**Disclaimer: I was given an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.**



I appreciate that the author included a Content Warning in the beginning of the book. Sometimes you have to figure out content warnings from reviews, but with that comes potential spoilers.

However, after delving almost a quarter of the way through the book, it seems I have to be aware of the previous books in the author's "world'. The glowing reviews are talking about revisiting story lines with the few main characters/point of views, but I couldn't connect, and i wasn't interested in the story; however, the language and prose is beautiful.

Maybe some other time?

What a difficult book for me to rate!

I'm a big fan of Ginn Hale's fantastic storytelling. I've been dying to read from Atreau's POV ever since Lord of the White Hell, Book 1, which if you don't know has a second installment and continues with Book 1&2 of Champion of the Scarlet Wolf.

So, Master of Restless Shadows​ ​gives us not only Atreau & Narsi but also Fedeles & Ariz. Yep, FOUR POVs, two romances and many many side characters. Now, that might delight many of you! As for me? I don't know how I feel about it.

Honestly, all I wanted was to read more from Atreau (HE'S SO FREAKING PRECIOUS).
I approve of Atreau and Narsi. Lovely couple, so many secrets and insecurities. Very precious. Also a bit mysterious and thrilling.

Perhaps I'm simply not a huge fan of Fedeles. Don't get me wrong, he's all right. He and Ariz were all right, I'm just not that much into them.

The book as a whole wasn't what I expected, what I wanted it to be.

Am I disappointed? Yes, a little.

I didn't get my fill of Atreau.

The story feels HUGE, so much is going on. Personally, I find it dragging (likely because I didn't care so much for Fedeles...). Took me a week to finish reading. Once again though, the story itself is brilliant; Ginn Hale is one very smart and imaginative person. Very admirable. It doesn't feel like we've been away for eleven years (since Champion of the Scarlet Wolf).

I NEED MORE ATREAU and Narsi. And I want Kiram and Javier back T__T

Many, many thanks to the publisher who kindly provided a free copy for an honest and impartial review.

I received an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.

I've never read a Ginn Hale novel before and I'm glad that I did. This book is so full of interesting characters. Spies, assassin's, corruption, greed, God's and monsters, that leave you on your toes wanting to know what happens next.
The writting was phenomenal. I found myself reading this book fast, it was hard to stop put it at one point.

I can't wait until the second book comes out. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

And I will definitely, be looking out for future novels by Ginn Hale, as well as looking into some of her older material.

I've loved all of Ginn Hale's previous books, so it was no surprise to me that this one was the same. I do wish I had re-read the previous books in this world beforehand since so many of the characters show up again and so many story lines are coming to a conclusion. I will likely have to reread them and this before the the second book in the duology comes out, but I can hardly wait!

This was seriously good and even not having read any other books set in this world I enjoyed it immensely. The world building was top-notch and the characters were so well-written that the storyline played like a movie in my mind (the hallmark of of great book), I found it hard to put down. I am most definitely going to be reading the other books in the near future.

*I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by NetGalley*

14 July 2019

I sit here in wonder and self-recrimination. I did my biannual re-read of The Lord of the White Hell and Champion of the Scarlett Wolf back in November or December. Now I'm wishing I had done it even more recently. But, that's not my biggest concern. My biggest regret is that now I have to anxiously await volume two of this wonderful duology.

It is now approximately thirteen years since the events of the Lord of the White Hell duology. In this, our MCs from the Sagrada Academy and the Hellions are Fedeles Quemanor, Atreau Vediyu, Father Timoteo Grunito, and several guest appearances and/or mentions of other notables from the previous two duologies.

We are introduced to several new and important characters, one of which could possibly have been in TLOTWH, but I just can't remember. Arg!! I feel like Atreau now. Of course, political intrigues play a major role in the story, and danger and betrayal lurk around every corner. We are in Cadeleon now, so there is no longer magic involved, right? RIGHT...Blessings, spells, and holding people in thrall abound throughout the city; some with the aim of protection, others with greed and sadistic domination as their motivation. And, unfortunately, the internal battle still wages within Fedeles regarding the true motivations of his shadow that remains after his own soul was released from being enthralled.

Spies, assassins, corruption, and greed run rampant in the streets of Cieloalta in this first volume of Master of Restless Shadows. But with critical thinkers, and the aid of the 'enemy,' I am so very much looking forward to getting my hands on the second volume as soon as I possibly can!

Happy reading!

* I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and I am leaving my honest review. *

** I received an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

Ginn Hale's newest fantasy continues to explore the universe she has previously established in other works. In this book, we follow a wide variety of characters, but most notably Narsi and Atreau. Narsi is a newly appointed master physician, whereas Atreau is an author, nobleman, and is much more than the lush he would have his peers perceive him to be.

Let me begin by stating that I have not read any other books set in this universe, and so I was diving in without having knowledge of characters/backgrounds/setting/magic system that had already been established. While I firmly believe that reading the other books first would have added to my reading experience, I also believe that a reader can enter the universe with this book without suffering for it. Hale's world-building is rich, intricate, full of culture, customs, magic, LGBTQ+ representation, and more.

The book does begin with a rather in-depth content warning for a wide variety of items. I was both pleased and surprised to see the content warning, and feel more books should include them. However, having finished the book, I can say that the content warning made me expect the story to be far more explicit and aggressive than it actually was.

For as many characters, places, gods, etc. featured in this book, Hale absolutely developed every last one of them. I have no doubt that even side characters had backstories and the characters were both charming and flawed.

As much as I loved reading this book for the amazing character development and world-building, it did make for a very dense read that wasn't something that could be read quickly. This is definitely a book for savoring rather than blazing through.

I found the ending to be a little odd, and it made me think of the scene prior to intermission of a play. It isn't a cliffhanger per se, but you absolutely couldn't allow the story to end there. I'm aware Hale intends on a sequel for this book, so I guess I'll just have to read the other books in this universe while I wait for that to come out.