Shadow Magic
by Joshua Khan Book Review by Miranda Fraser ISBN: 978-148473272-4 Shadow Magic by Joshua Khan is by far one of my favorite books! When I started the novel a lot of people asked me what it was about. Less than a 100 pages in I simply looked at them and said, “I’m not entirely sure. There’s magic kingdoms, though.” And that was being honest. See, I didn’t know much about the novel, but this little quote from Rick Riodan drew me in, AND is the reason I added this to the Month of Halloween Book Review series, “...Six Great Families of magic, the nicest princess of darkness you’ve ever met, a peasant boy with skills to rival Robin Hood, and a supporting cast of zombies, Paladins, ghost puppies, executioners, minstrels, murderers, and a giant hero bat.” SERIOUSLY HOW COULD THAT NOT SOUND LIKE A GOOD BOOK?! And so here we are, my final Halloween book review and a new favorite author added to my bookshelves. To start with, there are six kingdoms that stemmed from one family at one point in time, and every ruler must be able to wield magic. If they cannot the next in line would take the throne if they were able to wield it, such as in the main heroine’s family. The catch to this, of course, is that it is illegal for women to practice magic. And this is not a small crime either when you consider that it means an immediate burning at the stake, no matter who you are or what your social rank is. With this being said only sons are truly valuable to rulers. That’s a real shame for Lilith Shadow, who has lost her entire family and has been pushed into leadership for all of Castle Gloom and Gehenna. To truly rule she must marry. And as common in times of war, that means a peace treaty will be made with her hand in marriage. And not just any kingdom, no, to their greatest enemy’s son. While Lilith rules Castle Gloom, a kingdom where the dead are as important as the living, and ghosts and zombies are normal, her husband to be is a Solar. He comes from a kingdom where there is no such thing as too bright or too white from colored fabrics to horses. They are prim and proper filled with riches and power to rule over all, and to them appearance really is everything. It’s not a good mix… and I swear to you, you will HATE Gabriel Solar as much as I do or I will welcome angry hate mail. *insert laugh here* And while the kingdoms fuel their wars and powers the peasants don’t have much of a say. Incoming new character: Thorn, an outlaw’s son, who knows the forest better than a castle. Thorn lives by simpler rules than most people. He sticks to blatant honesty, sticking up for what you believe in, breaking rules IF necessary to survive or do the right thing, and he has no use for fancy things. He can shoot a bow like he was born with it in his hand and he has a good heart. Something that doesn’t tend to get you very far in the world. And while, as a peasant, the horror stories of vampire filled Gehenna and the evil Shadow family, are all he’s ever heard, he still finds himself living there. In fact, he was bought, as a slave, by the executioner for Castle Gloom. He finds Thorn while searching for the brigands who killed the Shadow family. What a dream life this boy is having, no? But it does seem to work out. The evil Lilith Shadow is actually quite pretty, and while her ways and stubbornness can both anger and confuse him, he still finds himself drawn to her. As assassin attacks are being brought down on Lily’s head, can she Thorn and their friend Kleefe manage to figure out who is being them? And is this person also behind the deaths of her family? In her hunt to escape a terrible arranged marriage and save her kingdom Lily decides that Thorn’s break the rules philosophy might not be so bad and she begins to test the waters to find out if she has the magic of her ancestors. Each character has their own personal crisis that comes out at some point in time throughout the novel. The plot twists and the unexpected enemies kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time! The magical spells, the background of the kingdoms, the items made of magic and ancestors powers, the beautiful animals, and the unlikely budding love story all make this a perfect novel. I want to say so much more, but I am so afraid to give any of the good stuff away! Just trust me when I tell you that the plot twists are unexpected, the ending is emotional and hopeful, and I cannot wait to start the sequel! This is Joshua Khan’s first novel, so, seriously give this guy a round of applause and check him out! I look forward to great things from him!! And as always links to the author's pages are below!
0 Comments
|
YA Fiction Reviews |