This was a solid standalone fantasy. It follows the journey of Roshan as she fights for her people against a tyrannical government, and prince Navin as he learns that his country may be more corrupt than he could have imagined.

I thought there was solid character development, a fun plot (albeit predictable), and a very interesting magic and political system. The author took inspiration from 17th century India and Persian and Zoroastrian mythology so I was very interested in the fantasy aspect of this story. The spice level was on the higher end for a YA novel, but not inappropriate, imo.

I did feel like I needed more, though. I wanted more relationship development, I wanted more about the Shadow Clan members, I wanted more from Navin's family. I would have also loved to learn more about the magic and how it works. I just needed a bit more all around. I think this book would have made a fantastic duology, because the author could have really dug into each person and why they made they choices they did.

All in all, this was a good YA fantasy, and I thought it was well done for a standalone.

Review will be posted via social media on 4/13/2023

Oh man. What can i say about this book? The worldbuilding, the magic, the royal system, it is all so beautifully written and well done I truly have no words. This is one of my favorite books this year but I have to say those twists? It's so much better if you go in blind. Just trust me, if you're a fantasy fan, you'll want to pick this up.

I ended up enjoying this more than I thought I would. There is a lot of information at the beginning. It took me a bit to figure out who people were and what their magic was. I adored both Roshan and Navin.

Roshan is the leader of the Shadow Clan. She took over after her adopted father was killed. They steal food and give it to all the local poor villages. They used to be able to grow food. But twenty years earlier, things changed. The rich city was fine. But everywhere else became hard to live in. They could no longer grow food and had to steal to survive. And they barely survived. They started having quakes and the land became badlands. Entire villages needed to move every time it happened.

Navin is the "spare prince". His brother is the prince and they live with their grandmother who is queen. Navin's father is a peri, so he is looked at badly by many people. His eyes keep him from fitting in at the palace and his lack of wings keeps him from fitting in with his father's people. Navin has been drinking a lot. When he's captured during a raid, he figures he could use kindness to Roshan to escape. He does start having feelings for her, but he still wants out. Roshan starts showing him the villages and the land. He experiences things that he didn't believe. Roshan figures she could use him to get help for her people.

There is a lot of tension and death/torture in this. I liked Roshan and Navin's relationship. Even when it wasn't love. I just liked how they were together even though both had different plans. The magic was interesting too. Roshan could heal. Navin could see auras and manipulate people to do what he tells them.

I gave this book 4 1/2 stars rounded up to 5 on Goodreads.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an earc through Netgalley.

Please be aware of a lot of triggers for this book.

From the first chapter I was really pulled in. Roshan is such an interesting and compelling character and I just love the whole sort of robin hood vibes! I especially loved the way the world buidling was done. It really felt like I was there and the magic system was really cool. I loved Navin's arc especially, because from the beginning of his kidnapping, seeing his aura soul magic was very fun. The sort of manipulation was so much fun and I was definitely on the edge of my seat.

Once it got about halfway through however, it felt like a bit too long of a plateau. Some of the plot felt a bit flat and I found myself slowing down waiting for something to happen. I did like that it allowed time to get to know more about the MCs, especially in dual POV, but it did make the book feel a bit unnecessarily long for my personal taste.

The climax was really fun to read, but the ending also just didn't give me the high I wanted to feel from reading an ending of a action packed fantasy book. I just didn't feel as satisfied from the ending as I had expected form the first half of the book. However, it genuinely was a really well done arc and I still would recommend it for the journey and the characters!

Okay this was such an excellent and well-rounded YA fantasy book - it felt like the perfect number of pages, with the intro, middle, third act twist and resolutions paced out really well.

This book is set in the same world as the author's Hunted by the Sky duology, but in a different region - we see some mentions of the first duology, but this one can be read as a standalone.

💫 World building and character motivations were really well-written
💫 The third act reveals!! Tbh, I wasn't expecting any fancy reveals, I was thinking there'll just be a resolution, but the author has blown it out of the water with the reveals. They tie the various mysteries together so well, aaah 😭
💫 I also loved the resolutions at the end! It ended in a satisfying and wholesome manner for the MCs and important secondary characters, and it was very cool. I guess this book is just a standalone then, since the ending was tied up so neatly? But I would definitely like more books in this world
💫 I also loved the Indian fantasy aspect of this book, everything meshed together so well

If you like YA fantasies, I would definitely recommend you to read this book, it was so frickin good.

--- ty to the author, publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

My official blurb for this book, as sent to the editor: A radiant enemies-to-lovers romance, set in a magical world that glitters . . . and fractures. When a bandit queen captures a flirtatious prince and holds him for ransom, the two must question everything they thought they understood about the other. The bond they build could change everything. With this standalone romantic fantasy, Tanaz Bhathena delivers.

[NOTE: Unless otherwise stated, my NetGalley feedback is not a blurb or endorsement. If a publisher wishes to use any part of my comments for promotional purposes, please contact me or my agent via email. I would prefer not to include star ratings but NetGalley won't let me post without one, so all will be 5 stars.]

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillian for the E-Arc!
If you want world-building and lore this is the book for you. The world and the atmosphere is so well done and detailed. Everything is explained extremely well, and it's easy to follow. Politics and magic systems can be a little bit more complicated to write about, but this author did a fantastic job of making it fun creative and understandable. I absolutely loved for Roshan and cannot wait for more by this author and hopefully more in this universe.

Of Light and Shadow is a story of vengence, love, and finding your place in the world. Here we follow our two characters Roshan and Navin. Roshan is the famed Shadow Bandit and leader of the Shadow Clan. In their home valley which has turned from the bountiful pastoral place it was before to a desolate province, the Shadow Bandit and her clan fight against the injustices and Blood Tithes of the local governor. Doing everything from raiding his warehouses to his trading barges. It is through one of these raids that Roshan meets the second heir and spare, Prince Navin. At first they care little for another, but as their time together grows Roshan begins to see that there is more to Prince Navin than his noble titles and Navin finds that the world may not work the way that he always believed.

This was such a pleasant surprise of a book. Weaving an interesting lore amidst well developed characters, Tanaz Bhathena tells an enchanting and hopeful story of two people uniting against an injustice. Roshan was a capable woman and led her clan well, but it was only once Navin came into the mix that she began to see what it was she truly wanted to achieve and how to do it. Navin was a great reluctant hero who finds his purpose as the story goes on. The supporting characters were excellent as well.

I thought the lore around the different locations and races was really interesting, but I would've like to see a bit more of it. Especially the Pashu people who are apparently humans combined with various animals. I also would've liked a clearer picture of the few characters from that race that we did meet. Sometimes I found the images were disparate with one another and at times I wasn't really sure what I should've been imagining. I ended up defaulting to a version similar to the Khajit and Argonians from the Elder Scrolls. Which worked okay for me overall, but would perhaps not for others.

I also would've liked for the action to be a bit more that, active. There was a lot of sitting around talking, but it did work okay as the conversations themselves were active. I also would've liked for the villain itself to be present as it was a very far off villain. I am not saying that I needed to see them every second, but a bit more of a threat would've been welcomed. This is truly me nit picking as the majority of the book worked so well even with these few things. Ultimately I think its what makes this different from other stories that I've read recently.

I definitely recommend giving this one a read. Please be mindful of some content warnings for torture, mutilation, and I do think there was a moment of implied rape. These things are not gratuitous and serve as a real portrayal of a province being kept under an iron fist and greed.

Anything this author writes I'm going to pick up and read, that being said this book is filled with magic, romance, and action packed! There might be somethings throughout that would surprise me that this book would be labeled as young adult, and reading as an ebook the glossary is in the back, which not a complaint, just would've been nicer to have it in the front. That being said this book was magic and fantasy and a beautifully woven story that pulls you in and lets you enjoy all of the story. The author is fantastic at storytelling and worldbuilding which is a huge feat all of it's own but then you add in the outstanding characters and this book will sweep you off your feet. It's an epic stand alone with a rich story that is just wonderful.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

A unique and captivating story. Roshan and Navin are both very likable characters. Roshan is a strong female role model who has the strength to lead and the compassion to heal. Navin, while being a bit of a party guy, has some deep layers of emotion and caring. You will hope for some justice for the people who are being wronged by the powerful and rich. The story also weaves in the injustices felt by the minorities making this fantasy very applicable to our world. I believe readers will enjoy this book and its unique story.

This book was solid from begining to end! The plot was fun and the world building gave me just enough to keep me satisfied without oversaturating the story. The character, especially the FMC where enjoyable and has incredible growth.

Of Light and Shadow is such a fun fantasy from Tanaz Bhathena! The found family, politics, magic system, and character dynamics were super interesting to follow. This book gave me all the Sholay vibes, hinted at by Tanaz about one of the side characters in this book being like Gabbar Singh. This book is definitely grittier and slightly more upper-YA than The Wrath of Ambar duology, but all fans of an enemies to lovers fantasy with found family and a Robin Hood-esque main character will love Of Light and Shadow. If Tanaz has any more fantasies in the works, I can't wait to read them next! Overall, I'd give this 4.25 stars rounded up.

Roshan and Navin are magic. This was easily one of my favorite YA reads of the year.

(Full review to come soon.)

Thank you, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), for allowing me to read Of Light and Shadow early!

I enjoyed this novel, but not as much as I thought, sadly.

I wanted to enjoy this but was overly unimpressed with the relationships, the dynamic, and the plot felt convoluted.