I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Children of Shadows is the third book in this series and honestly, it's probably my favorite one. It's a little bittersweet though since now it's all over and I finally found something to like. The characters, and the overall storyline, just felt different this time around. Each twist revolving around Luci was nicely explained to me and definitely makes me want to reread this series all over again.

Other than that, I also really liked getting to know Indie. She's Ella's daughter and kind of reminded me of how Ella was in the first book (sort of but better). I'm also wondering if it's truly the end because I have some unanswered questions. Then again, maybe that future re-read of these books might help me create my own answer.

In the end, I was surprised to like this book more than the previous two. I'll be intrigued if my opinion changes the next time around as well.

This is the third in the series and I have to say this was such a fabulous book and conclusion to the trilogy.

I loved the characters and adored their backstories so to learn more about them and how they became who they are was great.

I love the authors unique writing style and have enjoyed emerging myself in such a wonderful story.

Really nice piece of fantasy! I like the story and the universe this author has created! Truly worth your time!

I the book follows the story well but I don't feel as drawn to it as I had the first. There was something missing but I can't pinpoint what. The writing itself was fine, characters likeable enough but the depth was missing.

I liked the concept. I'm pretty sure this is categorized as Adult but still feels very YA in the writing.

I didn't notice this was part of series. Somehow pulled through.

3.5/5

this was a interesting take on an angels storyline, the characters were great and I enjoyed going through this book. I look forward to more from this author.

The excellent conclusion of an exciting series.
The characters, the world building and the plot are excellent and the story is gripping and entertaining.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I have been waiting to read the last book of The Indigo Chronicles series for a while now. Three years I’ve been following this series, and I can’t say l’ve followed any other one like this – one by one, as the books come out. It’s an experience like no other, and I certainly enjoyed it – incredibly. Children of Shadows was an amazing end to a truly epic series!

For those who haven’t heard of the series before, long story short – it starts of with some teens, who… Have been in love for a couple thousand years. Except only one of them knows, or rather, remembers it, because he’s sort of… An angel. And the other one’s a human, without the benefit of knowing things like that, and therefore no clue as to why she’s feeling some things she’s feeling and why her life’s been so complicated, and getting more and more complicated by the minute.

And so we follow this amazing love story, spanning centuries, and learn about the two soulmates, and the drama that has kept them apart. Only, by the second book the family drama multiplies and becomes even more mind-blowing and history-spanning. And now it’s not even just family drama, as much as historical and mythological drama too.

Wouldn’t want to spoil the plot for you, but there’s a whole lot of angel stuff involved, and as it turns out, the angels are… no angels, badum tss. They’re vindictive, passionate, and kind of like humans, except with immeasurable power too. Drama ensues. It makes for good reading!

By the third book, you’re wondering if NJ Simmonds can even surprise you anymore. You know her style, you’re cracked a few of the plot points before even the characters did – you’re pretty sure about yourself.

And yet, she surprises you again! I didn’t even know what to expect of the ending, and I kept looking at the percentage left – 90… 92… 95%… where is it gonna go? It didn’t disappoint at all. I grew to love even the new characters who were introducted, and I was mostly happy about how things worked out for the old ones. I even feel like the author left room for spin offs, which is great!

The book was a whirlwind. NJ Simmonds is amazing at writing family drama – that’s for sure. The series kept me on my toes, and in some places surprised me with its depth – the patriarchy issue being highlighted, the history of witches, and the complexity of some characters – ones you’d expect to be black or white, but instead, they’re a mixture of both, acting out on both sides, showing one or the other based on their histories. I got greatly attached to some of the characters and truly invested in their stories. These books were quite a ride and I would expect this series to become a best-seller. It will give you a great time!
I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.

Oh. My. Angels!

It's a rare book, and a rarer series, that makes me want more than I am getting, but The Indigo Chronicles is definitely one of them.

I have loved this trilogy, and it's characters from the start and while this book gives me the most deserving of endings, I would happily read more of Zac and Ella's story.
Move them forward, dip into their past, I want it all!

So, Children of Shadows...We pick up seventeen years from where Son of Secrets left us, with Ella marrying Josh and following her path, most of her memories erased of their wedding day, and completely unaware of her brief reunion with Zac, and boy has a lot happened since then.

If you've read the previous two books, you know how Ella's life was meant to go, you know about the turn it will take as we are given a peak into the future at the end of book two, and you just know that this isn't the end.
Children of Shadows will take you from the present, back in time to a crucial point in Luci's long life, and leave you hoping for the future.

I want to tell you all about it, but thats not fair on those who are yet to set off on this adventure (who need to go and pick up The Path Keeper and Son of Secrets NOW!) so I will say no more other than I am so happy with this whole series and with this ending...but if there is more of Ella and Zac on offer, or more of I and B, I'll take it!

Definitely recommended, highly relatable characters (even the angels), wonderful settings, with a twisty turny story and good pace!

5 🌟

This was EPIC! I literally could not put it down. From the first chapter, I was completely enticed to keep reading.

An interesting read with well devolved characters and story structure. I really enjoyed it. Thank you.

To begin, I hadn’t realized this was a series. So, before reading this one, I read the others that came before it. I like the concept. I feel like the story is interesting, however it read very YA, almost annoyingly so, and I felt it was a chore to finish. I do believe younger people can enjoy it, as it was pretty interesting. But it simply read too young for me.

The writing is so slow, and HEAVILY relies on telling the story through conversations that go on and on and on rather than actually showing anything happening.

There are chapter long conversations where the characters just tell you their entire life story.
Yeah... it is that bad.
Everyone has verbal diarrhea in this book. A simple "when did you move here?" is answered in a page and a half full of info that covers everything from a random gift an aunt got for a birthday to school problems a sibling was going through. The writing is just all over the place.

I had problems with some of the inconsistencies as well. In one chapter it is stated that angels don't feel the cold. Then chapter 7 rolls around and an angel has freezing bare legs.

One character is sensitive to touch. In one scene, she squirms and flinches away from a stroke to the cheek but the author seems to forget what her character is like and two pages later! Two pages! she shows the same character getting kissed and patted on the head and squeezed into bear hugs against her will. Like, excuse me... didn't you just establish she didn't like that?

In conclusion, this wasn't at all enjoyable and I was honestly beginning to lose the will to live so DNF at 24%.

I did quite enjoy the story overall, but there were a few things that let it down a bit. The first is Gabriel and the use of "bro". I just feel it was a bit weird for an archangel millenia old to say that. Also the constant "shouted". Is everyone really shouting all the time?
The flow for me was also a bit confusing with the way it went back and forward in time. I got lost in what was happening in a few bits before I realised we had gone back before all of what I had just read, and it really didn't add to the story at all.

First of all, I loved the new characters and Luci was amazing as always. Every book in this series was really different. It was really fun reading it. After the end of the second book, I had a few thoughts about the final book. I was expecting to Ella and Zac's child Indigo would play a big part in the book, but I didn't expect it to be a big time lapse. My only complaint about the book is that Indigo accepted everything very easily. I wish Luci and Indigo spend more time with each other. Other than that, I loved the flashback parts. I loved reading Luci's past. It was quite interesting. Overall, I started this series because the synopsis was really interesting but I got attached to all of the characters quite easily. It was a really good series. I'll recommend it if you like reading about angels, fate, or really amazing strong women. 3.5/5

Children of Shadows was not at all what I expected.
I was skeptical after reading the other reviews regarding the first two books in the series but thought I would give it a shot and I am very glad that I did because the ending to this book series blew me out of the water. It had me sitting on the edge of my chair waiting to see what would happen.

Children of Shadows begins 15 years after Ella's marriage. Ella is now 40 and is the overprotective mother to her daughter Indigo. Zac, having erased Ella's memory of him at her wedding, has kept his distance from her but the two are still soulmates. Everything changes when Zac's mother Luci kidnaps Indigo, realizing that she is Zac's and Ella's daughter and that Ella is immortal.

The ending of this novel proved to me that N.J. Simmonds must have mapped this entire storyline for years because every string that was loose ended up being nicely tied together. It had a beautiful ending and honestly, the entire series is a fantastic read. I would highly recommend it.

This was a great story and I really enjoyed reading it. I have not read the other books in the series but will catch up!!!

It's such a long time since I fell in love with the world Simmonds created in The Path Keeper that I almost didn't want to finish this book and know that I'd reached The End. Ultimately though, however much I might have liked to take my time with this one and savour each page to prolong the moment when it would all be over, Simmonds just doesn't let you. As with the first two books, I was grabbed and transported into a world of suspense, tension and intrigue which kept my eyes glued to the page.

There are a few different perspectives in this final instalment. Zac and Ella return, of course, along with Luci, and we are introduced to new character Indie, Ella's daughter. Something that I found interesting was that, although this is the culmination of Zac and Ella's 2,000 year relationship, it really didn't feel like this was their book. Much of it is seen from the perspective of Indie, who is reminiscent in some ways of her mother in the first book in the trilogy, and of course fierce and fiery Luci steals every scene she's in; it is her plan and her actions which drive the plot forward. The in depth view we were given of her time at sea fleshed her character out nicely and helped to explain her exploits in the present day. ​

Simmonds scatters surprises and red herrings throughout the novel to keep the reader on their toes and delivers a denouement which, whilst leaving the reader with some questions, is ultimately satisfying. I'll be nursing one hell of a book hangover after this one.

I absolutely loved this book. Having read the first two in the series I couldn’t wait to find out what happens to all my favourite characters.
N.J. Simmonds has written a fantastic conclusion to her Indigo Chronicles trilogy.

3.5/5

I just finished Children of Shadows, book 3 of Simmonds thrilling trilogy! I really enjoyed this book, and felt like it gave a magnifying conclusion to the Indigo chronicles, but this time, the whole story was from the point of view of Zac, the strongest angel to live.

For over 2 thousand years, Ella and Zac's lives have been intertwined in love. Now when Zac is miles away, living by himself, Ella is struggling to be a single mother to her daughter Indie, who might as well be keeping a huge secret, and learning to control her power.
Meanwhile, Luci has been busy, struggling for revenge, and with the help of her crew, she found a way to banish and destroy the Angelic realm, but there is one problem, that being the only person who cans secure an all mighty weapon ignored her plan.
When Indie discovers her powers, a world that her mother ran away from 16 years ago, she finds that the angelic realm is to burst from war, and that she is the key weapon, the most powerful weapon.

I enjoyed many aspects of this book, ranging from the authors writing to the plot.
The writing could literally steal you away to a world of wonder, revenge, adventure, magical powers, and archangels, and it is so enchanting that you won't ever want to leave.

Simmonds writing was really good, it was easy to read and understand the plot, yet she just kept you guessing and guessing what would happen next, and she really captured the essence of the scene and the action occurring.
As well as this, the characters were fabulous, and you can really see how they improved from the first 2 books and it was so cool to see Zac, Ella, and Indies adventures, and see them grow!

For me it is sometimes hard for me to read long chapters, dont get me wrong I can read them, except I can get bored easily. I enjoy chubby and short chapters which really just steal my breath away with the cliffhangers! It just gets me more into the book. Now I didn't really find many short chapters, and often when I read long chapters I like to count the pages till the chapter ends because I feel the longer the chapter the less interesting the plot could be. Now if you don't agree with me then I understand, this is just my opinion!

Regardless, I really enjoyed this book!!