situations where she has to make choices that test her loyalty and beliefs.
Buckheit's way of telling stories is both captivating and dramatic, bringing the reader into a world of magic and political games. Valeria and the man who swore to protect her start out as foes but end up falling in love. This adds an irresistible layer of drama to the story. The main character's fight to find her place and express her power while her own darkness grows is a compelling character arc that readers will want to cheer for.
"A Realm of Ash and Shadow" is a masterful example of addictive fiction. It reminds me of Sarah J. Maas's engaging stories and other well-loved books where enemies become loves. Buckheit's writing has just the right amount of drama, mystery, and romance to keep readers interested right up to the last page. If you like action-packed fantasy with complicated characters and a touch of forbidden love, this book is a must-read that will leave you wanting more from Lara Buckheit's exciting and imaginative world.
***A big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.***

This book is rife with potential. Potential however, does not make a book great.
The plot isn't well executed (some things just do not add up), and there was just an overall failure to successfully execute some really great ideas.

I found this story to be a bit confusing. I kept getting confused on who was who, and the main character was just sort of annoying to me (like girly what are doing falling in some weird lust with this huge villain who you kept reiterating you HATE). I had a bit of a hard time finishing this, just because I did not really vibe with the story. I can see why and how people would like this story, but I think a lot of the elements could have been more fleshed out and less rushed. Thank you NetGalley for the E-Arc of this book!

Excellent book!! Enjoyed this thoroughly.
An epic read for anyone looking for an original story.
Will be keeping this author on my radar.

This book jumped around a lot and had a lot of info dumps. I generally liked the characters and the plot but there were a few things that didn’t work for me. Valeria comes off a bit whiny at the beginning but she becomes more likable as the book continues. Gideon is a sweetheart but I don’t know how to feel about Vemdour. It just seemed like the time with Vemdour took up too much time in the book. The side characters are amazing and the setting was great. I did eat this book up and read it in one sitting so it kept me enthralled.

This book gave me ACOTAR vibes and I'm here for it. I loved the idea of the different realms and I was definitely engrossed in Valeria's journey and felt like the writing style was done well. Valeria was sassy, and I am here for it.

It started with a bang. The world-building was not complex and the realms were intriguing. I love the 'demons among the mortals' thing, it gave Supernatural vibes. And I loved how Empyrean was depicted. I was hooked.
I was hoping for royal politics surrounding the throne; instead, Realm of the Forsaken happened (and dragged on for way too long, take me back to Seraphicity 🥲) Not gonna lie tho, I would've stayed with Vemdour (he's another version of the darkling)
The reason this book slightly missed the mark is because of the protagonist. Valeria is an "eighteen-year-old princess hoping to get laid." The girl is fickle AF, and I swear to gods, she changes her feelings like her outfits. Imagine reading it from a point of view of someone who is unconsistent and unlikable 😬
Honestly, that last whatever fraction of the book saved it from falling flat 🔥 I mean, the plot twists were unpredictable (also why I rounded it up to 4 stars)
𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁: Oh, the amount of potential this one had! Sliver of hope exists for book two to be better 🪄

🪻 ARC
This one was a fun and solid read, I’ve never read something from this author before.
The world building is interesting and I absolutely wanna know, how the story is continuing!
Thanks to NetGalley and the Author for this ARC!

This is fantasy/ fantasy romance. Our female main character is 17 and just about to graduate high school, but she's also a princess who has been kept in the mortal realm to prevent her being killed by demons for the last several years.
When demons try to kill her on her prom night, she gets rescued and taken back home. When she gets there she discovers that her father is terrible and has ruined the realm, her brother is evil and killed people, she now has a soulmate bond and also there's a whole thing with the king of hell.
There are elements of this which I think show promise, in the story and the world building, but the main character really pulled this down. If you're doing a single first person point of view, they just can't be this unlikeable.
She's a shallow, self obsessed toddler who also tries to have sex with every man she meets. Maybe it's judgemental, but I feel there's probably a better life goal for someone who's just turned 18, than having a threesome.
There are 3 love interests in this - it's not clear if we should be rooting for one over the others, as none are great. The spicy content with a 17/18 year old was maybe just not for me.
I think it tries to pack too much stuff happening in, without allowing the characters (and readers) to take a moment and feel the impact of anything.
But the ending was enough to potentially make me interested in book 2, so there is that!

URGH!, I'm so sad. I just didn't love this at all.
I don't know if I just read it at the wrong time but it just wasn't for me. I didn't love the characters, I felt they were very flat. There was a lot of world building that just felt glossed over and could have been developed a lot more. The pacing felt off and it just didn't work for me.
I can see how others love this book, and I certainly did like points of it. Will I read book 2? Yes, I probably will - just so I know what happened, But I won't be rushing back for a re-read.

I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did. Good pace and worldbuilding, funny and intriguing characters. Loved the story and loved how good its was to read this book cover to cover in one sit.