Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of <i>No Shadow Without Light</i> in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

<h4 style="margin-top: 84px;">The Gist</h4>

<i>No Shadow Without Light</i> explores the delicate dance between darkness and illumination, delving into the complexities of the human experience. In this evocative novel by Luke Gracias, readers are taken on a journey that transcends the ordinary and invites contemplation.

<h4>The Details</h4>

The narrative revolves around a character who is grappling with personal struggles that mirror the universal themes of resilience, hope, and the eternal quest for self-discovery. Gracias skillfully weaves a tapestry of emotions, creating a story that resonates on a profound level.

The writing style is a standout feature, with prose that is both poetic and introspective. Gracias has a keen ability to evoke vivid imagery, painting scenes that linger in the reader's mind long after the book is closed. The exploration of light and shadow becomes a metaphor for the human condition, adding layers of depth to the narrative.

Character development is a strong suit of the novel, with main Character undergoing a transformative arc that is both believable and poignant. The supporting cast adds texture to the story, each playing a role in the protagonist's journey. The relationships are nuanced, reflecting the complexities of human connections.

While the novel excels in its thematic exploration, some readers might find the pacing contemplative. Also the introspective nature of the narrative may not appeal to those seeking a more plot-driven experience. Additionally, certain aspects of the resolution might be open-ended, leaving room for interpretation.

<h4>The Verdict</h4>

Overall, <i>No Shadow Without Light</i> is a thought-provoking. It is beautifully crafted novel that invites readers to reflect on the dualities inherent in life. Luke Gracias delivers a narrative that transcends genres. This makes this book a compelling read for those who appreciate literary fiction that explores the profound aspects of the human spirit.

This book made me think and I took a while to read it as a result - which is not a bad thing. This reminded me of Dan Brown type books. I think I was at a disadvantage of not reading the first, so I would if I was reading this again.

I was given a free copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

This was very heavy reading for me. Yes, it has a Dan Brown feel to the writing but the story kept jumping from city to city without allowing any catch up time. This one dimensional story would work much better as a movie where a three dimensional medium moves the story along in a linear fashion. The overall story was good, could have been great, but it was too hard to maintain my attention for long. But, this could very well be just me.

A thank you to the author Luke Gracias, the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my candid review.

This is the thrilling conclusion to the story of a young woman whose mother disappeared without a trace, leaving her two small children for her mother to care for. It is a horrifying tale, with torture, mayhem, religious treasure hunts and good and bad people......which is which is hard to tell.

It is a fascinating series, but pretty brutal. I would recommend it.

Interesting novel - the second in a series. I wish I had read the first book before this - but the author did a great job of catching you up on the previous story line.

The book's plot is the classic good versus evil, Devil versus God battle. As the world's population has exploded, the Devil's game has been put in motion, with a treasure hunt taking place across continents, to find the 12 pages of the Devil's Bible. Jess is working to find the pages for the Devil, while her sister Siobhan is fighting for good. Every page that Jess releases encourages people to be selfish, thus ensuring the future destruction of the world's vital resources and other species. Every page that Siobhan releases encourages selfless acts instead. These pages buy humanity 'seats in the lifeboat' in the near future.

A typical adventure novel in some ways, the real power of the book for me came from the facts shared about the current state of the world, its population and the dire situation that humanity faces in the very near future. The population has grown to the point that we can no longer sustain humanity without sacrificing the other species that call this planet home. The details about the slowing of the sea currents, and the effects of the melting polar ice. For me this story was very scary indeed.

The formatting of the ARC I received was really strange which was a bit distracting during the read.

Having not read book 1 first or realized this was a book 2 until I had already began reading, it was a bit confusing without knowing some of the back story.

I would suggest readers start with Book 1 first!

An exciting sequel to The Devil's Prayer. It's a European / Asian scavenger hunt of good versus evil and sister versus sister. The doomsday prophesy of the chase is suspenseful as well. Some scenes were kind of disturbing but played into the overall vibe of the story. However, the final confrontation scene between the sisters was a bit of a let down. Despite this, I would definitely recommend reading both books.

A great follow up to DEVILS PRAYER and a fantastic piece of storytelling in and of itself. Thoughtful and engaging fiction with an important message.

Disclaimer: I did not read the first book and was not aware that this was a sequel at the time of starting it.

I thought this book stood well on its own. I was engaged with the plot and I found the characters to be well fleshed out and interesting. The atmosphere was dark and creepy - I will definitely read more by this author.

The sequel to "The Devil's Prayer' is finally here. While you can read this book on its own, you will really be better to read the first book before starting this one.

The story picks up exactly where the last one ended with Siobhan and her search for the pages of the Devil' prayer while avoiding the red monks, and her sister, who happens to be the Devil's daughter and who wants the prayer for themselves.

A real story of light versus dark and good versus evil enhanced by the two sisters being on opposing sides.

I loved the previous book The Devil's Prayer, so much so, that I think I was even wondering about a follow up not too long before I was informed that this had been published. My remembering a book I read five years ago should say a lot about how I felt about both it and the promise of getting more from the story; but therein also lies the problem, as much as I remember it, after five years there were a lot of details I did not remember.
A big one for me was: what exactly was I expecting and hoping for in this book.
I liked how it started, I liked where it was going and how it was getting there. But at some point, it felt like it started getting lost, taking long detours and didn't really end where it initially intended to.

While I did not read The Devil’s Prayer, No Shadow Without Light, stood well on its own. The character development and storyline were well done and easy to follow. This author sets an atmosphere that is mysterious and old world intriguing. I was transported by the stage set by Luke Gracias. There were parts that moved slowly, but while immersing the reader in the environment that was created. The story felt somehow familiar, even though it was new.

A copy of No Shadow Without Light, by Luke Gracias was provided to me by NetGalley and Authors Upfront, for an honest review.

Jess Russo is the daughter of the devil. The population has reached a critical mass which has triggered the Devil’s Game, After her mother is murdered, the hunt for t he twelve pages begins. Jess find a page and then “releases” it, chaos occurs. Will she find all 12 pages? What will happen if she doesn’t find all the pages? Her older sister,Siobhan Is trying to find the solution to save mankind. Only her elder sister Siobhan can stop her, by finding the pages of the Devil’s Prayer hidden across the globe before Jess does.When the bells of Amalfi Cathedral toll twelve repeatedly one night, Inspector Luca Reginalli races to find four ancient frescoes and a note in a jade sarcophagus. The cryptic note offering the Twelfth Page of the Devil’s Prayer in exchange for Siobhan goes viral. The treasure hunter Siobhan becomes the hunted. The Templars of Tomar to the Doomsday Chest in London, from the Tomb of Amir Timur to the Shadowless Pagoda of Wuhan, Siobhan and Reginalli follow the trail of carnage left by each page of the Devil’s Prayer. Can Siobhan and Reginalli save mankind?

The story is a follow up to the first book called “The Devil’s Prayer.” I have not read the first volume. This story is fast paced and kept me reading late at night. I enjoyed going on the tour of Europe and Australia. It is a race of good and evil. It also made me think of what could happen to the United State in the future.

This one was unrealistic and didn’t achieve the level of the Dan Brown books I was hoping for.. while the historical fiction setting intrigued me the characters weren’t believable. It didn’t pass the believability test

This is a very powerful story, a sequel to The Devil’s Prayer. Luke Gracias is an environmentalist, and the facts and figures he has included make for sober reading. Siobhan Russo begins the story being chased by fanatical red monks who wish to get back the pages from a book that her mother had stolen from them and Siobhan has acquired. She has powerful enemies, and it is hard for her to stay one jump ahead of them, particularly as one of them is her beloved half-sister Jess. She also has powerful friends, but it is sometimes difficult to be sure which is which. As the story progresses Siobhan gains power herself, and the story ends on a positive, hopeful note.

I applaud Mr Gracias for making what could have been a very dry, doom-laden story into something very relevant and meaningful. The pictures of the places that Siobhan goes to makes you realise how many beautiful and important buildings and traditions we have in the world. A good story, and a very worthwhile read.

I read and reviewed the first part of this story, The Devil’s Prayer, five years ago, and I thank NetGalley (Authors Upfront) and the author for providing me an ARC copy of this book, which I freely chose to review.
I remembered having enjoyed the original novel and some details of it, but after such a long gap, I have to admit that I wasn’t sure how well I’d manage to follow the story. Thankfully, the beginning of the book provides readers with a brief reminder of the main plot points, not in a preface, but incorporated into the story. The first novel was written in a particularly interesting way, as the protagonist, who is also one of the main characters in this story, Siobhan, found her mother’s diary, and she (and the readers) learned the background to the events thanks to that account.
This novel is more traditional in its format, although the Devil’s Prayer and its twelve pages also play a big part in the events, and we get to read it (or at least some of it) as the story progresses. The novel is divided into four books, and the story is mostly told in chronological order (the beginning of the novel is split up between two settings, one in Australia and one in Italy, and there are some comings and goings between the two places and the dates), with some jumps forward in time. We follow the characters from 2014 to 2020, and, as the description suggests, we travel with them all over the world: Australia, Italy, China, Portugal, London, the Czech Republic, Uzbekistan... Like the previous novel, this is a mix of genres: there are plenty of adventures; historical background and events are also explored; there is much in common with spy novels (but with a religious/paranormal theme rather than a political one) and with the format of a treasure hunt, where each new clue guides the path of the main characters. There are also elements of horror, a good versus evil fight going on, and a strong environmental message, pointing at humanity’s responsibility for the future of all life on Earth.
Limited resources, selfishness versus selflessness, the importance and nature of religion and religious belief, family relationships, social media, greed, corruption, betrayal... are among the themes that appear in its pages, although that is not an exhaustive list. And we meet all kinds of secondary characters and historical figures: from policemen to bishops and monks, from Knight Templars to librarians, and various popes, Genghis Kahn, and even the Devil put in an appearance.
The story is told in the third person: for most of it we follow Siobhan and share her experiences, as we did in the first book, although sometimes we peer over the shoulder of the baddies and what they are doing, and at times there is a narrator that provides a lot of factual information on the events and the historical background of the places we are visiting. Because of that, there is a lot of telling in the story, although I found most of it quite fascinating, and by the end of the novel, I wanted to visit the places featured there (or most of them, at least. Oh, and there are pictures, as well, so you can see what the settings of some of the adventures are like).
I missed a bit more build-up of the main characters. Siobhan goes through some terrible ordeals, losing loved ones, being betrayed, being incarcerated (I won’t go into much detail to avoid spoilers), but there are only hints of what and how she feels, and the same applies to Reginalli, an Italian inspector who has interesting hidden depths as well. In general, there is more attention paid to the plot and the background than to the psychology of the characters or the complexity of their emotions. I must admit that I don’t usually read books like this, and perhaps this is part-and-parcel of the genre, where readers are looking for action and story, and put themselves in the protagonists’ shoes, rather than want to have their emotions spelled out.
Despite some minor inconsistencies and some to-be-expected required suspension of disbelief, the story is engaging, and no matter how many questions you might ask yourself about the fine details of the plot (in this day and age, with the worldwide access to technology, one always has to wonder), you have to keep reading to see how it all will turn up, especially if you have already read the first novel. As one of the reviewers said, I also feel that this book would make a great movie (and I am aware that the author has written screenplays before and worked in the film industry), although it would be a challenge to fit it all into a single film, and perhaps a TV series would work better. I would be eager to watch it, for sure.
The writing is engaging and particularly effective when it comes to descriptions of places and customs, and to passionately defending what are, quite evidently, convictions strongly held by the author, who has spent his life working as an environmental specialist and knows what he is talking about. The pages of the Devil’s Prayer we get to read are fascinating, scary, and will make all who read them pause and think.
The ending is left fairly open but hopeful as well (although perhaps some readers would like to see a bit more development of one of the aspects of it), as is the author’s note (which is well-worth reading and reflecting upon), and I felt it was appropriate and in keeping with the rest of the story.
As for warnings, like in the other novel, there are plenty of violence, cruelty, and deaths, and although much happens behind the scenes, I know it will bother some readers. Some people might also not share the point of view of the author about environmental issues or religion. I found the tone of the writing to be respectful and neutral, but I know that is always a matter of opinion.
I recommend this book to people who enjoy mixed-genre novels, particularly those who take place in a variety of settings, readers of adventure or spy books, those who have enjoyed books like The Da Vinci Code, and people who are concerned about environmental issues and like to read about those but are looking for some fiction and adventure as well. And, if you want to travel all over the world without leaving your home, and learn some fascinating historical facts at the same time, I definitely recommend you to check both books.

This is a good sequel to the first book, and well written. The amount of research is impressive. Where I find these books slightly annoying, therefore losing one star, is that sometimes the writing is fairly stilted. Translated into film, this would not show. There is a fair amount of environmental preaching involved, although this reader cannot disagree with the statements made, it did sometimes feel like more of a documentary than a novel.

The first chapter with Siobhan recounting the events of the first book really turned me off. I didn't like the way it was done even before I realized I needed to read the first book to understand why this retelling of the story may be needed. Reading it after reading the first book made it worst and just deadly boring. I thought it may have been done better with a prologue, or a briefer recap of the events of the first book.
That said, the book thereafter bounces between being preachy on current "ills" (climate change, over population, egoism, pandemic) of the planet, and some chase/capture/torture/release scene. While there was enough there to keep my attention, there were many instances I just had to be less critical so I can at least finish the book.
1. I had to question Siobhan and Reginalli's cavalierness when going out as they chase after the pages. After being told that a strange stocky gypsy woman killed Sr. Catherine, they don't take notice that a strange stocky gypsy woman seems to be following them wherever they go.
2. The set up for each chase/capture scene was too obvious that I found myself thinking "here we go again"
3. Bringing in the mysterious society of the Templar Knights almost seemed like a cop out to easily "save" Siobhan from sticky situations.

The first book was good enough for me to be interested in reading this one. This book was more sophomoric and a little more predictable. May be merging the two books would have made for a better reading?

Wow ! The author’s extensive attention to detail paint a picture with his words; so much so that you feel as if you’re standing in the place he’s described. His engineering mind is on display.
While this book is a follow up to the first part of the story, I read it out of order, and still understood what was happening.
The forces of Good and Evil are at work in this part of the story, and the race is on between two sisters whose mother has left behind pages of an ancient text, The Devil’s Prayer.
If you are strictly reading this for the mystery & thriller story, you could become bored with the eloquent details. If you enjoy history, historical fiction, and literary descriptions of beautiful architecture, this is for you!

Thank you to NetGalley, the Author, and the Publisher for an advance digital reading copy.

A worthy conclusion to the thrilling saga as Siobhan Russo continues her treasure hunt for the 12 missing pages of the Devil's Bible to prevent Armageddon. This is action-packed and full of historical references as Siobhan tries to complete her mission facing danger at every turn.

How fun it is to read an entire story back-to-back from beginning to end without having to wait ages to find out the end!

I received an ARC of the first book several years ago and it languished on my TBR shelf until this sequel was about to be published. A gentle reminder made me look to see if I had read the earlier one or if I still had it as I do not like to read books out of order or miss the beginning of a set or series. After I devoured <i> The Devil's Prayer </i>, I immediately begin this follow-up.

There is a moral here -- that humans are selfish and that their greed to accumulate and hoard precious resources will end up costing the survival of future generations. As stewards of the Earth, only with selfless behavior and curbing this behavior can all species continue to live. The story may be fictional, but the details and descriptions of the places and events that have already occurred are pertinent and relevant to current situations as well. The author also includes photographs of some of the sites that Siobhan visits in her quest and the history of them is fascinating. The topics of religion from a historical perspective and the themes of darkness and light, good and evil, carry a warning. I always enjoy a book that makes me think and this one certainly did. I would love to have some great discussion with like-minded readers and definitely look forward to a film adaptation of these two novels.

Thank you to NetGalley and Authors Upfront for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.