Such a great fantasy romance! Adored the writing and the setting, and it was so easy to fall in love with the characters. I can't wait to read more of this author's work!

3.5 stars. The premise of this book was super intriguing - a mystery in a small town, where Nordic legends are more than they appear to be. Charlie is a high schooler who has lost her sister, and is suddenly in the middle of a mystery where her classmates are disappearing. She meets Elias, a mystery boy who is not who he seems.

I really enjoyed the legends and creatures used throughout. Henry is my favorite. The pacing in the front half of the book was a bit slow but picked up! I also wasn’t sure about our characters being high schoolers - I was almost wishing they were a bit older. It was a fun read overall. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Soul of Shadow by Emma Noyes is a thrilling, twisty YA romantasy that had me hooked from the very first disappearance in the woods. Rich with Norse mythology and layered secrets, it blends magic, gods, and monsters in with a modern high-school setting; it shouldn't work but somehow it does. If you love magic, mystery, and a twinge of angst wrapped up in ancient lore, this book definitely delivers.

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Soul of Shadow is the first in a new YA romantasy by Emma Noyes. I was excited to read this when I learned it was inspired by The Vampire Diaries and included Norse mythology. It's clear from the start that TVD is a favorite of the author. The main character reminds me so much of Elena, and her two closest friends are really similar to Elena's BFFs, too. There are even some places and events that are clearly based on TVD. I found myself comparing so many elements of the book to TVD, as well as Twilight and Loki, and it sometimes got in the way of my enjoyment of the story.

The MMC is a dark and morally grey mystery, and the romance between him and Charlie was riddled with conflict and tension. They definitely had chemistry, but some of the things he said and did bothered me. I don't know if I'd label this a romance, though I have a feeling that as the story progresses, it will develop into a more romantic relationship. Right now, it feels manipulative and abusive. I guess it ran just a little too dark and twisted for me. I was actually more interested in the romance between two of the secondary characters, the relationship between Charlie and her siblings, and the friendships.

The integration of Norse mythology was interesting, and I liked the fantasy elements. That being said, the story was slow at times, and I never got fully invested in it, the characters, or the love story. I don't know how Charlie could fall for Elias after some of the things he did to her and made her do. The threats he made and the things he said... he's going to need a massive redemption arc in the next book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Soul of the Shadow is the kind of fantasy that grabs you by the heart and refuses to let go. Emma Noyes delivers a dark, sweeping journey filled with aching tension, vivid worldbuilding, and a protagonist you can’t help but root for—even when the choices are messy and the stakes are soul-deep.

The emotional threads are tightly woven—friendship, longing, identity, power—and the pacing never lets up. Every twist feels earned, every moment sharp with consequence.

If you love morally complicated leads, tangled alliances, and stories where survival demands sacrifice, this book belongs on your shelf. The ending left me wrecked in the best possible way.

Soul of Shadow by Emma Noyes was such a fun read. Thank you @netgalley @stmartinspress @wednesdaybooks for the chance to read. I loved the Norse mythology in this. The expansion of the basic lore to include the magical creatures from Norse mythology made me love the book. I liked how the author explained certain things in Norse mythology in the book making it’s so those who don’t have a good handle on Norse mythology can still enjoy. The ending with cliffhanger was really good and I enjoyed the little mystery that was found in the book.

I enjoyed this book. It's was a quick read. The plot is interesting, but the characters, except for Charlie, do lack depth. The book has Norse mythology entering the modern world. There are modern references that people will recognize. Charlie is an interesting main character. She deals with new knowledge and her sister's death. Elias is another main character that is more developed but still a mystery. Lou, Abigail, and Mason are somewhat flat characters, but they are important to Charlie. If you like the fast pace of YA and Norse mythology, you'll probably enjoy this book.

Unfortunately, Soul of Shadow just wasn’t for me. I found it hard to connect with the story or characters, and I think part of that might be because it leans more into the YA genre than I typically enjoy. I also wasn’t in love with the writing—it didn’t fully pull me in the way I’d hoped. This one just didn’t click for me.

Emma Noyes pays tribute to Norse mythology in a modern tale that blends a missing person mystery into a story of magic, grief, and a (clean) enemies-to-lovers romance. There’s a lot happening in this book, but altogether it is a very easy and compelling summer read. I would absolutely recommend it to any YA fantasy fans!

Okay, so first of all - Vampire Diaries and Norse mythology? Um, yes please. I was sooo excited to receive this as an ARC - thank you!!

This is the first book I have read from Emma Noyes and it very quickly convinced me to dive into her others. I read more adult fantasy vs YA but A Soul of Shadow is top notch YA fantasy. I felt such a deep connection to Charlie and her development throughout the story, and Elias would have got me in a lot of trouble in highschool. Perfectly matched for each other and their story was worked in flawlessly.

The immersion of Norse mythology into the story was *chef's kiss*. Definitely add this to your TBR when it releases in July! No notes, I just thoroughly enjoyed reading A Soul of Shadow!

Okay, so “Soul of Shadow” by Emma Noyes just left me feeling kind of meh, and I hate when that happens with a book that has such a promising setup. The writing itself is solid, don’t get me wrong, but the whole thing skewed way younger than I expected. I was gearing up for some serious high-stakes tension, but instead got this oddly campy vibe that made me wonder if I accidentally picked up someone’s middle grade manuscript by mistake.

The circus background and magic obsession could have been such a cool character trait, but it just felt flat and underbaked to me. Like, I could tell the author was really trying to create this mysterious, quirky protagonist, but it came across more forced than fascinating. There were definitely glimmers of what this book could have been, and Noyes clearly has talent, but the execution just didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I’m landing at 3 out of 5 stars, perfect for a lazy afternoon read but not the page-turner I was hoping for.

I DNFed this book. I found it uninteresting which is sad because anything comped to THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, my favorite show, will have me eager to read. I don’t understand the comparison to TVD here. I honestly think it may be misleading and could backfire. This is more Twilight, which I can appreciate as a staple series in the YA category, but didn’t personally feel drawn towards.

This isn't my typical genre when reading but can say that I enjoyed it. This book had so many fun twists and turns throughout it that made it so much fun and made me not able to put it down.

🖤✨ ARC Review: Soul of Shadow by Emma Noyes ✨🖤
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — A haunting, heart-racing romantasy that shreds your soul in the best way!

If The Vampire Diaries and Heartless Hunter had a beautifully cursed baby with secrets, sharp banter, and forbidden love, this would be it. 💔🌌

🖤 Meet Charlie Hudson — quiet, invisible, just trying to make it through junior year. Until one of her classmates vanishes in the woods, leaving behind nothing but shoes and eerie symbols carved into a tree. That’s when everything flips — reality cracks open and something otherworldly steps through. 😱🌲✨

Enter Elias Everhart — mysterious, magnetic, and frustratingly unreadable. He’s hiding something. Scratch that—he’s hiding a lot. And Charlie can’t stay away. The chemistry? Undeniable. The danger? Off the charts. 🔥👀

💫 What I LOVED:

Enemies-to-lovers tension with actual stakes (and maybe gods 👀)

Shadowy secrets that unfold like spells 🖤🪄

A rich, dark world just beneath the surface of reality — complete with monsters, magic, and myths

THAT TWIST. You’ll know when you get there. And yes, you’ll scream. 😭⚡

This book is packed with heartache, fated love, and a creeping sense that nothing — and no one — is what they seem. It's gothic, romantic, magical, and crackling with tension.

If you're into slow-burn romance, morally gray love interests, and stories that leave you gasping and aching for book two, Soul of Shadow needs to be on your TBR ASAP.

📚💔 Thank you for the ARC — I’m still recovering emotionally.
Monsters. Magic. Love that shouldn’t be. And a heroine who might be the key to it all.

#ARCReview #SoulOfShadow #EmmaNoyes #RomantasyReads #ShadowBoysAndSecrets #YAwithBite #MagicAndMonsters #HeartbreakIncoming

I ended up DNFing at 40 percent. The writing was great and if I was 18 years old, I’d gobble this up. I think it just felt immature for this 36 year old. Lovers of YA and teenage drama though, will enjoy!

Soul of Shadows was described as Vampire Diaries x Atlas Six and I can totally see Vampire Diaries as a comparison but I also want to offer Twilight. The high school set up echoes both where a young main character encounters the new strange handsome guy in town and begins to unravel his secrets. A glimmer of morally grey and an enemies start—well you can see where this is going.

Inspired by Norse mythology the magic and monsters are intriguing pulling the reader through the story along the main character as the otherworld unfolds. Balanced with that are high school junior year challenges and teen angst.

Oh and wait until you meet the little Nordic creature (no spoilers).

This book reminded me of The Vampire Diaries in the best way. Charlie is in high school and finds her way into a mythological world with Elias. I think this was a great intro into this world and I'm excited to read future books. The only part I didn't like was what Elias did at the end.

High school, mysterious death, new boy in town, vampires? Soul of Shadow is a YA paranormal romance that readers will love to sink their teeth into! For fans of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight and Susan Dennard's The Luminaries.

Quite honestly I went in blind, I liked the colors on the cover, it’s YA fantasy, didn’t read the synopsis at all (whoops). So what started as a typical urban teenage murder mystery turned into a fantastic story steeped in Norse mythology with fake dating, a shadow daddy and lots of twists and turns along the way. I absolutely loved it and can’t wait for the rest of the series! Clean romance.

I have been a fan of Emma’s since her first series, The Sunken City trilogy. I absolutely loved that series and will always recommend it. I hate saying this though, but this book fell so flat for me. In all honesty, I only kept reading since it was an ARC and I wanted to give it the full shot it deserved. The writing is good. Nothing wrong there.

The storyline though, awful. I wish everyone, including the author, would stop saying this is for fans of the Vampire Diaries. The only crossover to that show is the blatant copying of the character descriptions, setting, and character relationships i.e. the main character is a loner after losing her sister (Alena) and has two best friends, the very peppy-overly-involved-worried about college-blond friend (Caroline), and the mixed race friend who is potentially bi-interested in her brother-goes with the flow friend (Bonnie). I mean the description of Charlie’s room are identical to Alena’s and the physical characteristics of Elias could not be more spot on to Stephen. I get it. The author is known for her obsession with Vampire Diaries and a large part of her notoriety on social media is due to her videos about the show but this was too much. The book even starts with a back to school bonfire which is exactly how episode one of the show started.

Vampires may be overused in the fantasy realm right now but Norse mythology was not the way to try and change up the storyline. Loki is overplayed. I did not like the Valkyrie twist that’s about 60% of the way in. I can’t say more on that twist due to spoilers, but wasn’t a fan. Super disappointed as I have been waiting so long to start this. I will not be finishing the series.

Will be posted on Instagram profile laka52489 on 5/31/2025