*4.5
I wish I could experience this book for the first time again because it has everything I wanted and more!! A Realm of Ash and Shadow follows Valeria, the fierce exiled princess of Empyrean who is ready to go to prom, and graduate. Growing up in the Mortal Realm she counts down the days until her return to Empyrean, a realm said to be peaceful and perfect. However, before she’s ready to leave her school gets crashed by a horde of demons where she narrowly escapes capture but then gets dragged to Empyrean. There she learns just how wrong she was about Empyrean’s glory and makes it her objective to help her people flourish. Valeria makes many friends, allies, and enemies in her attempts to save her kingdom as she journeys through various realms to get answers – even for some she wasn’t looking for.

This is an adventurous, magical story with plot twists around each corner and witty writing! All the characters were loveable and felt pretty fleshed out by the end. I understood their thoughts, their motives, and really loved what they brought to the table. Valeria was a very funny and flawed protagonist that had me glued to the pages. She sounded and acted like the 18-year-old she’s described as, though I have seen others say they found her to be “all over the place”. To those folks, I’d like to ask, what 18-year-old has their shit together? Valeria was ruled by her emotions most of the time and that’s exactly why she felt real. I enjoyed being frustrated with her at times because I got to see her growth that much clearer. Ooh! And Mistress Marjorie was one of my favorite characters from the start and she only got better as the book progressed!! The world-building was beautiful and easy to imagine even with the number of realms we encounter throughout the book. I loved the magic use and the gods that were woven into the story because it provides a deeper story without being lost in confusion. The book seemed to move at a medium pace which was just fine for me as we often swapped between focusing on Valeria’s inner struggles, and the overarching plot at hand. The spicy scenes were enjoyable and balanced so it never felt like anything sexual was added just for the sake of doing so. This book pulled many emotions out of me from joy to frustration to surprise and it never felt boring!

I only had a few nitpicks to mention as the book did an overall good job of providing a strong story with strong characters. The beginning was a bit slow as it was catching us up on what Valeria knows, who she is, and how she thinks but I really enjoyed building up to the action. Even though I really enjoyed and understood the magic and the gods we read about because I felt that the magic could’ve been delved into more regarding who has it, and who can use it. Lastly, I felt that one or two plot twists were a bit predictable (which is surprising to me as I never catch on to those) but it didn’t take too much away from my experience.

I think this would be a great book to give to someone who is hoping to get into reading the fantasy genre, as well as any seasoned fantasy reader looking for a dark, and emotional ride!

>Trigger Warnings<
Profanity, Sexual Content, Graphic Violence, Gore, Abusive Relationships, Domestic Violence, Abandonment, and Grief.

My deepest gratitude to NetGalley & Sword and Silk Books for giving me the chance to provide my honest thoughts and opinions on this book!

⭐⭐⭐⭐4/5 Stars

I just finished reading Lara Buckheit's A Realm of Ash and Shadow. If you enjoy YA fantasy, this is a book that you don't want to miss. Special thanks to NetGalley and Sword and Silk Books for the ARC.
Release date: April 11, 2023 💜🌺

Valeria Breault seems like a normal high school girl. She is excited for prom and graduation. She even has a bit of a love life with Mason, her best friend. Val has a secret though. She is really the long lost princess of Empyrean, and the Realm of the Forsaken is looking for her. She will have to fight for her life if she plans to ever return to her kingdom.

I really enjoyed this book. It has everything that I look for in a romantic fantasy. The characters are morally grey, there is a love triangle, and the world building is pretty fantastic. Don't miss out on this new book!

This was my first book by Lara Buckheit and I’m already desperate to read more. I loved her style of writing and the book always kept me on my toes. I thought there was good world building and character development throughout, I’m exited to see if there is more to this universe coming in the future. A realm of Ash and Shadow dealt with some very difficult topics but it was never too heavy because of the humour throughout which was very refreshing. I loved Gideon and Malachi with my whole heart, they were just perfect. This was a 4 star read for me and I highly recommend reading it.

"Every conversation about Empyrean comes back to your desire to belong."
"So tell me, princess. Do you want to spend all night with me?"
This book was unexpectedly great !!!! Fantasy romance with addictive plot lines and some characters’ dynamics that will have you question your taking sides !!!
This is perfect for fans of Shadow and Bone. Valeria is the lost princess of the Empyrean Empire, sent to the mortal realm to live a normal life and be protected from the man who is responsible for her mother’s death, her brother. Dealing with her time to go back home to a heartless father, with the help of her ward, Valeria will have to face enemies, unwilling soulmate’s bond and a best friend that she has a hard time protecting, in order to finally explore her powers and understand more about her heritage and her kingdom.
This book was about demons and angels and people falling in and out of love and it even has a light spicy undertone in it !!!!
But most of all it had its own Mail, Nikolai and The Darkling … and by the end of it I swear … you’ll find yourself choosing between one or the other !!!!!
With its sad parts, this book was a full time finding truths out, with its plot twists and turns !!!! And I think I can say that the end was a mild cliffhanger!!! I can’t wait for book two !!!!
"Because when I kiss you, your body will beg for more. Your knees will quake, your heart will pound, and desire will consume you until you're left with an aching that only I can satisfy." He looked me dead in the eyes. "No kiss from another will ever compare to mine."

A Realm of Ash and Shadow - an absolutely amazing book. If you have the time I suggest reading this book in one go, otherwise you can’t stop thinking about what is going to be next.

Perfect mix of fantasy and romance. The Triangle of lovers is another amazing aspect of this book, still unsure who I want Val to end up with x

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the ARC. 100% loved this book and definitely recommend.

Let's put it this way, if I wasn't reading to review then I would have DNF'd it right away and tossed it aside with the rest of the rubbish. This book was so clearly a debut it was almost eye-watering.
The pacing was slow, the plot was literally dumped on you and the plot points were changing every five seconds. It was like the author was rushing through each plot point instead of riding it out and actually letting the reader see what is happening. Let's also not talk about being predictable *eye roll*
The romance suffered a lot and I didn't think there was enough tension between the two. This book is marketed as New Adult but definitely reads much younger.

Sadly, not for me and it's a shame because the cover is pretty.
<I>I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

This book was great! I loved it. Such an amazing debut for Lara Buckheit - I was absolutely hooked from the word go. Valeria is a complete badass FMC (and absolutely hysterical - a girl after my own heart). Gideon is a completely sexy sweetheart and I’ve fallen a little head over heels for him. I loved the twists and turns that were thrown at me throughout the storyline, I didn’t know who was going to betray me next!
The only reason this isn’t a 5* for me is because I think this could have easily been split between two books! I would have loved to see a little more time between her and the characters she grew to befriend and love - especially considering how much time passed!

This book has peaked my interest with an intense description of a world you could only dream of. If you have a strong imagination, dive right into this book and indulge in this glorious world of want, lust, and fantasy. This book has many adventures to follow, only making you want more.

I need the next book RIGHT NOW, and the first one hasn’t even officially been released yet.

This book was freaking amazing. At no point did I know who to trust, who to love, or what would happen. It has been a LONG time since I’ve felt that way.

If you liked ACOTAR or From Blood and Ash, read this ASAP. There’s princesses, demons, gods, knights, a witch, mortals and everything else you could want in a high fantasy novel. The best part, it includes all of that plus a little romance, and it’s good. It’s so unbelievably, wickedly good. 10/5

Rating: 4.5 / 5 stars

A Realm of Ash and Shadow is an action-packed enemies-to-lovers romantasy. The protagonist, Valeria, is the princess of the idyllic realm of Empyrean, fashioned after The Realm of the Mortals (aka our world) without the restrictions of capitalism and classism etc. Upon her 18th birthday, Valeria is to return to Empyrean from the Realm of the Mortals but she is thrust into an adventure she never signed up for.

My highest praise for this story is the writing and pacing. It can be difficult to balance action and worldbuilding, yet Lara Buckheit manages to strike this sensitive balance to keep you wanting to read the story from the first to the very last page.

There were plenty of plot twists that were expertly crafted, and I hope upon a re-read when this book is officially released that I can notice if there is any foreshadowing for these twists.

this book has so many good reviews, yet I couldn't bring myself to get past the first 100 pages. I promise you I tried, but I had to draw the line at our fmc wanting to bang the guy who kidnapped her immediately. that was too much.

It felt like you were dropped in the middle of a story and not at the beginning. The story was kinda basic, which doesn't have to be bad, but it just didn't stick out. The same goes for the characters, and I think the hole story was kinda dull.

3.25 stars, rounded down

I wanted to like this one so badly. The writing pulled me in immediately with its beautifully immersive descriptions of setting and entreatingly relatable dialogue. Within the first 30 pages or so I was certain I was on my way to a 5-star read. But that 5-star train derailed so quickly and I’m honestly not over it yet.

The main character, Valeria, is supposed to be this badass princess with immense power. She knows that she will one day take over her father’s throne once she finally returns back to her realm after being exiled by her father as a child. She was raised with all of this in mind and has become a young woman eager to return and rule the way she believes her realm should be ruled. Unfortunately, things aren’t the way she imagined it when she returns home. Poor people are running out of food and starving, and Valeria is heartbroken about what she’s seeing. She confronts her father and his council about the issue, and there’s so much lead-up to this, presumably, big moment when she finally gets a chance to prove herself as the realm’s future ruler, and do you know what she says?? “We can harness magic and ensure that our food supply doesn’t run out, like ever, so that no one starves again.”

Did you catch it? Like. Ever. When I tell you that all hope for this book went out the window at those two words… It threw me out of my immersion immediately. It didn’t fit with the tone of the rest of the book. Well, except for the author’s peculiar use of the term “guys” all. the. time. “Suddenly, a guy leapt out”… “The guy wasted no time”… “Both of the guys flanked my sides”… It was so grating. The rest of the writing was actually quite good and I think it was ruined for me by these random immature terms that I didn’t see any reason to include.

I think this could have been an amazing book if some of the plot and characters were fleshed out a bit more. The pacing felt random, some of the plot concepts felt weak, unexplained, or unnecessary, and there was a bit too much convenience for my liking (things happening at just the right moment, etc.)

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book had a lot of potential but falls a bit flat. The heroine is of course also very young, a teenager. I must admit I as a bit surprised at the explicit content as this books seems to bounce between YA and NA.
Liked the cover and thought it was an interesting read!

Fast paced and with very readable prose, this is an enjoyable NA romp which gives you exactly what you expect: a sassy princess heroine, a realm in danger, and the choice between her mortal lover-but-totally-not-boyfriend and hot-but-annoying-guy from the place where she belongs. Or does she?

From the brief but eloquent scene-setting, with only a touch of info dumping/exposition, Buckheit tips you straight into the action with a scene worthy of Buffy the Vampire Slayer when Things Go Wrong at the Prom. It’s shortly after that we meet our mysterious Hot Annoying Guy. I know this is a trope that a lot of people enjoy, but I found it a little less believable and took away from the character building to have the insta-lust dwelt on so expansively - I would have expected Val to have had other things on her mind given the circumstances.

The speed of the plot only continues to ramp up as Val is introduced to new worlds and new characters, vividly described and realised. The weakest part is probably Val’s feelings and motivations: she absorbs a lot of changes without seeming to blink, and her feelings occasionally seem to be driven by the plot rather than the other way around, but to be honest I prefer enjoying the action without excessive navel-gazing, but it does make it feel slightly less realistic.

This book is a lot of fun, and Buckheit’s prose is capable of being both witty and beautiful. All in all, an entertaining and easy read which may be enjoyed by fans of Kingdom of the Wicked, Throne of Glass, etc. I genuinely think SJM fans will love this one and I’m giving it a high rating because I think it is pitched just right for its audience.

This was truly addictive and so all consuming. I was hooked from the first page to the last. This has everything spice, drama, its enemies to lovers. This is the fantasy book that you need to read. Lara Buckheit is now on my must buy author list.
I just reviewed A Realm of Ash and Shadow by Lara Buckheit. #ARealmofAshandShadow #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

A Realm of Ash and Shadow is a fast-paced, dark, romance-fantasy. Valeria has spent most of her life in the mortal realm but is now expected to return to Empyrean where she is a princess. Unfortunately, her return doesn't go as expected, and, instead of a fairy-tale perfect kingdom, Valeria finds a corrupt land ruled by her evil father. Now, to set things right, Valeria must travel to the Realm of the Forsaken. There, she must wrestle not only with her feelings for an "unholy" God but also with her inner darkness.

I really liked Valeria; she is definitely a morally gray character, and some of the decisions she makes are questionable at best. There are two (if not three) love interestes. I enjoyed getting to know all of them and their relationships with Valeria. Her time in the Realm of the Forsaken is gruesome - the author does a great job of depicting the horrors.

The only real negative I had about this book was that it felt rushed. There were quite a few sections that the author could have spent more time on. Additionally, there were characters that I would have liked to have gotten to know better, such as Cayden, Sabel, and even Gideon and Mason. Hopefully, the twist at the end will be better explained in the sequel.

Overall, A Realm of Ash and Shadow is a quick read with intriguing characters and an interesting world.

Just the book I needed! Fast paced but still has the world building a good fantasy needs. If anything this book was a little rushed but after just finishing a super lengthy fantasy book, that's exactly what I needed.
I would highly recommend this book as a great in between-er. I'II definitely be looking out for a sequel to follow up on the love interests!

3.5/5 Stars + 2/5 Spice

- Fantasy/Romance
- Soulmates
- Spice
- Single POV
- Morally Grey MCs

Thank you to NetGalley, Sword and Silk Books and the author Lara Buckheit for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This book follows Valeria, the FMC, who has been raised in the Realm of Mortals until her 18th birthday arrives and she is due to return to her home realm, Empyrean. There she is a princess, but all is not as she was taught or once believed. Throw in a bond, a soul mate, a love triangle/square, and politics of a kingdom and you have the recipe for a beautiful romantasy creation. However, our FMC is also morally grey. Don’t get me wrong, I love a morally grey character but I’m still not sure how I feel about her by the end of the book, if I’m being honest. This book had so many twists and turns, every time I thought I had it figured out, something else would be thrown my way - the jury is still out on if I liked this or not. I love a plot that manages to surprise me and isn’t predictable, but this felt like a lot.

I would say this book is quite fast-paced. I enjoyed the world building, however I did feel as though some extra time could’ve been spent flushing out some points that would help round out the overarching plot of the story. Also, I feel as though more time could’ve been spent exploring the relationships between characters. As far as the love interests go, I’m a torn lady, I’m gonna plead Team Switzerland, I can’t choose.

This book had the vibes of some popular books in the same genre, I would argue it still holds it own for sure, despite some overlapping similarities.

Overall, I think I’ve decided I like this book. My emotions have gone on a ride in the process of reading it, happy, sad, angry, disappointed, surprised - but I think I liked that? I truly believe I will return to this world when a sequel is born and I’m looking forward to seeing how this story progresses!

I really struggled to get immersed into this book. I was looking forward to reading this, but the writing really deterred me. The plot itself isn’t bad, and I’m slightly curious as to what will happen in the second novel, but was still often at times predictable and rushed. If you’re looking for something that requires incredibly low reading comprehension, this could the book, but ultimately felt like a high school knock off of ACOTAR.