Oh my! I wish I can read more of this book. A 5 star read for me! There was never dull moment reading this book. Loved everything about it: the world building, the magic, the characters and the fast pacing.

I was enthralled in the world of the protagonist and how badass and unlikely she is from the typical heroine. She comes from a world where only royalty is supposed to yield magic ( silver manipulation) and in the past any other person with the magic were killed. But the main protagonist survived the attack. She later becomes part of a rebellion and we’re introduced to a group of characters unlike others I’ve ever read of. I am also a sucker for a good romance, this book did not fail me in including it.

I highly recommend it and I can’t wait to read the second book (if there’s one). Thank you to Netgalley for providing the copy in exchange for an honest review

This book was a lot of fun! It was exciting from the very beginning all the way to the very end. It was a little dark and felt like it was maybe for older YA audiences which is why I think I enjoyed it so much.

Gruenke needs to study conversations. This 'banter' is just awful The things they say is not witty or clever or even smart. It is just cruel and the longer I read it the more it got on my nerves. By the end of the book I did not care. I wanted them to shut up.
I loved the world building and the supporting characters were great. However I am relived that it is a stand alone ( so far, the author my change her mind). I would love to go back to kingdom of Erdis but with the secondary characters instead of Ren

The file formatting made the book illegible. As that is no fault of the book's content, I'll rate a neutral 3 stars.

I enjoyed this book as I saw a few comparisons of the main character Ren to some of my other favorite characters, ex: Celaena Sardothien and Feyre Archeron.

The plot centers around Ren, a silver-wielder which is against the law as King of Erdis, and only he and his family shall have that power. The backstory here is that the King eliminated anyone with this power, and seemingly, Ren is the only one outside the royal family with this power. What is lacking is the backstory of how the magic came to be. I felt this should have had a more active part in the book.

The characters, for the most part, were well-rounded. Ren was a thief mixed with a pit fighter hidden on top of her soft heart. She tries to hide that quite frequently throughout the book. Adley, one of the King's Children (chosen to fight the rebellion), was one of my favorite characters. I felt that she was almost a counterpart to Ren's character. Both were kind-hearted individuals who dealt with the hand life dealt them by honing a hard exterior.

For those looking for the quintessential slow-burn romance, you will not find it here. I felt like the two characters were forced together merely by the plot. There is another couple that is also in the book that I do like much better. You will have to read to find out who that is!

Thank you to NetGalley and North Star Editions - Flux for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Of Silver And Shadow is Jennifer Gruenke's debut YA fantasy novel. I didn't have any high expectations for this book because It's a debut novel. I think it was a decent YA fantasy read. I liked the characters and the plot. There's not much world building but I really enjoyed the magic part. Even though I enjoyed the story, I need to be honest that I had few issues with some aspects but it didn't hinder my overall enjoyment.

Ren Kollins is a girl born with a unique silver magic which is forbidden in her kingdom of Irdis. She survives her living by thievery, card games, and pit fighting. When a wealthy rebel leader approaches her to join him, she rejects him but when he offers a huge sum for her help, she can't ignore his offer. Behind the castle walls, a brutal group of warriors known as the King’s Children is engaged in a competition: the first to find the rebel leader will be made King’s Fang, the right hand of the King of Erdis. And Adley Farre is hunting down the rebels one by one, torturing her way to Ren and the rebel leader, and the coveted King’s Fang title. Somehow the youngest prince of Irdis also gets tangled with the rebellion and they all want one thing, to dethrone the current king and end his reign of brutality.

I loved Ren Kollins! She's smart, witty, fun and totally kickass. I really enjoyed her character and I admired her for helping the orphaned kids in her own way. Darek is the member of the rebellion. He's broody and not a great fan of Ren. They both clash with each other every time they meet. I enjoyed their relationship in the first half but I didn't like how it was rushed in the second half.  I wish there was more interactions between them. Adley Farre is one of the king's children who's hunting Ren and the rebel leader. Even though she's on the bad side, I still enjoyed her character and her relationship with Lesa, another warrior in the kings group. Prince Kellan was a nice addition to the plot but I wish there's more depth to his character. I really wanted to know more about him.

The plot was engaging but I found some parts rushed especially the ending which is the major issue I had with this book. It would've been great if this story was divided into two parts. Some aspects were not fully developed. I'm a bit lenient when it comes to rating debut novels. If it isn't for the main character, I would've given it a less than a four star rating. For a debut, the author's writing was good. I enjoyed the multiple POV's. The world building was not bad. It was a typical medieval setting. I wish there was more magical action in it.

Overall, I liked this book! Even though the rushed ending left me a bit disappointed, for the most part I enjoyed the story and I'll look forward to the author's next work.

DNF'd at 40%. I liked the concept of this book and the plot. However, the characters could not keep me interested. They felt very cliche and did not seem unique to me at all. I struggled with what I knew about the bad guy in this story. We are told early in the book that he has intercourse with many women and is very rough with them while doing so. Some women leave with marks and bruises. He is portrayed almost like a rapist and even though he is the bad guy and the author did not support this, it still bothered me deeply. I do not usually DNF books so I felt bad for stopping. However, I just could not continue this book.

This ARC was provided for review, but in no way affects the following impartial and unbiased review:
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4*
Pros: Multiple PoVs featuring kickass characters. Interesting and immersive narrative. Witty and overall fantastic dialogue. PoC, and LGBT+ representation. Intriguing magic system. Features amazing fight sequences, as well as graphic and realistic violence, present in war. Swoony and heartwarming enemies to lovers trope. Overall, a great introduction to this world.
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Cons: One of the most rushed beginnings I've read. Lackluster world-building. Easily surmountable challenges and difficulties. Includes too many basic tropes.

thank you so much to flux publishing and netgallery for the ARC!!


this book is six of crows meets a darker shade of magic and is approximately 20% more gay. adley and lesa were the stars of this book and i will take no criticism on this fact thank you very much. (would like a spin off series of just them pls) also kellen gave off such strong nikolai vibes i stan that boy so hard

the main characters were all so well developed for there being so many i was THOROUGHLY impressed. the worldbuilding was not as strong but im thinking that will be highlighted in the sequel?

and the plot twists WOW at the end they just kept coming like ok thats good wow ok haha i get it omg another one OMG WTF IS HAPPENING

im very excited to see where this series goes next!!

Of Silver and Shadow is a fast-paced and I really enjoyed that about the book. Lately I’ve read several YA fantasy books that just dragged on and on. The author’s writing I beautiful, the world building is complex, the characters and interesting and the plot kept me interested the entire time. The ending made me look forward to a second book from the author.

4/5 ⭐️

I did not expect to fall in love with this book as much as I did. From chapter one I was sucked in by both the characters and the premise of the story. The vibes reminded me a lot of books I have previously loved in this genre (namely six of crows and a darker shade of magic) while still managing to be it's own story. I fell in love not just with Ren but the people fighting against her and found myself flipping back and forth between who I wanted to come out victorious. The ending was so unexpected and yet so satisfying, I was absolutely blown away by it all.

I HIGHLY recommend this book wether fantasy's your number one genre or if it's more of a hit or miss for you, I think you'll find this book to be a hit.

What an epic story!!!!!! What can I say about this story? The characters are amazing! Dynamic. Realistic. And relatable. The plot was absolutely amazing! My attention was held the entire time. Twists. Turns. Suspense. I love the entire story!!!! I was sad when I finished. Amparo has an amazing story!!!!

Of Silver and Shadow is about Ren, an 18 year old girl who was orphaned many years ago and has had to survive by her wits and skills as a pit fighter. Oh, and her silver magic, a magic only the ruling family is supposed to have. But then Darek, a member of the rebellion seeking to overthrow the tyrannical ruling family sees her use her magic and pressures her to join the revolution. Ren agrees, but for a price. Will it be worth it though with the ferocious King’s Children trying to hunt them down?

This is a darker YA fantasy and unfortunately it was not for me. I was intrigued by the silver magic but I wish there had been more world building to know how it worked and what the country where magic wielders fled is like. Perhaps that will be discussed in a sequel if there is one. I did not really like the main characters, and while Ren’s friend Freya and Darek’s brother Markus were more to my liking they also didn’t have much to do. There were also torture scenes which is not something I enjoy reading at all. I also found the ending rather abrupt and unsatisfying. So this book was a miss for me but if there does end up being a sequel I’ll probably still pick it up.

this book was ok. I don't really don't even remember what it was about at this point in time since I read it so long ago but I remember enjoying it at the time.

I was surprised by this book, but fell into the story and the characters quickly and easily. While they are a little stereotypical at times, who ca hate such things?

Of Silver and Shadow is a young adult fantasy novel that is apparently a standalone, but leaves lots of room for a sequel with an ending that leaves questions and no answers. The book has also been pushed back to February 26th 2021 by Flux which I discovered after I had already read the book. In the first quarter of the story, the worldbuilding is nicely described and the underground fighting provide some required action. There are, in essence, four main characters: Ren, Darek, Adley, and Kellen.

18-year old Ren Kolins may be the only non royal silver wielder in the Kingdom of Erdis in 100 years. 100 years ago, King Tallis Lyandor outlawed magic for anyone who isn't a royal and rounded them all up and either killed them or allowed them to escape. 9 years ago, Ren's parents died in a fire the King ordered Ren to be killed on sight after she was found having illegal magic. Present Ren is trying to survive by sticking to a life of petty thievery, card games, and pit fighting to get by. Her one true friend is Freya who is also a healer and runs an orphanage.

Ren wears a corset and is heavily armed at all times. The girl loves her knives. Things change when a rumor spreads about a girl with burn marks across her shoulders. When Ren meets brothers Markus and Darek Hollister who is one of the rebel leaders. Darek offers her a fortune to join his revolution. The caveat: she won’t see a single coin until they overthrow the King. Thanks to a promise she made some years ago, Ren is also dealing with a major gangster who wants to be paid back all the money he's owed even if that means that Ren will work for him for the rest of her life.

Ren is the definition of a reluctant hero with a matching snarky personality and the ability to take care of herself. Her friendship with Freya is above reproach especially since Freya is also a healer. Ren is very much afraid of exposing herself and her power for the rebellion. Which is why she's hesitant to trust people like Holland who is the daughter of Denfell's most popular baker. Ren often puts herself first with stealing unnecessary things just because she can. But, isn't heartless. When she cares for someone, she protects them at all costs. As Ren becomes more involved in the rebellion, she knows that she needs to tear down King Mattheus so that others have a chance to survive.

Adley Farre is what's called a King's Child. She was taken from a slave ship as a child and broken down piece by piece until she became an unstoppable killing machine. One King's Child is more effective than a squadron of trained soldiers. Her accuracy with a bow and arrow is above reproach, but her one weakness is that she's in love with her best friend, Lesa Ghan, who is also a King's Child. Should they end up caught, they would face imminent death. Adley and Lesa are slowly gathering evidence into who the rebels are and what they plan. Her overall goal is to become King's Fang which could offer her freedom. But, is love stronger than duty?

Darek believes that Ren is the one person who can turn the tide on King Mattheus Lyander and his sons Heath and Kellen. And even though she drives him literally to drink, there is something about her that also makes his blood yearn for her touch. Darek took the reigns of the rebellion from his mother who wants Lyandor's rule to end. He would do anything to make her proud including ensuring his younger brother is safe. There is a lot of squabbling (or sexual tension) between Darek and Ren. Happens when you have characters set in their own ways and refusing to budge an inch.

Kellen is the youngest prince with a heart to good who sneaks out nightly to be himself, or at least try to find a place to belong, something relatable to any reader. His relationship with Holland should have been more prominent since the two are definitely made for each other. Kellen is a likable character unlike his brother Heath who has his own hidden agenda that may upset Darek and the rebellions plans.

Positive: World building is also complex, satisfying, thought provoking, reflecting the class differences, the glamorous life the rich people have with their fancy houses and poor people suffer as they live at their old, dilapidated places. There are some dark moments as well thanks to Adley trying to uncover the identities of the rebellions by using torture.

Cons: An open ended ending that will definitely leave readers frustrated. If not, you have the patience of Job. The ending. There are many, many, many unanswered questions. I think the author needs to be writing a sequel right now since this book has been pushed back. That way come 2021, she can have another book ready to be published filling in the blanks for everything she hasn't resolved.

I have to admit I struggled through this one. I really wanted to love it, but it for the most part just felt like a dozen other YA books I’ve read. I will say that the character of Ren was a redeeming factor for me. Her spunkiness and fierceness pulled the story along when the plot couldn’t. Overall, I did enjoy reading this, I just wanted a little more from the story.

I really enjoyed this book!! I loved that there was so much action, and I was never bored. I enjoyed the romance and felt like the pacing was well executed and realistic. The world building was really good as well.

I love anti-heroines and Ren is an AMAZING one. In her world, magic is forbidden. In fact, everyone who had magic had been murdered by the king, assuring him that only his family has magic... Except that Ren has magic, and when the king found out, he set her house on fire. Her parents were killed, and she was supposed to die, but no one knew she survived. She made her own rules to survive on the streets, playing cards, stealing and fighting in the pits. But only one friend knew she had silver... Until it was discovered.

I really loved this book. The descriptions are so well-detailed that I could imagine myself walking in the street and seeing and feeling everything while being there. It's also incredibly fast-paced and really completely action-packed. Some twists and turns gave me whiplashes, my mouth flew open a couple of times, and really, this relation between Ren and Darek!! Sparkly sparkles fly.

TW for torture, it's really graphic.

Many thanks to Flux for the complimentary e-copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I thought this book was really interesting. Narration was very interesting, plot was unique. Character building was really nice as well. I quite enjoyed this book and was hooked throughout. Definitely want to know what happens next.