3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

Where to begin with this one. I was unaware this was a spin-off from a previous series and found myself pretty confused for most of the book. There wasn't a very well developed recap to allow anyone coming into the world for the first time to get a full understanding of the world and characters. I would recommend anyone picking this up to read the previous books before starting this one.

Kost and Gaige's relationship was the saving grace for me. Their slow burn romance kept me wanting to read more. I love them and hope we get to see them as main characters in any subsequent books.

I listened to the audiobook and overall recommend the format. There is one character narration done towards the end of the book that I struggled with but the rest of the narration and production was well done.

<i>I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the copy.</i>

3.5 stars

I wish I had known that this was a spin-off of another series before starting. The story jumps into the middle of things and I had to muddle along and try to catch up. There's a lot that's not explained well, I think the author is assuming you'll have read the previous trilogy. So please note, if you haven't read The Beast Charmer, you may be confused and not get as much out of this.

Now I did like Kost and Gaige a lot, they had a pining, slow burn romance that I adored and I appreciated seeing into both of their heads and how they were feeling. I totally ship these guys and I hope the next book features them as main characters again.

There's a good amount of action and I'm interested to learn more about the world and the creatures. I'll definitely be going back to read the previous books after this.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the copy.

I had to stop. I feel like I'm missing half of all the information needed to follow this story. Also, the one narrator sounds very young and I was super afraid that I was about to have to hear him narrate an "intimate" scene and I don't think I could have recovered from that.


If you've read the original series (I didn't realize existed) and have some background then I'll assume you'll like this one too. Unfortunately for me I didn't.

I couldn't get into this book. The story didn't draw me in. The narrator was whiny. I ended up not finishing it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting fantasy novel and I enjoyed the multiple perspectives. This was a great and exciting fantasy.

Kicked off Pride Month with this monster epic fantasy. Advertised as the first in the a series, it’s actually a spin-off of the Beast Charmer trilogy. It’s definitely action-packed, detailed and well-written…it’s just very very detailed with references to characters, powers, and a world in which I wasn’t familiar. I ended up stopping around 15% in to read the previous start to original series to be fair…and to finish without being overwhelmed and getting lost. I was super excited for the LGBTQIA+ romance in an epic fantasy book because it’s everything I wanted.

Martineau’s character romance pairings in general seem to be very enemies to lovers and this wasn’t an exception. I loved Gaige and Kost together and their super spicy scenes that were still sweet and special. It was definitely a lot packed into this book. There was a lot of tension and angst, almost too much, but it was worth it. I personally think this spin-off created a lot of new character pairing, foreshadowing and intros that were hard to follow when there was already so many character details to start. There were great voice actors to help bring the story to life, I just think it was A LOT for a “first book.” I’d definitely start with the previous series. I feel like I’d rather have more of Gaige and Kost than another “ship” for the next book. I don’t think I got enough of them together…and I’m not really excited about anyone else’s story tbh. I wish it would have been an entire LGBTQIA+ trilogy for this spin-off but doesn’t look like it. Here’s hoping!

Special thanks to #NetGalley publisher #SourcebooksCasablanca and talented author #MaxymMMartineau for the ARC in exchange for an honest review of #ShadowsoftheLost

Okay, so I didn't realise this book was the start of a spin off series, and I wouldn't have started it if I'd known how heavily this book relied on the previous events. A lot of the worldbuilding and the character backstories are based on the earlier books, and I'm not loving the constant confusion.

I'm enjoying the book enough that I want to read the first trilogy and then try pick this one up again, but I don't want to continue it now. I made it to the 64% mark, and it feels like a decent spot to stop - they haven't defeated the evils yet, but some personal leaps had been made and there was less tension between characters (for the moment, at least).

I'd give it about a 3 star so far from my current experience, with potential to be higher once I know the backstory!

Apologies to NetGalley and the publishers for not finishing the advanced copy they've provided me, but I think the book would have benefited from being marketed as a spin off series rather than an entirely new one.

The world created is magical. The story had a great pace, with a perfect mix of slow burn and excitement. The descriptions painted a vivid picture of the world. I can't wait for the next books in the series and to see what happens with the rest of the guild. The audiobook version of Maxym M. Martineau's book, narrated by Mark Sanderlin, Nick Mondelli, Jess Nahikian, and Jay Alder, is an absolute treat! The narrators brought the story to life with their captivating performances. Each character had a distinct voice, adding depth to the fantastic world. The pacing and delivery were spot-on, keeping me engaged from start to finish. I highly recommend experiencing this book through the audiobook version. It's a fantastic listening experience that enhances the magic of the story.

This book is difficult to review. I enjoyed the characters and and magic/world building but it was really difficult to get into the story. The book is not a stand alone as it continues from another series. Sometimes that is okay, but in this case it was not. I spent the first third just trying to understand what I was missing. It does make me want to go back and read the other books.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ALC.

DNF @ 30% - NOT because the book was bad, only because I realized this is a spin off from another series and I was missing a lot of info which would make this book more enjoyable so I intend to read that first and come back to this one.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Post Date Recap: Although I mostly give glowing post date recaps, we have to talk about all the frogs we kiss before we meet our prince, now don’t we?

Frog might be a bit dramatic, but this wasn’t the book date for me. But I am getting ahead of myself.

First let me start with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for setting up this date. And, as this was the audiobook version, I need to give major props to the narrators. I adored the voice inflections that were done so well and they truly added to my reading experience.

Regarding the actual plot, one glaring issue that really made it difficult for me was that, while this story is not listed as such, this is book one in a series that is a spinoff. And that small detail is actually a large one. Because it is a spinoff, as a reader you are sort of dropped into an already established world, but not given enough of the backstory to understand it. For about the first 30 ish percent of the book I was confused about exactly what was going on.

Aside from noting that the author has some “crutch phrases” she relies on heavily as descriptors, the writing was so well done. Beautiful prose and really rich sensory descriptions as well as outstanding action scenes.

The action scenes, however, do bring me to my genre concerns for this story. On NetGalley, this was listed as a fantasy read and the blurb itself depicts it as a fantasy with romantic elements. For fantasy readers, they may be put off a bit by the on page sex scenes as that is not a standard part of the high fantasy genre. For PNR/Fantasy Romance readers, the fact that the romance isn’t at the core of the story may make this an unsatisfactory read. In my opinion, I like to see standard genre “rules” broken AT TIMES (don’t you dare take away the HEA and still call it romance, though, I will fight you on that) however, I also recognize that many readers do not agree. There are expectations for readers of certain genres so breaking the rules could leave you open to some unhappy readers.

All of that aside, what really knocked my rating down on this read was the multiple POV’s. I don’t feel that random chapters in a side characters POV did anything to enrich the story and, instead, distanced me from the main characters. As I said, the prose were wonderful and the action scenes very intense, but I wasn’t sitting on the edge of my seat the way I should have been because I didn’t feel connected to the main characters which was such a sad realization for me. Had the POV’s been limited to Gaige and Kost I feel I could have and would have scored this review much higher and been more likely to recommend swiping right on this read.

This was given to me for a honest review by NetGalley. Thank you for letting me review.

Plot: this focuses on a charmers council meme er who has lost his ability to form bonds with magical creatures and turns into something darker.

My review: This book is not for me. For one, it is stated that it is the first book of a series, but it’s not. As soon as you start reading, you can tell a big chunk of the story is missing. I had no idea it was connected to another series and a lot of it didn’t make sense for this reason. Also, lgbtq+ smut is not really my thing. I know it would be for others, so if you are into it, you will enjoy it. I did dnf this at 58% into it. The writer was very detailed on the smut part, that is a plus for people who like that. Also, the audio quality was pretty good. They used different narration actors for each character. There was no confusion of what character was talking. The concept of this book seems interesting. I will be looking into the rest of the series from the beginning and seeing if it’s something I would be into.

Shadows of the Lost by Maxym M. Martineau is a fantasy romance full of adventure, beasts, and spice. This story is a dual POV between Gaige and Kost.

Gaige was once able to form bonds with magical beasts until he died. He was then brought back to life as an immortal Assassin. Now as an Assassin, he no longer has the bonding gift but is able to control shadows. He has no desire to wield shadows as weapons and is still mourning the loss of his bond with magical beasts.

Kost is the leader of the assassins who chose the life for Gaige. He watches as Gaige tries to adjust to his new life. He is worried Gaige will lose control and be overtaken by the shadows.

This book is told from both Gaige’s and Kost’s points of view and focuses on the struggles both characters are going through. This book feels very character-driven because it spends a lot of time in the character’s heads.

My favorite thing about the book was the beasts and the world. I thought the Assassins were very interesting, and liked the magical system with the shadows. The story felt fast-paced, although the miscommunications made the story drag a bit.

The audiobook edition was excellent and I thought that the narrators matches the characters well.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

DNF@38%
Would only recommend this to those who have read this author's other works.

Even though this novel is labeled as book one, it felt as if you were thrown into the middle of a series. The story reference past events multiple times that I know nothing of. The story desperately needs more explanations. Especially when it came to the characters and their history/background.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Maxym M. Martineau, and Dreamscape Media for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

This was a super fun both fantasy book -
And I loved the diversion from heteronormativity. Tons of magical beasts and drama with the Charmers’ Council. Well-written with great main characters.

Excellent narration!

I do get why this book is for some people. You don't have to wait until stuff happens, and you get into the story right away.

Unfortunately I had to dnf this book. It didn't give me anything. I didn't know that this was a spin-of series, and that should have been more clearly, because if you have not read the other series, it feels like you get thrown in halfway through the story. Yes, you can probably read this without having read the other series, but there is very little world building. You don't really know how the Magic system works, and you don't know the people. The narrators were not for me either.

So I just think that all this on top of each other made it so that this wasn't worth it for me. But, as I said, this could be great for many, as I don't think it's a bad book from what I read.

I came for the fantasy and stayed for the spice.

Honestly, I was lost for a good chunk of the book. I eventually decided to check GR and found that this is a sequel series. I really wish I would have known that before going in. That said, I felt like there wasn't enough explanation on the past and world for me to be fully invested in the story.

This is reads like a new adult, fantasy-forward story with a sprinkle of spice. When I say sprinkle, I mean there weren't many scenes but what we got was explicit. It really wasn't that much though. We get a MM romance it saved the book for me. I thought this book had an interesting premise and magic system, it's just that nothing landed for me. I love NA fantasy romance so this should be right up my alley but maybe someone who's read the previous series would enjoy this more.

I enjoyed the audiobook. We get multiple narrators for each POV. I think all of the narrators were fantastic and they really added to the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for an Advance Listener Copy of Shadows of the Lost. This is my honest review.

Rating: 3.5/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

I think I would have liked this book more if I had read the series before this one.

I thought the book did a good job, explaining everything that happened in the previous books, but I think I would have liked it more knowing all the little things from them.

I thought the world was well developed and I am interested in learning more about it, but I had to stop reading/listening to the audio because I felt so lost. If I had known that this was a spinoff series from the first trilogy, I would have read those books first before diving into this very interesting world that the author brought us.

I will say that if you have read the first trilogy you will probably love this book because you already know the characters and the world building.

Once I read the other series, I will be picking up this book and giving it a true review.

I did receive the audio of the book as well, and I do not have anything to say that is bad against the narrators at all. I thought they did a wonderful job, and it was not confusing at all to know who was talking and who wasn’t.

This is the first installment of Maxyms adult fantasy romance spin-off series, Guild of Night.

In this story we are following Gaige as he tries to navigate through his new undead life as an immortal assassin of Crour. He has lost the ability to form deep connections with animals and has no idea how to control his new shadow powers. Kost tries desperately to help Gaige train his new powers, lest the shadows consume him and drag Gaige to the shadow realm forever. Kost will not let this happen.

Gaiges story is packed full of action, romance, magic and very interesting characters. Maxym did a fantastic job of giving this story the depth of an epic fantasy without the slow writing. I went into this book not having read the original trilogy, The Beast Charmer, and it didn’t take away anything from the plot line. I only reason I would recommend you read the original trilogy first, is so oh can have an idea of the emotion attachment these friends have to each other and have a more solid picture of each individual character. But again, if you didn’t, then no harm not fowl. I could not put this book down. It is very rare that I enjoy all of the characters in a book and this was 100% one of them. I’m excited to read about each one’s origin story and home that they all get their own book!

I absolutely loved the relationship between Gaige and Kost. It didn’t feel forced or two dimensional and the relationship felt genuine to the characters. Both characters are flawed with personal trauma and it left so much room for character growth. The romance scenes in here were *chefs kiss*

Will absolutely be picking up the original trilogy while I wait (impatiently) for the next book in this series.

Did not like the story or the characters. I almost didn’t finish this but I pushed through and all I wish is that I did give up on this book earlier.