Two princes lead a war-broken people. One rules while the other serves in the shadows, haunted by encroaching death.Halavant overthrew his queen mother to save his people from slavery, and now she seeks his life. Yosyph acts as the new king’s eyes and ears, but being invisible comes at great cost and his life is slipping away.To save his closest friend, Halavant travels to the land of the … to the land of the skin-carving Carani, leaving Yosyph to rule a troubled people despite his ill health and the nobles on the verge of rebellion.
Unless Halavant can survive in the land of his enemies to find a cure and Yosyph can unite the frightened and starving people against a second war, both will die and their budding democracy will crumble under a new tyrant.
Sequel to Whitney Awards Nominee The King’s Trial
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The King’s Shadow is a fantastic sequel to The King’s Trial—with faster-paced adventure, more sweet romance, and plenty of hope.
I loved having so many chapters in Elise’s and Katrin’s voices (in addition to Halavant’s and Yoseph’s). I felt attached to Katrin in the first book and continued to love her in this one. She’s strong, impulsive, and courageous. Elise is wonderful—sweet and kind. I’d wondered while reading the first book if we’d see more of her, and I’m glad we did.
Romance always draws me in, and without giving any spoilers, I truly enjoyed seeing how it developed in this book. There was uncertainty from the beginning, and I’m happy with how everything worked out for the various characters.
This is “clean fiction” with no cursing, limited violence, and romantic scenes that stop with mild kissing.
I love when the second book of a series is better than the first, and that was the case with this duology! M.L. Farb is a wonderful storyteller.
An Excellent Sequel
I loved book one of this series, The King’s Trial, so I was very eager to see how the stories of Halavant and Yosyph continued. Like the first book, The King’s Shadow follows two main storylines from their first-person perspective. But book two has the added delight of Elise’s and Katrin’s voices. I enjoyed having the female views, and I adored Elise! I hoped that she would play a larger role in book two after briefly meeting her in book one, and I loved her involvement in this story.
I appreciated the amount of action, suspense, and romance throughout the storylines. Each character faced trials and challenges, and they each had a chance to make decisions and grow as the story progressed. I also enjoyed learning more about the Carani people mentioned in book one. Their culture was well developed, and exploring their world was an exciting addition to the narrative.
I’d recommend this book to those who enjoy clean YA fantasy. There is some mild violence and a few battle sequences, but the content is not graphic. The story is smooth-flowing and well-paced for readers who enjoy Kingdom politics and treasonous acts, a pinch of magic, a race against time, and a happy ending.
It’s an epic story that screams for an adaptation as well
While I don’t really like the way it again jumps pov I understand why it’s done again
It was heart pounding and wrenching all at once
I’m hoping for book 3 soon
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I loved this story! How the female characters are not damsels in distress, but actually strong enough to make it through without a knight in shining armor.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The King’s Shadow is the sequel of The King’s Trial. It continues the story after the attack on the palace. Halavant now is the king and Yosyph is the eyes and ears of Halavant, the king’s shadow. But this is very dangerous for Yosyph, he gets very ill. Halavant travels in search of a cure for him, but that trip might get them both dead. After the first book in the series, I couldn’t wait to read the sequel. I was very curious to see what would happen next. And it didn’t disappoint me at all! Again I loved the story and the characters. The world building was amazing! I would definitely recommend this series to anyone who loves to read fantasy!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.