Slow start for me but once I got started it was a good read. How a witch and a vampire come together to solve the riddle of his dads death.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you for allowing me to review

During a war, Natalie struggles to raise her little sister and care for their sick father. When vampires raid their village, Natalie sacrifices her freedom to protect her family. Rayhan (her kidnapper) wants her to use her magic to solve his father's murder in order to obtain her freedom. But she can't control her powers. So he has to trick him into letting her go so that she can return to care for her sick father. But they catch the feels, which neither was expecting.

I received a copy of Shadows and Sage by A. N. Payton from NetGalley. This fantasy romance book is the second book of the Eternal Alliances series. I was surprised by how much I liked reading the first book Hellfire and Honey. So, I couldn’t wait to get a copy of this book. Natalie and Rayhan are characters who were introduced in the first book but this story is more like a prequel sequel.
Natalie is a witch born and raised in wartime. The war between witches and vampires has raged on for years. Natalie is in the forest with her sister trying to forage ingredients for a potion to help their sick father. This is when vampires raid their village. Vampire Marshall Rayhan gives Natalie a choice after glimpsing her power. She chooses to go as a prisoner with him to save her sister. Rayhan is intrigued by what he has seen of Natalie’s powers and wants her to help him find his father's killer.
Natalie and Rayhan realize that each has their baggage, and they accept each other the way they are, which is really well done. Natalie’s magic has been suppressed and slowly starts coming out, and Rayhan helps with it. The pace of the novel is brisk, and it kept me hooked from the beginning. Similar to Hellfire and Honey, the world-building is intriguing, and it can also be read as a standalone if one wants. I kind of guessed who the murderer could be, but the way it is revealed was unexpected.
Shadows and Sage by A. N. Payton is a wonderful blend of romance, fantasy, adventure, and mystery. This book explores magic much more than the first book does, which adds depth to the fantasy element of the story. I enjoyed the character arcs, the romance, and the world this book creates. Rayhan and Natalie make you root for them as individuals as well as a couple. I can't wait to read the next of the Eternal Alliances series.

"A.N. Payton's Shadows and Sage transports readers to a war-torn vampire-witch world. When vampires invade her town, Natalie, a witch with a family, must make a life-changing decision. The mysterious vampire marshal Rayhan captures Natalie, who must use her talents to solve a murder to escape.

The narrative follows Rayhan, motivated by revenge, as he falls for Natalie's strength and forges surprising connections. The novel explores their complicated connection, blending responsibility, retribution, and love.

Shadows and Sage has an intriguing story, but I wanted more world-building. The novel moves quickly, leaving me wanting to learn more about the fanciful world, its scenery, and society. Initial chapters had YA appeal, but the absence of world-building information left me wanting a deeper fantasy experience.

Shadows and Sage is a captivating fantasy novel with a gripping narrative and characters, yet a more realistic environment would have enhanced the fantasy experience."

This was a new to me author. And I was pleasantly surprised. It has amazing world building that kept the reader enthralled. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Shadows and Sage by A.N. Payton is a book set within a series but well capable of being read as a standalone.
What I loved
-Good Dialogue
-High Stakes
-Clear motivations
What didn't work for me as well
-Unclear power scale levels and magic system as a whole
-odd pacing
Who I would recommend this title for
Fans of the first book in this series or looking for an entry point to the world will have a good time with Shadows and Sage.

Shadows and Sage is a good book, but I wanted some more world building. I felt as though it went by quickly without much description of what the world looked like or the hierarchies, the day to day life of the people in the story. The beginning reads like a Y.A. Story, which can be great, but it simply did not have the depth I look for in a fantasy story.

Absolutely wonderful read, I can't wait to read the rest of the series as they come out. Filled with magic, romance, courtly affairs! Loved it.

The concept for this book sounded like I would love it, but it fell short for me. I think the writing and plot could have been better developed. Also it should have been made clearer that this was the second book in a series.

Thank you to NetGalley and City Owl Press for an ARC of this book for my honest review. Shadows and Sage is a standalone book in an interconnected series. Based on the description I was really interested in this story. Unfortunately it didn’t live up to my expectations for a number of reasons. There were too many elements in this book that just simply didn’t make sense.
I wish there was more background info about the vampire/witch war and about the abilities of vampires vs. witches. There are mentions here and there but some clarity on the power scaling and abilities would have been helpful. There are several times Rayan almost dies but yet was a soldier in the war, is super muscular, and has supernatural healing and extended life span…
The sexual tension and lusting between Rayan and Natalie is so odd and their relationship was not believable or realistic in the slightest. The is her captor and she is his prisoner so it’s some Stockholm syndrome type of situation. He calls her “girl” the entire book and not in a good way despite knowing her name. Like it seems so degrading to not use her name and just call her “girl”. There’s no banter, there’s no deep connection. He just keeps saying “trust me” and “you should know you can trust me” despite literally taking her prisoner in a castle full of vampires.
The fact that before they have sex she says she doesn’t love him, that it’s just lust. Then 3.5 seconds after sex she says she loves him. Be so serious….
The only thing that kept me going was finding out who killed Rayans father and the mystery of why she kept seeing the phantom and why her magic was locked up. Unfortunately both of the answers were disappointing to me. One being obvious and the other being kind of lame.
I feel like the bones of the plot were decent and I was able to power through to finish it but the character relationships and development just didn’t make sense.

Captured by the enemy, witch Natalie is forced into a magical murder investigation by vampire Rayhan.

The premise for this book was attractive and compelling. However, I found it extremely difficult to connect with either main character, and at times to even follow the plot. It is not unusual for me to finish multiple books in a day, but this took me two solid days alone.

Whilst usually a sucker for the enemies to lovers storyline, I didn't strongly feel they were either, and character-wise seemed to chop and change from chapter to chapter until suddenly we were at the end and they were together.

Despite this, there were some moments where I was drawn back into the book, where phrasing became more detailed and less jerky, and I remembered why I was initially excited read it.

Shadows and Sage by A.N. Payton creates a magical world during war time between vampires and witches. One such witch, Natalie, struggles with her use of magic, once bound by her since deceased mother and takes care of her father and sister. The existence she and her family lives comes to an end when she is captured while our foraging for the herbs to make her father’s medicine. In order to save her young sister, Natalie goes with the vampire Rayhan to the vampire kingdom as a prisoner. Once there, Rayhan strikes a deal- Natalie will use her magic to help find his father’s killer- but what happens when he discovers her magic doesn’t work properly?

Shadows and Sage is a good book, but I wanted some more world building. I felt as though it went by quickly without much description of what the world looked like or the hierarchies, the day to day life of the people in the story. The beginning reads like a Y.A. Story, which can be great, but it simply did not have the depth I look for in a fantasy story.

Thank you NetGalley for providing this ARC. All opinions are my own.

It's not often that I can find a good, well-written vampire romance novel with a fantasy setting, which is one of the reasons I love A.N. Payton's Eternal Alliance series. I loved Kadence in book 1, and I found another favorite in Rayhan and Natalie in book 2.

The world building in Shadows and Sage draws me in and keeps me there. And I absolutely enjoyed watching as the gentle vampire falls in love with his captive witch. The writing and descriptions were great, and the romance unfolded nicely.

Even from the first few pages, I was able to catch on that this book came before the first in reading order, but it didn't deter me at all. Rather, I had fun reading how the author connected the two, and especially by the end we got a glimpse of how the stories wove together.

I definitely recommend Shadows and Sage, especially when I am a fan of this author and always will be. I hope others enjoy this book as much as I did!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher.

The book started off strong and i was instantlyinterested, I thought there would be a great enemies to lovers but Natalie was immediately infatuated it seemed. I don't even understand how they fell for one another when there were really no "get to know eachother conversations". That really didn't make sense so I didn't like the book as much as i could have. Also Rayhan calling her girl at every turn bothered me. She has a name and it didn't seem like he was trying to use it as an endearment.

I would recommend this book to people and hopefully we get more answers in the next book

3 stars

Shadows and Sage is book two in the Eternal Alliance by A.N. Payton and y’all I freaking loved it.
And engrossing and highly entertaining read.
This is the type of fantasy romance I love to read.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and City Owl Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Shadows and Sage is the second in a series called Eternal Alliances. I did not read book 1 as it appeared to me to be a series of interconnected standalone rather than a series that built upon each other. This is further confused by the fact that the end of Book 2 Shadows and Sage seems to be the start of the plot of book 1. I am not sure if this was to be a prequel to Hellfire and Honey.

Shadows and Sage had all the makings of a fantasy favorite of mine, enemies to lovers, captive/capture, a mystery to solve, intrigue, and magic. While I found the story intriguing it did not quite reach the heights I expected. The world-building of a fantasy novel is essential in order for us to have context and feel the stakes, especially in this novel. The central thing stopping our characters from being together is the war, but we do not ever learn why the war is happening, What was Rayhan's role in the war, and how had the war affected Nat before she met him. This is a barrier between them we never fully understand; without it there isn't the same feeling of stakes. of forbiddeness that I think was trying to be conveyed. Rayhan and Nat also fell in love so abruptly, I am fine with insta-love but that wasn't what this was, there was no mate bond. Just a sudden declaration of wanting to get married, and willingness to kill his best friend. I liked the side characters in the story but like with the rest of the story I wanted more depth, more detail. Not only for them but for Rayhan and Natalie too, I didn't feel like I knew enough about them as people to fully connect with and become invested in them. I wanted to know more about the impact of Natalie's struggles with magic on her life, she repeatedly had similar hallucinations, what made her feel that way about herself? What was Rayhan's father like? What was their relationship like? I think this had great bones for a good story but needed to be delved into a bit more. As other reviewers pointed out he also calls her girl... a lot. Just girl. I'm not sure if this is a pet name but it did not come across that way, more so condescending than endearing or loving.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to have this E-Arc to review, for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me a copy of this book in return for my honest opinions.

Love everything vampires; Yes!

Enjoy this book! It could use a bit more development m, but yes it is well worth the read!

I recommend for all vampire lovers

Ok, so I started this book without realising it was book 2 in a series so I feel a lot was lost on me.
I don't know why the vampires & the witches are at war and I figure that we met Natalie in the previous book.

The slow burn romance didn't do it for me. I never really felt any spark between Natalie & Rayhan. Natalie, though 25, seemed to act like a teenager most of the time and I never warmed to her. Madeline was the only character I kinda felt any affinity toward.

Maybe if I'd read book one I'd have been more invested but it was a 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 for me.

I really wanted to love this but couldn't. It took me a few goes to fall into the story. I kept losing interest and my attention was drawn away from reading due to the semi build world and plotline. I can't count how many times i put it down and picked it back up.
I felt the world wasn't built up enough and i often couldn't picture what was happening. I spent more time confused on things than enjoying the story. In some parts it was rushed or "cut' short. Nothing seemed complete.

This novel would benefit from a couple of BETA readers to go over the story before ARC stage and point out things that don't work. Or point out plot bunnies.

2-star rating, but i hate being mean so added another.

Featuring witches, vampires, and a whodunit, this quick read incorporated all of the best parts of fantasy and a mystery. Faced with the task of helping a vampire foe understand what happened to his father in order to earn her freedom, Natalie struggles to grab hold of her magic. Locked away by her mother, Natalie's magic often seems out of reach. Closer to the surface than the power she can't access is the guilt and grief that Natalie grapples with over loss and her decisions. Although fighting to survive for the sake of her family, Natalie is often on the edge of giving up.

I am so thankful to Victory Editing and NetGalley for the opportunity to review an eARC!

I enjoyed the quick pace of this story and was cheering for Natalie to overcome the mental health struggles that she was experiencing. The author did a good job of expressing the depths of her despair, and demonstrated how suddenly these feelings can strike. I thought the author's inclusion of these battles made for an interesting addition to a classic enemies to lovers trope. There were some twists and turns throughout that kept me on my toes.

However, the story almost went by too quickly. I would have loved a deeper dive into the world where the characters live and greater build up to their love. I look forward to the author's continued expansion in the series.