Zaria is a slave, and has been for most of her life. Her origins are shrouded in mystery as is how she, and her siblings, came to be shadow bound.

I’m not sure if it was the fact that I listened to this on audio or not, but I just couldn’t get into this story. There was a lot going on that you had to wrap your head around, with different worlds, races, magical powers and all this history we had to catch up on. The narrator, for me, felt like I was in a kindy class being read a picture book. It just ruined the flow and made it all feel a bit off.

There was lots of necessary world building, but it wasn’t all too overwhelming at the start. The flashback memories as we went through allowed you to get little bits of the information and history as you went through, that helped you build the story and plot. There was lots of magic and death defying races to keep the action interesting, and don’t forget dragons!!

As for the romance part, while there were a couple of moments where I got those excited butterflies for them, it also didn’t feel fully fleshed out for me. There was a lot of secrets and not trusting the other person so they never really felt to fully connect.

It was said to be for fans of Holly Black and SJM, but I just wasn’t as connected to the world or the characters as much.

CN for slavery, SA

Thanks to #NetGallery and the publisher #FehuPress. I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Genre: Romance/Fantasy
Format: Audio
POV: Single
Spice: 🌶️/5 (mostly close door)
Age suggestion: 18+

I can't wait for book two!

Such a beautiful magical world. To me, this is Hunger Games meets Harry Potter, plus a small dash of adult spice.

I liked the main character, I loved experience of getting into a new fantacy world with different magic systems & events.

Pretty good. Kinda like ACOTAR meets Hunger Games but with different classes of people who can do different types of magic. I liked the slow burn romance though I did find Harken (the male main character) annoying at times with his inability to communicate. The world and storybuilding were great, there were some unanswered questions, such as where did Zahria and her sibilings come from (they were found in a forest as children) but I don't think it detracts from the ending which was wrapped in a neat bow.

I loved that the main character Zahria was able to win her own freedom, the author illustrated that she trained for years for both races she entered, making the story more real to me. I did feel the book dragged on a little unnecessarily in the middle.

I listened to the audiobook and found it was a little difficult to track which characters were which, like Doron and Darian (I think that's how they're spelled).

Overall good read.

DNF @34%

Zaria, a slave, is desperately trying to save her family. She entered a competition, hoping she could win her freedom. Instead, she was claimed by the Savage King (Harken). Zaria then agrees to help Harken find whoever is behind the Dark Rip; in return, he will help her save her family.

I was initially excited to start the novel since the concept sounds intriguing. Unfortunately, I was struggling to get into the story. First, too much telling instead of showing and info-dumping. The author could of focus on using more descriptive and immersive language to show the reader what is happening in the story, rather than simply telling them. Second, too many names were thrown around. I wish the author had introduced a few key characters first, giving us time to become familiar with them before introducing more. Lastly, the pacing was too slow.

I wasn't invested enough to want to pick the novel back up once I had put it down.

Overall, not for me.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Lucy Holden, and Fehu Press for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

I am hooked and I was hooked from the first chapter! Lucy has shot to the top of my favorite authors. This book had it all-adventure, mystery, romance, and obviously fantasy! I thoroughly enjoyed the whole book. The pacing was just right and the world building was so cool! I cannot wait to read more!

Overall: 5/5
Audio: 5/5
Spice: 1/5 but so respectfully and we’ll written

I read this book using both the e-book and the audio book. I started with the audio book, but found the worldbuilding too complicated for me to follow on audio - so I had to switch to e-book. I was able to switch back to audio once I was more comfortable with the world and characters.

My one issue with the audio book - long pauses in-between chapters. I kept thinking my audio book stopped playing.

This book took a little bit to be able to get into (like half of the book) It has complex world building that had me having to stop and go back to read again so that I could try to comprehend descriptions and figure out how the world works. I wanted the world to be more fleshed out and also simplified at the same time.
The book centers in the Magical world of Astria, where our main characters Zaira enters a braid race as a last ditch effort to try and free herself from slavery and save her brother Doran, who has lost into a Dark Rip. Through this event Zaira meets Harken, and he offer’s her a deal that she can’t pass up - And so begins their journey

Good tension and chemistry with witty banter between the MC’s. There’s a dragon!

I am still thinking about this book and can't wait to read the next instalment.
The narrator for the audiobook did a fantastic job. I was captivated from the very beginning.
The story flowed nicely. I enjoyed the world building and the magic system. And guess what? There's a shadow dragon. You'll fall in love with that sensitive creature as much as you'll love Harken. He’s our brooding, morally grey MMC. We learn about his character through the dreams that Zaria has when she touches her braid. This strange and unique connection between them is what brings Zaria closer to Harken, but could very well pull him away from her.
Zaria is a feisty, determined, hard working FMC. She will do anything to protect her 'siblings’.
There are plenty of mysterious elements and I am sure that much has not been revealed to us yes.
I highly recommend this book. Pick it up!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a review audio-arc. The opinions expressed are honest and my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ definitely a five star read!

What a story❤️ I can not wait for the next book.. The first 5 chapters were slow going but after that I couldn’t stop listening, The narration was great I adored her accent and it goes so well with the book. I was completely immersed into the story. The author really took their time to write a well rounded story there’s a little bit of everything from spice to action to mystery. Not to mention a magic system that I haven’t seen before.

I love that Zaria has such a realistic personality and the love she has for her siblings is admirable. She’s such a strong character but not perfect and is able to grow and learn from her mistakes. I love that this is clearly an adult book and spicy time is there but it’s not the whole plot there’s actual relationship budding and growing I can’t wait to see where it goes.

I will be recommending this book to my book friends!

What a fun fantasy book!! It has high stakes competition, slow burn romance, and an intriguing magic system! Harken and Zaria make great central characters.

I really enjoyed the way the narrator read the book. The voice was pleasant to listen to and had just enough of a ‘performance’ to it to enhance the listening experience.

Lucy Holden’s “Woven in Darkness” is an epic fantasy with some really interesting world-building. Zaria is a slave with no memory of her childhood. One day, she and some other children simply appear mysteriously along with bags of gold that fill annually to pay for their care. Her childhood is rough, working in a brothel, but she does have caring adults and she gets to attend school to learn to read and write. When the bags of gold fail to magically fill one year, Zaria must try to keep her family together while gaining her freedom before she can be sold. Harken, the Savage King, comes to her aid but not without strings attached. As they work together to achieve both their goals, their relationship grows.

This book had a lot going for it. Some of the world-building elements were hard to get a handle on at first, but they became clearer as the narrative progressed. Because the story was told in first-person perspective, it would feel unnatural to give too much exposition as a third-person narrator could do. The challenges Zaria faces and her discoveries are intriguing and kept me reading. I was a bit put off by the age difference between her and Harken (same reason I never liked the Twilight series. What does an immortal want with a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old?), but other than that I enjoyed the story and the happily ever after. The narrator, Heather Takano, did an excellent job giving voice to Zaria and had me all the more engrossed.

“Woven in Darkness” By Lucy Holden is a definite read for those who love fantasy romance, and I look forward to other titles set in this world. I received this audiobook from NetGalley.

This book pulled me in from the beginning. I found the magic system and the world to be fascinating. It is definitely one of the more unique worlds I’ve read. The main character, Zaria, was determined and a little fierce. Harken was great. And the mystery was intriguing.

3.5/5 stars
0/5 spice

I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed it for the most part, but I would have enjoyed it more if I had a physical copy. The world building was intricate and had a complex magic system that was difficult to grasp just by listening. I think I got the hang of everything mid way through the book. I'm interested to see how things develop for Zaria and Harken. Even though there was no spice, it does seem like things are just beginning for them. It took me a while to warm up to Zaria because I didn't like her decisions, but she definitely had a tough life. Harken is your typical morally grey, misunderstood villain... so, of course, I liked him.

Overall, this book could use some fine tuning, but it does have a promising start. I just think this would be better understood if it was read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Fehu Press for the ALC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and offered voluntarily.

Trigger/Content warnings:
Slavery, violence, injury, abuse

I made the mistake of starting this book after having finished one of the same genre, maybe I wasn't as amazed initially as I expected, because this book has a very complex world with magic and very ambiguous characters. This story felt like a game for characters with their own agendas as the tenuous peace is threatened. If it's romance you're after, I should warn you that it's incredibly slow, with scenes that are perhaps not as warm and detailed as some readers might prefer, so it definitely feels more s young adult.
Society here is very divided with slaves, demons, alchemists and even a dragon! There's plenty of action here too, as Zaria faces trials that surprised me by involving gondolas, at times an almost Venetian feel. I think once the reader dives into the story and understands the backstory of these characters, it's a page turner. That ending, though, is a cliffhanger, so you've been warned!

Thank you Netgalley for providing this book.
#wovenindarkness, #LucyHolden, #netgalley, #fantasy, #workbuilderfantasy

I received a copy of this audiobook through Netgalley. This is my honest review.

I felt pretty freakin' lost for large parts of this book, but part of that is because there are a lot of things about her own life that Zaria doesn't know. And since the story is told from her POV, we only get to know things that she knows. Living as a shadow-woven slave in the Seam with no memories of how she even got there puts her at a serious disadvantage, especially among the Indigold lords she finds herself rubbing elbows with after Harken claims her.

Even though the odds seemed impossibly stacked against her, I couldn't help but cheer for Zaria to achieve all of her goals. She has so much determination, it was unreal. I admire her ability to believe that she'll succeed no matter what. And I could even understand why she kept the secrets she did from Harken. The way she lived didn't breed a whole lot of trust in others.

It took me a little bit to get accustomed to the narrators accent, so I actually had to slow down the speed of the audiobook from my usual 1.5 to 1 for the first couple of chapters, just until I got used to the accent. I don't recall being annoyed by the opposite gendered voices, but I think I'm mellowing on that front as I listen to more fiction audiobooks.

I'm a little bit sad that there isn't a sequel to this book out at this time (I'm not sure if there's one coming, but I would 100 percent add it to my shelf). I just want more from this world. Overall I give Woven in Darkness 4.896 out of 5 stars.

I did try really hard to get into this book but I just couldn’t do it. The narrators voice was a bit dry and I just found myself falling asleep. The book plot was also just very confusing in the beginning with very little information and too much action to understand what’s actually happening. Perhaps I will try again with the actual ebook and see if that fares better. Thank you net galley, they author and narrator!

Wow! I really enjoyed this book. The world building was phenomenal. I loved all the characters. There were a few instances where I got a little confused but as a whole this story kept me intrigued and entertained. Not a lot of spice but things could change I'm the next book.
Strong fmm, hot misunderstood villain, possibly fated mates?
Can't wait to read the next in the series!

This was the first audiobook I ever read and it was amazing! I don't know if it was just that I could use my imagination better bc it was an audiobook or something else, but this book was so vivid for me. It was also my first fantasy book in a really long time, and I was *caught* in this world and seriously enjoyed it so freaking much. Every twist and turn had me *literally* gripping my steering wheel and Holden drew out the tension of each moment so well that I was captivated. The world was extremely well developed, although perhaps a little bit confusing at times (but I'm going to blame that on me listening at 1.75 speed). The romance between Zaria and Harken was also captivating! I will forever love a "he falls first" romance trope.

I received a free ARC of this book through Net Galley and am giving my honest review voluntarily.

I absolutely am loving this I’m not even fully done and I can say this is absolutely amazing I’m leaning toward a 4.5⭐️ read right now but I plan to read this fully after listening and might shoot uo to 5⭐️ so lovely!

I got lost.

The world building, politics, character development just didn't add up for me.

I'm new to the fantasy genre, so my review may be slightly different than those who love fantasy.

But overall I just felt bored in a sense, nothing pulled me in and held me. I did finish the book because I thought it would get better as most fantasy books have that I've read.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Was it somewhat predictable? Yes but that's also because I read a lot of fantasy and a lot of the same tropes tend to pop up often. I did enjoy the magic system, and enjoyed the world building. The characters were a little hard to like at first especially the FMC but then you start to see the reasoning behind some of their actions, and understand them a little more. I do love a brooding MMC that falls first, although I don't enjoy the miscommunication trope as it is very predictable.

Overall, the narrator did a great job. Yes, you can tell where there were parts that were re-recorded but overall, I enjoyed the voice and how the narrator handled the differences in tones from the different characters. I can't wait for the next one.

I received this book from NetGalley and Fehu Press as an advanced listener's copy in exchange for an honest review.