Hi! Lara, here! Release day is just under a month away, so I thought it'd be fun if I dropped you all a little note that I originally shared on Goodreads.

I'm still surprised that A REALM OF ASH AND SHADOW is my debut... not because I spent four years working on this story, rewriting Val's journey, her wants, her needs, and her desires. But because at some point in the drafting process, I stopped writing what I thought everyone wanted to read and instead wrote a book filled with all of MY favorite things. Magic, romance, toeing the line between light and dark and fear and hope, and easter eggs galore.

This book is a love letter to my younger self who thought I would never be loved because I was too much. Too loud. Too big. Too wrapped up in fantasy worlds. Too this. Too that. It wasn't until many years later that I realized I was worthy of being loved in the ways that I wanted (and needed) to be loved—wholly, utterly, and infinitely.

So if you've ever felt this way... please know that A REALM OF ASH AND SHADOW is for you. You will see this fear in Val and although she doesn't believe she is worthy of love, she loves fiercely. I hope you do the same.

Thank you so much for reading my debut <3

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TRIGGER WARNINGS:
Sexual Content, Graphic Violence and Gore, Abusive Relationships and Domestic Violence (via a single flashback), Abandonment and Grief, and Profanity.

Spicy, gory, and exciting! This is the first book I have read in the fantasy romance genre and it was a really fun read.

Valeria is a hot mess, hormonal 18 year old, who is just as likely to make the wrong decision as she is to make the right one. Watching her character develop through out the story was entertaining, frustrating, and heart wrenching.

Like the cast of Grey's Anatomy all of the characters are far too good looking, which was fun.

And of course it ends on a cliffhanger that will have me picking up book two as soon as it comes out.

(social post will be shared next week.)

WOW one of the better fantasies i’ve read in a while. the main cast of characters was amazing lara was such an amazing fmc and i only wish we got more development of the cast of characters but i can’t wait to finish the series! whatta strong start!

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC!

This was a really refreshing fantasy romance. The world building was well done and clearly thought out. I never felt like I knew what was about to happen, which can be hard to find! Overall I would recommend this.

"Sometimes, knowing the truth is the heaviest burden to bear."

When I first found out about this, I thought I was gonna love it. However, I felt like I read two different books. One I didn't care for and one I loved.

"I cannot wait to learn what it is you crave, what it is you’re truly hungry for."

The first half is kinda cheesy and follows a princess returned to her world where nothing is as it should. You have your evil monarch, the beginnings of revolution, good guy love interest, etc. Overall, it was okay for me. Pretty forgettable. But THEN you get to the second half. I was obsessed with the second half. All of a sudden we start to see some hidden darkness emerge, we get ourselves a morally gray love interest, the start of a sizzling romance, secrets, deceptions, dark magic, and power. Um, yes please give me more.

“You kneel for no one.”

While I am not a fan of love triangles, this one took an interesting turn and I am very curious to see how it ends. There was a lot of set up for the next book and I am intrigued to see where it goes from here. I have a feeling the next book is going to be amazing, and I hope I am proven right.

"A man? You deserve a god."

This was a really hard one to rate. There were things I liked, and things I didn't. . But overall, it was an enjoyable read. I will definitely be reading the second book as I need to know what happens next. Especially after that ending.

"Even monsters can love and be loved."

I love a good fantasy book but this was a great fantasy book. It had everything, Demons, Gods, Mortals, Witches.....

It's rare that a book starts in a very modern mortal world and continues in a 4 Realm fantasy world and I am here for it. Beautifully descriptive and a protagonist who seems real, with faults & heart. Well laid out story arcs and twists & turns at the end.

AND THAT CLIFFHANGER.......
I'm already waiting for a release date for book 2!

A Realm of Ash and Shadow is a story about growing up that is couched in fantasy. Valeria Breault, a princess of Empyrean, a realm designed to protect mortals from the Realm of the Forsaken (Hell) and the Realm of the Divine (Heaven), has spent eighteen years of her life hiding among mortals. She has experienced life as a normal teenager attending Oakwood High School, but as her birthday nears, she realizes she will have to return to her homeland, leaving behind all that she knows. Her friend Mason, a seer who can identify the demons that lurk in the shadows and crash the prom, is drawn into Valeria's drama as she navigates her return to a world she does not truly know.

This is a well-written and fun young adult read that manages to use fantasy elements to echo the sometimes painful process of coming of age and taking your place in the world. The writer builds a convincing alternate universe and the creatures that inhabit it. The book has adventure, magic, and an enemy-to-lover romance which will delight readers as they follow Valeria to her destiny. A fun read!

Special thank you to the author and NetGalley for making this ARC available for review.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! The world Buckheit created -- one that had both urban and high fantasy elements-- was fun and sinister at the same time. It helped ground the characters who existed in both worlds and provided a fun escape.

I appreciated the characters that Buckheit created, especially some of the side characters like Cayden, Red, and Sabel. I definitely would love to see more of them in the future. At first, I struggled to connect with Val's character because she came off as a bit immature, but I think over time Buckheit did a great job of growing her character, making her stronger and more powerful.

I was really intrigued by the rebuilding of Cayden and Val's sibling bond and I would love to see more of that in book two. I think it added another layer to Val's character that she was slowly finding her group of people after being isolated for 18 years of their life. I also appreciated that Cayden was not a stock evil sibling, but rather a character that made choices, lived with his regrets, and sought a way to do better. I won't lie a Cayden/Red book intrigues me.

Also, I won't lie I am not a fan of love triangles. As a trope, they really just do not do it for me. I think Buckheit did a good job of presenting the connecting story between Valeria, Gideon, and Vemdour, but I also felt like I did not have a full handle on either MMC. I almost wished for their POVs at some point just so I could have a better understanding of them. It just felt a bit rushed in places, which made me feel like Val flip-flopped too quickly on her emotions in a way that was slightly jarring at times. However, I think more of this will be expanded in book two.

Overall, if you are looking for a fun new fantasy romance with found family, soulmates, love triangles, political intrigue, and morally grey characters, grab yourself a copy.

Valeria is a princess who was exiled from Empyrean. She narrowly escapes being captured by the Realm of the Forsaken and is dragged back to Empyrean earlier than expected. But Empyrean is totally differently than the one from the past....

Valeria is a great character. Fun, strong, complex and smart. The plot is exciting and filled with twists. Love all the characters... The love triangle/square is terrific. A big fan of love triangles and this one is filled with just the right amount of tension. A terrific book!

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

Oh my. Everything about this book has drawn me in.

Not one, not 2 but 3 steaming hot love interests?! Tick

Morally grey, badass, stabby FMC? Tick

Found family, soul mates, enemies-to-lovers-to-enemies, plot twists galore, tick tick tick!

I NEED a physical copy of this book, and I need fan art to satisfy the craving in my heart after reading this sexy, enticing and enthralling story!!!

WOW! What a fun rollercoaster ride of a book!! Literately, it was like riding a rollercoaster into a tunnel and not knowing where it was going to go, what was happening, and who was going to be introduced.
The scenery writing and world building was EXCELLENT and everything was clear and concise and never boring, which in my reading experience seems to be a tough balance to find. I saw another reviewer described Val as ‘messy’ and this felt like an apt description to me. She is ‘messy’, complicated, hormonal, and emotional, and she makes mistakes… but what 18-year old whose entire life is upended isn’t a little messy?!

I enjoyed the love triangle trope here that sometimes threatened to become a square or even pentagon (hahaha our girl Val definitely likes her men) but my heart lies with team Gideon!

Overall it’s probably around a 4.2ish star read for me but the fact that this is a debut novel is hugely impressive bumping it up to a 4.5 or higher! I’ve already preordered a physical copy and look forward to book-mail after the release. 🥰
WHEN CAN I GET MY HANDS ON THR SEQUEL 👀🤩👀🤩???

I was so happy to have received an ARC to read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and weren’t impacted by receiving an ARC.

⭐4.5 star rating⭐
A really captivating and fun rollercoaster of a ride!

Thank you to the author for an ARC of this book.
I didn't feel like I could completely predict any of it and was definitely taken for a fun ride within A Real of Ash and Shadow! There are also so many players and moving parts, but it's all well explained! The world is also somewhat complex, however, the world building never felt info dumpy or too overwhelming - though secrets and reveals do happen in those fun bursts. The atmosphere was captivating as well - the scenes were very well described and I felt immersed in the story being able to visualize it all. The writing style was very easy to read and felt accessible for its genre (new adult).

I enjoyed the characters as well as they all read and felt *different* than each other, often in the love triangle trope things can be a little muddy but they were not in this novel - the characters were all distinct and you could tell who was speaking and their motives, etc.
Our MC also goes for an absolute roller coaster of a ride through this, and she is resilient and complicated. She's only 18 and she's learning the world is not what she once thought through a pretty fast paced and (sometimes) rough series of events - she's also a hormonal teen, and this comes through in more ways than one! I enjoyed seeing a more realistic and imperfect but more relatable young female MC.

Fun, fast paced and full of twists - a really fun new FaRo read that reminds me of some of my favorites!