You'll want to read this book purely for how fast-paced and quick it is! I read the entire thing in a day and a half, which when I'm busy with college work is fairly impressive!

I loved that the novel was told from four different perspectives as I find it really interesting! There's also an enemies to lovers trope, so what's not to love?

The world building was also very detailed and I found myself to be fully immersed while reading it so I highly recommend to anyone who loves to feel like you're really in the novel.

Overall, I really enjoyed my reading experience with this book and I'm only sad that it's currently a standalone as I'd love to read more!

This was a fantastic read. Great for fans of SIX OF CROWS! Thanks @netgalley & @jenngruenke for the #arc We will definitely be adding this to our classroom library!!! Instagram:@chs309reads

Title: Of Silver and Shadow
By: Jennifer Gruenke
Publisher :North Star Editions
Flux
Theme: Sci Fi & Fantasy | Teens & YA
Pub Date: 26 May 2020
Review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3215037465

At a time and place where being a silver wielder could have you hung we follow Ren Kolins. A young woman who is a secret silver wielder.. In the land own by King Erdis this secret could cost her life. Ren has no ambition to get involved in the rebellion in her country. Ren just wants to live the life she has known for so long, card games and fighting pits, perhaps the odd five finger discounts in locals shops but that is it.

However, when she is offered a fortune to help the leaders of the rebellion she can not afford to turn it down. Not only because she is greedy but also because she is the co-proprietor of a building that is some what of an orphanage. The catch however is that the king must be dethroned or usurped before she will see a coin.

That is before she comes head to head with the Kings privet solders known as the King’s Children. They are a brutal group of worriers who have been trained to be emotional, uncaring bunch. Might this change Ren's mind. This was not what she signed up for.

It is clear within a few pages that Of Silver and Shadow is a fantasy telling of a genocide "Silver Purge". People with this kind of magic have been murdered until only the royal family are the only ones left with the power. The society in which the book was set had a class system that was sexist. Apart form the King's Children it seemed that woman were not held in high esteem. Which made the characters of Ren, Adley, Holland, and Freya so vital and empowered.

Personally, I'm not a fan of hate to love stories but this might just be an exception. Though Gruenke made the characters 3D and have gray morals at times, I was at times hoping Ren would end up with Kellan rather then with Darek but we can't have everything.

I did see more than one twist coming which made it a little laborious to read at times. However I was still wait to see how Gruenike would pull the twists off.

If this book teaches readers anything it is to be true to who you are. To not let family, friends or a career dictate who you should be or who you should love.

Great read with multiple pov, dark settings, and the familiar love tropes of YA. The story is direct, the banter entertaining, and a cool magic system that makes this a YA fantasy a terrific stand alone read!

A magical fantasy novel! This book was full of action with a rebellion at its core and a sassy heroine. This book kept me engaged and intrigued with every storyline and character we met. Ren and Darek moments were hilarious and made me smile as did other moments from the book. The action scenes were action-packed, the violence is descriptive but the pace was fast. The ending did wrap up everything, but I am hoping to get more from this author.
Well done!

I didn't really want this book to end and I’m really hoping for more (there has to be more with that end surely-I hope so). This was such a ride, it’s emotional, hilarious, it has amazing three dimensional characters ( I adored Ren and Darek), it’s enemies to lovers so what’s not to love. The world building and magic is great, s much to love about this book. I’m not sure why others seem so critical, to me it was a fabulous read. More please !

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I was given this book by netgalley as an arc in exchange for my honest opinion. I wanted desperately to like this book and unfortunately it fell very flat for me. While the synopsis sounded amazing I just couldn't get into it and struggled to finish.

The cover is simply stunning. The story is fast paced and features a diverse cast. Yet, I am conflicted. Some parts are a little overdone and tiresome

I really enjoyed Ren, the character was great and I liked the world that was built. I look forward to more from the author.

I didn’t finish this one. The main character was extremely annoying and the plot didn’t hold my interest with enough details on the world or the magic.

***Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley and Flux!***

This book was originally scheduled to be released in May and because of COVID got pushed back to February. So for once I am doing an ARC review very early. But I didn’t want to wait too long to write the review lest I forget what happened.

This one took me by surprise. I was intrigued by the cover but honestly it’s a pretty standard YA sci-fi/fantasy cover. The blurb sounded interesting but not anything I haven’t read before. I prayed that there wouldn’t be the typical YA love triangle, and there wasn’t so that was nice. I expected it to be a very typical YA book and nothing more. I was wrong.

Ren was a pretty good main character. She was a bit one-sided at times in that she she insisted that all she cared about was the money when it was clear from her actions that she cared for a lot more than that. That got annoying. It was mostly like she was trying to convince herself that she didn’t care. But I did like her spunk and enjoyed following her through the story.

Darek was probably the most useless character in the book. He was the stereotypical tall, dark, handsome, brooding YA male lead. He doesn’t break any of the models here and fits the character well but wasn’t very compelling.

I adored the relationship between Adley and Lesa, and I loved them separately too. At times I was horrified by them and other times I was overcome with sympathy for them. I wanted their story to have a happy ending so badly.

Kellen was a delight to the story. I expected him to be the typical charming, sarcastic Prince who didn’t want to be. And in some ways he was but he also displayed a lot more depth than that.

The worldbuilding in this book was spectacular. The world was created with so much detail and depth, I could picture every inch of it. The politics, classes, social structure, all of it was rendered in beautiful detail.

What ultimately clinched this book for me was the ending. I was shocked. I was completely taken by surprise. In hindsight I can see the blocks that were put in place for this ending and I should have seen it coming. But I was enjoying other parts of the story so much that I didn’t pay enough attention and missed the clues. It was wonderful and I hope there’s another book planned. I need to know what happens next.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this title. The description was intriguing, and the characters were all interesting but for some reason the plot just didn’t grab me in the way I had hoped it would. I may try to try revisit at a later date. Maybe I’m just looking for something different and that’s why I wasn’t able to fully immerse myself.

3 stars because the writing was very good and I was initially very intrigued. Lack of interest is the only reason I wasn’t able to push through.

4.25 stars

Of Silver and Shadow was such a hilarious and enjoyable reading! I laughed multiple times, which is rare in fantasy books nowadays. I loved all the characters, especially Ren who reminded me of Lila ♥ She was such a sassy character that it wasn't impossible to not like her! Plus, her banters with Darek and their enemies to lovers relationship were SO FREAKING GOOD! I can't help myself, I LOVE this trope! I also enjoyed the story itself and the magic involved, even if it could have been explored a little bit more. The last chapters were an escalation of action and I couldn't put it down. And after that ending, I'm sure there will be more books because there are so many things left to explore (the author herself said there's room for sequels in the future). And you know what? I'm eager to continue this adventure and I really need more Ren/Darek moments!

Unfortunately I just couldn't get into the story and had to DNF @30%. I may have not been the target audience so could have just been me.

Of silver and shadow The book was a bit disappointing. There was some good, but for me it was over shadowed y characters that I just couldn’t get into. I tried but it jut didn’t happen.

3.5/5 stars

* I was provided an E-ARC of the book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review*

I have mixed feelings for this book. While at the end of this book I really overall really enjoyed myself. I will say this is pretty fast-moving, and I read it pretty fast. I will start by saying that I felt pretty confused when I first started reading, the more I read the more I understood. so that took a little bit of my enjoyment. There is just something that is stopping me from loving this book. Overall this wasn't a bad read, I would recommend giving it a try.

I requested and received an e-ARC of this book from Jennifer Gruenke and Flux through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I enjoyed reading this book and I hope there is a sequel (currently this is a stand alone book according to Jennifer's answer on goodreads) in the future because I need to know what happens to these characters beyond the ending of this book! I highly recommend this book it kept me entertained and wanting more.

I got around to reading this during my May ARC reading vlog and this was such a pleasant surprise! I wish the ending was better executed but overall I was very pleased.

I was really pleasantly surprised by this book! Really excellent cast of characters led by Ren, a sharp savage badass. The rotating POV's was initially disorienting but really fleshed out the story well and really kept the pace going. Big fan of the setting and the magic of wielding silver was unusual. Would have liked the Shadow aspect to be explored a little more. And as always, an enemies to lovers trope always goes down a treat.

Apparently the author says it's currently a standalone but with room for sequels, and I'd be interested to see where this story could head.

Thank you to Netgalley and publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

So, I have to start off by saying I was reading this while also reading Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard and couldn't help seeing the parallels. It was really hard keeping thr stories straight at first. They have very similar elements.

I did enjoy this book. It has all the things I tend to gravitate towards when it comes to my favorite books. The world building was good. The characters were interesting and fun to follow (although I'm not a fan of multiple POVs). I would definitely recommend this book to fantasy lovers.