Loved loved loved this one! Such a good story, great writing style, interesting premise, and engaging characters. A truly underrated story!

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Very well written for a new author.

"In the darkest nights and in the blackest shadows, light shines the brightest. If I'm to find it, it'll be here."

In "Where the Shadows Beckon", Evren, a half-elven huntress, gets dragged into an unexpected quest far below the surface, in the caverns under the Dwarven fortress Dirn-Darahl. Along with her band of unlikely strangers, she is set on a seemingly simple task — to catch an escaped prisoner conspiring to overthrow the Dwarven king. Yet what she finds below the surface may change the course of her life forever.

I adored Grant's worldbuilding. While there are some tropes you would expect from a world that has been intertwined with Dungeons and Dragons campaigns, that works to the book's advantage. The battles don't drag out for ages, and the long rests allow for space to breathe. It may be strange but I really appreciated Evren admitting that she's really, /really/ bad at planning. I've read a few too many books with perfect protagonists who always plan for every contingency, and here it really does feel like the success of a plan hands in the hands that hold the D20.

There was some worry that setting the book completely in the caverns may get dull as there is little variation to the biome. However, Grant created some intriguing worlds underground and kept it far from getting boring.

Very much looking forward to the sequel, as well as more of Grant's writing in the future.

Get ready for the journey of a lifetime in the first book of an all-new, captivating fantasy series from thrilling debut author Gillian Grant.

As a hunter, Evren Hanali of Orenlion has probably seen it all and done even more, even though she likes to fade into the background. She prefers a solitary existence, doing the jobs she’s commissioned for and not much else. But fate has other plans. It seems she has a destiny—one she is only beginning to unravel. And unlikely companions and exotic places are only the beginning of her journey.

I was SHOCKED to hear this was a debut--the writing, the pacing, the character development were all so tightly constructed and well done that I was SURE the author was a seasoned pro! Cannot WAIT for the next in the series!

***Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.***

This book reads very much like a dnd campaign, which is a fact I really enjoyed. Unfortunately, the size of the cast was large enough that there were some characters that didn't get fleshed out completely. I do expect that that will change as the series goes on.
I enjoyed the plot, it was really fast paced throughout, and although there is one particular plot point that feels like a Deus ex Machina. But a lot of that was due to the really narrow perspective the storyteller had. So honestly, I think it fit the book really well, as she wouldn't have understood what was going on.
I thought the underground city was really interesting and I enjoyed the world-building that was included there. I'm not always interested in political machinations, but this book had a really fun outlook to it as the outsiders coming in with half an understanding.
I found the ending of this book was a little bit rushed (the fight scene at the end didn't make complete sense to me), but I enjoyed it nevertheless.

Definitely an enjoyable romp, this book reads like an excellent game of an epic tabletop RPG (fitting, as the author says the novel is based on a world created by their RPG party). The characters are fun and have some depth, though I wish we could have gotten a bit more backstory on some of them, as at times it felt like we were joining each of them in the middle of a series, rather than at the beginning.

Beyond that, the world-building was really well-developed and fun, and the fights and action sequences were particularly well done. The reason I dropped a star from this is because there were just a few instances where the similarities to a TTRPG got a bit intrusive and pulled me out of the world Grant has created. One example that comes to mind is each of the characters getting three 'health potions' without any more detail than that (and then none of them end up using them, that I recall).

It's just a few tiny elements like that, added up, caused me to drop that fifth star, but this is still a huge amount of fun and definitely a series to check out if you're looking for more inclusive, action-packed epic fantasy.

2.5 stars

It pains me to say this but I truly did not care about this book at any point. I only finished it because I’d heard there was an interesting plot twist at 50% (there was not) and I wanted to see what it was. By the time I got there, I felt like I had to finish it.

This book is well written. However, it is entirely plot. And the plot has quite a few holes. The ending was incredibly rushed and full of convenient moments for the characters. There was almost no world-building or character development. 300+ pages and not once was I attached to any of the characters. The main character in particular was incredibly dull and inconsistent. She was clever when it was convenient to the plot, had a big mysterious past that is never explained, and is not really that good of a fighter or hunter.

A weird pet peeve was that they constantly talked about not having a way to tell the passage of time underground and yet constantly mentioned how much time had passed (after an hour, 5 minutes passed, etc.) You said you didn’t know stop mentioning it!!!

Where The Shadows Beckon is basically your weekend D&D meet complete with jokes and complete nonsense.

Although I'm giving 3 stars, I'm really excited to recommend this book. Where The Shadows Beckon is a fast paced epic fantasy that will be far more accessible to readers that struggle with traditional high fantasy stories.

I've met countless readers (myself included) who have found very popular and classic fantasy titles difficult to connect with. This novel is simple and it's very easy to understand the world, it's inhabitants and how they all relate to one another. There's your classic quest storyline and and the band of misfits that take you on a journey. They encounter some amazing creatures and face death at every turn. But the peril filled trek is woven with humour and a light that I think will bring new readers to high fantasy.

My reason for giving 3 stars is that it just didn't excite me personally and I felt like it was missing something. I do however, think it's a fantastic debut and will be a solid series.

Where the shadows Beckon is a fantastical quest story, reminding me of a D&D campaign. A small group of strangers find themselves journeying deep underground in pursuit of escaped prisoners from a Dwarven jail. Along the way, they discover lost cities, unusual creatures, terrifying lakes, and an unknown civilization who could either be their savior or their destruction. The characters are well-developed and one of the most significant themes throughout the book is found family.

Overall, I thought the pacing of the book was quite slow. For me that had a lot to do with the chapter lengths (very long chapters). The actual plot kept moving and exciting things were happening. I just struggled to read more than a chapter or two in one sitting. Because of the pace, I'm giving this book 3 stars, but I do think that it will be a 4 or 5 star read for a lot of other readers (especially those who enjoy quests).

Sometimes you come across a book where you get sucked into the story, the characters and the world that has been crafted. In this case Gillian Grant managed to pull me in from the start with a main character who's not perfect and a bit of a solo player, but after being forced into an adventure with a ragtag crew learns to understand the value of friendship and teamwork. I liked the different races and places that were described so I could easily imagine it all in my mind. Enough questions remain for a next book and I can't wait to leave the underground city of the dwarves and see what the surface world looks like!
This is a debut novel and while it might show at times in the writing I was enjoying the book too much to be bothered by it.

I highly recommend this one for everyone who likes a good fast-paced adventure with dwarves, goblins, elves, half elves and giants and can live with maybe a little less depth in the character department. Believe me, it's worth it!

***Thank you Netgalley and Gillian Grant for giving me this book to read and review***

I’m so happy I received this e-ARC to review because, oh boy, it was AMAZING. Gillian Grant is one of my new favorite authors!!

If you like D&D, then you’re going to like this book. Period. And if you don’t, but enjoy fantasy and a great story, then you should still pick this up! It’s got a lot of LotR vibes that most fantasy lovers would enjoy.

The writing is amazing, descriptive and engaging while not being too complex to follow. Which, I mean, if this is her debut book and the writing is already this good?? I have no doubt she’s going to collect a following very soon. The plot’s got action, betrayals, adventures, political intrigue, and more. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I can’t be bothered to pay attention to politics in my world but give me a fantasy setting with supernatural races and dangerous monsters? Then I’m hooked.

Grant starts the story off with a bang and keeps going at a nice pace in which I never felt like the story was lagging. I truly felt like I was on an adventure of my own throughout this book and it was such a wonderful feeling. I laughed, my heart raced, and at one point I actually full-out ugly-cried. I honestly prefer this to D&D podcasts or streams and I love those.

But my favorite part by far of this book was the characters. I usually have 1-2 characters that I love in a book and while I still had my favorites here, I can genuinely say that I cared for each and every character in Evren’s (the MC) party. I left the book craving to know more and more about each and every one of them ❤️ A lot of that had to do with not only great personalities, but also their remarkable character growth.

I can keep gushing and gushing about this book because I loved it that much but I’ll just say, if you haven’t read it, GO READ IT. And then go review it!! I want as many people to find out about this as possible!!

Read this book if you like:
🏹 D&D
🧙 Fantastical races like elves, dwarves, giants, and more
🦴 Underground cities
☀️ Monsters and the big baddies that fight them
🗺 Political intrigue where you’re trying to keep up with who’s lying and who’s not
🌊 Adventure
⛓ Found family
🐛 Good writing!!

PS. The emojis are clues about all of my favorite characters.

I struggled with this , I found it slow going at the start, but once I reached the halfway mark I did find it picked up and actually began to get interesting to me. I think the chapters and length needed a bit more editing and they are too long, with a bit of work on this side of things I think it could be really good.

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

As a big fan of the fantasy genre, this book was right my alley and I’m glad I got the opportunity to be among the first people to read this new author. By the end of this book, I can very safely say that Gillian Grant you have earned yourself a new fan.


I found the cover intriguing right away. It depicts the mystery and secrecy of the characters involved in the story. Creating a new world with a host of characters involved and each having a rich background is daunting at best but Gillian Grant has done a fantastic job.
The details and imagery of Eith are easily conjured in the mind’s eye and if you’re like me you will find yourself invested in each character’s fate.


Evren, Arke, Gyda, Abraxas, all start out as loners as you will see through insight into their backstories. Sorin is far from his home and Sol is wrongfully accused and imprisoned in the territory they all meet up with.


The thrills begin right away building into a story scape of suspicions and conspiracy. The ensemble comes together in survival and ends up being sent off on a quest to discover the culprits behind the chaos that brings the lot together. What follows is an action-packed adventure that teaches the six of them more about each other and they learn even more about themselves and their pasts.


I’m so glad that I was able to read about the first part of their journey together and with the excerpt of the second book it looks like the history of the 6 explorers is going to tie into one explosive and epic saga. And I can wait to be a part of it.

"The quiet that followed the deafening cry was far from silent."-From Where the Shadows Beckon

2.5 stars

This opened with a bang, and the hits kept coming. It does have a very fast pace. You are thrown into a world, being told everything that's happening rather than showing, and not anything was really being explained. I couldn't get into it at all until it was sixty percent or so into it. This would be a great pick if you like a fast plot with some twists, but if you need character development and solid world building you might want to pass.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the author for grating me this eARC in exchange of an honest review.

I didn't click with first 20% of the book, but once the major plot points and twists started to happen, it got better and even exciting towards the end. I found some of the action sequences quite confusing, and the writing and pacing could have used more editing to help the story flow better. I didn't necessarily click with any of the characters, but I found Evren quite decent main character. Overarll, Where the Shadows Beckon was quite enjoyable, but certainly had its flaws.

This was a very quick read. This reminds me alot of DD in the format and reading brought from the board I can image playing this as a game.. Honesty I need a bit more fleshing out and more game to the characters brought forward than what was offered.

Where the Shadows Beckon is the debut novel of Gillian Grant. It's one of those fantasy novels immediately grabbed my attention while browsing up-and-coming fantasy novels. I knew right away this book had to make my list.

Evren Hanali is an elven hunter who has seen much in her days. But very little of her past could prepare her for the adventure she is about to find herself on. And it all starts with the need for a night of rest.

That need put an unlikely group together, resulting in their downward plunge into...unexpected events, mayhem, and a fight for something larger than themselves.

So, can we just take a minute to talk about how beautiful the cover is for Where the Shadows Beckon? I'm in love. If I'm being honest, the cover is half the reason I stopped to learn more about this book! Gotta love it when that happens.

Where the Shadows Beckon reads very much like a classical fantasy adventure. It starts off with a strong character (one who prefers her solitude, mind you), and then destiny suddenly intervenes. Now she's working with multiple fantasy races to survive and save the day.

I really enjoyed the pacing of this novel, as it felt like there was always something happening. That made it easy to stay invested in Evren and the quest she found herself on.

Overall, I would say that Where the Shadows Beckon was a fun and worthwhile read. It had a compelling plot, intriguing characters, and a ton of action and adventure. I'm even happier to note that more books will follow this one, hopefully in the near future.

I would like to thank Gillian for the advance copy, in exchange for an honest review.

When I started reading this book, I thought it read like someone turned a D&D campaign into a novel; upon reading the acknowledgement at the end of the book, it seems she was very inspired by her game and sort of did just that. So this book is definitely for fans of RPG-style characters and storytelling.

This is a fun, fast-paced novel with a lot of twists and turns. I definitely didn't see all of the twists coming. That said, I wanted to know more about the characters. I wanted to care about them, and really be rooting for them and believe in what they did and why they did it. The world was well developed (although I did want more about the magic systems), and I wish the characters had been as well.

3.5 stars.

This book was riveting. Such a diverse set of characters placed in a world so incredibly different than any I have read about before. Goblins, humans, guzzlers, elves and so much more. The massive worm is enough to give me bad dreams and probably will. I loved this story.