*I was sent a copy of A Hunt of Shadows in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Elise Kova for my copy of the book.*

Synopsis: 

Eira is now a champion of the Solaris Empire. She’s off to a land she’s only dreamed about. But a nightmare awaits her.

Her sworn enemy has escaped. His allies are powerful and deadly. And Eira finds herself tangled in the dangerous web of the undercity of Risen where the mysterious Court of Shadows and lethal Pillars battle for the fate of the kingdom.

But vengeance has a price. When Eira is captured by her enemies, it’s not only her life, but the lives of her friends, and the man she loves most, at stake. The woman she was won’t be enough to turn the tides churning against her from long before she was born. She’ll have to become something more. She’ll have to love deeper and fight fiercer than ever before.

The only way to kill a legendary champion, will be to become one herself.

Review: 

If there is one thing I am sure of it’s that Elise Kova will never let me down. Once again she has written an epic fantasy book with a devastating romantic subplot. Honestly, I can’t get enough. 

I feel like I can’t get properly into this review without rambling about the romance first. Cullen, I am absolutely obsessed with him. In my review for the first instalment, A Trial of Sorcerers, I said that Cullen has tons of room for development which we did see a little of. He is no longer the arrogant ‘Prince of the tower’, but he is still very much under his father’s thumb. 

I don’t think this is a spoiler, but just in case skip the next two paragraphs if you don’t want to see anything that may ruin your reading experience. Although still very much controlled by his father, Cullen does start to show signs of rebellion. I’m completely obsessed with the relationship between him and Eira and I was honestly smiling like an idiot when they interacted.

I’m such a huge fan of romance in fantasy books and Elise nails it every time. There were so many tender moments between Eira and Cullen and it was refreshing to see a romance so raw. As I said before I am completely obsessed with them, especially the fact that they never beat around the bush with each other and just said how they feel. I want nothing but happiness for both of them and I really hope they can find it in book three, but certain events are leading me to believe this may not happen. 

Unfortunately, you don’t see any of the competition in A Hunt of Shadows, which I was really looking forward to. But don’t worry it is still packed full of action and further world-building. Meeting the competitors from the different isles was a fun experience and I can’t wait to see them all in action when the competition begins. Especially because they all have different forms of magic and I’m interested to see how the Solaris Empire competitors will fare against them. 

The growing friendships between the Solaris competitors (Eira, Alyss, Cullen and Noelle) was incredible to see. Especially considering the rocky history between a few of them. Eira learns that it’s okay to ask her friends for help and everyone is there for her 100% of the time, even Noelle surprisingly. 

Another area of growth you see is Eira herself. I feel like she really learns a lot in A Hunt of Shadows and that growing darkness you begin to see at the end of book one has transformed into something else entirely. Although she is still out for revenge she learns that making rash decisions will do her no good. This was a huge deal considering how well she handled problems in book one. I really love her character and I can’t wait to see her develop even more over time. 

A Hunt of Shadows, unsurprisingly to me, was an incredible read. If you are a fan of fantasy romance then you really cannot go wrong with an Elise Kova book. Obviously you should actually buy this book, but also remember that it will be available on Kindle Unlimited on March 1st. 

Right, I’m now going to (impatiently) wait for the next instalment, the title is being revealed very soon though. My excitement for book three will begin from that very moment right up until I can get my hands on it. I may very well explode from the wait. 

---

WANT TO SEE WHAT I’VE BEEN READING LATELY? CHECK OUT MY GOODREADS HERE and my storygraph here

DON’T FORGET TO LIKE AND FOLLOW YOUNG CREATIVE PRESS ON FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM AND TWITTER

Like this post? Why not read this one too: Graphic Novel Review: Chef’s Kiss by Jarrett Melendez