Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

“Soul of Shadows" is a captivating young adult novel that weaves together elements of mystery, romance, and supernatural intrigue, making it a perfect blend for fans of “The Vampire Diaries” and “Pretty Little Liars”. The story follows a group of friends who uncover dark secrets within their seemingly idyllic town, where nothing is as it appears.

Overall, this mature YA novel is a must-read for those seeking a dark, romantic, and suspenseful journey filled with unexpected revelations.

I really enjoyed this one!! It is very YA so just know that going in, but the plot intrigued me from the start. I think if you’re a fan of Norse mythology and contemporary/urban YA fantasy, this book is calling your name. I’ve never read a Norse mythology book and I’ve only watched Thor once but I still had a great time. A lot of terms were not known to me but the author did a great job explaining everything related to Norse mythology to make sure the reader knew exactly what was happening.

Favorite character was the vätte hands down. What a cutie! There was a little love plot in there as well but very enemies to lovers to enemies.

Overall, it was well written and a fun time. I’m usually not a YA fantasy person and this book didn’t really change that even though I read it in 2 days, I don’t think I would read book 2 personally but I think a lot of young adult readers will eat this up!!

Thank you to NetGalley and SMP/Wednesday Books for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up this book, but I did not think it would be the addicting tale it ended up being. I could find nothing wrong while reading this book, the characters were amazing (I would die for Henry), the plot even more so. This book is so unique, it's a modern world that overlaps with all things norse (aka vikings). And I mean all things - mythology/gods, creatures, symbology, lore, and even a couple actual vikings trying to find their way back into valhalla. I devoured this book in a day, and because of THAT ENDING TWIST, I want the next one ASAP!!! Highly recommend everyone give this a try.

Soul of Shadow is a compelling YA contemporary fantasy novel centered around Charlie, a teenager whose identical twin sister died unexpectedly from bacterial meningitis about a year before. The death of her sister has sent her into depression. At a party one night Charlie wanders away from her friends and finds Norse runes carved into trees. Soon after she meets Elias, who is a mare, a creature who feeds on the terror he can inflict on others and has the ability to appear to be a teenaged boy. In the meantime, other teenagers have begun to go missing from her high school. Charlie and Elias begin to search for the missing teenagers and the person or creature who is carving the runes. The novel is engaging with plenty of plots twists and good world building and has a backstory that delves deep into Norse mythology. This is the start to a series, so if you enjoy Norse themed, clean fantasy, this book won’t disappoint.
Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the ebook arc. The story follows a girl navigating high school but starts being followed by a demon who she ends up teaming up with and she get pulled into help the demon after he threatens her. If you love Norse mythology then this is for you. While it’s wonderfully written this book it just wasn’t for me.

This book completely blew me away. If you're into shows like The Vampire Diaries—where high school drama meets a dark, supernatural twist—you’re going to be hooked. Emma's writing is both sharp and gorgeous. She nails the voice of teenagers navigating grief while still being messy, funny, and real in that very teenage way. I can’t wait for more people to read this—it deserves all the love!

This book felt like a CW show from 2009, not in a bad way but I think I would've enjoyed it more if I was still at that age in that time. Overall, I enjoyed Elias, somewhat liked Charlie, and skimmed through the second half. Not bad, just not for me.

I really enjoyed this book. Finished it in 2 days. I loved Elias, even though he was so bad and I loved Charlie! I can't wait to read more of their story!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

This is a Norse mythology-inspired book.
It had a very suspenseful beginning and I was pulled in by the mystery of it. However, I wished the story had delved more into it.
Short chapters, which is always a good thing.
Definitely gave me Twilight/Goosebumps/Stranger Things vibes. The story was kept at a plateau pace imo, I didn't feel like it got exciting and or boring. The reveal at 60% mark kinda didn't make sense to me and it kind of made me do some side eying for a bit. Like, really? 🤨 The twist at the end was pretty shocking though. That part I didn't see coming.
Very YA for those who wants to know.

Charlie is a high school junior who is trying to cope after the death of her twin. Enter mysterious newcomer, Elias. Does Elias have anything to do with the disappearances of teenagers in her town?

This book is labeled YA and very much fits that bill.

The only part I enjoyed of this book was the vatte.

I throughly enjoyed TVD in college and was very interested in a Norse story. I have no idea why TVD keeps being mentioned in reference to this book because there are NO similarities.
Unfortunately, this may be one of the worst stories I’ve ever read. I audibly laughed out loud at several points because the storyline jumps the shark. Repeatedly.

Thank you for opportunity, Netgalley.

The world building was easy to follow and was very interesting! I really enjoyed the Norse mythology and the Vampire Diaries vibes! Our FMC Charlie is going through some stuff but she is brave and is learning how to navigate her new look on life. I did really like our MMC Elias, he was definitely giving Damon vibes which I LOVED. Their relationship is defiantly flawed but I love it when an MMC makes us love him and think we are starting to understand him, then he makes us hate him (but not really.)

I can't wait for book 2 especially with that ending!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for inviting me to review Soul of Shadow!
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
This story follows Charlie, a high school junior who is grieving the loss of her twin sister. In our opening scene, we find out that another student has recently gone missing, with his shoes found in the woods by a tree marked in nordic runes. Soul of Shadow made me think of Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand meets Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzgerald (early 2010s ya, in the best way) but with nordic mythology woven in. I loved the ‘there’s-something-in-the-woods’ vibe. Elias reminded me a lot of Patch (from Hush, Hush). Morally grey, tied to a different realm. I felt like the story really kicks off at about 30% when Charlie gains access to the different realm. The way it was described made me think of a Lisa Frank world, haha. The nordic mythology bits were very intriguing.
I will say that this book was alllllmost too ya for me. I always try to age up high school aged characters in my head, but it was tricky with how many scenes took place in school or at school events.
There were also some aspects of the book that didn’t feel like they meshed well, in my opinion. Charlie and her siblings were part of a circus when they were younger, and she is still fascinated with magic tricks. This did have it’s place at the end of the book, but the two previous scenes that mentioned it felt very out of place to me.

3.75 stars

Teenage me would have DEVOURED this book. It brought out all of the nostalgic feelings and gave me major Vampire Diaries vibes. For being a YA book, the characters were really well written and didn't have the typical annoying teenager dialog.

The characters are compelling and well-developed. FMC undergoes significant growth, facing internal struggles and moral dilemmas that add depth to their journey. Supporting characters, such as [notable side character’s name] and [antagonist’s name], bring additional layers of complexity, with motivations and arcs that keep the reader invested.

This book was sort of anticlimactic to me and the plot fell flat at some points when I thought it would have picked up. I did enjoy the gist of it though. And for YA it wasn’t too juvenile.

i’d like to say a quick, huge thank you for being sent this arc! the blurb really intrigued me and the cover pulled me in.

unfortunately, this story overall felt very okay for me. i like the concept with it being vampire diaries meets norse mythology but i wish there was more showing instead of telling and everything being thrown at you all at once.

i did enjoy all of the side characters as well as the mcs! even though i felt it had a slow start it did pick up and the ending had me intrigued. i haven’t seen vampire diaries myself but i can say this has a sort of twilight feel to it which i enjoyed.

thank you again for the arc!

Despite what felt was a rocky beginning, this book was nearly perfect! In a way it felt like coming home. In vein of 90s/2010s urban fantasy series like The Vampire Diaries, The Trylle Series, The Mortal Instruments etc. Also perfect for fans of Marvel and THAT scene in Bratz: Fashion Pixies IYKYK.

In ‘Soul of Shadow’ we having high schooler Charlie Hudson as she gets dragged into the world of norse mythology and along with that our “love interest” Elias Everhart.

Now to really start this review, like I said this books gives all those early days urban fantasy vibes that is so nostalgic but works in all the ways it should. The travel into the world is perfect for seasoned and new readers of the genre, easily making this what could be the next big thing.

Where my problem lies with this book is our “love interest” Elias Everhart. Now I know the author was inspired by Damon Salvatore and Delena as a ship, but I hope Emma Noyes is aware that her book is still YA and that having a love interest that does such an unspeakable thing near the end of the book proving how evil he is, and how this will effect younger readers who start to learn what they what out of life from books. I really hope Emma will be introducing a new love interest in book two. If this was an adult fantasy or even just a high fantasy I would probably be willing to look past this a bit but i’m just trying to look out for the younger readers.

i was very excited when the publisher reached out to me with a link invite to read this e-arc!

this was a solid 4.5/5 for me.

i absolutely adored the hidden-in-plain-sight paranormal world in the vein of The Vampire Diaries and Supernatural but for a teenage audience. as a teenager between the years 2000’s and 2010’s this book made me very nostalgic!


the pacing was strong, and the mystery had me hooked, but the plot shift midway was a little abrupt. i will say the prose leaned a little heavier on the telling vs showing aspect for me personally, but it was still a very good read!

p.s, vatte owns my heart.

Missing teens and Norse signs burned into trees is the perfect spooky setting for a YA fantasy. Charlie Hudson lost her twin last year and has become more inward looking. She doesn't expect to be drawn to a mysterious, suspicious, and very handsome newcomer Elias Everhart. Elias opens her eyes to the world of Norse gods and nightmare creatures that steal happiness. Charlies discovers not only shocking secrets about the town that she lives, but also about her own family.

Complete with twists, a compelling villain romance, and fascinating world-building within modern teen life, this book is perfect for fans of Alexandra Braken's Lore series.

Soul of Shadow is book one of a trilogy that follows out FMC, Charlie, as she looks for clues following the disappearance of a few of her classmates. She teams up with Elias, a mysterious new student.

4.5 stars. I couldn’t put this down. I absolutely loved it. I thought it was well written and well paced. I loved the hidden in plain sight paranormal world. I found the Norse mythology so interesting. I really liked Charlie and found her to be a well developed character. I thought the grief she was going through was portrayed very well. The only reason this isn’t 5 stars is because the plot abruptly switches focus from the missing students to something else. The mystery does get solved though and the ending was fantastic. I can’t wait for the sequel.