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    Reign of Shadows
    Reign of Shadows
    Reign of Shadows
    Audiobook8 hours

    Reign of Shadows

    Written by Sophie Jordan

    Narrated by Phoebe Strole and James Fouhey

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Destiny and darkness collide in this romantic, sweeping new fantasy series from New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan, perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Leigh Bardugo.

    Seventeen years ago, an eclipse cloaked the kingdom of Relhok in perpetual darkness. In the chaos, an evil chancellor murdered the king and queen and seized their throne. Luna, Relhok's lost princess, has been hiding in a tower ever since. Luna's survival depends on the world believing she is dead.

    But that doesn't stop Luna from wanting more. When she meets Fowler, a mysterious archer braving the woods outside her tower, Luna is drawn to him despite the risk. When the tower is attacked, Luna and Fowler escape together. But this world of darkness is more treacherous than Luna ever realized.

    With every threat stacked against them, Luna and Fowler find solace in each other. But with secrets still unspoken between them, falling in love might be their most dangerous journey yet.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateFeb 9, 2016
    ISBN9780062465108
    Author

    Sophie Jordan

    Sophie Jordan grew up in the Texas hill country, where she wove fantasies of dragons, warriors, and princesses. A former high school English teacher, she’s the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of more than fifty novels. She now lives in Houston with her family. When she’s not writing, she spends her time overloading on caffeine (lattes preferred), talking plotlines with anyone who will listen (including her kids), and streaming anything that has a happily ever after.

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    Reviews for Reign of Shadows

    3.5/5

    89 ratings9 reviews

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    • 5/5
      A cliffhanger ending signals that this book begins a series but the journey to get to this unresolved ending was wonderful. The story stars Luna who has been raised in an isolated tower deep in a haunted woods by her wet nurse and a loyal soldier. They fled with her when she was born since a disloyal counselor who wanted the throne murder her father the king and her mother the queen. The rebellion coincided with the Eclipse which turned the world dark and allowed the rise of dweller and other creatures that hunt in the dark.Luna has learned to handle herself well in her isolated world but she is outgrowing it. She wants to see what is outside despite the many dangers. Her danger is magnified because she is blind. However, her blindness has allowed her to greatly develop her other senses and she does well inside the world she knows.One night she ventures out alone to gather a birthday gift for her loyal soldier and comes upon a group of humans. One of them was caught in one of the traps set around her tower. She brings them back to the tower despite the danger from the dwellers. They are three chance met travelers. The youngest boy is the one who was injured. He is traveling with his sister. The other traveler is Fowler who is used to surviving alone and who doesn't want to gather any sort of baggage in the form of people who will depend on him. Fowler becomes the other viewpoint character in the story and his own backstory gradually unfolds when he and Luna are forced to set off to find a place of safety when the new evil king's soldiers manage to track down the hidden tower. The two have many adventures as they travel and get to know each other. An encounter with a couple of other hunters lets them both know that the king is killing all young women in Luna's age range. Obviously he fears that a true heir to the throne exists. Fowler tries to convince Luna to continue on with their plans to go to a place that could offer safety but Luna wants to go to the king to sacrifice herself in the hopes that it will save the lives of other young women. I enjoyed this story very much as I got to know a sheltered princess who had outgrown her protected tower and a young man who had lost hope and was gradually finding it again in love for Luna. I can't wait to read the next book!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      The story starts out interestingly enough. A young woman locked away in a tower for her whole life with only her two caretakers for company while the world lies in extended darkness, one day finally coming across others while disobeying orders to stay inside, and inevitably being forced to leave the tower with a near stranger while dodging the monsters that pop up out of the ground. She has secrets, he has secrets, hers being outed to the reader right away while his are obvious long before being stated. It was an engaging read for a while. Then things got mushy and forced and stayed that way.

      I wanted like this book more, but in the end it feels like so many other recent trilogy beginnings: an initially exciting but incomplete story that devolves into fluffy repetitiveness later on in order to lengthen it. Oh yeah, and the huge cliffhanger ending that confirms what you already suspected due to the slowed pace, that there will be more books to follow and the story will continue to be dragged out when all of the relevant details could have fit into one novel.

      On a positive note, the writing is pretty good until you get into the second half and the repetitive mush comes about, and I did like the early little twist about the main character. Still, although the world building is decent I think things could have been more fleshed out. For example, I kept wondering what they were eating on their long journey besides bread. Man cannot live on bread alone, or so I've heard. The little details are lost.

      I probably won't read the next book. Perhaps those who are new to this type of story will enjoy it better than I did.
    • 2/5
      I was enjoying it quite a bit until the ending, which is a giant cliffhanger. There is a way to end individual series volumes so that they stand alone, but still compel readers to pick up the remaining volumes. This wasn't it.
    • 5/5
      This is SUCH A GOOD BOOK.
      If you like adventure, fantasy, bravery and mystery READ IT. Oh my gosh I was on such a high after reading this book I couldn’t read anything else for a solid month. Read it
    • 2/5
      Writing was ok, however I could not get over the premise that the ecosystem should survive or provide enough food for humans with 1 hour of sunlight per day.
    • 5/5
      I absolutely loved this book... It pulled me out of a month long rut and for that I am thankful. It was a fast paced read with lush scenery and swoon worthy romance. When I say there was romance, I mean it had a VERY strong focus on romance. It went with the royalty/fantasy/magical theme, but there was grit and horror too. I really connected to the characters and found that the words were laced with rich emotion. I felt the fear and passion. I honestly felt as though I was within the pages... No to mention the twists. Oh gosh, they definitely proved to make things interesting! I can't say much, but if you read, I guarantee, you will be surprised. Luna lives a sheltered life, under the protection of her guardians. She doesn't venture out of her tower much, but when she does sneak out, it ends up being a wild ride. She stumbles upon danger and offers up her protection. Her guardians aren't pleased with having visitors, but has to eventually learn to trust Luna's decision. Together Luna and Fowler embark on a journey through dark forests, stilt cities, and creepy lakes. Their relationship slowly blooms like a rose... thorns line the stem, but the overall picture is quiet beautiful. It was a thrilling story with plenty of action. The ending will make some mad because of the cliffhanger, but book 2 releases soon! I can't wait to get my hands on it. Thank you Sophie Jordan for fueling my reading fire again.
    • 3/5
      A book one, prepare for a cliffhanger at the end of this dystopian/fantasy novel.Seventeen years ago, an eclipse darkened the land, and it has never ceased. There are short times of lights; it’s in these short intervals that one can venture about because in the dark, creatures rule. Luna, the princess of Relhok, has been raised in a secluded tower, unknown to the King who murdered Luna’s parents. Unaware of the danger, Luna wants more than a tower. When Fowler arrives, everything changes. The Oracle tells the King the heir is alive. When the tower is discovered, Luna is sent out with Fowler to find a safe haven. Luna and Fowler have adversity after adversity as they travel to a rumored place of safety. It’s on this journey that Luna discovers what is truly going on, which creates a problem between them. Should they stay and help or run away? You’ll enjoy the novel; it keeps the reader’s interest although it isn’t the best novel I’ve read in this genre.
    • 4/5
      I actually really liked this! Luna, a long-lost princess, lives in a world of perpetual darkness. It's got grit, a fierce heroine, and dark, seedy cities that are a perfect backdrop for all of the corruption going on in the book. And of course, that cover...it's gorgeous.
    • 3/5
      I'm having a hard time deciding if I truly liked REIGN OF SHADOWS or if I just liked the ideas behind it. I very much enjoyed the characters in REIGN OF SHADOWS. Both of the main characters were strong willed with a lot of fight in them even though they had lived very different lives and have very different roles. One was hard while the other was soft and they somehow ended up complimenting each other even as the bumped heads. Their romance is more sweet than fierce and even though it seems to come on fast, it is really drawn out too. The story was interesting and made me want to read and find the answers the author was slowly doling out.So where is my problem with REIGN OF SHADOWS? There was a lot of nothing going on between the meat of the story and there were a lot of things I didn't feel were explained. Sure we learn some things about the characters and the world as they are slowly traveling and nothing is happening, but I would have loved more things to happen or for them to find a way to travel along faster. At the pace they are going right now, they will never get anywhere. I honestly can't tell you more than a handful of things that happened in the 304 pages I read. I am glad I got the points of the story, but it didn't feel like enough happened. Of course then REIGN OF SHADOWS had to end on the cliffhanger that it ended on. It was one of those WHAT juts happened moments and I WANT to know what will happen next, so now I feel like I want to read book two even though book one had its issues.* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.