Ren Kolins is a silver wielder–a dangerous thing to be in the kingdom of Erdis, where magic has been outlawed for a century. Ren is just trying to survive, sticking to a life of petty thievery, card games, and pit fighting to get by. But when a wealthy rebel leader discovers her secret, he offers her a fortune to join his revolution. The caveat: she won’t see a single coin until they overthrow … overthrow the King.Behind the castle walls, a brutal group of warriors known as the King’s Children is engaged in a competition: the first to find the rebel leader will be made King’s Fang, the right hand of the King of Erdis. And Adley Farre is hunting down the rebels one by one, torturing her way to Ren and the rebel leader, and the coveted King’s Fang title. But time is running out for all of them, including the youngest Prince of Erdis, who finds himself pulled into the rebellion. Political tensions have reached a boiling point, and Ren and the rebels must take the throne before war breaks out.
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I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I cannot believe this is a debut novel. It is so wonderfully done, full of beautifully flawed characters, plot twists, and the perfect balance of horror and hope. The world Jennifer created is intriguing and captivating. I certainly wouldn’t want to live there but I cannot help but be immediately sucked in, right there along with the characters.
I want more. Things are wide open for a continuation and I would love to spend more time with these characters. I have no idea if there will be a sequel but if there were to be one, this book ends perfectly. Things feel resolved for the time being but clearly not resolved. If this remains a standalone, the ending feels a bit rushed. There was a beautiful build-up and it wrapped rather quickly.
All that aside, this is an amazing debut and it deserves your attention. The richness, the depth of character, the world and its breadth, they’re incredible to behold.
Of Silver and Shadow is an excellent young adult (more geared to the upper end of that age range or even new adult) fantasy about a country lead by a power hungry king and a group of young people trying to survive under his rule.
Ren is a young orphaned pit fighter and secret magic wielder. The king has destroyed every family line that holds magic (“silver”) but Ren has managed to elude attention of his secret police, the feared “Kings Children”. When Ren is reluctantly pulled into the rebellion she has to decide how much she’s willing to risk.
Other characters include two ruthless female warriors from the King’s Children who dared to fall in love despite the death sentence it would mean, a pair of brothers that carry on the rebellion behind privileged doors and the spare prince who isn’t who he seems.
I highly recommend this fast-paced and exciting novel to fantasy fans of all ages. The characters are all people you can root for and I look forward to seeing what Jennifer Gruenke dreams up next.
4.5 rounded up to 5 for BookBub
#netgalley #arcreview #justreleased
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Of Silver and Shadow – Jennifer Gruenke
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Ren is such an awesome and strong character, loved how she is behaving and how she grows during the storyline.
Darek is an brooding male and i liked the bantering between him and Ren and his brother.
The world building, strong leading characters, and different POV make this story so good to read, I loved it .
And what I liked also is, that it’s not alone exploring straight heterosexual relationships between characters, but it has two strong ladies that love each other hard and fight for that love .
Genre; YA, SciFi, fantasy, lgbtq
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Blurb;
Ren Kolins is a silver wielder—a dangerous thing to be in the kingdom of Erdis, where magic has been outlawed for a century. Ren is just trying to survive, sticking to a life of petty thievery, card games, and pit fighting to get by. But when a wealthy rebel leader discovers her secret, he offers her a fortune to join his revolution. The caveat: she won’t see a single coin until they overthrow the King.
Behind the castle walls, a brutal group of warriors known as the King’s Children is engaged in a competition: the first to find the rebel leader will be made King’s Fang, the right hand of the King of Erdis. And Adley Farre is hunting down the rebels one by one, torturing her way to Ren and the rebel leader, and the coveted King’s Fang title.
But time is running out for all of them, including the youngest Prince of Erdis, who finds himself pulled into the rebellion. Political tensions have reached a boiling point, and Ren and the rebels must take the throne before war breaks out.
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Stars;
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#bookreview #arc #reading #ofsilverandshadow #bookstagram #book #released #ya #fantasy #uprising #adventure #lgbtq #creative #silver #excited #good #tbr #photography
“Of Silver and Shadow” is about Ren, who is a self-taught silver wielder that nearly escaped death as a child before she went into hiding in the Kingdom of Eris, where magic is outlawed and being outed could be the death of her. While attempting to survive by succumbing to thievery, card games, and dangerous pit fighting to pay an overdue debt, along the way she encounters a Rebel, King’s Children, and Prince that pulls her towards a rebellion she wants no part of in which case forever alternating the course of her life forever.
And…. Holy. Shit..
Now that’s what I call a near-perfect debut YA novel and if you haven’t checked out my rating, this is a must-read for 2020! It had all the elements I was looking for: badass heroine, characters that actually had depth and growth, fantasy, magic, fighting, and mild dosage of romance that wasn’t so instant.
It was an addictive page turner that I nearly finished in one sitting. In addition,“Of Silver and Shadow” showcased fantastic character development, decent worldbuilding along with surprising tropes I wasn’t expecting, and let’s not forget the author’s phenomenal writing style that made it easier to immerse myself on Ren’s journey in joining the Rebellion. Needless to say just about everything about this novel was superb and I would highly recommend everyone to add this to your TBR. You’ll have no regrets,, just saying.
Oo yet another YA fantasy story that features multiple characters facing a revolution. Yes I know it’s a popular trope recently but there’s a reason because if written well it’s interesting and fun ! I thoroughly enjoyed this story although it’s clear to me that there’s more to come. I think I would have liked a little more about the magic in play here but as it’s the first book I understand everything can be fleshed out later. The characters are interesting, the world building perhaps needs a tad more but overall I did actually really enjoy this and will happily read more
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair
Of Silver and Shadow is a young adult fantasy that offers something unique for the reader. It follows Ren Kolins, who is a silver wielder, a type of magic the kingdom of Erdis outlawed years ago. When she was a child, the king discovered she had magic and tried to kill her, setting her home on fire with her and her parents inside. Ren alone escaped and learned to keep her magic hidden, surviving by “sticking to a life of petty thievery, card games, and pit fighting.” She lives a dishonest life, but that is part of her charm.
Ren is the definition of a reluctant hero with a matching snarky personality that gives the readers a bit of fresh air. She is the queen of sarcasm and completely original as far as characters go. However, there is also something heart-warming about this character. As self-indulgent as she is, when Ren cares about someone, she cares about them. Ren often puts herself first, but the softer side of herself, the one that cares, when it comes alive, it gives Ren a more complex personality. Ren is very much afraid of exposing herself and her power for the rebellion. It goes against all her survival instincts, but she does it regardless, not just for the coin (mainly for the coin), but because she knows she needs to tear down the corrupt regime.
Much like Ren, the other characters are multifaceted. Kellen is a prince with a heart to good to belong to his family, and he sneaks out nightly to be himself, or at least try to find a place to belong, something relatable to any reader. Adley is a hunter, fashioned by a king she hates, who does horrible things in order to gain her freedom and that of her love, Lesa.
Darek is the only fault because he’s just a self-righteous prick half the time, and while it was evident that he and Ren were going to end up together, the chemistry was lacking. Yes, the development of the story gave it away and gave some development to their dynamics; however, it lacked substance and came off as rushed, making it slightly unbelievable. Especially when it contrasts the lovely relationship between Adley and Lesa, now that is a relationship worth reading.
On the bright side, Of Silver and Shadow moves effortlessly forward. Of Silver and Shadow is a fast read, it has excellent world-building, giving depth to the class structure, and the use of magic in this novel. It was thoughtful and had a fantastic ending that lifts the reader with hope and joy.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc.
Ren is a silver wielder and since magic his outlawed for a century in the kingdom of Erdis she need to hide her ability or risk being sentenced to dead. She’s trying her best to survive and one day the leader of the rebellion discover her secret.
Really loved the world building and the characters and enjoyed reading this book.