I am disappointed with this book. I was expecting one thing and received another. It had potential but it was not well written.

Lots of POV's and characters but I really enjoyed them all. I wish the world building had been better but it's adequate enough. Some of the plot feels unresolved which I hate in a standalone but I'm guessing the author left herself room for a possible sequel.

Of Silver and Shadow is a multi-pov story that follows several main characters as they fight to survive in an oppressive fantasy world where magic is outlawed and rebellion is in the air. It's fun and action-packed, armed with a lethal antiheroine in Ren who's fun to follow as she cons her way through to the top. Aside from her, there are characters like Kellen, a prince who wants to do what's right, Darek, the rebel leader, and Adley, a warrior aiming to gain her freedom through capturing the leader of the rebellion.

This is a fantasy book where the characters take center stage, and the fantasy world itself falls into the backdrop. There are the basic themes of class conflict and inequality between the rich and the poor, as well as the tyranny of an unjust king, but nothing that really stood out to me. It's a lot of fun to follow the winding character journeys as the plot unfolds itself, and while I would have preferred something more substantial with the worldbuilding, I was mostly kept entertained by the interesting character dynamics. There's forbidden romance and complicated sibling bonds to keep us invested in the characters as we go along. I'm partial to Ren, since she's the most fun as a character, but Kellen and Adley were quite compelling as well.

Overall, Of Silver and Shadow is a fast read that zips by, carried by its characters and their fun dynamics. I recommend it to anyone looking for a quick romp in a fantasy world that has action, adventure, and a bit of government-toppling.

Of Silver and Shadow was a great read for me! The characters were absolutely wonderful. Their relationships with each other were probably my favorite part of the book. They were all interesting and made me want to know what happens next in their part of the story, and that doesn't always happen for me. Many times I find myself much more interested in one person or the other when there are so many points of view, and end up rushing through sections to get the the others. This book kept me interested in each part of the story and in each voice. I loved that the characters didn't seem shallow either. There was clearly backstory to each of them and there were many elements that I don't see as often in books like this. I loved it, and I will definitely keep an eye out for more from Jennifer Gruenke. I like her writing style and am looking forward to seeing where she goes next.

Nice gritty world, action-packed scenes, and characters. The writing style was a little lacking for me, but the plot was interesting.

Not the newest and freshest idea (motley crew takes down magic banning government) but it was fun!

I do think that most people will enjoy the characters and that's a good reason to stick around. There are great relationships: friends, lovers. siblings. And there really wasn't anyone to dislike which is impressive because there are SO MANY povs.

I am a sucker for world building and unfortunately this book just didn't have the best world building, especially the magic system felt a little hollow. Some parts of the plot felt unresolved even though this is a standalone.

Overall it was enjoyable and I would recommend it!

This book was fast paced and immersive! The world building was fantastic. I did like the characters but felt them to be a bit underdeveloped compared to the rest of the world.

i never ended up downloading this but i just picked it up recently.
I loved this book so much! This book was a wonderful start to what is sure to be a thrilling series. I actually enjoyed reading every chapter and every point of view, which feels like it hadn't happened to me in so long. The world is so vivid and detailed.
I can't wait to read more from this world and author!

Title: Of Silver and Shadow
Author: Jeniffer Grunke
Rating: 4 stars

Ren Kolins has lived her life hidden away. She holds a deep secret that could get her killed if found out. But when her secret ability is discovered and she is dragged into a revolution she wants no part of she start to see her world and her role differently. Darek is the leader of the revolution, and he seems to really irritated by Ren, who want no part of it. As their paths cross he starts to see her in a different light. When their paths cross with Kellen and Adley all hells break loose. Can they put away their differences to bring about the end of a tyrannical reign or will the kingdom be left behind with their heads on a pike?

Ok so I’ve had this book for ages. I just hadn’t gotten to it yet. (Like all the other arcs I’ve got) The story was a little slow, but it definitely had potential from page one. It doesn’t have a lot of backstory which was great but it was lacking in action for a while. It really picked up for me about half way through. And then i couldn’t put it down. I enjoyed Darek and Ren a lot but i think my favorite character has to be Kellen. The story is told through the POV of Ren, Darek, Kellen and Adley. The magic system isn’t described as much i would’ve hope. Ren and Dareks relationship feels very reluctant at first but i like the way it gets built up. Adley and Lesa are the best. I really like that Grunke has her character is a society that doesn’t shame people for who they love. (I really enjoyed that.) Now, there was a few things i didn’t like but that don’t take away from the book. There was a lot of Ren’s past that we don’t find out about until further in the book which makes her attitude a little unbearable. After you find out about her past you see why she is the way she is, however i feel like it would’ve made her more likable if we’d known sooner.

It is very much Red Queen (Aveyard) meets Throne of Glass(Maas).

This book was provided to me by Flux via @netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Sorry it took so long for me to review it.

#OfSilverAndShadow #enemiesToLovers #Fantasy #youngAdultFantasy #youngAdult #Magic #Powers #JenniferGrunke

This was an great YA Fantasy, that had a good ending that left it open to more books. Overall, this is definitely a YA book I would recommend trying!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

I don't know how I feel about this story.... it took me a while to get into it. I enjoyed the characters but think this would have been better as a duology. I wanted to see more of these characters interacting and growing.

All in all I enjoyed the story. It just felt incomplete somehow.

Loved the characterisation in this book. Each character was individually and unique despite there being several POV characters.
I think the world building needed a little work but the characters definitely carried the story and made it worth a read.
A fun read, the pacing was good and the writing was enjoyable.

I read a good portion of this book, but I couldn't seem to convince myself it was worth finishing. The wlw romance and its characters were the only memorable and intriguing parts of this book for me. Ren was kind of fun for a while, but in the end she felt like the same YA heroine I've read a million times. Her love interest was equally expected and unoriginal. There are tons of people who love these types of stories and I really hope this book finds those readers. The writing was solid, I was just bored with the plot and characters because I felt like I'd read it before.

I really enjoyed this one! I’m a sucker for the quirky team of rebels take on the government story! It’s not exactly groundbreaking but it’s still a tried and true plot I can get behind when I’m in the right mood! So here’s a breakdown:

Things I didn’t love:
-I felt like the world building was a bit lackluster and could have been a bit more fleshed out.
-the magic also felt a little unoriginal. I kept waiting for *more* about the actual magic it’s self and that part of the book just never came through like I had hoped.

Things I liked:
-The characters! I feel like this is what’s going to keep readers invested in this story!
-The relationships and friendships! There was a lot of different types of relationships represented in this story (love interests, sibling bonds, friendships, and so on) and I genuinely adored every single POV and storyline which is honestly impressive as there are quite a few characters!

Overall this was a really great fantasy read! It’s likely one I’d recommend to people looking for something that’s a bit off the beaten path but still feels familiar!

I read this one quite a while ago, but I do remember enjoying it. I remember it giving off Six of Crows and Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody vibes. In this world, anyone who possessed magic other than the king had been killed and he made it illegal for anyone else to possess magic; however, we follow a girl who happens to have magic and is in hiding. The Six of Crows/Ace of Shades vibes comes from the gritty city and casinos, back alleys and gangs. This one however, is a rebellion story where they wish to overthrow the king.

With this being a standalone I found myself not as invested or addicted as Six of Crow. Everything felt good. The writing was good, the characters were good - but nothing stood out. I found myself being reminded of other stories and other characters, which I think was a detriment to this story. The constant comparisons made this one feel lesser. However, all that being said, it very much could have been my mood at the time and I do want to give this a re-read within the year.

I really enjoyed this book! Some parts got super dark, but I like dark and didn't shy away from it. I'll admit I had a harder time starting this one, but it picked up fairly quickly and I was able to finish it. Such a great debut book!

I loved this book so much. So so much.
I’m that weird reader who doesn’t often care about characters, but god I love a good ragtag group of rebels.

Ren is exactly my kind of character. She’s brash, rude and snarky, but you know that’s just a facade and beneath the surface she is a great person to know. Her banter with Darek constantly had me goofy smiling.

“The man’s screams were an orchestral score from the ninth hell.”

Oof. What absolutely phenomenal writing. The King’s Children are methodically trained and yet I loved Adley and Lesa. The juxtaposition between their personalities is great and they’re cute together.

The story held up and I loved that we were basically committing a heist. I have barely a genuine complaint, my only bugbear is wishing that the silver had been explained more. From the way it looks to the history, I would have liked to know more so that I could feel that more immersed.

Fantastic. I’m so happy to have finally got round to reading and I’m definitely going to happily re-read this many times over.

This was an easy and entertaining read. Certain aspects of it I feel like I have seen too many times before in very similar storylines, but I still enjoyed it overall. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles.
I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!

DNF - Did not finish. I did not connect with this Young Adult Fantasy and decided not to keep reading it. Thank you, publisher and NetGalley for the early title.