I thought this was a trilogy, but after that ending, IT BETTER NOT BE.😳

Alex Aster has delivered another romantasy with huge stakes and plot twists I did not see coming. I did read Lightlark and Nightbane back to back a few months ago, and as I started this book, I had a hard time remembering all the complex details of the world and the story so far. Even by the end, I’m not sure I remembered and understood everything, but I was so invested that I didn’t care that much. The love triangle is still alive and well in this book, and I truly feel so torn about who should be chosen. I’ve felt like Grim is endgame from the beginning (and especially after learning that *SPOILER IF YOU HAVENT FINISHED NIGHTBANE YET* Grim and Isla are married). But I also really love Oro and I hope he gets a happy ending if he doesn’t end up with Isla. Skyshade is a very wild ride that kept me on the edge of my seat, and Alex Aster - you better have another Lightlark book coming!

This book is definitely steamier than I think a YA book should be. I believe there were 3 chapters with open door content, as well as a couple other fade to black/cracked door scenes. But I really don’t remember there being much of any profanity throughout the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for sending me an advanced audio copy of this book! All thoughts and opinions above are my own.

This series or trilogy, not sure which one it is to be honest, it ended, but it didn't end. 

I'm a little confused. A love triangle will they, won't they? Was this enemies to lovers, lovers to enemies, or both? I have so many questions. 

However, the plot and concept are beautiful and unique, and we get to learn and understand more of the lore, and the FMC has made such a jump in the self-acceptance and self-discovery. If this is the end, I'm confused if there's more to come, hoping my questions get answered. 

This series/trilogy has been fun and consistently 4/5 stars for me. If you liked LightLark & NighBane, I think you'll like this. It does pick up and continue where NightBane left off.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Please,” he said, his eyes wide. Desperate. “Please don’t go.
I’m sorry. Hate me,” he pleaded. “Hate me all you want. Hate me forever just— just don’t leave.”

✨I finished this audio in a day. One day. If you’re looking for a book to escape into, this one will suck you in. It has been a minute since a book has made me feel so anxious from beginning to end and this one did. This is the third book in the series. I obviously can’t say much without spoiling it, so my review will be short and sweet.

✨ Skyshade follows Isla in the aftermath of book two. She has to make a choice. Oro or Grim? In most of the book I couldn’t tell if I wanted to scream at her or run with her. There are high stakes, lies, secrets, and betrayal that had me spiraling and second guessing my own predictions. The romance? Oh, I ate it up. Between whom? 🤐. There is tension and lots of pining. I know I would’ve given in wayyy before Isla did.

“If loving you this much is my downfall, then consider me already on my knees.”

Skyshade has:
🖤 Morally grey characters
✨ Betrayal
🖤 Yearning
✨ Battles & magic
🖤 Lies & Secrets
✨ Romance and spice
🖤 Animal companions

✨ I had the audiobook, and the narrator did a fantastic job! When I say I listened to it in a day, it is truly because the narrator. She was able to show the emotion the characters felt and even created the high anticipation atmosphere.

Ps, it releases Nov 12th!

Does she pick Grim or Oro? I guess you’ll have to read it to find out.

Thank you to @alexaster and RBmedia for this ALC! 🫶🏼

3.25⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️- not a lot but very descriptive for YA

Well the writing has gotten slightly better. Still not great but at least there is progress. I was surprised with the spice scenes and literally doable checked that this was supposed to be YA as it’s a bit much for that.

Moar of the book was fairly boring. It took me several days to listen to the ALC because there was nothing to propel you to keep listening. It didn’t get truly engaging until about 85%.

Or still has that “throw everything at the wall and see what sticks” type of feel rather than an organic storyline unfolding. It does end on a cliff hanger to may way for a fourth book which was really disappointing.

The narrator did a fine job. I did have to listen at 1.75X speed though to make it palatable. The one thing that really irks me though is the pronunciation of Isla as it bastardizes the actually pronunciation of the word. I wish Aster spelled
The word she actually wanted correctly. But then as an inconsistency there are several times the narrator pronounces the word “Isla” in its proper pronunciation .

Anyway, still not a series I would recommend but to each their own!

I am thankful to have gotten an Audio ALC for free from Netgalley and recorded books to enjoy, which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

I was so happy to listen to the ARC of this book

It was a rollercoaster.
This was just perfect! A 5 star read.
Can’t wait to own all the books in collectors editions.

My brain hurts...and I'm so frustrated... like did I imagine her saying this was a trilogy?!!! I hate how useless this whole book seemed where as the first two felt like they were building up to something at least...

I absolutely loved this audio book! The creativity of the author to continously pull readers into this book was so well done! The ending has me dying for more!

One of my most anticipated listens of the year and it DID NOT disappoint! Skyshade continues the journey of Isla following the events of Nightbane. We see her grapple with her feelings and confusion revolving Grim, Oro, and who she truly is at her core. This book provided us readers with a mix of romance, action, HEARTBREAK, and twists! Seriously... the end of this book had me screaming at the path it took (in a good way!). Also listening to the audiobook added so much to this journey. I listened to the audiobook for both Lightlark and Nightbane as well. I couldn't imagine reading some of this book and not listening to it! The only reason this got 4 stars instead of 5 is there was a lot of content in this book, which I LOVE, but there were some abrupt cuts when going through the story which I was not a fan of. I just personally love hearing/experiencing all of the path and the journey. However, this book was an absolute treat to listen to and I thoroughly enjoyed this. I'm leaving this review with a final note... YES, I DID CRY!

This book picks up literal seconds after Nightbame (Book 2) and I love that. After making the choice to go with Grim, Isla works to navigate their complicated relationship where present Isla hates him, but her memories know she loves him as she is literally his legal wife.

She also fights what she knows is her destiny- having to kill her past or present lover.

She battles against the citizens of Nightshade not trusting her and thinking of her as a traitor. She agrees to go through a marriage ceremony again to try to show her allegiance even though she still longs for Oro and that part of her life. Also, she searches for a portal that could be the answer to uniting all of the lands again.

Oro finally enters about 35% way through the book when he travels to find her and make sure is okay when their bond weakens because of her cuffs. What could go wrong ?

I’m not a strong one person or the other but this book was made to build your love for Grim as so much of the beginning is focused on those two together.

The FMC continues to annoy me as she takes the route of pushing Oro away and trying to make him hate her. Their adventure comes together well on the end I feel.

I did get a little more confused than usual with like what happens if so and so dies, who else dies ? What realms / people of what group die ? However I was able to still enjoy the story despite this.

Spice level is again higher than what I’d picture for a young adult book- but all good with me as an adult reader. There’s like five chapters in a row about 60% in with no development but just them traveling to different places to hook up …

Plenty of twists and turns and an action packed ending, lots of questions. For some reason I thought this was the final book, but with that ending there’s no way!

Thanks to NetGalley and RBMedia for the ALC in exchange for an honest review. Release date 11/12/24.

Trying to control my emotions right now because i feel like im in shock. Holddd onnnn, whens the next book?? This one isnt even released yet and i NEED IT RN.

The romance and plot blend in so well with each other, its perfection. Imagine being told that u have powers that THREATEN THE GODS…

This was probably the best in the series so far! All the angst with the love triangle had me on the edge of my seat just waiting to see who Isla would end up with and how this all will play out. It does end on a cliffhanger, though, so I'm sure the author will be continuing on and I can't wait to read the next one!

"I hate you."
"Say that to me when you aren't moaning my name in your sleep, and I'll believe you."

😱 STOP IT! 🥵🥵🥵 I almost combusted. The heat definitely turns up some in this book, as well, and I'm HERE 👏FOR👏 IT 👏 If Alex Aster decided to turn this series into a "why choose", I would not be mad about it. I would not be mad at all.

The narration was pretty good, as well! The narrator does a good job of changing her voice for different characters, so you can typically tell who is saying what by the voice she is using.

I received a free advanced reader digital copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review-- and it was honestly pretty dang good 😍

I received an ARC audiobook copy of this book. Let me start by saying I don't usually listen to audiobooks because I feel like I don't absorb the book as well and the narrators voice can impact my opinion on the book. However the audiobook was narrated very well, I still did have some trouble absorbing and had to go back and listen several times but that has nothing to do with the book itself. The storyline is good, multifaceted, and I enjoyed it overall. The storyline gets more evolved in some ways, and we also do get some answers to questions that we've had from the previous books so that is nice. Without giving a spoiler, it does set itself up to have another book in the series.

hank you netgalley and rbmedia.

tldr, alex needs to buck up and have the balls to make this love triangle into a challengers situation.

you may be thinking em why do you keep reading these books if they’re always one-star-bad, it seems like you’re just being mean and that feels wrong to me. au contraire mon ami! consider this the goodreads equivalent of a letterboxd rating of one star with a heart. no these books are not GOOD, but i have come around on them in a horseshoe-theory-like way; they bring me great joy, which means they have inherent value. not necessarily quality. but value. it is on this very same logical ground that my best friend and i rewatch cats (2019) every christmas. write as many of these terrible books that you want to alex. the poet (me) will not avert her eyes. i will be here to slop it up.

three books in and i still cannot stand grim. if you feel similarly, i’m sorry. this is a grim heavy book. he grins, his eyes darken lustfully, every other chapter he spouts “romantic” lines that alex aster posts on her tiktok. the shadow daddy character archetype just bores me to tears. i will concede that he’s less domineering than he was in nightbane, he does fewer abhorrent things so narrative doesn’t have to try and justify his behavior. lowkey alex did you read my review?? honored if so!!! though this leaves grim with less to do in the book, far be it from me to complain about that. i think his prese bc e just repels me. chop! oro supremacy!

isla still behaves rashly and impulsively, as if we expected anything less from her, our messy queen. the stakes that are imposed on her are properly ridiculous. her life is a ticking clock and by god she will be fetch-questing her way to finding a workaround! she meets all manner of random people, creatures, groups who are not at all developed, all whilst contending with her own inner demons. one of those demons is being horny to the point of distraction. as to be expected

there is however the matter of her disgust and shame at her past actions that she thinks herself irredeemable from. this is juxtaposed with a “beast” within her that on some level enjoys killing people. i don’t think these feelings are very well explored, as they manifest in a me-me-me kind of way. isla doesn’t have any things about amends or justice or any restorative behavior, just an impulse to punish herself for her monstrousness. but wharver. we don’t come to this place for nuanced characters each with their own bespoke interiority.

the structure of both nightbane and this book is very episodic and disjointed; go find this person who has this information, go find this guy so he can answer that question, locate this relic so you can power up etc. par for the course. this is still a lightlark book however and there are twists that are taken without any setup, that are improperly foreshadowed, that made me start cackling like the joker. but i simply must confess my enjoyment of the whole rigamarole. therefore i don’t believe i can rip into skyshade on any ideological or moral-ethical grounds as i have previously. i feel no outrage anymore. i feel only a giddy sort of disbelief.

oh if you’re wondering about the smut and “spice” of this book, there’s full penetration. the language is not so direct but we have moved beyond simple fingering and dry humping. the girls and i placed bets on this. it might be prudent information to some, as i do not believe these books should be called young adult. but alas.

perhaps here is where i will make the case for “bad media”. many of my friends do not understand why i hold such affection for bad media. i love a bad book, a terrible movie (i have less patience for television, sunk cost and whatnot). many irritating film people online will claim that if a movie is loved, it cannot be bad; if it moves something in you, then on some level it is good. i disagree with that. i do not believe that quality and value are inherently linked. art at its core i believe should be expressive and connective. and by god the lightlark series somehow brought me to people i have come to cherish dearly. for that reason alone, i am glad it exists. see you next book you terrible series. i await.

I’ve had mixed feelings about this series: I liked the first book and strongly disliked the second. I actually did enjoy this one, but now it sounds like there is going to be a fourth book? That may be stretching this series a bit.

I enjoyed the adventure in this one. It was different from the other books and kept me wanting to know what would happen.

As someone who was Team Oro, I did wish there was more of him in here. Grim was highlighted, but it wasn’t completely focused on him which was good.

I also enjoyed how several missing pieces of the puzzle that is Isla’s life were put together. I hope Isla can accomplish her goal in the last book and get her HEA.

I did feel like things were rushed at the end, but maybe that is just me. I found myself looking at the amount of book left and thinking “there is no way all these things will be resolved by then” and I was right.

This was probably the best book in the series thus far. Completely worth your time if you’ve read the others in the series.

I listened to the audiobook, and while Suzy Jackson talks slowly (I speed it up to 2X) I think she is a great narrator.

*An ARC was received in exchange for an honest review.

thank you so much netgalley for this arc! (all thoughts are my own)

Shyshade is the third book in the lightlark trilogy and I personally was super stoked to see where the author would take this story. It starts off immediately following the end of the nightbane where Isla ends up back with grim and is trying to find a solution to keep lightlark from falling and protected from the storms while navigating the love triangle that is Isla, Grim, and Oro. Overall, this book did have some repetitive notions, and some cringe-worthy moments that also made the story worthwhile. While this is not my favorite book of the series, it does help move the story along and I am excited to see what comes next.

I am usually not a fan of audiobooks as well - which probably impacted my engagement with the story. I will reread the story once officially released. The narrator of this story I personally did not enjoy. Her voices for the characters would honestly make me laugh, and it was too slow - urging me to listen to the audiobook on a faster speed.

I definitely enjoyed this 3rd installment of the Lightlark series! I found that Suzy Jackson's voice felt so perfect for Isla. I loved the emotion she put into the story. As for the story itself, lots of action, tension, twists and turns! Can't wait to see what happens next!!

I really enjoyed this book! It was a captivating read that held my attention from start to finish. The story was well-paced, and the characters felt real and engaging. I’m grateful to the publisher for providing an early copy—it was a pleasure to read!

Skyshade
Best book of the series!! Alex Aster delivered perfection with every single chapter.
Isla is back in the kingdom of Nightshade with Grim while the other half of her heart lies in Lightlark with Ero. Her heart torn in two from the love she holds for Ero and the love she used to know with Grim, Isla sets out to find a way to save the people of both kingdoms without the price of everyone's lives. The prophecy says she is fated to kill one of these men and her heart can't bear the loss of life that will accompany it. Finding a friend where it was least expected, can Isla fight against an evil storm that is coming and find a way to not become a monster herself? Before it's all over, Isla will discover if she is meant to destroy or save the two kingdoms and at what risk to herself. That cliffhanger will get ya everytime!!!

This book was beautifully written and a perfect add to the series. I felt like a teenager again tossing back and forth between twilight book boyfriends but in this case Grim and Oroe. Although I was team grim in the first book this one swayed me to the sun king. Thank you so much for building this magical world for me to share with you. For those who have not read this series it really is fun for all ages.

Overall, Skyshade was a great read (I listened, which was fantastic!). I did not want to stop listening. I know I and most will read/listen to this book because we want to know who Isla is going to pick (team Grim here). Also, the action and storyline with twists kept me drawn in. I could tell that Alex’s writing skills have advanced since the first book. This book was my favorite of the three!

My one irritation with this book is that it is the third in the series and yet there is still vagueness at the end about Isla and her choices. I can tolerate this for two to three books, but drawing it out over three and spilling into a fourth book that makes you feel like you have to read the next book versus want to read it to know the main characters real choice is mildly frustrating. What I personally appreciate from other books is that, by the second or third book, the wish washy decision-making is finalized and the plot can really move forward. I am someone who makes choices and moves forward so that others are not dragged along, so it is likely that I struggle to empathize with the main character when she cannot make a final choice and her actions deeply hurt people. Yet, I can connect with her in other ways, such as trying to do what is best and making mistakes.