Soul of Shadow is a captivating dark fantasy filled with magic, mystery, and emotional depth. Perfect for readers who love dark, atmospheric tales with heart.

Thank you @macmillan.audio @wednesdaybooks #partner for the gifted copies of this book! #macaudio2025

I could not put this one down! Soul of Shadows by Emma Noyes was totally addicting from page one. It’s got that perfect mix of dark academia, mystery, and magic — basically everything I want in a YA fantasy book!

Our main character, Charlie, was such an easy character to root for. I loved how fiercely loyal she was, and Elias? Say no more. Total bad boy energy. You know the one — mysterious, broody, lurking in the shadows… the guy every girl had a crush on in high school. Yep, that’s him.

This book seriously had it all: drama, twists, magic, and a mystery that kept me guessing. Also, HUGE fan of the Norse mythology tie-ins? I’ve realized in the last year how much I’m drawn to that theme in books, and this one definitely fueled that fire for me!

That ending...Total cliffhanger. 😱 Sign me up for book two immediately — I’m already dying to see what happens next!

I have been a fan of Emma Noyes since I found her on the gram and realized she was such a fangirl of The Vampire Diaries. She is witty and quirky and I have always loved her posts but never tried out her books until now.

Why this one? Because this book was billed as a nostalgic vibe similar to ...you guessed it "The Vampire Diaries" with the twist of Norse Mythology. I might add there are Riverdale the TV series vibes as well.

This book is a fun ride with a little touch of dark academic vibes, mysterious MMC, an FMC to root for, monsters and more. I think this would be a good mood read in the fall and am excited it is the first in a series!

Soul of Shadow
by Emma Noyes
Soul of Shadow #1
Urban Fantasy YA Norse Mythology
NetGalley eARC
Pub Date: July 29, 2025
St. Martin's Press
Ages: 14+

After the death of her twin sister, Charlie Hudson is just there, barely functioning because a part of her is missing. But when the shoes of a missing teen are found hanging from a tree carved with symbols, her life changes.

While looking in the forest for clues, she meets Elias, who lurks in the shadows, and he isn't a nice guy or what he's pretending to be.

Coercing her to help him, she agrees, and he shows her what has been hiding in her own world.


This is a very interesting take on Norse Mythology, creating a new spin on old tales. Charlie is a somewhat likable character, though her 'spacing out' years after her sister's death screams 'help', but worse is her friends and family, while they notice, they don't 'help' her, only ignore or call her self-centered.

Elias is a character you like and hate at the same time. While handsome and sweet, he has a darker side, and you don't know which to believe. The author did a good job with the 'twists' of his character.

I did get a lot of 'Twilight' vibes with the settings and a few situations, and while some claim 'Vampire Diaries' vibes, though the author credited the series in her acknowledgments, I didn't feel it. (And there are no vampires in this story!)

The ending was a cliff-hanger twist, and I should have seen it coming, but I missed it.

Of course, there are adult situations, but it's not detailed or graphic, and there is violence, so I think it's suitable for mature fourteen and older readers.

The book cover is pretty, and I get what the flowers and their colors have to do with the story, but it doesn't give a Norse impression.

Even though it was a little slow and some parts were irritating, repetitive, and typical YA, I did like it and would like to read the next in the series.

3 Stars

I'm generally cautious about the YA I choose to read because I'm old. The premise of this one drew me in, but it turned out to be too young and angsty for me. I was bored with the high school drama. Despite there being LOTS of major issues (sibling death and grief, drinking and drug use, a teenager having disappeared, etc.), I wasn't feeling the intensity of emotions. It was like too much was getting tossed in at once, yet nothing was giving the weight it deserved.

At any rate, this is a DNF for me.

This review is already posted on my Goodreads account!

HOLY PLOT TWIST!!! Ok so boom, I was NOT expecting that ending. Last fifty pages gave me whiplash more than once, it was a rollercoaster. Honestly, this whole book was and it was so much better that the main characters were paired to work together, trying to solve the small town mysteries. I think their journey really made you question EVERYTHING. The pacing for this book was actually perfect as well. I do think the book focused a lot on the fmc’s, Charlie, main hobby too much, felt a little odd for the book itself. But of course, it came full circle baby!! Her friends were a little annoying too, but still DEFINITELY worth the read! I am so grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this arc, I truly had a blast.

A dark, mysterious fantasy with Norse mythology.

The Vampire Diaries comparison is spot on. I couldn't help but me reminded of The Vampire Diaries, while reading.

Honestly, I was lost when it came to describing the Norse gods.

Charlie, the main female character, meets a mysterious boy. Her world becomes dark and enchanting. Learning Nordic mythology, may help Charlie solve the mysterious disappearances of fellow classmates.

Don’t be fooled by how quickly I finished this book - I wasn’t a huge fan. I loved the premise and was so pumped for Norse mythology meets the moodiness of The Vampire Diaries but sadly this book did not deliver.

I found that the characters were very extreme versions of their basic personality traits and they lacked depth. There was also a lot of “something strange but nobody knows what” kind of revelations which was frustrating. It was poor foreshadowing at best.

Elias was also a very strange love interest. He literally threatened to kill Charlie’s family and a few chapters later they were fake dating.

Honestly, I almost gave this two stars but the ending was interesting enough to give it three.

I would probably read the sequel eventually but it’s not a high priority. I also would likely not read the author’s other books. I didn’t particularly enjoy the writing style.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

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.