Perfect for fans of Secondborn, The Hunger Games, and Maze Runner, this dark dystopian tale of survival, intrigue, and slow-burn romance will grip you until the very last page.My name is Maia Graystone: prisoner, rebel, and reluctant savior of a dying world.In exactly 552 hours, an asteroid will end life as we know it. Not that I’m counting or anything. Trapped inside a hellish prison, I spend … inside a hellish prison, I spend my last days worrying about the brother I left behind, the not-so-friendly inmates, and the bounty on my head.
Then a mysterious benefactor offers the impossible: a chance to compete in the Shadow Trials. Win and my brother and I receive a coveted spot on the space station in the stars.
But the opportunity comes at a steep price. Partner with a dashing psychopath, enter the court that once condemned me to death, survive the ruthless trials created by my own mother, and kill the Emperor–the very man who’s hunting me.
In this cunning game of life and death, nothing is as it seems and everyone expects me to fail. But they forgot one tiny detail.
Never underestimate the girl with nothing left to lose.
Dare to enter the gritty world of Shadow Fall where tyrants rule, misfits reign, and anti-heroes are tasked with saving the world. If you like enemies-to-lovers romance, high-octane action, and epic themes of good versus evil, you’ll binge this rollercoaster of emotions late into the night!
WARNING. This series is dark, raw, and intense. If you prefer your books full of rainbows and unicorns and random sprinkles of happiness, this might not be your kind of story. But, if you like gritty stories with heart, I promise the ending of the final (third) book will have a happily ever after!
Praise for Shadow Fall:
Shadow Fall by Audrey Grey is by far one of the best books that I have read this year. — Peachy Keen Book Reviews ★★★★★
An edge-of-your-seat, thrilling action-adventure reminiscent of “An Ember in the Ashes” and “Red Queen”, Audrey Grey is a debut author to watch out for . . . Phenomenal. -Esther Dalseno, author of Drown ★★★★★
With a romance that is just too freaking amazing, a villain that makes me want to introduce him to dementors, an ending that left me frozen with shock, I declare Shadow Fall one of the best books I have ever read. -Author Cassie James ★★★★★
Shadow Fall is an intense, action-packed book . . . As for the plot itself, well it twists and turns, throwing new action at the turn of every page . . . Exceptionally well written. -Merissa, Reviewer at Archaeolibrarian I Dig Books ★★★★★
This is definitely YA Dystopian at its best. -I Fall In Love Book Blog ★★★★★
This was an amazing read. The more I turned the pages, the more I fell into the rich, intricate world that was so vividly constructed by Audrey Grey. -Jacob Devlin, author of the Order of the Bell Series ★★★★★
Did you like the Hunger Games? The Maze Runner? Divergent? Good because Shadow Fall has glimmers of all of the above within it – plus a whole lot of original stuff too. I freaking loved this. –Rosemarie Short, Literature Love Reviews ★★★★★
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Shadow Fall by Audrey Grey is the YA page turner you have been looking for! You will experience danger, betrayal, emotion, and murder! If you enjoyed The Hunger Games, The Host, and The 100 you will not want to miss this one!
The Plot: Betrayed by her mother, and forced to witness her father’s execution, Maia Graystone was left with the responsibility of caring for her brother Max. Caught stealing food to feed him, she is thrown in to “The Pit”, forced to fight and survive with the other prisoners, not knowing that she was safer there than in the open where The Emperor desperately searched for her and Max. When she is finally found, she learns that the Emperor will stop at nothing to rip her apart for “the key” that her father hid inside her years ago. After an unexpected rescue, and reunion with a dangerous character from “The Pit” Maia discovers that the only way she will learn the true nature of “the key”, her father’s forbidden invention, and perhaps a way to save her world from destruction from the imminent asteroid collision, is to join forces with “Pit Boy” and join The Trials at the Emperor’s Gold Court. Will she make it through the trials, save the world, and stop herself from falling in love with “Pit Boy” after she finds out the truth?
Shadow Fall is a must read if you love Sci-Fi books. I found it to be fast paced and intriguing. There was such an extensive level of detail given to the world and social class building. I really enjoyed the fact that it felt like the author was heavily influenced by titles mentioned above. Audrey Grey included the best concepts from those popular books and used them to shape Maia’s story.
Maia was such a well developed character. She had depth and emotion, and showed an amazing transformation throughout the story. She was brave and delicate at once. She was determined to embrace the changes she went through to complete the trials, and yet, she tried so hard to hold on to her true self. She was fierce and strong like Clarke from the 100, and still soft and caring like Melanie in The Host. And, deep down, I felt that she paired well with Riser, “Pit Boy”.
Riser, or as Maia liked to call him “Pit Boy”, was such an interesting character! He was quite dangerous and terrifying, but you knew that there was raw emotion hiding deep inside. His transformation in the story is most incredible, and the details we learn about him add such complexity to his person. You want to root for him and Maia to be together, and are still left somewhat uncertain if he is going to betray her.
Don’t miss out on this amazing Sci-Fi book! Book 2, Shadow Rise, is set to come out this November, and I am dying to get my hands on it! I rate Shadow Fall 5 stars!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this free review copy in exchange for my honest review.
Very well written. Great characters, amazing storyline, perfect world. I was hooked from the beginning!
So good. Original. Just read it!
The lovely Audrey Grey has done it again! Pulled me into a new world that has completely captivated me and I don’t ever want to leave. The world of Shadow Fall is a techno world where an asteroid is headed towards Earth and no one will survive. The emperor has been “uploading” the Chosen few to a space station a safe distance away from Earth and leaving the rest of the population to die.u2063
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Maia starts out in a prison called “The Pit”. It’s a heinous place where they throw the people they deem as beneath them. Maia is one of the Chosen, but her fathers traitorous actions, and her standing up for him, has landed her in The Pit anyway. Until one day she is dragged up above and tortured for information her father has encrypted into her and her brother, Max. u2063
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She manages to escape with the help of the Pit Boy who tied her wrists and left her to die. They’re sent on a mission to kill the emperor who imprisoned both of them. They get reconstructed with new faces and memories and are sent to compete in the Shadow Trials to gain the last lucky spit on the Hyperion space station. But really, they’re there for the emperor. u2063
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Maia doesn’t trust Riser. He’s the one who left her for dead. Or is he? The more she’s around him, the more she wonders if maybe she’s wrong about him. The final coup will tell her who she can trust. Let’s hope she doesn’t make the wrong choice. u2063
I’m stunned. Shadow Fall was EVERYTHING. I literally almost passed up on a Bishop Briggs concert, just so I could finish this marvelous creation of a book. Audrey Grey, thank you so so so much for putting your heart into this book. IT FRIGGIN’ SHOWS.
From the start I was hooked. The beginning had this eerie, creepy feel that chilled me to my bones and had me tensing. The authors descriptions were slightly grotesque, but only in the best possible way. I felt like I was there, in the flesh, witnessing the horrors of the pit with my own eyes. Pit Boy & Digger Girl also displayed the perfect amount of trauma for what they lived through. Authors sometimes forget that trauma is a lasting thing. It takes much longer than a couple days of romance before the trauma disappears altogether. This is something that this author realized and acknowledged.
Her characters are all psychotic assholes. Buuut, they kind of have a right to be, given what they’ve all gone through.
I can’t wait to start on book 2!!