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The Last Gift #1
Where Shadows Lie
The Chosen One is dead.Only his sister can take his place.Disabled since childhood, Elenor was content to live in her brother’s shadow, besting her cousins at cards and sneaking her girlfriend into her room at night. Now she’s next in line for the throne and beset on all sides by factions out for blood. With time ticking down until someone manages to kill her too, Elenor will be forced to choose between accepting her father’s despotic rule or risking everything for her late brother’s lofty ideals.
Meanwhile, from the rainy streets of Lirin to the scorching dunes of the Mondaer Desert, the death of the Chosen One has inadvertently broken a chain of events five centuries in the making. Ancient forces move in the shadows, calling in debts and striking deals. A monster with a thousand faces fingers his knife, ready to kill, and a pair of fugitives run for their lives, unaware of the danger they carry with them.
Filled with intrigue, romance, and an adorable baby dragon, this own-voices Gaslamp Epic Fantasy puts a disabled, lgbtq+ protagonist front and center.
Meanwhile, from the rainy streets of Lirin to the scorching dunes of the Mondaer Desert, the death of the Chosen One has inadvertently broken a chain of events five centuries in the making. Ancient forces move in the shadows, calling in debts and striking deals. A monster with a thousand faces fingers his knife, ready to kill, and a pair of fugitives run for their lives, unaware of the danger they carry with them.
Filled with intrigue, romance, and an adorable baby dragon, this own-voices Gaslamp Epic Fantasy puts a disabled, lgbtq+ protagonist front and center.
505 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 1, 2021
About the author
Allegra Pescatore
13 books117 followersBorn in a small Italian village, I went on a quest around the world and have finally settled into a magical cottage in PA. I write a lot, and I read a lot. Love all fantasy and sci-fi, especially if it features diverse characters or authors.
My ratings:
5 stars - Wonderful. I loved reading it, had a great time, and will likely read it again and talk about it with my friends.
4 stars - good, solid, enjoyable book. I had fun and while I may not read it again, I'm glad I did.
3 stars - Not particularly memorable, but I'm happy I found it. While it may not have been my cup of tea, I'm glad it exists.
2 stars - This had issues. Not unreadable, but not something I finished or enjoyed in the end.
1 star - DNF or read because I am a masochist to loves pain. Someone else might love it, but it was not for me.
No rating: Either I haven't gotten around to writing a review, I didn't finish it, or it was not my genre of choice and therefore I chose not to review it because I am not the intended audience.
My ratings:
5 stars - Wonderful. I loved reading it, had a great time, and will likely read it again and talk about it with my friends.
4 stars - good, solid, enjoyable book. I had fun and while I may not read it again, I'm glad I did.
3 stars - Not particularly memorable, but I'm happy I found it. While it may not have been my cup of tea, I'm glad it exists.
2 stars - This had issues. Not unreadable, but not something I finished or enjoyed in the end.
1 star - DNF or read because I am a masochist to loves pain. Someone else might love it, but it was not for me.
No rating: Either I haven't gotten around to writing a review, I didn't finish it, or it was not my genre of choice and therefore I chose not to review it because I am not the intended audience.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
April 22, 2020
4.5 stars
For an astonishing debut by an Indie author to watch for.
Where Shadows Lie has a huge page count as both first in series and debut novels go and yet, it reads pretty fast.
Perhaps due to the wonderful combination between a fast paced plot and a huge variety of fully fleshed-out tridimensional characters, on the background of an impressingly vivid, lush and finely structured world.
Add to it a lot of plot twists and edge-of-the-seat political intrigue, ethical dilemmas, both personal as well as general and there you go - the perfect recipe for an intriguing and unputdownable read.
I for one admit I found it pretty difficult to set it down.
There are so many downright impressive things to note about this novel, that doesn't really read like a debut novel at all.
The wordbuilding is excellent and so is the prose.
The characters are all masterfully built; flawed and perfectly relatable with. Each and everyone of them in different shades of gray, just like any normal human out there. And Elenor the most complex and impressive of them all. She is clearly the hero and yet, she makes so many mistakes and walks that very fine line in between datkness and light. I love the way she was written.
The cultures are downright astonishing and the world... impressive.
I also loved the way the LGBTQ community was represented. Because here the sexuality was not what defined the characters, it was just an integral part of their being.
Tons of action and a LOT of political intrigue and scheaming are nicely balanced with both drama and humour. However, some of the political intrigue parts seemed to drag at times for me and that is also the reason I'm not rating it a full 5.
And yet, I am looking forward to the sequel because, as a whole, this was a downright impressive book!
Copy received from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you Allegra Pescatore!
I truly loved this.
Find this review and more on my book review and cover art blog The Magic Book Corner
For an astonishing debut by an Indie author to watch for.
Where Shadows Lie has a huge page count as both first in series and debut novels go and yet, it reads pretty fast.
Perhaps due to the wonderful combination between a fast paced plot and a huge variety of fully fleshed-out tridimensional characters, on the background of an impressingly vivid, lush and finely structured world.
Add to it a lot of plot twists and edge-of-the-seat political intrigue, ethical dilemmas, both personal as well as general and there you go - the perfect recipe for an intriguing and unputdownable read.
I for one admit I found it pretty difficult to set it down.
There are so many downright impressive things to note about this novel, that doesn't really read like a debut novel at all.
The wordbuilding is excellent and so is the prose.
The characters are all masterfully built; flawed and perfectly relatable with. Each and everyone of them in different shades of gray, just like any normal human out there. And Elenor the most complex and impressive of them all. She is clearly the hero and yet, she makes so many mistakes and walks that very fine line in between datkness and light. I love the way she was written.
The cultures are downright astonishing and the world... impressive.
I also loved the way the LGBTQ community was represented. Because here the sexuality was not what defined the characters, it was just an integral part of their being.
Tons of action and a LOT of political intrigue and scheaming are nicely balanced with both drama and humour. However, some of the political intrigue parts seemed to drag at times for me and that is also the reason I'm not rating it a full 5.
And yet, I am looking forward to the sequel because, as a whole, this was a downright impressive book!
Copy received from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you Allegra Pescatore!
I truly loved this.
Find this review and more on my book review and cover art blog The Magic Book Corner
January 24, 2022
This book I picked up as it’s the SPFBO Community Discord book pick of Dec-Jan. I’m actually really glad that I did get to this as it was a story which, although slower to hook me, was full of drama and excitement by the end. This book certainly takes a bit to introduce its world and the way that everyone fits together, but once you know who is who you start to uncover a big vast world of towns, kingdoms and deserts, and see the divided ideals and leaders within.
We follow a few key characters:
Elenor - Princess who is a disabled character (she has issues with her legs) who has lived a life of denial. Although she sees the flaws in her family it takes being kidnapped to really get her to think about what her family are doing to their lands, and she has a lot of soul searching to do over the course of the book.
Gabriel - a young man who doesn’t know just how vital a player he is. Lover to Fay and keen to fight back against the oppression enforced by the king, he is key to the rebel group and a big player in wanting to fight for change.
Fay - young woman and lover to Gabriel she is determined to be feisty and fun and still get the job done. Her usual would be to help Gabriel but she also spends her time fleeing from groups who want her dead.
Tellen - a young noble who joins the rebels and is mixed up in kidnapping the princess and trying to fix the kingdom.
North - a namer who has strong morals and is very keen to ‘do the right thing’. He’s a little lost on his direction and where he wants to be and what he will willingly do, but he’s keen to help and care for people.
Daemon - Some kind of immortal-esque being who is a big enigma to many of the other characters he lives with. He’s key to changing the tide if many things and he’s a very important player in the game.
The magic of this world is largely epic from the gods who control the players behind the scenes, to pods and energy and power sharing, to blasting and using magic, to Gifts bestowed on people. There’s a lot to unpick and learn about we time goes and I enjoyed the later half of the book far more when the magic and action truly starts to ramp up :)
There’s also dragons but these are kind of just being introduced in this book. It seems there will be more revealed on them in due course.
There is a bisexual main character here and a f/f lesbian relationship so that’s nice to see if you don’t mind a bit of romance in your books.
The world is fairly big and it feels like we’ve only just scratched the surface so I’m keen to see what’s coming up next. I am particularly interested in how gifts/magic is acquired and what the scope of the magic is, so we’ll see if book 2 holds up soon! 3.5*s
We follow a few key characters:
Elenor - Princess who is a disabled character (she has issues with her legs) who has lived a life of denial. Although she sees the flaws in her family it takes being kidnapped to really get her to think about what her family are doing to their lands, and she has a lot of soul searching to do over the course of the book.
Gabriel - a young man who doesn’t know just how vital a player he is. Lover to Fay and keen to fight back against the oppression enforced by the king, he is key to the rebel group and a big player in wanting to fight for change.
Fay - young woman and lover to Gabriel she is determined to be feisty and fun and still get the job done. Her usual would be to help Gabriel but she also spends her time fleeing from groups who want her dead.
Tellen - a young noble who joins the rebels and is mixed up in kidnapping the princess and trying to fix the kingdom.
North - a namer who has strong morals and is very keen to ‘do the right thing’. He’s a little lost on his direction and where he wants to be and what he will willingly do, but he’s keen to help and care for people.
Daemon - Some kind of immortal-esque being who is a big enigma to many of the other characters he lives with. He’s key to changing the tide if many things and he’s a very important player in the game.
The magic of this world is largely epic from the gods who control the players behind the scenes, to pods and energy and power sharing, to blasting and using magic, to Gifts bestowed on people. There’s a lot to unpick and learn about we time goes and I enjoyed the later half of the book far more when the magic and action truly starts to ramp up :)
There’s also dragons but these are kind of just being introduced in this book. It seems there will be more revealed on them in due course.
There is a bisexual main character here and a f/f lesbian relationship so that’s nice to see if you don’t mind a bit of romance in your books.
The world is fairly big and it feels like we’ve only just scratched the surface so I’m keen to see what’s coming up next. I am particularly interested in how gifts/magic is acquired and what the scope of the magic is, so we’ll see if book 2 holds up soon! 3.5*s
June 29, 2022
Where Shadows Lie was a great introduction into a brand new world filled with political intrigue, betrayal, rebellions, conspiracy, and so much more. After reading the author's acknowledgements in regards to the path this story took from beginning to end, it made it that much more special to read.
July 9, 2021
https://www.bookwormblues.net/2021/07...
Allegra Pescatore and I have something in common, and I didn’t even realize it until she reached out to me, and that is Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. It’s something we both live with, and I think, in a lot of ways, the experience of living with this chronic illness informs, to a certain extent, the stories we tell. What interested me in Where Shadows Lie when I first saw it, was the wheelchair-user on the cover. I’ve never seen a fantasy book with a wheelchair-user on the cover before, and, as an ambulatory wheelchair-user myself, I didn’t realize how much I needed to see that until I actually saw it.
At the end of the day, disabled people deserve to be in stories too. We can be main characters, front and center. We can save the day. We exist, and we should be in books. It really is as simple as that. And having that kind of personal connection with not just the author, but the character front and center on the cover of this work, really profoundly moved me to an extent I doubt the author will ever realize.
Where Shadows Lie is one of those books that immediately pulled me in. The first line is quite a hook, and from there I just sped along. The story is told from five points of view, which allows readers to really get a fleshed-out view of the plot and its evolution from different sides of the conflict(s). Each of the point of view characters were well fleshed out and felt real. None of them dipped into Pollyanna territory, and none of them ever felt two-dimensional. Pescatore obviously spent a lot of time carefully crafting her characters, making them all unique, with memorable voices and likes and dislikes. Small details that made them so terrifically real.
Furthermore, Pescatore gives her characters room to make mistakes, and bad decisions. They love fiercely, and they fall hard. They grow and develop in unexpected ways, and each of them are pushed past their comfort zones as well. None of them are purely good, all with foibles and darker desires to balance out the elements that shine so bright. Furthermore, I really appreciated the LGBTQIA+ rep, and how it was never a defining part of anyone in the book but just one element of who they were.
No, you won’t always agree with the characters or motivations. There were a few times when I wanted to shake someone and say, “WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?” But isn’t that what good books do? If characters always did what I wanted them to do, books would be boring.
The other place where Pescatore really shines is her worldbuilding. The world itself is cunningly created, with a ton of depth and history, details woven throughout the story make the world feel large and sprawling, as complex and dynamic as the world we live in. No detail was overlooked, no element haphazardly thrown in. I had a real sense that Pescatore probably geeked out a lot when creating both her characters and her world, and had a lot of fun doing it, because I felt that excitement throughout the book. These elements of development, the careful way they were created and used in the book, really spoke to me. While extremely well done, it was perhaps the author’s passion for her world and characters that spoke to me more. I kept thinking, “This author really loves what she’s doing here” as I read, and those tend to be the books that stick with me the most. An author’s passion is infectious.
The magic system is interesting and layered, with different kinds of magic used by different people for different reasons. It’s something that causes a bit of conflict throughout the book, as many of these places, including Lirin, where the book takes place, have tried to control and limit the use of magic. This has a way of creating a certain amount of social tension, which ripples just about everywhere. There are interesting explorations of economic impact, as well. The ultimate impact of a lot of these magic-use limitations results in a further-divided society where there are obvious haves, and have-nots. Those who have opportunity, and those who don’t, and that particular chasm is made even wider by numerous other strains, like politics, and social and religious pressures. Pescatore really spent a lot of time exploring the gulf that separates people, not shying away from uncomfortable conversations, nor from showing the harsh reality and impacts of these divides to both her characters and her readers alike.
The main religion here involves five gods. While most people view them as abstract and remote, figures that exist but at a distance, they really aren’t that at all, and that’s where the book truly shines. These gods take a very real interest in the events on the world they rule over, and they often manipulate them through human counterparts: pawns, and loyal subjects. Their reach is wide, and powerful, and I found the insertion of these gods and their mysterious aims to be just as interesting and dynamic as just about everything else. In a society that is already torn in so many different ways, this particular element of the story was that final push it needed to take it from a really good book to a book I absolutely loved.
There’s a lot in Where Shadows Lie. I mean, this book has a ton going on, and it’s just relentless in every respect. It’s very obviously the first book in a series, where so much is being set up, and while there is resolution, there are doors open for expansion in the world, characters, and plot as well. It is epic in every possible respect. If I had to pick on any parts of it, I would say some of the dialogue felt a little cumbersome, and there were one or two shadowy figures who perhaps didn’t feel as fleshed out as the rest of the cast, but those are small potatoes. I had an absolute blast with this book and I really can’t wait to she where Pescatore takes the series next.
At the end of the day, it seems like Where Shadows Lie is largely an exploration of change, whether personally, socially, politically, religiously, or magically. Everything in this book seems to be in flux, and where Pescatore seems to find solid ground as an author is exploring how those changes personally impact the characters she’s chosen to experience it through, and then ripple from them into the wider world. It’s politically heavy and there’s a lot of intrigue here, but there’s also a lot of very quiet personal moments as well.
Where Shadows Lie was absolutely fantastic. From the first page, I knew this was a book I would love reading. It put Pescatore on my radar as an author to watch. I can’t wait to see where she takes this series next.
Allegra Pescatore and I have something in common, and I didn’t even realize it until she reached out to me, and that is Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. It’s something we both live with, and I think, in a lot of ways, the experience of living with this chronic illness informs, to a certain extent, the stories we tell. What interested me in Where Shadows Lie when I first saw it, was the wheelchair-user on the cover. I’ve never seen a fantasy book with a wheelchair-user on the cover before, and, as an ambulatory wheelchair-user myself, I didn’t realize how much I needed to see that until I actually saw it.
At the end of the day, disabled people deserve to be in stories too. We can be main characters, front and center. We can save the day. We exist, and we should be in books. It really is as simple as that. And having that kind of personal connection with not just the author, but the character front and center on the cover of this work, really profoundly moved me to an extent I doubt the author will ever realize.
Where Shadows Lie is one of those books that immediately pulled me in. The first line is quite a hook, and from there I just sped along. The story is told from five points of view, which allows readers to really get a fleshed-out view of the plot and its evolution from different sides of the conflict(s). Each of the point of view characters were well fleshed out and felt real. None of them dipped into Pollyanna territory, and none of them ever felt two-dimensional. Pescatore obviously spent a lot of time carefully crafting her characters, making them all unique, with memorable voices and likes and dislikes. Small details that made them so terrifically real.
Furthermore, Pescatore gives her characters room to make mistakes, and bad decisions. They love fiercely, and they fall hard. They grow and develop in unexpected ways, and each of them are pushed past their comfort zones as well. None of them are purely good, all with foibles and darker desires to balance out the elements that shine so bright. Furthermore, I really appreciated the LGBTQIA+ rep, and how it was never a defining part of anyone in the book but just one element of who they were.
No, you won’t always agree with the characters or motivations. There were a few times when I wanted to shake someone and say, “WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?” But isn’t that what good books do? If characters always did what I wanted them to do, books would be boring.
The other place where Pescatore really shines is her worldbuilding. The world itself is cunningly created, with a ton of depth and history, details woven throughout the story make the world feel large and sprawling, as complex and dynamic as the world we live in. No detail was overlooked, no element haphazardly thrown in. I had a real sense that Pescatore probably geeked out a lot when creating both her characters and her world, and had a lot of fun doing it, because I felt that excitement throughout the book. These elements of development, the careful way they were created and used in the book, really spoke to me. While extremely well done, it was perhaps the author’s passion for her world and characters that spoke to me more. I kept thinking, “This author really loves what she’s doing here” as I read, and those tend to be the books that stick with me the most. An author’s passion is infectious.
The magic system is interesting and layered, with different kinds of magic used by different people for different reasons. It’s something that causes a bit of conflict throughout the book, as many of these places, including Lirin, where the book takes place, have tried to control and limit the use of magic. This has a way of creating a certain amount of social tension, which ripples just about everywhere. There are interesting explorations of economic impact, as well. The ultimate impact of a lot of these magic-use limitations results in a further-divided society where there are obvious haves, and have-nots. Those who have opportunity, and those who don’t, and that particular chasm is made even wider by numerous other strains, like politics, and social and religious pressures. Pescatore really spent a lot of time exploring the gulf that separates people, not shying away from uncomfortable conversations, nor from showing the harsh reality and impacts of these divides to both her characters and her readers alike.
The main religion here involves five gods. While most people view them as abstract and remote, figures that exist but at a distance, they really aren’t that at all, and that’s where the book truly shines. These gods take a very real interest in the events on the world they rule over, and they often manipulate them through human counterparts: pawns, and loyal subjects. Their reach is wide, and powerful, and I found the insertion of these gods and their mysterious aims to be just as interesting and dynamic as just about everything else. In a society that is already torn in so many different ways, this particular element of the story was that final push it needed to take it from a really good book to a book I absolutely loved.
There’s a lot in Where Shadows Lie. I mean, this book has a ton going on, and it’s just relentless in every respect. It’s very obviously the first book in a series, where so much is being set up, and while there is resolution, there are doors open for expansion in the world, characters, and plot as well. It is epic in every possible respect. If I had to pick on any parts of it, I would say some of the dialogue felt a little cumbersome, and there were one or two shadowy figures who perhaps didn’t feel as fleshed out as the rest of the cast, but those are small potatoes. I had an absolute blast with this book and I really can’t wait to she where Pescatore takes the series next.
At the end of the day, it seems like Where Shadows Lie is largely an exploration of change, whether personally, socially, politically, religiously, or magically. Everything in this book seems to be in flux, and where Pescatore seems to find solid ground as an author is exploring how those changes personally impact the characters she’s chosen to experience it through, and then ripple from them into the wider world. It’s politically heavy and there’s a lot of intrigue here, but there’s also a lot of very quiet personal moments as well.
Where Shadows Lie was absolutely fantastic. From the first page, I knew this was a book I would love reading. It put Pescatore on my radar as an author to watch. I can’t wait to see where she takes this series next.
March 8, 2020
I received an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Allegra Pescatore’s Where Shadows Lie feels like it should be on the shelf at every bookstore in the nation published by TOR or some other huge fantasy publishing house instead of an indie title (and I say that as a fellow indie author and one who now reads more indie than traditionally-published books). It is nigh (but not quite) a perfect debut that I would recommend to any adult (more on that at the end). The biggest recommendation I can give? This will be the first time I will actually buy a book I was already given a free copy of in exchange for a review – it’s that good.
The scope is massive, approximately 33% longer than The Fellowship of the Ring (the longest volume in The Lord of the Rings), and yet it does not feel bloated. The characters are fleshed out, with all but one (the primary antagonist in this first book) having both their vices and virtues delved into in great detail. This means, going forward, we aren’t sure who the heroes and villains will be. Just like there was one obvious villain, there is one obvious hero (Elenor, the main character), but she does have plenty of weaknesses that could cause her to either fail or become an anti-hero as the story continues in later novels. The world is finely detailed, with multiple cultures that divide both along physical boundaries as well as their patron deities which affect their culture.
There is action, political intrigue, and interpersonal drama in spades (sprinkled with bits of wry humor and sarcasm). The action is executed flawlessly, with easy-to-follow, exciting battles. The personal drama and character interactions also are well executed. Though in two cases (out of the dozens), personal conflicts felt a bit forced for the sake of moving the plot, the rest felt perfectly natural given the characters’ personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. The one weakness I feel the book has it occasionally catches what I call “Phantom Menace Syndrome” – there are a few chapters of pure dialogue that are meetings to either set the political backdrop or provide updates. This is not always the case – often Allegra provides context and updates to the political situation as the characters are navigating them, and other times meetings were absolutely necessary as powerful figures indeed wouldn’t make a rash decision without bringing all affected parties to the table. Still, I feel there were a handful of meetings that could have been snipped and the information conveyed naturally as the characters act in the world.
But these are minor gripes. The book was so exciting it often caused me to stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning before needing to be at work by 9 AM, just trying to figure out what happens next. And, as I said at the start, this is the first time I couldn’t tell I was reading an indie book. Some of that was the technical quality is superior to any indie book (and even many small press books) I have read, but the main thing is the book, in spite of its length, was incredibly lean. Every word means something, advances either the plot or a character in some way, and yet there was no lack of depth in the world. That is a feat I have never seen in an indie Epic Fantasy before. If someone were to ask me to provide them a book that proved indie books can be just as good as those that come from the big publishers, this will be the book I recommend.
To clarify what I said earlier about recommending this book to any adult, there are some mature themes and scenes in this novel. Though they do not come anywhere near overwhelming the book, there are two explicit love-making scenes, many F-bombs (90% by one character), and it also contains both homosexual and bisexual characters (the last of which will be seen as a positive by many). Some people, especially of a religious background, may not be comfortable with the book because of this. However, as a devout Christian myself, I still found myself crazily enjoying the book (though I did become a skimmer during the love-making scenes). But then again, I do not share the conviction of boycotting a book that includes things that contradict our faith. While I do not include such things in my own books, I very much believe in letting characters in artistic mediums reflect real people, and all of these things are found in and are a part of humanity as we know it. Where Shadows Lie is not a story that exists to take a side and preach about our culture wars, but rather seeks to transport the reader to another world with its own conflicts and its individual characters’ conflicts within it. In fact, because the sexuality of any character is not the focus of the book at all, I would go so far as to recommend the book to some Christians I know who, for the sake of our mission of showing Christ’s love to all, need to learn to be able to see beyond someone’s sexuality (without being blind to it) for the shared humanity common to all. As CS Lewis pointed, we are called to love everyone as we love ourselves, but that does not mean we have to like everything about everyone, and, if we were honest, there are things about ourselves we don’t like either. But we still take care of ourselves and both hope for and work towards making both ourselves and our circumstances better. The LGBTQ+ community will celebrate the inclusion, but even those of us who disagree can grow and learn from a book that does an outstanding job creating such complete characters that their sexuality is only a part of their character, not their entire (nor even the main factor of their) identity.
Overall, I rate this book 4/5 stars – the missing star for the Phantom Menace Syndrome bits and two forced personal conflict scenes, and I am eager and excited for the next book!
Allegra Pescatore’s Where Shadows Lie feels like it should be on the shelf at every bookstore in the nation published by TOR or some other huge fantasy publishing house instead of an indie title (and I say that as a fellow indie author and one who now reads more indie than traditionally-published books). It is nigh (but not quite) a perfect debut that I would recommend to any adult (more on that at the end). The biggest recommendation I can give? This will be the first time I will actually buy a book I was already given a free copy of in exchange for a review – it’s that good.
The scope is massive, approximately 33% longer than The Fellowship of the Ring (the longest volume in The Lord of the Rings), and yet it does not feel bloated. The characters are fleshed out, with all but one (the primary antagonist in this first book) having both their vices and virtues delved into in great detail. This means, going forward, we aren’t sure who the heroes and villains will be. Just like there was one obvious villain, there is one obvious hero (Elenor, the main character), but she does have plenty of weaknesses that could cause her to either fail or become an anti-hero as the story continues in later novels. The world is finely detailed, with multiple cultures that divide both along physical boundaries as well as their patron deities which affect their culture.
There is action, political intrigue, and interpersonal drama in spades (sprinkled with bits of wry humor and sarcasm). The action is executed flawlessly, with easy-to-follow, exciting battles. The personal drama and character interactions also are well executed. Though in two cases (out of the dozens), personal conflicts felt a bit forced for the sake of moving the plot, the rest felt perfectly natural given the characters’ personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. The one weakness I feel the book has it occasionally catches what I call “Phantom Menace Syndrome” – there are a few chapters of pure dialogue that are meetings to either set the political backdrop or provide updates. This is not always the case – often Allegra provides context and updates to the political situation as the characters are navigating them, and other times meetings were absolutely necessary as powerful figures indeed wouldn’t make a rash decision without bringing all affected parties to the table. Still, I feel there were a handful of meetings that could have been snipped and the information conveyed naturally as the characters act in the world.
But these are minor gripes. The book was so exciting it often caused me to stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning before needing to be at work by 9 AM, just trying to figure out what happens next. And, as I said at the start, this is the first time I couldn’t tell I was reading an indie book. Some of that was the technical quality is superior to any indie book (and even many small press books) I have read, but the main thing is the book, in spite of its length, was incredibly lean. Every word means something, advances either the plot or a character in some way, and yet there was no lack of depth in the world. That is a feat I have never seen in an indie Epic Fantasy before. If someone were to ask me to provide them a book that proved indie books can be just as good as those that come from the big publishers, this will be the book I recommend.
To clarify what I said earlier about recommending this book to any adult, there are some mature themes and scenes in this novel. Though they do not come anywhere near overwhelming the book, there are two explicit love-making scenes, many F-bombs (90% by one character), and it also contains both homosexual and bisexual characters (the last of which will be seen as a positive by many). Some people, especially of a religious background, may not be comfortable with the book because of this. However, as a devout Christian myself, I still found myself crazily enjoying the book (though I did become a skimmer during the love-making scenes). But then again, I do not share the conviction of boycotting a book that includes things that contradict our faith. While I do not include such things in my own books, I very much believe in letting characters in artistic mediums reflect real people, and all of these things are found in and are a part of humanity as we know it. Where Shadows Lie is not a story that exists to take a side and preach about our culture wars, but rather seeks to transport the reader to another world with its own conflicts and its individual characters’ conflicts within it. In fact, because the sexuality of any character is not the focus of the book at all, I would go so far as to recommend the book to some Christians I know who, for the sake of our mission of showing Christ’s love to all, need to learn to be able to see beyond someone’s sexuality (without being blind to it) for the shared humanity common to all. As CS Lewis pointed, we are called to love everyone as we love ourselves, but that does not mean we have to like everything about everyone, and, if we were honest, there are things about ourselves we don’t like either. But we still take care of ourselves and both hope for and work towards making both ourselves and our circumstances better. The LGBTQ+ community will celebrate the inclusion, but even those of us who disagree can grow and learn from a book that does an outstanding job creating such complete characters that their sexuality is only a part of their character, not their entire (nor even the main factor of their) identity.
Overall, I rate this book 4/5 stars – the missing star for the Phantom Menace Syndrome bits and two forced personal conflict scenes, and I am eager and excited for the next book!
March 11, 2020
Love. This. Book. I could not put it down! It is a fantastic book from a new author (and I haven't found a new author I really liked in a while) and I already am chomping at the bits for the second book to come out.
You're never bored with the variety of this cast of characters, plot twists and intrigue have you constantly on the edge of your seat trying to guess what is going to happen next. The magic is different enough to be exciting but not so different as to be confusing. The cultures are astonishing in their completeness. The sheer richness of the world is amazing. I honestly think Allegra could write a hundred books set in this world and not even scratch the surface of potential.
Fair warning: have a box of tissues handy because this book will make you laugh, cry, and laugh until you cry more than once.
You're never bored with the variety of this cast of characters, plot twists and intrigue have you constantly on the edge of your seat trying to guess what is going to happen next. The magic is different enough to be exciting but not so different as to be confusing. The cultures are astonishing in their completeness. The sheer richness of the world is amazing. I honestly think Allegra could write a hundred books set in this world and not even scratch the surface of potential.
Fair warning: have a box of tissues handy because this book will make you laugh, cry, and laugh until you cry more than once.
April 17, 2020
Allegra Pescatore has woven an interesting tale with characters facing ethical dilemmas and personal challenges on many levels. It is an exciting read, which leaves you hanging at the end of each chapter, hungry for the next one. She has created a world that is vivid and deep, and although there are dragons, and magic, her descriptions are convincing, and I found myself believing its existence! A perfect read for these times!
April 14, 2020
Great book with a climactic ending at the start. This is a great mature fantasy involving mortals who must survive even though they may be pawns for ambitious gods. The book starts off grabbing your attention. The first scene could be considered a climax for a different book, except that it goes wrong for the chief protagonists. Without trying to spoil, the story arises from mistakes made by the main character, (who is actually being heroic but kicks events in a bad direction). This book revolves around several key figures who stand on different sides of a conflict featuring several sides, and often interfere with each other's plans. There is lots of action, eye-opening clues and mysteries, and of course a struggle between multiple forces trying to further their agendas. Loads of work went into the Appendices at the end, helping guide readers through the world. A top-notch debut book.
August 15, 2021
Not the kind of book I'd usually pick up I guess and ultimately not quite in my wheelhouse, but I did enjoy and admire it and I can see why it's gone down so well. Here are my personal thoughts.
The Good
The author doesn't shy away from making this epic in scope, with plenty of POVs - I enjoy all that and it helps to build the vast world she has created.
It is really well written and edited. My only gripe in this area was at times I thought it could have been cut down a little.
The characters are really well developed. With one notable exception the POVs are all youngish, mainly post college/university - I don't know if that makes it YA or NA for those who care for these labels. They had the feeling of characters that have been rattling around in the author's head for a while and she knows them well, flaws and all - none of them are simple 'goodies'. The author has also delivered a diverse cast in a really natural way so kudos for that.
Pretty much every single character has either a hidden past or agenda that is gradually revealed to the reader and the author does a great job of feeding this into the narrative. For me, it was a little too much. I found it heavy going in the early parts of the book, feeling starved of so much information about what was going on. There were also times, when other characters, esp Elenor, didn't know about each other's backstory, when I was asking 'HOW could you not have known about this all this time?'
Didn't work so well for me
There is a charged opening scene but in general there wasn't enough action for my tastes and a lot of dialogue.
It is very magic heavy, with virtually every character we follow having a 'gift' of some kind - plus gods thrown into the mix etc. I prefer stories where magic is rare, contained, has drawbacks - but obviously other readers will love this.
I also struggled getting to grips with the world. It was rich in detail but I couldn't 'place it' in my mind. Sometimes it felt medieval in terms of tech and then characters would go have a shower or something. This was kinda explained with vague references to magic circuitry but it threw me out of the story. Of course, the answer here is 'but, magic' and I get this is a non-issue for many readers.
The plot didn't do much for me. I think one issue here was that the 'enemy' didn't seem much of a threat to all these magically gifted characters and by the end I still couldn't work out how this 'enemy' couldn't have been dealt with in a spare half hour before all these events took place.
This book is for people who love magic, secrets, diverse characters with depth, dragons, complex secondary worldbuilding, relationships and hidden gifts.
The Good
The author doesn't shy away from making this epic in scope, with plenty of POVs - I enjoy all that and it helps to build the vast world she has created.
It is really well written and edited. My only gripe in this area was at times I thought it could have been cut down a little.
The characters are really well developed. With one notable exception the POVs are all youngish, mainly post college/university - I don't know if that makes it YA or NA for those who care for these labels. They had the feeling of characters that have been rattling around in the author's head for a while and she knows them well, flaws and all - none of them are simple 'goodies'. The author has also delivered a diverse cast in a really natural way so kudos for that.
Pretty much every single character has either a hidden past or agenda that is gradually revealed to the reader and the author does a great job of feeding this into the narrative. For me, it was a little too much. I found it heavy going in the early parts of the book, feeling starved of so much information about what was going on. There were also times, when other characters, esp Elenor, didn't know about each other's backstory, when I was asking 'HOW could you not have known about this all this time?'
Didn't work so well for me
There is a charged opening scene but in general there wasn't enough action for my tastes and a lot of dialogue.
It is very magic heavy, with virtually every character we follow having a 'gift' of some kind - plus gods thrown into the mix etc. I prefer stories where magic is rare, contained, has drawbacks - but obviously other readers will love this.
I also struggled getting to grips with the world. It was rich in detail but I couldn't 'place it' in my mind. Sometimes it felt medieval in terms of tech and then characters would go have a shower or something. This was kinda explained with vague references to magic circuitry but it threw me out of the story. Of course, the answer here is 'but, magic' and I get this is a non-issue for many readers.
The plot didn't do much for me. I think one issue here was that the 'enemy' didn't seem much of a threat to all these magically gifted characters and by the end I still couldn't work out how this 'enemy' couldn't have been dealt with in a spare half hour before all these events took place.
This book is for people who love magic, secrets, diverse characters with depth, dragons, complex secondary worldbuilding, relationships and hidden gifts.
July 28, 2020
[ Overall Thoughts ]
Where Shadows Lie is the first book in the The Last Gift series. It is undeniably the first book in an epic series in that it does a lot of character and world setup, but I found the character arcs to be satisfying and I really loved the worldbuilding. The world was rich with history and cultural depth, but the book never delivered lectures to the reader to get it across. Instead, it is built into every aspect of the societies and characters so that it comes across very naturally. Though the characters are mostly young and spend much of this book figuring out their motivations and loyalties and could be a bit frustrating, they felt well-written and fleshed out, making mistakes and choices that were understandable. I found the book very enjoyable, easy to read, and overall very engaging.
[ The World ]
There's honestly too much history and worldbuilding packed into this book to succinctly summarize, and yet the book's delivery of the worldbuilding didn't feel cumbersome or info-dumpy. I've tried to highlight some broad points here to give an idea of the world we're working with, but the depth of the worldbuilding here is far more than my highlights can do justice to.
Magic: Magic comes in two forms: rifters and Gifted, with Gifts being strong but specific powers and rifting a broader manipulation of energy. Circuits made of certain metals can be used to store magical ability, allowing city infrastructure to be built using these circuits to provide lighting, plumbing, and transit.
Religion: Five Dragon gods exist and they indirectly rule the world as we know it. Though most people seem to view the gods as more abstract religious figures, they are quite real and they take part (mostly through their loyal agents) in unfolding events.
Politics: With one of our main characters being of the ruling family, and two others heavily involved in rebellion against that family, there are plenty of politics to go around. Some nations, including our main setting in Lirin, have tried to control and limit the magic-users in their borders in order to preserve the power of the wealthy nobles.There is interesting economic commentary, as well as conversations about privilege and opportunity to engage with. There is a rich history of the various nations told in bits and pieces over the course of the book.
[ The Characters ]
There are five main POV characters allowing the story's events to be told from many different angles. As our characters move through the events of the book they become entangled to various degrees with one another and the greater powers at work in the world, and are often left to guess at others' motives and try to figure out how their own beliefs and morals fit. The majority of the characters are pretty young, leading to a lot of coming-of-age style character development.
[ Suggested Audience ]
Readers looking for a new epic fantasy series to get into, with lots of characters and deep worldbuilding.
Readers who enjoy multiple POVs with a wide cast from various factions.
[ TL;DR ]
Where Shadows Lie is the very engaging introduction to an epic fantasy series that promises plenty of intrigue and magic, and worldbuilding that has depth and feels meaningful.
Where Shadows Lie is the first book in the The Last Gift series. It is undeniably the first book in an epic series in that it does a lot of character and world setup, but I found the character arcs to be satisfying and I really loved the worldbuilding. The world was rich with history and cultural depth, but the book never delivered lectures to the reader to get it across. Instead, it is built into every aspect of the societies and characters so that it comes across very naturally. Though the characters are mostly young and spend much of this book figuring out their motivations and loyalties and could be a bit frustrating, they felt well-written and fleshed out, making mistakes and choices that were understandable. I found the book very enjoyable, easy to read, and overall very engaging.
[ The World ]
There's honestly too much history and worldbuilding packed into this book to succinctly summarize, and yet the book's delivery of the worldbuilding didn't feel cumbersome or info-dumpy. I've tried to highlight some broad points here to give an idea of the world we're working with, but the depth of the worldbuilding here is far more than my highlights can do justice to.
Magic: Magic comes in two forms: rifters and Gifted, with Gifts being strong but specific powers and rifting a broader manipulation of energy. Circuits made of certain metals can be used to store magical ability, allowing city infrastructure to be built using these circuits to provide lighting, plumbing, and transit.
Religion: Five Dragon gods exist and they indirectly rule the world as we know it. Though most people seem to view the gods as more abstract religious figures, they are quite real and they take part (mostly through their loyal agents) in unfolding events.
Politics: With one of our main characters being of the ruling family, and two others heavily involved in rebellion against that family, there are plenty of politics to go around. Some nations, including our main setting in Lirin, have tried to control and limit the magic-users in their borders in order to preserve the power of the wealthy nobles.There is interesting economic commentary, as well as conversations about privilege and opportunity to engage with. There is a rich history of the various nations told in bits and pieces over the course of the book.
[ The Characters ]
There are five main POV characters allowing the story's events to be told from many different angles. As our characters move through the events of the book they become entangled to various degrees with one another and the greater powers at work in the world, and are often left to guess at others' motives and try to figure out how their own beliefs and morals fit. The majority of the characters are pretty young, leading to a lot of coming-of-age style character development.
[ Suggested Audience ]
Readers looking for a new epic fantasy series to get into, with lots of characters and deep worldbuilding.
Readers who enjoy multiple POVs with a wide cast from various factions.
[ TL;DR ]
Where Shadows Lie is the very engaging introduction to an epic fantasy series that promises plenty of intrigue and magic, and worldbuilding that has depth and feels meaningful.
June 27, 2021
This was a book I received as a prize in a reading contest last year and it has languished on my Kindle since then. Now I wish I had gotten to it sooner.
WSL is a wide-spanning epic told from multiple viewpoints. Kings and queens jockey for power, while rebels try to overthrow the crown and ancient sorcerers run their own agendas in the background. Magical gifts are afoot in the world, that are strong enough to kill the gods themselves. Families break, characters ride dragons. All the good stuff one would expect in epic fantasy.
I enjoyed the world-building and setting here; it felt very layered and detailed, though some of the exposition came in the form of characters telling each other long stories. The characters are generally likable. Most have a troubled backstory, all of which get tied into the main plot thread in a satisfying way. The plot was consistent and had a couple of interesting twists, though the shoehorning of certain characters together comes off a little forced.
Plot pace felt a touch uneven. The book opens at a breakneck pace and then settles down in the middle third of the book ... maybe a little too much so. Fortunately, things started picking up again in the final act and I blitzed through the last part of it. The story left me with plenty of questions to be answered in the next book.
Overall, this was a fun read that I enjoyed. I will pick up the next one to see how it turns out.
WSL is a wide-spanning epic told from multiple viewpoints. Kings and queens jockey for power, while rebels try to overthrow the crown and ancient sorcerers run their own agendas in the background. Magical gifts are afoot in the world, that are strong enough to kill the gods themselves. Families break, characters ride dragons. All the good stuff one would expect in epic fantasy.
I enjoyed the world-building and setting here; it felt very layered and detailed, though some of the exposition came in the form of characters telling each other long stories. The characters are generally likable. Most have a troubled backstory, all of which get tied into the main plot thread in a satisfying way. The plot was consistent and had a couple of interesting twists, though the shoehorning of certain characters together comes off a little forced.
Plot pace felt a touch uneven. The book opens at a breakneck pace and then settles down in the middle third of the book ... maybe a little too much so. Fortunately, things started picking up again in the final act and I blitzed through the last part of it. The story left me with plenty of questions to be answered in the next book.
Overall, this was a fun read that I enjoyed. I will pick up the next one to see how it turns out.
July 12, 2022
Where do I even start?
Think, Becky, organise your thoughts.
Characters
For me, a book will always come down to its characters. Are they interesting? Do they seem real? Do they make choices that are sensible for them? Are they ever rail-roaded by plot and do literal "out of character" things, or is there a nice balance?
I am pleased to say that Where Shadows Lie (and, indeed, the whole Last Gift series) falls firmly in the THESE CHARACTERS ARE AMAZING box. Each POV is someone I liked, no, LOVED, and each chapter was in their unique voice.
Plot
A fantastical twisty tale that could lose its readers but manages to keep you on the ride as layer after layer of mystery is revealed.
Each chapter was long enough to move the story along without any info-dumping or leaving the reader scratching their head in confusion.
Setting
When you read fantasy books, you want a fantasy setting. I want to hear, see, smell and ideally taste the places writers take me to, not just read about them. The setting was beautifully described without the prose getting in the way.
All in all, an ambitious story spun well with characters that feel like your new besties. YES! READ IT!
Think, Becky, organise your thoughts.
Characters
For me, a book will always come down to its characters. Are they interesting? Do they seem real? Do they make choices that are sensible for them? Are they ever rail-roaded by plot and do literal "out of character" things, or is there a nice balance?
I am pleased to say that Where Shadows Lie (and, indeed, the whole Last Gift series) falls firmly in the THESE CHARACTERS ARE AMAZING box. Each POV is someone I liked, no, LOVED, and each chapter was in their unique voice.
Plot
A fantastical twisty tale that could lose its readers but manages to keep you on the ride as layer after layer of mystery is revealed.
Each chapter was long enough to move the story along without any info-dumping or leaving the reader scratching their head in confusion.
Setting
When you read fantasy books, you want a fantasy setting. I want to hear, see, smell and ideally taste the places writers take me to, not just read about them. The setting was beautifully described without the prose getting in the way.
All in all, an ambitious story spun well with characters that feel like your new besties. YES! READ IT!
April 4, 2023
THIS BOOK IS AMAZING! EVERYONE SHOULD READ!! QUEER DISABLED PROTAGONIST, DRAGONS, POLITICAL INTRIGUE, AMAZINGNESS
PLS READ
PLS READ
February 10, 2022
This is the story of the Kingdom of Lirin (mostly). The King of Lirin is a tyrant, and as such, a rebellion has formed, and it’s their intention to assassinate the King and Queen so that the rebel heir can take over. When the assassination goes sideways and the heir dies instead, his sister Elenor becomes the heir. The rebellion still really wants the King and Queen gone though, and its leader, Gabriel, along with his friends Fay and Tellen will go to many lengths to make it happen.
This one took me a little while to get into, but once I got into it, it was quite hard to stop listening. This was one of those stories where, you’re not quite sure at first who you should be cheering for, in the long run. Some characters who seem good do things that seem bad, and vice versa. There’s a fair bit of backstabbing, betrayal, switching sides, etc. There’s also a really interesting magic system that changes and grows throughout the story.
I really liked the characters in this one, most notably Gabriel, and Fay. They are school friends (and lovers) who have joined a rebellion to change the world. I liked the way their relationship with each other and with other characters changed as the book went on and things happened. I really liked Fay’s attitude, which includes a lot of swearing. Having a snarky, foul-mouthed, rogue-like character is usually something that will endear me to a book, and this is no exception. Daemon was another character who was very interesting to read about, because he’s very mysterious and powerful, and you can never really tell what his motives are.
The narrator, Marian Hussey did a great job with this one. The audiobook is quite long, coming in just short of 25 hours without speeding it up, and I never got sick of the sound of her voice. She voiced all the characters with unique accents and personalities, and made me really enjoy the experience.
All told, Where Shadows Lie was a well written epic story with a well built and sprawling world that it was easy to get lost in. If you like the idea of magic and dragons mixed with political shenanigans with both LGBTQ+ rep and disability rep, this would indeed be a book for you.
superstardrifter.com
This one took me a little while to get into, but once I got into it, it was quite hard to stop listening. This was one of those stories where, you’re not quite sure at first who you should be cheering for, in the long run. Some characters who seem good do things that seem bad, and vice versa. There’s a fair bit of backstabbing, betrayal, switching sides, etc. There’s also a really interesting magic system that changes and grows throughout the story.
I really liked the characters in this one, most notably Gabriel, and Fay. They are school friends (and lovers) who have joined a rebellion to change the world. I liked the way their relationship with each other and with other characters changed as the book went on and things happened. I really liked Fay’s attitude, which includes a lot of swearing. Having a snarky, foul-mouthed, rogue-like character is usually something that will endear me to a book, and this is no exception. Daemon was another character who was very interesting to read about, because he’s very mysterious and powerful, and you can never really tell what his motives are.
The narrator, Marian Hussey did a great job with this one. The audiobook is quite long, coming in just short of 25 hours without speeding it up, and I never got sick of the sound of her voice. She voiced all the characters with unique accents and personalities, and made me really enjoy the experience.
All told, Where Shadows Lie was a well written epic story with a well built and sprawling world that it was easy to get lost in. If you like the idea of magic and dragons mixed with political shenanigans with both LGBTQ+ rep and disability rep, this would indeed be a book for you.
superstardrifter.com
July 7, 2023
OK, first the unhinged review:
There aren't enough stars in the universe to rate this one. Mild spice.
Why did I wait this long to read this book? I am blown away and absolutely obsessed with the first novel in this series by Allegra Pescatore. One of my top books of the year and in my top ten of all time.
The characters were incredibly well-crafted, the politics were fascinating, the magic was enthralling, the mild spice was on fire, and the world-building was top-notch. I lay awake at night, thinking about this book and not wanting to stop reading. I debated trying to find spoilers online because I couldn't read fast enough and NEEDED to know what happened. Ahem.... unhinged ranting over. Off to scream about it on the rooftops.
More sane review:
Where Shadows Lie by Allegra Pescatore is an exceptional book that has left me obsessed and unable to stop thinking about it. I was captivated from start to finish and found myself losing sleep as I eagerly delved into the intricate narrative.
The world-building in this book is truly remarkable. Pescatore has created a rich and immersive setting that comes to life with vivid detail. And there are DRAGONS! The magic system and different cultures are fascinating. While this political fantasy feels incredibly dense, every word is required. This is exactly the kind of book that I adore.
One of the standout aspects of Where Shadows Lie is its morally grey and complex characters. Elenor and Gabriel, the Princess and the Rebel, are compelling protagonists who must navigate a web of deception and uncover the truth. Elenor's growth throughout the story is masterfully crafted, and I found myself deeply invested in her journey. The representation in the book is also commendable; there are BIPOC characters, LGBTQIA+ rep, and obviously amazing disability rep.
The pacing of the book is excellent, with twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. The author's prose is beautifully written and adds to the overall immersive experience. I was constantly surprised by the unpredictable nature of the plot and found myself eagerly turning the pages to find out what would happen next.
Where Shadows Lie is a shining example of a gripping fantasy novel. I was blown away by the depth and complexity of the story, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. This book deserves all the praise and more people need to be reading it.
There aren't enough stars in the universe to rate this one. Mild spice.
Why did I wait this long to read this book? I am blown away and absolutely obsessed with the first novel in this series by Allegra Pescatore. One of my top books of the year and in my top ten of all time.
The characters were incredibly well-crafted, the politics were fascinating, the magic was enthralling, the mild spice was on fire, and the world-building was top-notch. I lay awake at night, thinking about this book and not wanting to stop reading. I debated trying to find spoilers online because I couldn't read fast enough and NEEDED to know what happened. Ahem.... unhinged ranting over. Off to scream about it on the rooftops.
More sane review:
Where Shadows Lie by Allegra Pescatore is an exceptional book that has left me obsessed and unable to stop thinking about it. I was captivated from start to finish and found myself losing sleep as I eagerly delved into the intricate narrative.
The world-building in this book is truly remarkable. Pescatore has created a rich and immersive setting that comes to life with vivid detail. And there are DRAGONS! The magic system and different cultures are fascinating. While this political fantasy feels incredibly dense, every word is required. This is exactly the kind of book that I adore.
One of the standout aspects of Where Shadows Lie is its morally grey and complex characters. Elenor and Gabriel, the Princess and the Rebel, are compelling protagonists who must navigate a web of deception and uncover the truth. Elenor's growth throughout the story is masterfully crafted, and I found myself deeply invested in her journey. The representation in the book is also commendable; there are BIPOC characters, LGBTQIA+ rep, and obviously amazing disability rep.
The pacing of the book is excellent, with twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. The author's prose is beautifully written and adds to the overall immersive experience. I was constantly surprised by the unpredictable nature of the plot and found myself eagerly turning the pages to find out what would happen next.
Where Shadows Lie is a shining example of a gripping fantasy novel. I was blown away by the depth and complexity of the story, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. This book deserves all the praise and more people need to be reading it.
June 27, 2022
*I received a free copy of this book, with thanks to the author. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
Opening explosively with an attempted royal assassination, I was hooked from the very beginning and remained so right through the the final pages… and beyond!
Allegra Pescatore’s fantasy worldbuilding is richly immersive and her character development is superb, from the main characters like Wil and Elenor Lirion, Fay and Gabriel, to the side characters, all complex and relatable, all with their own moralities and motivations.
The blurb notes that LGBTQIA and disability are represented in the story, and I was really impressed at how the author included these diverse aspects authentically and with full integration to the characters and story – exactly as they should be.
The plot has it all – rebellion, gods, torture, sex, sacrifice, friendship, betrayal – and the pacing is sharp and fast, carrying the reader through the action and intrigue smoothly without losing us in the melee.
I was reminded of some of my favourite fantasy authors, like Robert Jordan, Robin Hobb, Patrick Rothfuss, Richard Parry, and immediately on finishing this book I rushed out to buy a copy of the paperback and set myself a reminder to order the sequel immediately on release. It is just THAT GOOD!
In fact, I have just one warning before you dive in to this book, but it is a serious one. This book caused me a severe book-hangover! I read the whole story in one (long) sitting, but it was whole DAYS before I was able to even think about starting a new book… I was still living in this one.
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpres...
Opening explosively with an attempted royal assassination, I was hooked from the very beginning and remained so right through the the final pages… and beyond!
Allegra Pescatore’s fantasy worldbuilding is richly immersive and her character development is superb, from the main characters like Wil and Elenor Lirion, Fay and Gabriel, to the side characters, all complex and relatable, all with their own moralities and motivations.
The blurb notes that LGBTQIA and disability are represented in the story, and I was really impressed at how the author included these diverse aspects authentically and with full integration to the characters and story – exactly as they should be.
The plot has it all – rebellion, gods, torture, sex, sacrifice, friendship, betrayal – and the pacing is sharp and fast, carrying the reader through the action and intrigue smoothly without losing us in the melee.
I was reminded of some of my favourite fantasy authors, like Robert Jordan, Robin Hobb, Patrick Rothfuss, Richard Parry, and immediately on finishing this book I rushed out to buy a copy of the paperback and set myself a reminder to order the sequel immediately on release. It is just THAT GOOD!
In fact, I have just one warning before you dive in to this book, but it is a serious one. This book caused me a severe book-hangover! I read the whole story in one (long) sitting, but it was whole DAYS before I was able to even think about starting a new book… I was still living in this one.
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpres...
February 2, 2022
Where Shadows Lie is a fabulous and ambitious fantasy debut!
The story revolves around several characters and starts with an assassination attempt gone wrong. The heir of the throne loses his life due to this betrayal, and Elenor - the princess - ends up the next one in line. But Elenor has her struggles, not in the least due to suffering an illness as a child, but also because the more she finds out about the assassination attempt, the more she realises something is terribly wrong.
There's a host of exciting characters, a complex magic system, a mix of medieval and technology, and a whole lot of political intrigue. It's a long book, but it is well-written and keeps up the pace throughout. Great read!
The story revolves around several characters and starts with an assassination attempt gone wrong. The heir of the throne loses his life due to this betrayal, and Elenor - the princess - ends up the next one in line. But Elenor has her struggles, not in the least due to suffering an illness as a child, but also because the more she finds out about the assassination attempt, the more she realises something is terribly wrong.
There's a host of exciting characters, a complex magic system, a mix of medieval and technology, and a whole lot of political intrigue. It's a long book, but it is well-written and keeps up the pace throughout. Great read!
March 12, 2020
I got one of the free advanced reader copies of this and holy bleep it was so good!
Even though I think alot of mature y.a. readers would really like this, it's an adult book for sure. There's swearing and a couple spicey scenes lol. And a little well placed gore that actually seriously works, I am not a gore fan, at all, but this was super effective and not more than this wimp could handle.
There's some heavy moments in this for sure, but the tone keeps you from going too dark, the balance of humor and action and character growth and serious moments and cute moments and everything else was spot on.
If you are like me and representation in fantasy is very important to you, the author does such a great job. I have a pretty low tolerance to things that make me cringe, and nothing in this made me cringe that wasnt supposed to.
One of the main characters is disabled, and her condition actually stays a part of her character the whole time, instead of magically disappearing at key moments like in so many things, but I guess that's what happens when the author actually does have a disability.
A couple of main characters are lgbtqia+, which again was handled really well.
As someone who is so pale I glow, I cant say for sure, but I think the descriptions of characters of colour was also well done.
And it does pass the bechdel test.
I loved the world the author created, you learn enough that you understand most of what is going on, but theres so much more you don't know yet that just keeps you coming back. It was well paced and very very hard to put down, I kept reading it even with a low level migraine, that's really saying something lol.
I never would have guessed this was a debut, it's one of the best books I've read in years, up there with my Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey books. I can not wait for her follow up!
Ooo and the map! God I love a good map in a fantasy book!
Even though I think alot of mature y.a. readers would really like this, it's an adult book for sure. There's swearing and a couple spicey scenes lol. And a little well placed gore that actually seriously works, I am not a gore fan, at all, but this was super effective and not more than this wimp could handle.
There's some heavy moments in this for sure, but the tone keeps you from going too dark, the balance of humor and action and character growth and serious moments and cute moments and everything else was spot on.
If you are like me and representation in fantasy is very important to you, the author does such a great job. I have a pretty low tolerance to things that make me cringe, and nothing in this made me cringe that wasnt supposed to.
One of the main characters is disabled, and her condition actually stays a part of her character the whole time, instead of magically disappearing at key moments like in so many things, but I guess that's what happens when the author actually does have a disability.
A couple of main characters are lgbtqia+, which again was handled really well.
As someone who is so pale I glow, I cant say for sure, but I think the descriptions of characters of colour was also well done.
And it does pass the bechdel test.
I loved the world the author created, you learn enough that you understand most of what is going on, but theres so much more you don't know yet that just keeps you coming back. It was well paced and very very hard to put down, I kept reading it even with a low level migraine, that's really saying something lol.
I never would have guessed this was a debut, it's one of the best books I've read in years, up there with my Andre Norton and Mercedes Lackey books. I can not wait for her follow up!
Ooo and the map! God I love a good map in a fantasy book!
March 20, 2024
I was given an audiobook from Authors Direct in order to judge the book for Best Audio Narration for the Indie Ink Awards. It is narrated by Marian Hussay, and it’s incredibly well done.
The cast of characters is incredibly diverse, and the narration doesn’t miss a beat with accents and personalities. There’s everything from Irish to Middle Eastern, and they’re all done well. I was super impressed and it was very enjoyable.
The novel also features lesbian/bisexual and disability representation, which I also found to be well done and meaningfully used. One of the main characters, seen on the cover, was taken with a wasting sickness as a child and had to fight their way back to walking. It’s not used just to be there, it genuinely shapes everything the character is and does.
This is a large scale epic fantasy, with winding plot and twisting turns. It features multiple POVs that become more and more intwined over time. It is very heavy on the political intrigue, with actual action being quite spread out, but the climax was pretty damn solid. There’s cool magic, relying on apparatuses that enhance or funnel power, and most people are required to charge items with magic so that they have a source to draw from in times of need. Therefore, the more powerful are dangerous, and the gods watch them.
Interesting first entry, I would check out more! 4/5*
https://fanfiaddict.com/review-where-...
The cast of characters is incredibly diverse, and the narration doesn’t miss a beat with accents and personalities. There’s everything from Irish to Middle Eastern, and they’re all done well. I was super impressed and it was very enjoyable.
The novel also features lesbian/bisexual and disability representation, which I also found to be well done and meaningfully used. One of the main characters, seen on the cover, was taken with a wasting sickness as a child and had to fight their way back to walking. It’s not used just to be there, it genuinely shapes everything the character is and does.
This is a large scale epic fantasy, with winding plot and twisting turns. It features multiple POVs that become more and more intwined over time. It is very heavy on the political intrigue, with actual action being quite spread out, but the climax was pretty damn solid. There’s cool magic, relying on apparatuses that enhance or funnel power, and most people are required to charge items with magic so that they have a source to draw from in times of need. Therefore, the more powerful are dangerous, and the gods watch them.
Interesting first entry, I would check out more! 4/5*
https://fanfiaddict.com/review-where-...
March 14, 2021
I knew right away this was going to be a book I was going to enjoy. The prologue was brief but also written in a way that made an impact. I felt for the characters within a few pages which isn’t easy to do. For bonus points, the consequences of the prologue were immediately relevant to the story – it irks me when it takes forever for the prologue to become relevant.
The king in this story is an asshole, he’s a tyrant of the worst kind. He doesn’t care who he kills as long as it benefits him in the end, and it doesn’t matter if he desecrates their bodies post-mortem either. Their culture believes that to bury a body is to bury the soul and it’s an extreme violation of their religion. It’s typically a punishment reserved for only the most heinous of criminals…. but the King will bury whole villages of innocent people – men, women and children.
This king had a son who died trying to assassinate him, and the sister, Elenor, is then captured by the rebellion. Elenor knows all of the people who were in the rebellion and her heart is crushed because she feels betrayed by friends she considered as close as family. She’s extremely reluctant to believe that her father would be capable of the atrocities her friends are just now telling her about, and she keeps trying to escape despite the rebellions good intentions for her. They want her parents dead and to put her on the throne… and she’s fighting it the entire time.
There is a pretty broad cast of characters, I liked most of the side characters and for the most part they felt well fleshed out. I would say without a doubt though that Elenor is the main character and everyone else is just in her orbit. Elenor is a little haughty, but also brave and snarky. She’s struggled through a lifetime of pain, her legs don’t always work correctly and at times the pain is so bad it’s made her wish her her own death. She’s a young woman so she’s not as experienced and as worldly as some of the other characters, but she can learn quickly. She’s also fucking infuriating because the reader knows that the rebels are the good guys in this story, and she keeps trying to work against them and thwarts them in ways that lead to tragic results. But, you can also totally sympathize with her. Most people wouldn’t just stand by and let people kill their parents, even if they were terrible people. It makes for a really compelling tension between characters and brings about questions of morality and whatnot. These are the kinds of stories I love.
Daemon is a mysterious character, and he’s also deadly. He’s probably over 500 years old, but no one knows how he makes himself live that long. He has made himself a little island and tries to keep out of the way of politics but doesn’t hesitate to kill people, either.
There are a handful of other characters with varying degrees of page time, as well as some interlude chapters that take a while to connect to main story. For the most part I felt like they were well fleshed out, the ones that didn’t get a lot of page time, like North, were hard to get to know since they are featured briefly and only every once in a while… but over time with enough chapters I got to know them better. That said, for as many characters as there were, the story didn’t become unfocused or meandering in the way that happens sometimes with large casts. A surprising amount of side characters died over the course of the book, packing punches the whole way through.
The world building is expansive and most of it was delivered naturally without info dumps or awkward dialogue. It’s difficult to do that and I always admire a slow reveal of a huge world that’s clearly well thought out. I also really enjoy the politics and backstabbing and high stakes.
One of the things I didn’t totally care for was the romance between a couple of the characters. I’m not really one for sex scenes… they just don’t do much for me… I tend to skip over them when I’m reading but since I was using audible I didn’t really have that option. Obviously this is a personal taste thing, so your mileage may vary.
The writing was great, it got out of the way of the story, it didn’t meander and get overly descriptive, the dialogue sounded natural and unforced, making it feel polished and well edited. This also has a lot of real world cursing and didn’t have much in the way of in-world fake cursing, just my kind of book.
The pacing could be slow at times. Elenor took a long time to gather evidence and weigh it and make a decision she felt was right for herself, her family, and her people – but it took a long time to get there. It did give it a realistic feel to it, and it gave Elenor a chance to explore her own morality and sense of justice and honor which was neat to see. I did feel like it dragged a bit between 60-80%, there were some setting changes for certain characters and whole new aspects of the world opened up. On one hand this was neat, on the other it slowed me down because it was starting over with a new culture and society.
This was an engaging read that I will be recommending to a broad audience. I feel like it has something for everyone while avoiding a lot of pet peeves (at least mine, anyway). I’ll definitely be picking up more by this author. The narrator was new to me, and I’ll definitely be looking for more books she’s performed, she did a great job.
TLDR Snapshot:
Tropes: Rebellion, Tyrant King, Forbidden Magic, Lost Bloodlines
Tags: Dragons, Political Intrigue, LGBT (f/f) relationship, Disabled MC, Bisexual MC
Genre: Epic
Ratings:
Plot: 13/15
Characters: 13/15
World Building: 13/15
Writing: 12/15
Pacing: 10/15
Originality: 11/15
Personal Enjoyment: 8/10
Final score 81/100 or 4/5 on Goodreads
The king in this story is an asshole, he’s a tyrant of the worst kind. He doesn’t care who he kills as long as it benefits him in the end, and it doesn’t matter if he desecrates their bodies post-mortem either. Their culture believes that to bury a body is to bury the soul and it’s an extreme violation of their religion. It’s typically a punishment reserved for only the most heinous of criminals…. but the King will bury whole villages of innocent people – men, women and children.
This king had a son who died trying to assassinate him, and the sister, Elenor, is then captured by the rebellion. Elenor knows all of the people who were in the rebellion and her heart is crushed because she feels betrayed by friends she considered as close as family. She’s extremely reluctant to believe that her father would be capable of the atrocities her friends are just now telling her about, and she keeps trying to escape despite the rebellions good intentions for her. They want her parents dead and to put her on the throne… and she’s fighting it the entire time.
There is a pretty broad cast of characters, I liked most of the side characters and for the most part they felt well fleshed out. I would say without a doubt though that Elenor is the main character and everyone else is just in her orbit. Elenor is a little haughty, but also brave and snarky. She’s struggled through a lifetime of pain, her legs don’t always work correctly and at times the pain is so bad it’s made her wish her her own death. She’s a young woman so she’s not as experienced and as worldly as some of the other characters, but she can learn quickly. She’s also fucking infuriating because the reader knows that the rebels are the good guys in this story, and she keeps trying to work against them and thwarts them in ways that lead to tragic results. But, you can also totally sympathize with her. Most people wouldn’t just stand by and let people kill their parents, even if they were terrible people. It makes for a really compelling tension between characters and brings about questions of morality and whatnot. These are the kinds of stories I love.
Daemon is a mysterious character, and he’s also deadly. He’s probably over 500 years old, but no one knows how he makes himself live that long. He has made himself a little island and tries to keep out of the way of politics but doesn’t hesitate to kill people, either.
There are a handful of other characters with varying degrees of page time, as well as some interlude chapters that take a while to connect to main story. For the most part I felt like they were well fleshed out, the ones that didn’t get a lot of page time, like North, were hard to get to know since they are featured briefly and only every once in a while… but over time with enough chapters I got to know them better. That said, for as many characters as there were, the story didn’t become unfocused or meandering in the way that happens sometimes with large casts. A surprising amount of side characters died over the course of the book, packing punches the whole way through.
The world building is expansive and most of it was delivered naturally without info dumps or awkward dialogue. It’s difficult to do that and I always admire a slow reveal of a huge world that’s clearly well thought out. I also really enjoy the politics and backstabbing and high stakes.
One of the things I didn’t totally care for was the romance between a couple of the characters. I’m not really one for sex scenes… they just don’t do much for me… I tend to skip over them when I’m reading but since I was using audible I didn’t really have that option. Obviously this is a personal taste thing, so your mileage may vary.
The writing was great, it got out of the way of the story, it didn’t meander and get overly descriptive, the dialogue sounded natural and unforced, making it feel polished and well edited. This also has a lot of real world cursing and didn’t have much in the way of in-world fake cursing, just my kind of book.
The pacing could be slow at times. Elenor took a long time to gather evidence and weigh it and make a decision she felt was right for herself, her family, and her people – but it took a long time to get there. It did give it a realistic feel to it, and it gave Elenor a chance to explore her own morality and sense of justice and honor which was neat to see. I did feel like it dragged a bit between 60-80%, there were some setting changes for certain characters and whole new aspects of the world opened up. On one hand this was neat, on the other it slowed me down because it was starting over with a new culture and society.
This was an engaging read that I will be recommending to a broad audience. I feel like it has something for everyone while avoiding a lot of pet peeves (at least mine, anyway). I’ll definitely be picking up more by this author. The narrator was new to me, and I’ll definitely be looking for more books she’s performed, she did a great job.
TLDR Snapshot:
Tropes: Rebellion, Tyrant King, Forbidden Magic, Lost Bloodlines
Tags: Dragons, Political Intrigue, LGBT (f/f) relationship, Disabled MC, Bisexual MC
Genre: Epic
Ratings:
Plot: 13/15
Characters: 13/15
World Building: 13/15
Writing: 12/15
Pacing: 10/15
Originality: 11/15
Personal Enjoyment: 8/10
Final score 81/100 or 4/5 on Goodreads
May 3, 2021
What an excellent debut novel. The world building is extensive and the cultures are rich. The thing I love best about this genre of books is the imagination and flexibility. I love that the novel has more adult themes and feels well rounded. The characters have flaws as in all the best stories. It makes you love and loathe some all at once. I truly recommend diving into this fantasy. You won’t be disappointed. I did get an ARC for my honest review and am so thankful for the new adventure. I loved it enough I bought myself a paperback copy if that means anything.
May 12, 2022
As I’ve pointed out, I don’t really write reviews on Goodreads. But this book certainly deserves one. Is it a perfect book? Well, no book is perfect. But this one is a knockout. It’s got a deeply realized world with an interesting magic system, has a colorful cast of characters, and manages to weave an interesting, high stakes story as characters play games of politics, move across the chess board, and figure out their place in the world. It might not be a story for everyone, but it was definitely a story for me and I was hooked from start to finish.
The most important thing about this story though, and I cannot stress this enough, is how representative and diverse it is. The main character (much like the author) is disabled and, while her disability informs her character, it’s not all she is. Elenor is many things, and she definitely isn’t perfect, but she is brave and spunky. And I love how much she grows over the course of the story.
The continent of Carinn itself is vast and diverse and I cannot wait to see more of it in the next book! Every place we go to, from the rainy streets of Hardor to the tranquil beaches of Ayre Island, is beautifully described and leaps off the page. We see a fair bit of the map in this first book, but not so much that it becomes hard to keep things straight or we’re overwhelmed. But I hope, in the next installment, we might get to peek at some new corners of the map we didn’t get to see this time around.
The lore of the world is also fascinating and well-thought out, and each mystery that gets unraveled not only had me turning pages but asking so many more questions. The magic system isn’t overly complex (there’s rifters, who can do traditional magic, and the Gifted who have an ability). In particular, I really like the use of metal circuitry to augment “rifting” (there’s three metals that are capable of channeling magic: copper, gold, and cerulean) but how there’s also circuits that allow for lighting, preservation of documents, or plumbing. It was a really clever touch!
As for the characters, there are a ton and to talk about the ones I loved would span a review of its own. But, let me just say, the main cast is amazing. The ladies of this group absolutely shine (all hail Fayrian Avilor! And, of course, Elenor Lirion). The gents may not be everyone’s cup of tea (Except Gabriel Navarl! He is a cinnamon roll and must be protected at all costs!) but, as the plot moves forward and things become clear, everyone gets their chance to show their mettle one way or another. The side characters are also fantastic (Claire Enica is the queen of my heart!) and vibrant and the villains are so deliciously nefarious you will want to stab them…repeatedly.
As for the plot, there’s not a ton I can say without getting into spoilers. Like I’ve said…it’s a chess game. A big one. Just when you think you know what’s going on, you’ll find out the game board was at a completely different angle than you thought it was. Personally, I loved that about the story. It made it incredibly engaging to unravel this world down to the bones and figure out what was actually going on behind the scenes.
So, this is a 10/10 for me, and I will be hopping right on to the next one as soon as I can. Y’all should check this one out ASAP.
The most important thing about this story though, and I cannot stress this enough, is how representative and diverse it is. The main character (much like the author) is disabled and, while her disability informs her character, it’s not all she is. Elenor is many things, and she definitely isn’t perfect, but she is brave and spunky. And I love how much she grows over the course of the story.
The continent of Carinn itself is vast and diverse and I cannot wait to see more of it in the next book! Every place we go to, from the rainy streets of Hardor to the tranquil beaches of Ayre Island, is beautifully described and leaps off the page. We see a fair bit of the map in this first book, but not so much that it becomes hard to keep things straight or we’re overwhelmed. But I hope, in the next installment, we might get to peek at some new corners of the map we didn’t get to see this time around.
The lore of the world is also fascinating and well-thought out, and each mystery that gets unraveled not only had me turning pages but asking so many more questions. The magic system isn’t overly complex (there’s rifters, who can do traditional magic, and the Gifted who have an ability). In particular, I really like the use of metal circuitry to augment “rifting” (there’s three metals that are capable of channeling magic: copper, gold, and cerulean) but how there’s also circuits that allow for lighting, preservation of documents, or plumbing. It was a really clever touch!
As for the characters, there are a ton and to talk about the ones I loved would span a review of its own. But, let me just say, the main cast is amazing. The ladies of this group absolutely shine (all hail Fayrian Avilor! And, of course, Elenor Lirion). The gents may not be everyone’s cup of tea (Except Gabriel Navarl! He is a cinnamon roll and must be protected at all costs!) but, as the plot moves forward and things become clear, everyone gets their chance to show their mettle one way or another. The side characters are also fantastic (Claire Enica is the queen of my heart!) and vibrant and the villains are so deliciously nefarious you will want to stab them…repeatedly.
As for the plot, there’s not a ton I can say without getting into spoilers. Like I’ve said…it’s a chess game. A big one. Just when you think you know what’s going on, you’ll find out the game board was at a completely different angle than you thought it was. Personally, I loved that about the story. It made it incredibly engaging to unravel this world down to the bones and figure out what was actually going on behind the scenes.
So, this is a 10/10 for me, and I will be hopping right on to the next one as soon as I can. Y’all should check this one out ASAP.
November 25, 2022
Where Shadows Lie
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
World: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pacing: ⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️🌶️.5*
Brilliantly written, with diverse characters and epic scope. I only found it a tad difficult to keep track of everyone at times, and the pace is rather slow. I can't get enough of the prose, though. Wonderful!
* I'm not sure how to rate the spice as there wasn't much in the book. What did happen leans toward a 3-4/5 but this particular book in the series didn't have enough to warrant being that on the spice scale.
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
World: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pacing: ⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️🌶️.5*
Brilliantly written, with diverse characters and epic scope. I only found it a tad difficult to keep track of everyone at times, and the pace is rather slow. I can't get enough of the prose, though. Wonderful!
* I'm not sure how to rate the spice as there wasn't much in the book. What did happen leans toward a 3-4/5 but this particular book in the series didn't have enough to warrant being that on the spice scale.
June 21, 2023
Holy shit.
This book is SO GOOD. The audiobook is to die forrrrr. The voice actor SINGS and she does an incredible job. I absolutely loved the story and will be finishing the series ASAP. I loved the multiple POVs. I loved that all of the characters had unique voices. The story kept me on my toes. I did not see any of this coming. The magic system is super interesting and it felt well developed. Highly, highly recommend.
This book is SO GOOD. The audiobook is to die forrrrr. The voice actor SINGS and she does an incredible job. I absolutely loved the story and will be finishing the series ASAP. I loved the multiple POVs. I loved that all of the characters had unique voices. The story kept me on my toes. I did not see any of this coming. The magic system is super interesting and it felt well developed. Highly, highly recommend.
May 14, 2022
I now have a YouTube channel and you can find a more detailed, spoiler-free review here: https://youtu.be/4eFwGFv6aOM
Where Shadows Lie is a modern, fast-paced Fantasy full of amazing people (and dragons). Our main character, Elenor, deals with the aftereffects of a childhood illness that leaves her legs in constant pain. And if that is not enough, she has now also been kidnapped by the rebellion that was trying to assassinate her father and crown the chosen own, her brother, instead. But everything went wrong, her brother is dead, and she has to figure out who she can trust in this world full of intrigue and political games.
If political intrigue, meddling gods, dragons, and a truly inclusive setting are your thing, this book should move up to the top of your TBR. I loved the inclusive, colorful setting that matches perfectly the more modern writing style. While the characters are younger, you can follow them make mistake and grow from that. It’s a truly rewarding reading experience that includes various cultures, people of color, LGBTQ rep, chronic illness rep, and strong female characters.
Where Shadows Lie is a modern, fast-paced Fantasy full of amazing people (and dragons). Our main character, Elenor, deals with the aftereffects of a childhood illness that leaves her legs in constant pain. And if that is not enough, she has now also been kidnapped by the rebellion that was trying to assassinate her father and crown the chosen own, her brother, instead. But everything went wrong, her brother is dead, and she has to figure out who she can trust in this world full of intrigue and political games.
If political intrigue, meddling gods, dragons, and a truly inclusive setting are your thing, this book should move up to the top of your TBR. I loved the inclusive, colorful setting that matches perfectly the more modern writing style. While the characters are younger, you can follow them make mistake and grow from that. It’s a truly rewarding reading experience that includes various cultures, people of color, LGBTQ rep, chronic illness rep, and strong female characters.
July 18, 2022
Where Shadows Lie was a book that I had been aware of for a while and was eager to read, because it is the first time I’d seen a fantasy cover featuring a wheelchair user, and as someone with frequent mobility issues although not that severe it called to me and I am so glad that I did get to pick it up. The representation is fantastic not only because it is front and centre, but because it is so organically a part of this world and story – both the disability and LGBTQIA+ rep are never the defining element of the characters, but rather just one of many threads making up who they are. Even if I hadn’t liked anything else (which I did…a lot), that would have put this book high on my recommendations, and all I can say is more please!
The prologue for Where Shadows Lie left me with somewhat mixed feelings I have to admit. On the one hand that first line is stellar, striking both visually and because of it sets in motion. The rest of the prologue also starts of this book with one hell of a bang, and immediately establishes that this is a world with a lot going on in terms of intrigue and action. On the other hand, I found that I didn’t immediately connect with the characters, so it was a little harder to be invested in the events that unfolded – this is certainly something that changes quickly as we move into the main part of the book, and honestly, I think that reaction to the prologue was more a personal thing than anything else, because as I said the prologue does everything it has to do.
As much as I love the worldbuilding in this book, it is the characters that I have to talk about first – and aside from the prologue, I was incredibly invested in the characters that Pescatore has filled her world with. The story is multi-POV which tends to be my favourite, and here we have five very distinct POVs, each of whom offer a view of the world and unfolding plot from different sides of the event. Which was essential given the epic scope of this world and plot, and helped to create a beautifully fleshed out view of events and also to make them incredibly personal, because each of these POV characters is fully realised. The care taken with each character is evident not just in their voices, but in the little details that are woven into their POVs from likes and dislikes, to their interactions, to their ways of making decisions.
That is why this book shines so brightly, because each and everyone of these characters feels so real. There is no pure black and white, or paragons of good decision making and that is what makes Where Shadows Lie so much fun, because there are mistakes and bad decisions. The characters are flawed in the most human way, regardless of who they are and what power they have at their fingertips, and those colour their choices, as do their emotions and relations to other, and Pescatore gives them to space to make those errors, to fall hard and get back up. And having that human tapestry against the epic story, with magic and intrigue and everything else going on is why this book works so well, and why as a reader I felt so deeply invested in the events that were happening.
It also makes it really hard to pick a favourite character, especially as the side characters are just as complex and well-written. I will say that for the most part I really liked Elenor, although there were moments when I did want to shake her (although I am starting to realise that is true of most of the characters I really like, so maybe that is a good sign!). Fay was another favourite, while I found Daemon to be the most intriguing and I certainly hope to find out more about him.
That isn’t to say that the worldbuilding isn’t fantastic because it is.
As mentioned previously, this is a world on an epic scale in both breadth and depth, and as with her characters Pescatore has woven a lot of details into the worldbuilding to breathe life into this world. There is real sense of history, and of a world having grown into what it is today, as well as a world that continues to grow and be a varied and multi-layered as the characters and the plot itself. The scale of the world is reflected in the map at the front (and as always there is a bonus point for there being a map!), and even with all the detail about the world that we have already in this book, it still feels like there is more to come which is a feeling I love to finish a book with – especially a first book that has the weight of laying the groundwork.
The two main aspects of the worldbuilding that really stuck with me were the magic system, which as with everything in this book was multi-layered and complex. The use of magic was never as simple as just having someone use magic. There are different kinds of magic, different reasons to use it, but also different situations surrounding it’s use – with some locations such as Lirin where they have tried to control the use of magic, which adds a layer of societal tension to the world, which in turn spills across into other spheres such as politics, economics and religion.
Which leads me nicely onto the other aspect – the religion. The main religion revolves around five gods, and these are not abstract or distant gods (despite what some believe), but beings that are actively involved in the events of the world, manipulating it to their own ends through the use of followers and pawns. I am always a fan of the gods being directly involved in the world, and Pescatore has taken that and done it magnificently, and it is fascinating to see how that kind of pressure impacts on a world that is already divided and facing multiple stresses, as well as on the characters themselves. It is these two elements too that I am most eager to see develop further in future books, because as with the worldbuilding in general, while we have a lot of detail, it feels like there is more to come which is fantastic.
Where Shadows Lie is a fantastic start to this series, and an incredibly human story despite the scale of the intrigue and events happening around the characters. There is a lot happening, and yet Pescatore balances it all with the quiet human moments that invest you in what is happening, and if you want character-driven epic fantasy with outstanding rep then this is one that you should be picking up!
The prologue for Where Shadows Lie left me with somewhat mixed feelings I have to admit. On the one hand that first line is stellar, striking both visually and because of it sets in motion. The rest of the prologue also starts of this book with one hell of a bang, and immediately establishes that this is a world with a lot going on in terms of intrigue and action. On the other hand, I found that I didn’t immediately connect with the characters, so it was a little harder to be invested in the events that unfolded – this is certainly something that changes quickly as we move into the main part of the book, and honestly, I think that reaction to the prologue was more a personal thing than anything else, because as I said the prologue does everything it has to do.
As much as I love the worldbuilding in this book, it is the characters that I have to talk about first – and aside from the prologue, I was incredibly invested in the characters that Pescatore has filled her world with. The story is multi-POV which tends to be my favourite, and here we have five very distinct POVs, each of whom offer a view of the world and unfolding plot from different sides of the event. Which was essential given the epic scope of this world and plot, and helped to create a beautifully fleshed out view of events and also to make them incredibly personal, because each of these POV characters is fully realised. The care taken with each character is evident not just in their voices, but in the little details that are woven into their POVs from likes and dislikes, to their interactions, to their ways of making decisions.
That is why this book shines so brightly, because each and everyone of these characters feels so real. There is no pure black and white, or paragons of good decision making and that is what makes Where Shadows Lie so much fun, because there are mistakes and bad decisions. The characters are flawed in the most human way, regardless of who they are and what power they have at their fingertips, and those colour their choices, as do their emotions and relations to other, and Pescatore gives them to space to make those errors, to fall hard and get back up. And having that human tapestry against the epic story, with magic and intrigue and everything else going on is why this book works so well, and why as a reader I felt so deeply invested in the events that were happening.
It also makes it really hard to pick a favourite character, especially as the side characters are just as complex and well-written. I will say that for the most part I really liked Elenor, although there were moments when I did want to shake her (although I am starting to realise that is true of most of the characters I really like, so maybe that is a good sign!). Fay was another favourite, while I found Daemon to be the most intriguing and I certainly hope to find out more about him.
That isn’t to say that the worldbuilding isn’t fantastic because it is.
As mentioned previously, this is a world on an epic scale in both breadth and depth, and as with her characters Pescatore has woven a lot of details into the worldbuilding to breathe life into this world. There is real sense of history, and of a world having grown into what it is today, as well as a world that continues to grow and be a varied and multi-layered as the characters and the plot itself. The scale of the world is reflected in the map at the front (and as always there is a bonus point for there being a map!), and even with all the detail about the world that we have already in this book, it still feels like there is more to come which is a feeling I love to finish a book with – especially a first book that has the weight of laying the groundwork.
The two main aspects of the worldbuilding that really stuck with me were the magic system, which as with everything in this book was multi-layered and complex. The use of magic was never as simple as just having someone use magic. There are different kinds of magic, different reasons to use it, but also different situations surrounding it’s use – with some locations such as Lirin where they have tried to control the use of magic, which adds a layer of societal tension to the world, which in turn spills across into other spheres such as politics, economics and religion.
Which leads me nicely onto the other aspect – the religion. The main religion revolves around five gods, and these are not abstract or distant gods (despite what some believe), but beings that are actively involved in the events of the world, manipulating it to their own ends through the use of followers and pawns. I am always a fan of the gods being directly involved in the world, and Pescatore has taken that and done it magnificently, and it is fascinating to see how that kind of pressure impacts on a world that is already divided and facing multiple stresses, as well as on the characters themselves. It is these two elements too that I am most eager to see develop further in future books, because as with the worldbuilding in general, while we have a lot of detail, it feels like there is more to come which is fantastic.
Where Shadows Lie is a fantastic start to this series, and an incredibly human story despite the scale of the intrigue and events happening around the characters. There is a lot happening, and yet Pescatore balances it all with the quiet human moments that invest you in what is happening, and if you want character-driven epic fantasy with outstanding rep then this is one that you should be picking up!
April 11, 2021
There's a lot of great stuff in this book. It grabs you from the get-go and keeps a quick pace throughout without feeling rushed. It's well-written, too. The prose always worked for the story, never against it.
The magic system was intriguing, mixing in a bit of technology, which is always cool where magic is concerned. It's well thought out, reminiscent of Sanderson's magic systems while still feeling fresh and original.
I listened to the audio version, and I thought the narrator was spot-on. Overall, highly recommended.
The magic system was intriguing, mixing in a bit of technology, which is always cool where magic is concerned. It's well thought out, reminiscent of Sanderson's magic systems while still feeling fresh and original.
I listened to the audio version, and I thought the narrator was spot-on. Overall, highly recommended.
April 22, 2022
Pescatore mixes character-driven political plot with sweeping prophecies and mighty sorceries, creating epic fantasy that has heroic protagonists without collapsing into a simplistic good-vs-evil binary.
Disguised as foreign diplomats and secretly aided by the heir to the throne, Gabriel and his companions attempt to end the tyrannical rule of the King of Lirin. However, when half the group—including the prince—are killed in a trap, Gabriel is forced to flee using Elenor, the king’s second child and new heir, as a hostage. At first, Elenor believes she has been captured by brutal criminals, but as the conflicting images of her brother as decent sibling and secret traitor erode her certainty, she starts to question which side is right. Unfortunately for both of them and the other rebels, there are more than two sides and none of them have any compunction about sacrificing the lives of a couple of young people who think the world should be better.
Opening with a close-perspective attempt to assassinate a king then shifting to the perspective of a powerful magic user struggling to balance the conflicting demands of several gods regarding ancient pacts protecting noble families across the known world, Pescatore makes it clear from the outset that this is character-driven epic fantasy.
With the survivors of the rebel group running from reprisals, Pescatore swiftly adds further perspective characters. While, as with much epic fantasy, this dispersion of focus does mean readers are more at risk of losing track, each of the threads (including that of the mysterious magic user) remain—at least for a significant minority of the book—connected to the capital of Lirin rather than racing into other areas. Thus, they interweave, providing new, and sometimes conflicting, information on what might really be going on and what the world might truly be like. Pescatore skilfully wields this dramatic irony, allowing the reader to see that certain apparent cruelties or benefices are motivated by more complex reasons than mere poor or good character, while both maintaining the plausible emotive reaction of the characters and denying the reader all the answers they need to be certain what is the truth.
This undercutting both of what characters ‘know’ to be true and of what various cultures consider moral expands as the threads diverge into other parts of Pescatore’s world, offering the reader an opportunity to experience the world rather than merely be told what it is. With even the slave taking nation having an opportunity to explain why their way is moral, this is not a book for those who eschew moral relativism in favour of strict good vs evil binaries; however, neither is the moral discussion allowed to take over from personal struggle and conflict, allowing readers who are simply less concerned with the philosophical to enjoy the novel for its complex politics and dramatic action.
As expected of the first volume in an epic fantasy series, this book raises world-spanning plot threads that are not resolved and leaves protagonists in perilous circumstances. However, the main arcs do reach significant milestones, be it a sizeable political change or a new clarity of understanding, so readers are unlikely to feel cheated of an ending.
While this book includes a lesbian romance, the disdain that attracts seems to stem from the unsuitability of the lover and the displays of affection rather than it not being heterosexual; thus this novel is an LGBTQ book in the sense of representation but not in the sense of being driven by LGBTQ issues.
Elenor is an engaging and sympathetic protagonist, who neither relentlessly clings to her naive loyalty to her father in the face of evidence nor throws in with the rebel cause after the flimsiest of struggles. Her struggle to do the right thing, on a mental and physical level, exacerbated by the chronic damage done by a childhood illness that has left her legs weak; as with her intellectual struggle to support the right side, Pescatore neither makes this limitation an angst-ridden centre to her narrative nor treats it as an inconvenience that only appears when other challenges aren’t taking the stage.
Gabriel and his rebel companions are similarly balanced between decency and imperfection, fillling their arcs and interactions with a plausible mix of fantasy heroism and all-too-human selfishness.
In contrast to the youthful protagonists, Daemon, the ancient magician protagonist, is a cynical political player with no compunction over sacrificing the innocent for his own schemes. While his behaviour is motivated by a traumatic past and some of his endeavours are commendable, neither he nor Pescatore suggest this excuses the darkness of many of his other actions; thus, while there is the possibility he might redeem himself in later volumes, he is very definitely more an interesting villain than an anti-hero.
The supporting cast are well-crafted for a political fantasy, with even the actually decent people possessing secret drives that subvert their apparent altruism.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel. I recommend it to readers seeking epic political fantasy that balances the relativism and complexity of real political scheming with the heroic drives of classic fantasy heroism.
Disguised as foreign diplomats and secretly aided by the heir to the throne, Gabriel and his companions attempt to end the tyrannical rule of the King of Lirin. However, when half the group—including the prince—are killed in a trap, Gabriel is forced to flee using Elenor, the king’s second child and new heir, as a hostage. At first, Elenor believes she has been captured by brutal criminals, but as the conflicting images of her brother as decent sibling and secret traitor erode her certainty, she starts to question which side is right. Unfortunately for both of them and the other rebels, there are more than two sides and none of them have any compunction about sacrificing the lives of a couple of young people who think the world should be better.
Opening with a close-perspective attempt to assassinate a king then shifting to the perspective of a powerful magic user struggling to balance the conflicting demands of several gods regarding ancient pacts protecting noble families across the known world, Pescatore makes it clear from the outset that this is character-driven epic fantasy.
With the survivors of the rebel group running from reprisals, Pescatore swiftly adds further perspective characters. While, as with much epic fantasy, this dispersion of focus does mean readers are more at risk of losing track, each of the threads (including that of the mysterious magic user) remain—at least for a significant minority of the book—connected to the capital of Lirin rather than racing into other areas. Thus, they interweave, providing new, and sometimes conflicting, information on what might really be going on and what the world might truly be like. Pescatore skilfully wields this dramatic irony, allowing the reader to see that certain apparent cruelties or benefices are motivated by more complex reasons than mere poor or good character, while both maintaining the plausible emotive reaction of the characters and denying the reader all the answers they need to be certain what is the truth.
This undercutting both of what characters ‘know’ to be true and of what various cultures consider moral expands as the threads diverge into other parts of Pescatore’s world, offering the reader an opportunity to experience the world rather than merely be told what it is. With even the slave taking nation having an opportunity to explain why their way is moral, this is not a book for those who eschew moral relativism in favour of strict good vs evil binaries; however, neither is the moral discussion allowed to take over from personal struggle and conflict, allowing readers who are simply less concerned with the philosophical to enjoy the novel for its complex politics and dramatic action.
As expected of the first volume in an epic fantasy series, this book raises world-spanning plot threads that are not resolved and leaves protagonists in perilous circumstances. However, the main arcs do reach significant milestones, be it a sizeable political change or a new clarity of understanding, so readers are unlikely to feel cheated of an ending.
While this book includes a lesbian romance, the disdain that attracts seems to stem from the unsuitability of the lover and the displays of affection rather than it not being heterosexual; thus this novel is an LGBTQ book in the sense of representation but not in the sense of being driven by LGBTQ issues.
Elenor is an engaging and sympathetic protagonist, who neither relentlessly clings to her naive loyalty to her father in the face of evidence nor throws in with the rebel cause after the flimsiest of struggles. Her struggle to do the right thing, on a mental and physical level, exacerbated by the chronic damage done by a childhood illness that has left her legs weak; as with her intellectual struggle to support the right side, Pescatore neither makes this limitation an angst-ridden centre to her narrative nor treats it as an inconvenience that only appears when other challenges aren’t taking the stage.
Gabriel and his rebel companions are similarly balanced between decency and imperfection, fillling their arcs and interactions with a plausible mix of fantasy heroism and all-too-human selfishness.
In contrast to the youthful protagonists, Daemon, the ancient magician protagonist, is a cynical political player with no compunction over sacrificing the innocent for his own schemes. While his behaviour is motivated by a traumatic past and some of his endeavours are commendable, neither he nor Pescatore suggest this excuses the darkness of many of his other actions; thus, while there is the possibility he might redeem himself in later volumes, he is very definitely more an interesting villain than an anti-hero.
The supporting cast are well-crafted for a political fantasy, with even the actually decent people possessing secret drives that subvert their apparent altruism.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel. I recommend it to readers seeking epic political fantasy that balances the relativism and complexity of real political scheming with the heroic drives of classic fantasy heroism.
July 27, 2020
"Forgive me, Papa. I was only … only trying to do what is right. I'm sorry it came to this. I never wanted to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt … anyone."
-Excerpt from Where Shadows Lie
I didn't find this book on my own. I picked it up because it was the featured title for a book club that caught my eye. However, I am incredibly happy that I stumbled into it. Putting it mildly-- this novel was a joy to read, and an experience I am eager to share with others.
Without getting into all the details down below, it was a great read. It's not perfect, as no book will ever be, but it was damn near it for my tastes. If you like magic, expansive worldbuilding, and political intrigue- this is for you. The next entry to this series is definitely one I will keep an eye out for.
The World:
Within the pages of Where Shadows Lie, Allegra Pescatore sets about the herculean task of not only establishing an expansive environment, but one that draws the reader into its many landscapes.
The world of Carinn is a vast one, and one that is deftly articulated and depicted in the interactions between the various characters, as well as the sharp descriptions of each scene. Pescatore does an excellent job of juggling the geographic contrasts between different settings, as well as the geopolitical distinctions that reside throughout her various established nations.
This world's political landscape is very central to the plot, and a remarkably satisfying thread to follow from beginning to end. The struggles of the common folk against a callous and shrewd ruling class is a theme that often serves as a bridge between the reader and the all-too-realistic problems the people of this world face.
Pescatore also establishes the beginnings of a rich history that surrounds this world, and will likely carry greater relevance in future installments.
While I wouldn't call this story easy-to-follow, it is not overly complicated or cumbersome. While it requires persistent attention to names and off-hand details, it is not so chock-full of random nonessentials to make that tiring.
The Characters:
This is, at its heart, a character-driven story. That does not mean that the plot is clumsy or uninteresting. It means that the characters and their development make this world and its people seem as natural as ours.
I must admit that, initially, I sometimes found myself frustrated with some characters' motivations, but this was not an issue that persisted throughout the novel.
There are five central/prominent points-of-view in this novel. There are a handful of others, but I won't linger on them for this review. The characters come from very diverse backgrounds, with different drives and ambitions that present very unique aspects of the same world they all inhabit.
I feel that having so many POVs in a single title sometimes tends to leave the storytelling a bit sloppy, but this was not the case at all when it came to Where Shadows Lie. I found myself on the heels of each character throughout the novel, despite when some actions were questionable at best. The fact that I was continually rooting for these characters, even when I was not always aligned with their decisions, proved to me that they were well-written and sympathetic.
Pescatore does not follow a specific pattern when it comes to rotating her POVs, but this serves the story well, as each characters' different journeys have their own pacing. The flow of the story is something that I feel obligated to commend here for its habit of constantly pulling me into each page.
Verdict:
I love this book. I would recommend it to anyone with an adoration for the fantastic, and a desire to jump into a big, new world. This is the first title in years that has had me cackling at 3am, and reluctant to turn the page in fear of what I might read next. There are some moments that I might question (That abrupt reveal, among them), but there was nothing I found that was glaring enough to pull my invested attention away from the text, and the characters that I have become so very attached to.
Five out of Five, without question. No book has made me feel the way this novel did in a long time.
-Excerpt from Where Shadows Lie
I didn't find this book on my own. I picked it up because it was the featured title for a book club that caught my eye. However, I am incredibly happy that I stumbled into it. Putting it mildly-- this novel was a joy to read, and an experience I am eager to share with others.
Without getting into all the details down below, it was a great read. It's not perfect, as no book will ever be, but it was damn near it for my tastes. If you like magic, expansive worldbuilding, and political intrigue- this is for you. The next entry to this series is definitely one I will keep an eye out for.
The World:
Within the pages of Where Shadows Lie, Allegra Pescatore sets about the herculean task of not only establishing an expansive environment, but one that draws the reader into its many landscapes.
The world of Carinn is a vast one, and one that is deftly articulated and depicted in the interactions between the various characters, as well as the sharp descriptions of each scene. Pescatore does an excellent job of juggling the geographic contrasts between different settings, as well as the geopolitical distinctions that reside throughout her various established nations.
This world's political landscape is very central to the plot, and a remarkably satisfying thread to follow from beginning to end. The struggles of the common folk against a callous and shrewd ruling class is a theme that often serves as a bridge between the reader and the all-too-realistic problems the people of this world face.
Pescatore also establishes the beginnings of a rich history that surrounds this world, and will likely carry greater relevance in future installments.
While I wouldn't call this story easy-to-follow, it is not overly complicated or cumbersome. While it requires persistent attention to names and off-hand details, it is not so chock-full of random nonessentials to make that tiring.
The Characters:
This is, at its heart, a character-driven story. That does not mean that the plot is clumsy or uninteresting. It means that the characters and their development make this world and its people seem as natural as ours.
I must admit that, initially, I sometimes found myself frustrated with some characters' motivations, but this was not an issue that persisted throughout the novel.
There are five central/prominent points-of-view in this novel. There are a handful of others, but I won't linger on them for this review. The characters come from very diverse backgrounds, with different drives and ambitions that present very unique aspects of the same world they all inhabit.
I feel that having so many POVs in a single title sometimes tends to leave the storytelling a bit sloppy, but this was not the case at all when it came to Where Shadows Lie. I found myself on the heels of each character throughout the novel, despite when some actions were questionable at best. The fact that I was continually rooting for these characters, even when I was not always aligned with their decisions, proved to me that they were well-written and sympathetic.
Pescatore does not follow a specific pattern when it comes to rotating her POVs, but this serves the story well, as each characters' different journeys have their own pacing. The flow of the story is something that I feel obligated to commend here for its habit of constantly pulling me into each page.
Verdict:
I love this book. I would recommend it to anyone with an adoration for the fantastic, and a desire to jump into a big, new world. This is the first title in years that has had me cackling at 3am, and reluctant to turn the page in fear of what I might read next. There are some moments that I might question (That abrupt reveal, among them), but there was nothing I found that was glaring enough to pull my invested attention away from the text, and the characters that I have become so very attached to.
Five out of Five, without question. No book has made me feel the way this novel did in a long time.
July 11, 2022
At the end of this book, my brain is happily cramped from juggling plot threads. Strands of plot are being woven in bright colours splashed across cities, nations, inside the halls of royalty, and even non-existent islands. Everyone is weaving plot tapestries like a mad fool; stories unspooling, lives saved and lost, prophesies emerging out of the fog of the past, and schemes and machinations disappearing as players move about the board.
There are so many levels of deception and skullduggery going on .. we have protagonists who are being played by parents, advisors and councillors, whose strings are in turn being pulled by cults and factions; those are responding to the needs of their gods, and the gods are scheming on a much grander and deadlier scale. Our protagonists can eff up all that by being what the others seem incapable of being … kind and compassionate.
Plotting is complex, it weaves in and out of the chapters, which follow the PsOV of catalysts for change, some good, some not. Even the chapter headings tell a story that give clues and enlighten. That’s one niggling complaint I have with the formatting of the ebook .. there are no chapter links or ToC. Given that I didn’t clue in to the chapter headings right away, I would have liked an easy way to go back and re-read them.
World-building is jaw dropping. It’s easy enough to envision the locations and what they look like. The structure and linkage of relationships and Gifts is also well crafted and becomes more transparent as we near the end of book one. There’s a glossary at the end of the book, which may help some.
For the most part, characters are doing what they should. We get to know our heroes gradually, learning why they are motivated and how they relate to each other. The princess comes off a bit limited at the beginning. Fortunately, she grows and we learn to like her.
The baddie of note is the king. He has his wife and subjects so cowed that when he commits murder in a crowded hall full of courtiers … no one objects or squawks. Not even the Queen, who is a piece of work we never really figure out in this book. So he’s a flat-out, card-carrying, moustache-twirling cardboard villain without sufficient motivation, to my mind. Pescatore didn’t shirk on his dialogue though, she went all in. Spewing vitriol, threatening dire circumstances, torture, murder … this guy stops at absolutely nothing. It’s always entertaining to watch someone lose their shit when it’s not aimed at you, so he could froth at the mouth and I was quite entertained.
Daemon is a character written in shades of slate and charcoal. He’s a bad guy with a soft streak, but he’s unpredictable, so also very interesting to follow. There are a multitude of smaller players who may see bigger roles in follow up books, and I’m looking forward to that.
Style of writing was comfortable. Nothing too fancy; period appropriate. Pacing was mind-boggling; always something going on, but I didn’t feel the need to set the book down so I could process what just happened. I never felt like the characters just couldn’t catch their breath either.
Highly recommend.
There are so many levels of deception and skullduggery going on .. we have protagonists who are being played by parents, advisors and councillors, whose strings are in turn being pulled by cults and factions; those are responding to the needs of their gods, and the gods are scheming on a much grander and deadlier scale. Our protagonists can eff up all that by being what the others seem incapable of being … kind and compassionate.
Plotting is complex, it weaves in and out of the chapters, which follow the PsOV of catalysts for change, some good, some not. Even the chapter headings tell a story that give clues and enlighten. That’s one niggling complaint I have with the formatting of the ebook .. there are no chapter links or ToC. Given that I didn’t clue in to the chapter headings right away, I would have liked an easy way to go back and re-read them.
World-building is jaw dropping. It’s easy enough to envision the locations and what they look like. The structure and linkage of relationships and Gifts is also well crafted and becomes more transparent as we near the end of book one. There’s a glossary at the end of the book, which may help some.
For the most part, characters are doing what they should. We get to know our heroes gradually, learning why they are motivated and how they relate to each other. The princess comes off a bit limited at the beginning. Fortunately, she grows and we learn to like her.
The baddie of note is the king. He has his wife and subjects so cowed that when he commits murder in a crowded hall full of courtiers … no one objects or squawks. Not even the Queen, who is a piece of work we never really figure out in this book. So he’s a flat-out, card-carrying, moustache-twirling cardboard villain without sufficient motivation, to my mind. Pescatore didn’t shirk on his dialogue though, she went all in. Spewing vitriol, threatening dire circumstances, torture, murder … this guy stops at absolutely nothing. It’s always entertaining to watch someone lose their shit when it’s not aimed at you, so he could froth at the mouth and I was quite entertained.
Daemon is a character written in shades of slate and charcoal. He’s a bad guy with a soft streak, but he’s unpredictable, so also very interesting to follow. There are a multitude of smaller players who may see bigger roles in follow up books, and I’m looking forward to that.
Style of writing was comfortable. Nothing too fancy; period appropriate. Pacing was mind-boggling; always something going on, but I didn’t feel the need to set the book down so I could process what just happened. I never felt like the characters just couldn’t catch their breath either.
Highly recommend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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