Shadow of Fire by Kate Schumacher is an enthralling journey into a world where fire magic is forbidden, and the boundary between humans and Fae is crumbling. The story follows Ash, a fire caster who accidentally reveals her secret on the night of Mabon, setting off a chain of events that intertwine the fates of both worlds. From the moment I started reading, I was hooked and deeply invested in the complex characters and their destinies.

Schumacher has crafted a rich, intricate world filled with political intrigue, plot twists, and a deeply engaging storyline. The multiple POVs, while initially challenging, are essential to fully immerse you in this world. Each character has a distinct voice, making their individual stories compelling as they weave together throughout the book.

The writing is nothing short of beautiful, with each element—from the worldbuilding to the character dynamics—adding layers of depth to the narrative. While the book is serious and complex, it remains a thoroughly enjoyable read that keeps you turning the pages.

Although the story ends on a cliffhanger, which I typically dread, the fact that the next book is available means I don’t have to wait to find out what happens next. I’m eager to dive back into this captivating series, and I can’t recommend it enough for fans of fantasy with richly developed worlds and characters.

Ash is a fire caster in a world where fire magic is forbidden and on the night of Mabon she accidentally reveals her secret and her world implodes. In Eshlune, the Fae have lived separated from humans but now their two worlds are on a collision course and they must work together to preserve their very existence.

I loved everything about this book and after only a few chapters I was hooked and heavily invested in the fate of the characters. Kate Schumacher has built a complex and intriguing world and has written rich and varied characters. I loved the multiple POVs and how the different stories were pulled together over the course of the book. My only negative is that it ended all too soon and I have no idea when the second book is out because I need answers now!

Shadow of Fire is a pretty basic fantasy. I do prefer books that distinguish themselves with their own unique voice. Speaking of, there were far too many voices in this. Thank you to Black-Kat Press and NetGalley for the eARC. This in no way impacts my rating.

Okay, so there are WAY too many point of views on this book. It really makes it hard to follow. Easy to get confused.

I ended up not finished this book at the time ( 70% ). I got extremely confused by the amount of different POV's. Due tot this, I wasn't enjoying reading the book as much as I would've liked. The story on the other hand was really good! I will definitely come back to this at a later time and try again.

𝑭𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒔𝒉 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒛𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉, 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒊𝒇𝒕, 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆.

Told in the third person, following the POVs of nine different people, Shadow of Fire was difficult to get into at first, but once I started reading, I couldn’t stop. The multiple POVs can be confusing if you don’t pay attention to what you’re reading, but they’re necessary to immerse you in their world. Each character had their own individual voice, which I always love.

The writing really makes this book. From the political intrigue, to the plot twists, to the storyline and worldbuilding, it was all so beautifully written. The book is incredibly complex and serious, which could be a bad thing, but it still made for an enjoyable read.

I can’t wait for the next book.

Shadow of Fire is about magic and the thirst for power. We follow a large cast of main characters: Ash, Jarlath, Leali, Senan, Thalion, Mahelivar, Fox, and several more that I cannot remember.

For the first almost 100 pages, I was bored and considering not finishing this. There are an excessive amount of POV's and each time there are new names, concepts, and political things that I had to give myself a break. It's very hard to get into, but a third way into it, it's slightly more enjoyable. I would have preferred if we followed just one of the storylines, instead of as many as we could get in there, but that's just a personal preference.

As I've recently discovered, for me to enjoy a fantasy book, there needs to be some element of romance, even if it's not the focus. This leads to my point: if it weren't for Leali and Thalion, I think I wouldn't have enjoyed this as much as I did. Those two characters and their storyline amount to 2 out of the 3 stars. Their chemistry and their plotline were so good. As I mentioned before, I would've much preferred if the book centred around these 2 characters. Ash and Jarlath have potential but they mostly frustrated me.

Overall, enjoyable and it's set up really well for the upcoming sequel, but just not really for me.

This book was great. I can’t wait to grab the next one!! The characters are dynamic and well written. A few you want to hate and then love. You are kinda left on a cliffhanger, which I usually hate, especially when the next book isn’t out. But this one is 😁. So off to the book store I go.

I want to note that I haven't finished it yet, I ran out of time and it wouldn't let me renew it. But I got it on kindle unlimited and will be finishing it and doing a proper review on my socials.


My review of the first 40%


I really liked what I read. I actually tried to finish it in a day but it just wasn't doable. I like the fact that it is political and a lot of world building. It got me absolutely sucked into the story.

My one criticism, was there were a lot of different perspectives thrown in. Every chapter being from a completly different point of view was a little hard to follow. And the names aren't easy to remember so I couldn't immediately tell if I had read from their perspective or not. Maybe chapter headers with the character and where on the map that chapter takes place? Or at least name.

Otherwise I'm very excited to see where the story goes.

Thank you NetGalley and Black Kat Press for this eARC!

This world is really interesting and I’m excited to see where the story goes. Ash is full of potential and I hope we get to see some more power from her in the next book.

This book felt so rushed. It was actually pretty interesting but I felt like I got the cliffs notes version of it which made the plot get a little muddled and confusing. It wasn’t bad, it just needed to be expanded.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

Unfortunately this book just wasn't for me. It had the worldbuilding, but wasn't introduced slowly, and the book started out right in the middle of the plot without some sort of backstory. I found myself confused and bored at the same time. There's an audience for the book, but just not for me.

I truly enjoyed reading this book. I was able to read it while everyone else enjoyed watching tv, which is not a favorite subject of mine. The book kept me entertained and turning the page to see what else was going to happen next. Well done.

From what I was able to enjoy before it was archived I loved this world and the world building! Magic systems have always fascinated me so I’m curious to see how this one goes! Because I only read 100 pages I’m giving it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

I really thought would love this book based on the description, and I might have if I could have finished it. The writing was good and the setting was descriptive, but the POV made it so hard to keep up with. I wanted to finish this so much, hopefully I will be able to try again in the future, but it was just so confusing and jumped around characters so much I couldn't keep up.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Ahh this book was great! I love books with romance as subplot rather than it being the main focus and that was this book! One thing about this book is it can get a bit confusing with all the POV changes especially because it’s in third person. Also make you’re really paying attention in the beginning because while it was hard to get into in the beginning you will be verrryy confused if you don’t focus. Not the biggest attention grabber but definitely a fantastic book! 4.5 stars

Shadow of Fire exceeded my expectations for a book in the fantasy genre. The story was well-written and the world the author created had enough realism to be believable and yet enough magic to fascinate. There were a lot of layers to the story and yes, many characters with many points of view. I did not find this confusing or a problem for keeping up with the story. It helped pull me in deeper. For me, the layers contributed to the set up for the next book in the series.
I knew when I started this book it was first in a series and generally I don't like that. I rarely go on to the next volume except in the case of Sharon Shinn's Angelica series. I will definitely want to continue with Shadow of Fire. The ending left a lot unresolved but it was so chilling I have to go back for more.

I read this book as an advance copy in return for a review and thank Kate Schumacher, NetGalley and Xpresso Books. It was a pleasure!
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I did something stupid and treated this book like any other - reading one page at a time when I had a moment for it. Don’t do that, people! You want to be focused, especially at the beginning. Otherwise you will get lost and dnf and we don’t want that. This book will make you think more than it will make you feel.

Shadow of Fire is a complex story of political intrigues, thirst for power and magic. There’s a bit of romance but it’s not in the center of attention. However there are some love stories in the making and this is only the first book of a series so who knows what comes next!

Written in third person, from an absolutely insane amount of POVs, the story is not easy to get into (see the above mentioned focus requirement). As a result we are jumping from one character to another before we even get to know them which can be confusing and frustrating. The main story is actually interesting so it’s a shame that the first chapters are so challenging. It took me a moment to get invested but when I did it became an enjoyable read so I may give the second book a shot.

One more thing that bothered me was how serious this book was. I need a joke here and there but alas; glares, gruesome expressions and death threats. But then again that’s not really a flaw per se, more of an author’s choice. It’s just not exactly a match for my tastes. Oh well.

Thank you NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had such a great time with this book! The story is the first introduction to this amazing fantasy world, with very cool and unique characters, page turning plot and we'll developed magic sistem. The writing was not underwhelming at all, in fact it was quite the opposite, since English is not my first language and I could still comprehend everything easily as the story goes.

I received the story free from NetGalley.

Way to busy. Had to keep focus when reading. I believe there are 9 different POV. For how short the book is i had a hard time keeping up or connecting with characters..yes some stories overlap and you see things happening to multiple characters but it just kept going from character to character and I had a hard time feeling connected to the story. The basis of the story is excellent it just wasn't a story for me.