This is a such a fantastic book! Fun, gripping and with two equally brilliant and stubborn characters who you can't help but fall in love with instantly, this book will now forever be my recommended alternative to harry potter.

This is a well-done fantasy book, Short chapters filled with lots of action will attract readers and the cliff hanger ending will find fans looking for the next book in the series.

There is no shortage of fantasy books for young readers, as authors and publishers continue to try to keep youngsters reading after finishing the famous young wizard series. One of the things that Joshua Khan's <em>Shadow Magic</em> does that I haven't seen too often is play up the darker side of magic and wizardry.

We mainly follow two characters. Thorn, a daring, adventurous young boy who has been sold into slavery and Lilith (Lily) Shadow who becomes the ruler of Gehenna when her parents and brother are killed in one day. The sudden leadership is problematic just with trying to learn all that a ruler needs to know, but it becomes even more complicated by the fact that as a girl, magic is forbidden to her, but as a ruler she needs to bring forth the magic of the undead. Thorn meanwhile, is on his way to Castle Gloom in Gehenna with his new master, an executioner, where Thorn and Lily will meet and decide to break some rules because really things can't get much worse for either of them.

As I mentioned, we have a lot of dark magic here along with vampires and zombies and other such creatures. But in a nice twist, it is the dark creatures who are 'good' in this story.

When I read a fantasy like this I often think back to something I heard Bruce Coville talk about, which is the CTPP quotient. That's Cool Things Per Page. The popular series about the boy wizard has a very high CTPP ratio, which is part of what makes it so popular. <em>Shadow Magic</em> also has a pretty high CTPP ratio (anyone can fly on a dragon, but how many people actually get to fly on a giant bat?!) so it should easily hold a young reader's attention.

But of course Cool Things alone are not enough to attract readers and fortunately author Joshua Khan also gives us a complex and interesting story with the promise of many more to come.

This is definitely worth checking out if you are looking for a new fantasy for younger readers.

Looking for a good book? <em>Shadow Magic</em> by Joshua Khan is a little on the darker side but is a good fantasy for readers looking for something after reading the popular boy wizard stories.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I think that middle-school students will enjoy this book, especially if they liked Harry Potter but even if they did not. The characters are well-developed and the story line is interesting. I look forward to reading the rest of the series!

Where to begin? I enjoyed this book from cover to cover and character to character. Some of the storyline was predictable but quite a bit of it was not. Even the areas that I had figured out prior to the story confirming it were done so well and with such detail that I was sill fully engaged. This is a middle grade and older read, but I loved the lessons on family, friendship, women’s equality, magic and more that are all interwoven in this story.

Thorn is a fantastic lead character and a natural hero from the beginning. I did get a bit annoyed by Lily at the beginning, but when she finally believed in herself and decided to try things her way she rocked. The side characters were also immensely interesting and well developed. The executioner was fascinating . . . from his capabilities, his purpose in buying Thorn and his last line in the book, he was probably the most intriguing character to me. I have to say there were some surprises with the characters that I was not excoriating, but made the story a more rich and enjoyable read. Along with the characters, the world itself was captivating. This book did have some illustrations, but I wish there were more. I mean Castle Gloom sounds amazing and that Halloween masquerade ☠️🖤💀 I loved how descriptive everything was. This story really created and sold a fully developed and intricate world of magic and history. Loved it!

Thank you NetGalley and Disney Hyperion for the chance to review this story and share my opinions!

Khan, Joshua, ill. by Ben Hibon. pgs. 336. Disney Hyperion, 2016. $16.99. Language: G, Mature Content: PG, Violence: PG

Captured by slavers while trying to locate his father, Thorn is purchased by Tyburn, an executioner who works for the House Shadow. Agreeing to work a year and a day in exchange for his freedom, Thorn heads to Castle Gloom with Tyburn. There, he meets Lily Shadow. Except for her drunk of an uncle, her family was all recently murdered by a group of assassins. Tyburn managed to kill all but one and now that assassin seems to be back to murder Lily and Lily's betrothed may be the one who hired them. With no ideas who to trust, Thorn begins to look into what happened. As he and Tyburn look into the threat, however, Thorn starts to wonder if his father may be mixed up in it all. Could his father really be an assassin or is it Lily's obnoxious betrothed? Can Thorn save Lily?

The characters in this novel are amazingly well developed and the author does a great job of building the mystery behind their pasts. The plot is complex, engaging, and easily draws the reader into the story. Fans of mystery, magic, adventure, and fantasy will enjoy reading this book.

EL, MS. ADVISABLE. Reviewer: Kira M, Youth Services Librarian, WHI Public Library.

I really enjoyed this book! I has so much going for it as a middle-grade series. Lots of creepy creatures, some zombie killing action, two very likable main characters, a giant bat named Hades, and some magic.

The author has created a wonderful world full of magic mystery. We know that there is a secret plot going on that involves Lily and her kingdom, but we don’t yet know exactly what is happening.

Lily is a fantastic character, very strong, but with doubts about her abilities. I find it interesting that girls in this world are forbidden to use magic, but that doesn’t stop Lily from trying anyways as a means to protect her kingdom. There are other kingdoms that want her land and she needs to find a better way then marrying one of their princes to do it. I also like that she becomes friends with Thorn. He is a commoner and a ‘slave’, but that doesn’t stop her from liking him.

Thorn was also a great character. He was bold and brave and not afraid to stick up for himself or make a fool of those that bully him. He also has some abilities but we are not yet sure what they are. He is sold into slavery, but he is treated better than most slaves once he is sold to Tyburn. He is a little scared of Tyburn at first but he does learn to respect him. Thorn is also the one to discover Hades, the giant bat, that has been sleeping under the castle, and to tame and ride him.

A really great read for Tweens!