Outstanding. Absolutely outstanding.
I honestly wish this series could go on forever—I’m not ready to let go of this world or these characters. Queen of Shadows was everything I hoped for and more. Nisha Tuli has completely earned her spot on my auto-buy list. Every single book I’ve read by her has been a knockout, and this one was no exception.
Her writing is rich, immersive, and emotionally gripping. The tension, the twists, the chemistry... I was hooked from the first page to the last. I don’t say this lightly, but it was perfect.

If you're not already reading this series, you're seriously missing out.

Impeccable, yet again!

While im absolutely devasted that this series is over, it was such an incredible journey that I would gladly read it all over again.

Cant recommended this series enough!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Second Sky for providing me with this arc

BOOK: Queen of Shadows and Ruin
AUTHOR: Nisha J. Tuli
SERIES: The Nightfire Quartet, Book 4
PUBLISHER: Second Sky
LENGTH: 474 PAGES
OVERALL RATING: 5 Stars

There is a reason Nisha J. Tuli is one of my favorite writers as her stories always blow me away. Again I was drawn into this story right from the start. The world and character building of this story drew me in and kept me riveted.

This novel is filled with intrigue, adventure and suspense and so much more. I absolutely loved this romantic fantasy suspense. A fantastic series finale that is tied in a bow. This book is filled with excitement and plot twists that will leave readers gasping! The character development was also magnificent as I loved everything about this series.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy and an advance readers copy from the publisher. through netgalley. I voluntarily agreed to do a fair review and blog through netgalley. All thoughts, ideas and words are my own.

Dragons✔️
Found Family✔️
Magic system✔️
World Building✔️
Romantasy✔️

I love all of Nisha Tulli's writing from fantasy to contemporary and this was no expectation. The tension, the heat. It's not a series to be missed! Loved it

I’m so sad this series is over! What an amazing ending to an amazing story. The magic, the world building, the characters are all phenomenal. This is by far my favorite series of nishas and I will continue to recommend it until the end of time.

Perfect and epic conclusion

I absolutely devoured this book. I did not expect it to be such a rollercoaster of emotions and plot twists but I guess, knowing the author, I should have. Zarya is just such an amazing main character, I can't get enough of her sass, strength and devotion to doing what's right by her people and loved ones. As for Rabin, still a very tall, dark and hansome love interest that we love to see evolved throughout the books. The romance is gripping, hot and intense, and the spice on point. But I was really blown away by the plot in this one. I didn't think it would go this far in the worldbuilding and political/magical intrigue but I was there for it because OH MY GOD. Mindblowing, truly, and a real delight to read despite what it did to my poor little heart. A perfect conclusion.

I highly recommend this amazing series!

“Love makes one do impulsive, sometimes reckless things, doesn’t it?”

Thank you to netgalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. This was a great fantasy read. Loved the writing style. Loved the previous series from this author the Trial of the Sun queen.

Nisha J Tuli quickly became an auto-buy author for me after I first started reading her books in 2023. She has such an amazing ability to craft intricate, unique worlds and magic systems that keep me hooked. And the romance??? IN A CHOKEHOLD. This book/series was epic and emotional and I devoured every single book.

“I was never just a girl. I was always the reckoning.”
This book is pure warpaint. Queen of Shadows and Ruin doesn’t tiptoe into the finale, it claws its way in with shattered crowns, ancient gods, and the kind of love that’s too big to survive quietly.

Zarya is done surviving. She’s becoming. She steps into her power with fire in her hands and fury in her bones, ready to face divine enemies, betrayals, and the haunted legacy of a world built to break her. And Azar? Our blade-in-the-dark, emotionally blocked warlord? He’s finally hers in all the messy, magical, unhinged ways that matter.

“You were never too much. They were just too small.”
— this line alone had me staring into the void.

The romance here is raw, earned, and ruined. This is love that’s been torn down and rebuilt -not soft, but honest. They fight. They bleed. They choose each other, not because it’s easy, but because it matters.

🕯️ Tropes That Will Eat You Alive:
👑 God-touched girl becomes her own weapon
🖤 Battle couple energy (with emotional knives)
⚔️ Enemies to lovers, now co-ruling chaos
🔥 "I love you" but it's actually "I’d destroy heaven for you"
🏛️ Final war + divine reckoning + slow-danced trauma

This finale is for readers who want their queens to burn it down, their kings to kneel, and their stories to feel like both an ending and a rebirth.

“I am ruin. And I am yours.”

Do not read this unless you’re ready to cry, scream, and maybe whisper “long live the queen” under your breath.

8/10 would ride into battle beside her again.

The entire Nightfire Quartet is such a BINGE read! I absolutely flew through the series and book 4 was no exception. The foreboding sense of everything falling apart finally came to fruition in this last installment. My only point of contention is that the ending wrapped up too quickly. For the final book in a series, I feel as though a longer page count is completely acceptable. The ending could have been a liiiiittle more fleshed out in my opinion!

This was an incredible ending for the series! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. We finally get to meet you-know-who, and wow, that added so much weight to the events in this book. Things got dark for Zarya and Co., but as always, they rose to meet the challenge! The number of times my stomach dropped was high. Nisha made me feel all the things!! I loved how we got more POVs in this one; it added more nuance to some of the characters in the group. We get more drama, more tension, more action, and plenty of twists and turns! What a journey!!

The audiobook was incredible, and I'd absolutely recommend it as a medium for reading this series!

Thanks to the publisher for the arc of the audiobook!

This series is so massively underrated. I believe it is better than her more popular work and I believe it is better than so many other popular fantasy romance series out there. Tuli layers, a nuanced, political plot, increasing character development, heavy themes of chosen versus forced ignorance and chosen family, and she does it with such tailoring to this generation of readers. The characters are crass, unabashed, angry, and hard to love. Many of them are naïve, spiteful, and operate with clouded judgment. But their transformation and growth from book one to book 4 is so beautiful to watch and while they don’t turn into completely different people which can really take you out of the story at times when reading other fantasy books, their growth is gradual and believable, and it had me as the reader sitting with some of their beliefs and trauma to ponder over. My only minimal critique of this book would be that they were way more trusting than in prior books than this one in a bit of that is understood being that they are introduced to family after feeling so lost without one for a very large part of their lives, But I do feel they could’ve been a bit more questioning. Overall, I will be rereading the series again I’m sure I will find new elements that I didn’t even discover yet and I’m really grateful to the author for writing this and bringing it into my heart.

This series is just wonderful. This was a great conclusion to a fantastic series.
I appreciated that there weren't any slow parts of this book. It was exciting, eventful, emotional, and just a really great read.

Some of the twists were pretty wild but SO GOOD! (no spoilers here). I was on the edge of my seat at times. When Zarya was exploring the palace, I definitely felt my heart rate go up!

I am very sad that Zarya and Rabin's story is complete.

I still love the world Nisha created and it was great to be back in it.
This was my least favorite of the four... it felt a bit disjointed. I am not a fan of introducing new characters and rules int he final book of a series.

I will be reading more by this author for sure.

It’s bittersweet to say goodbye to this series and its unforgettable characters.

The final book continued to deliver the elements I loved most throughout the series:
✅ Fated mates
✅ Epic quests
✅ Found family
✅ A unique world and magic system
✅ The classic “chosen one” arc

However, I did have a few issues:
🔸 The pacing felt uneven. The first half dragged and could’ve been condensed into about 50 pages, while the ending was rushed and left me wanting more time with the characters.
🔸 Zarya and Rabin’s lack of common sense in the early chapters had me all caps texting in disbelief at their naïveté.

Still, there were some incredibly heartfelt moments and sweet declarations that truly moved me. I’ll miss this magical world and the time I spent in it.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Loved how they wrapped up the different story lines. Wish there was a longer epilouge to see where the characters ended up to get closure for all of them. Would definitely pick up this series again!

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

This was a great conclusion of a series! The spicy was immaculate and wonderful. This was an amazing series and I am in love.

A great way to wrap up this series. There was plenty of action and mystery to keep the story moving along quickly. Zarya and Rabin remain the cutest and it was a great ending.

Thanks to #netgallery for access to this ARC

Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Format: Digital
POV: Multiple
Tropes: dragon shifter, magic, freeing slaves, secrets and lies, revolution, fight the power, shitty parents, fucking weird trees that have human babies somehow??
Spice: 🌶️🌶️ /5
Age suggestion: 18+

Tuli never disappoints, and we finally get the end of the quartet! Been waiting, and it is worth it. Great fantasy development, action, intrigue, longing, everything that ,makes a great romantasy that surpasses expectation!

When I first got invited to the blog tour for this book in November, I was sad because it was book 4 in the series and I hadn't read the previous 3! But, thankfully I had 4 months to read the first 3 and they were all on Kindle Unlimited! WIN. I've been desperate to try this author for so long. My friend talks about the Trial of the Sun Queen a lot, which I still need to read.
Well, my first foray into a series by Nisha J. Tuli, and I loved it. This book had the drama I was hoping for, the ending that made my jaw drop (but in a good way!) and a world that I was sad to leave when I finished it.
I cannot wait to read more from this author.