Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting into the plot as I'm not the intended audience. I wholeheartedly enjoy YA but this felt fully YA which made it hard to immerse myself into reading. I would've definitely enjoyed this way more if I read it 10 years ago.

I absolutely loved the pacing of this book. It's fast, hooks you, and keeps you interesting. The world-building is top-notch,

Of Silver and Shadow was a fast paced and entertaining novel, and it was easy to read and enjoy. That being said, it was nothing special compared to countless other young adult fantasy novels that contain the overused "revolution/resistance" trope.

Loved loved loved this book! It was so unique and fun from the characters to the plot I just ate it up! I want more from this author!

This book was pages upon pages of addictive writing and gripping story.
I loved every page of it from start to finish

I enjoyed this story and wouldn’t mind a sequel if the author decides to write one.

The story is told from 4 POV that alternate throughout the book.

Ren hides behind an angry exterior pretending not to care about those around her. While the anger is real, the lack of caring is not.

Darek leads the rebellion and just wants to overthrow the King and his sons. He needs Ren’s help, but he doesn’t want to be attracted to her, and he definitely does not want to care.

Adley works for the King and is deadly. But she wants out and wants to be free to live her life with the woman she loves. But it’s forbidden for her to love anyone and the only way out of the King’s employ is death.

Kellen is the youngest Prince who wants nothing to do with his father’s reign of terror or his brother’s brutality.

I enjoyed the interwoven relationships between the four main characters and how they all grew and changed as the story progressed, mostly in the last 25% of the book.

While I enjoyed the story quite a bit, the beginning was incredibly slow with a lot of backstory that didn’t really move things forward. And then the ending felt rushed with a few loose ends still hanging (it does leave an opening for a sequel). I felt like some of the scenes from the beginning could have been shortened or cut to allow for a longer, more drawn out conclusion. This might have answered some of the questions I was left with.

Disclaimer: I received a DRC through Net Galley on behalf of the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Full of fast paced action and adventure. I loved the characters and the world building. The wiring style so perfect

Of Silver and Shadow by Jennifer Gruenke was on my Netgalley shelf for a long time & I finally managed to read it.
I really enjoyed reading it as I liked the stpryline & the world building. The book is fast-paced and action packed and the plot is very intriguing with some twists towards the end that I really enjoyed.
We are following our four main characters' stories and e see how their stories interwine with each other.
If I had to choose a favourite character that would be Kellen.

It has been on my TBR for a long while, but it was just alright.
It was sad that i did not like it as much as i had hoped.
I enjoyed Freya somewhat, but she did not have character development that i wanted, but the other characters were just kind of boring...hanging about.

I think 'Of Silver and Shadow' has wonderful potential but I really struggled through the first 25% and ended up DNFing the book. I'd heard rave reviews about the sapphic characters, the magic, and the worldbuilding from friends but I think it all fell awfully flat for me. I had trouble forming a deeper connection to our cast and characters and, although I found Ren compelling, months later, I cannot remember a single thing about her. I think one day, when I have enough time on my hands, I will be able to sit and work through this book. But right now, when I've only got a small handful of hours to read in a week, I cannot dedicate that precious time to a book that's boring me.

Standalone fantasy novels are tricky; there’s a lot of material to cover and only so many pages before it results in a chunky novel that could knock someone out with one hit. And it’s probably why so many of them turn out to be a trilogy instead, with the vast ground. Of Silver and Shadow is one of those fantasy novels where it could’ve been even better off as a duology at the very least, but it’s a pretty solid standalone, all things considered.

Jennifer Gruenke’s debut novel isn’t anything remarkable and unique if that’s what you’re looking for—magic (called silver wielders) has been outlawed in the kingdom of Erdis for the past century, and the protagonist (Ren) is one of the last remaining silver-wielders who just wants to survive without getting herself caught and killed. She ends up getting caught, though, and fortunately, it’s by the rebellion that’s been quietly brewing for years rather than the King’s Children, the king’s specially selected elite group of soldiers trained from a young age to be absolutely vicious. She’s offered a fortune, an amount with which she can live in luxury for the rest of her life and never have to fight for survival again, but she’ll only get it after overthrowing the king.

In a nutshell, it’s standard fantasy: magic (though banned), rebellions, and yes, there’s romance. Unfortunately, there’s like zero chemistry, though. As much as the snark and banter are fun to read, I felt like the most awkward of third wheels. The book could’ve eliminated the main romance completely, and everything would’ve been perfectly fine.


There’s quite a bit to appreciate about Gruenke’s novel, though. It’s told in a multitude of POVs: Ren, Adley, Darek, and Kellen. While having no particular POV pattern personally never bodes well for me, especially if there’s a sudden transition in the middle of the chapter involved (which doesn’t happen here), in this book each of the characters has something that sets them apart from each other beyond the roles they play in the storyline and a distinctive voice of their own in the pages.

But while I loved reading from the different viewpoints and felt they all had their own voices, the characters felt mostly surface-level and easily forgotten in the grand scheme of things. There are instances that definitely don’t feel as such, like Freya’s and Ren’s friendship, and it’s in those instances that I started to feel I would’ve loved this if it weren’t a singular book.

Of Silver and Shadow is considerably slow-paced until the final few chapters, but I found myself wanting to know what happens next until the very end. The world-building at times felt like an info dump, but it was fun learning about Erdis’s history, especially the King’s Children. While many aspects of the immersive world-building are covered, the magic (a vital part of the story) doesn’t feel as touched upon as everything else seems to be. You’re left with a pretty vague idea of how it all works, which honestly feels strange because Gruenke definitely doesn’t hold back with the vivid descriptions and imagery elsewhere. The characters may have felt forgetful, but I can still see myself walking the streets of Erdis and being unfortunately subject to the gory and bloody cruelty and torture the King’s Children unleash.

It’s very much a case of the concept and elements are there, but the execution is a tad shaky. Perhaps this ultimately comes down to reading too many fantasy novels in a series and getting all used to that style that a standalone one feels like its own sort of whiplash, but I do find myself looking forward to whatever Gruenke writes next.

This book was a wonderful start to what is sure to be a thrilling series. The writing was easy to read and the storyline was simple enough to follow, yet also complex enough to be interesting. The characters were realistic and reasonable unique, and the romance was fun and sweet. I love anti-heroines and Ren is an AMAZING one.A transformative journey of survival and politics, a band of unlikely but lovable heroes, a world brimming with the echoes of magic lost and whispers of revolution rising. Fantasy lovers, rejoice!

Of Silver and Shadow by Jennifer Gruenke is a standalone young adult fantasy novel. For those who very much enjoy the genre, this is certainly a solid option. For me, it did not particularly stand out as it had a lot of similarities to others in the genre and I was looking for something more unique. Still, I would recommend this for folks who tend to read mostly this genre.

This could have been amazing. Unfortunately, the writing didn't keep me engage and even though this had a great premise. Sadly it wasn't for me.

There are a lot of interesting concepts touched upon in this book but unfortunately this was a miss for me: the character voices often felt like a chore to read and the plot meandered a little too much.

This was such a fun fantasy, perfect for fans of unlikely groups of allies, similar to Six of Crows! Off the charts banter, some hate to love romance, a dangerous rebellion, a wicked king, and tons of action are at the forefront of this one. I did feel that it was difficult to keep track of who was who at times, and the characters fought a little TOO much for the romance to be totally believable—but overall this one is fun and I am definitely going to be watching for Gruenke’s books in the future!

I sat on this book for way too long 🤦‍♀️ I really enjoyed it! The magic system/world building was interesting and well thought out and the characters were great! Rebels trying to overthrow a tyrannical government, magic has been eradicated, except for the royal line and Ren. Ren has kept her magic a secret until a rebel happens to catch her using it and recruits her for the cause. Seriously a great book!

The premise sounded interesting. However, I did not like the story being told by multiple perspectives of different characters. This made the novel hard to follow. Also, the world-building was not detailed enough. I thought that this fantasy had nothing to bring to the table and was very predictable. Still, I recommend this for fans of The Red Queen, Shadow and Bone, and Throne of Glass.

While this book is filled with many common YA tropes, I still really, really enjoyed it. The characters were interesting and well written and the magic system was very interesting.

With such a unique premise and so many compelling characters, OF SILVER AND SHADOW was everything I love in a fantasy title... and more.

The magic system was incredibly interesting: in case you couldn't tell from the GORGEOUS, shiny, silver design on the cover, and the "silver-wielder" name-drop in the blurb, the characters don't control elements like fire, but metal. SO. COOL.

The plot was also well-paced, and I found myself flying through the pages!

My only wish is that there'd been more time focusing on the world-building. With such a character-driven story -- especially considering the sheer number of characters that had to be built up via their own POVs -- the world fell a little to the wayside.

Still, though, OF SILVER AND SHADOW is an incredibly inventive, altogether original title with a plethora of wholly-developed characters and an unbelievably well-paced plot.

If you're into fantasies, especially those with unique magic systems like RED QUEEN, you're going to live this title!