A M/M Dragon Shifter Romance with powerful magic, an kingdom in danger and creatures beyond your imagination. Zacriah Trovirn is concerned with two things in life: hunting and dodging Petrer, the boy who broke his heart.Heartbreak becomes a distant concern when Zacriah is taken to the Elven capital of Thessolina, where he is forced into King Dalior’s new legion of shapeshifters. But Zacriah … shapeshifters. But Zacriah isn’t a shapeshifter. In truth, he doesn’t know what he is.
Zacriah joins forces with new friends and they soon find themselves embroiled in a clash between the three Elven continents. With war on the horizon, Zacriah must learn to use his latent magick to fight and protect those he loves before they are destroyed.
“Romantic tension, heartwarming friendships, thrilling pacing, all wrapped in the fantasy world of elves you’ve been waiting for. Alderson deftly paints a world that’s rich in intriguing magicks and peoples. Once Zachariah’s story pulls you in, you will not be able to put this down!” – Elise Kova, USA TODAY Bestselling author of Air Awakens.
“One word. EPIC!” – Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★
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This was a great debut novel from a budding author. There were so many wonderful fantasy elements: elves of different races, elementals and shifters and there was always something happening in the story to keep the reader engaged. All in all it was a fast-paced, fun and intriguing read and I cannot wait to see where the plot and this unique world, go next!
Original review: https://myshelfbooks.wordpress.com/2018/05/13/cloaked-in-shadow-ben-alderson/
After reading several good reviews about this book, I decided to give it a chance. It seems that Ben Alderson is kind of famous as a book reviewer in the United Kingdom, but beyond that country he is unknown. That has never stopped me before, so this time wasn’t different. Just becuase I don’t know who he is, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t read his books. It sounds crazy, but I have been told that no long ago… Besides, it’s Epic Fantasy with an M/M couple. What else could I ask for? Actually, there are several things the book is lacking…
This book tells us the story of Zac, an elf who is keepig his air magic a secret. He, among many others, is invited to the capital to celebrate Prince Hadrian birthday. The food of that party was laced with a poison that doesn’t affect shifters, so the King can separate them from the rest. Zac is not a shifter, but his secret magic keep him from falling asleep as the rest of normal elves. The shifters are told that they have been chosen to become soldiers, because the kingdom is being attack by ruthless enemies. They are promised gold for their families, so Zac decides to remain silent and pretend he is a shifter. Quite a difficult task if you ask me. Of course, the very first day they are asked to shift into their animal persona to sort them by strength. When our main character is order to change, he refuses (duh!) and is sent to Prince Hadrian office.
There begins the main chunk of the book: the romance between Hadrian and Zac. There is much more romance in this story than in other Epic Fantasy books I have read, so maybe it won’t be your cup of tea if you are not a fan of that genre. It’s not heavy romance, but its presence is almost constant during the whole book. Hadrian and Zac team-up to unravel the mystery behind the enemy attacks, which are not what they seem. Obviously, they get to know each other and fall in love fast.
Being honest, that is exactly what I like the least about this book. There is zero chemistry among the two of them. The main culprit is Hadrian, a character that is pretty… boring. The author tries too hard to make him the perfect gentleman in shiny armor, but he lacks charisma everywhere. Besides, the Prince is the main reason that Zac’s life is in danger. Am I the only one that remembers the dreadful duel was Hadrian’s idea? The same duel that ruins Zac’s life forever? Because, Zac seems to have forgotten that part… Maybe I’m not being fair with the Prince. When I don’t like a character I can be too hard on them.
If you have read the blurb, you know there is a third name in the mix: Petrer. Now, this is the part that rubs me the wrong way. When we first meet that character, he is lovely. A bit cocky, but clearly worried about Zac’s well-being. Zac tries to ignore him, but we don’t get to know why until much later. Yes, Petrer cheated on him and that’s bad; but his behaviour didn’t match with a common cheater. There had to be something more about it. The problem: Hadrian. The author is so focused on making him the perfect guy, that everyone else has to be a bunch of jerks. In just a couple of sentences, Petrer changes from a caring person to a ridiculously cruel one. I liked that character a lot. What Ben does with him is totally unfair. I hope this character is redeemed in the following books, because is much more interesting than the boring Prince.
As you can see, this review is about the romance part. I have no issue about the epic fantasy part, except that it’s maybe too short. The author has established a nice world and the war that is brewing looks interesting enough, so I’ll pick the next book. Finger crossed for a nice fourth Dragori.
It’s a good start for a newbie. The story is ok, but the storytelling is kind of sloppy sometimes. It doesn’t fluid naturally. There are too many bursts of action instead of a regular dosis. All in all, enjoyable and a nice first step.