Book Review: Reign of Shadows

Author: Sophie Jordan

Publication Date: February 9, 2016

Publisher: HarperTeen

Series: Reign of Shadows # 1

Seventeen years ago, an eclipse cloaked the kingdom of Relhok in perpetual darkness. In the chaos, an evil chancellor murdered the king and queen and seized their throne. Luna, Relhok’s lost princess, has been hiding in a tower ever since. Luna’s survival depends on the world believing she is dead.

But that doesn’t stop Luna from wanting more. When she meets Fowler, a mysterious archer braving the woods outside her tower, Luna is drawn to him despite the risk. When the tower is attacked, Luna and Fowler escape together. But this world of darkness is more treacherous than Luna ever realized.

With every threat stacked against them, Luna and Fowler find solace in each other. But with secrets still unspoken between them, falling in love might be their most dangerous journey yet.

“The world was a merciless place. Hard and cruel. Except when you found someone to trust and love. Life, however fleeting, possessed meaning then.” 

“Life is full of regrets. They’ll cripple you if you let them.” 

“She was . . . is beautiful. Like her mother. Like you.” He touched me then, pressing one finger directly over my heart. “You have it in here.” He coughed violently, his hand dropping away from me. “It’s a beauty that nothing can take away. Not this world or its monsters.” 

A Rapunzel retelling based in a world with little to no sunlight?! I had to find out more about this book that promised to be full of fantasy, romance, and a kick butt main character. The book is only 292 pages and I ended up finishing pretty quickly. The story was easy to fly through and even easier once I developed a strong connection to the two main character. Sophie Jordan builds the main character, Fowler and Luna, slowly as she unveils the mysterious world they are living in. Luna becomes loveable a lot sooner than Fowler, but pretty soon his good traits shine through as well. They are both resilient and have had to learn to adapt to a world that is nothing if not harsh and cruel. They develop a strong bond and are forced to work together if they are ever going to outrun the dwellers.

Luna is a phenomenal main character. Readers learn something pretty pivotal about her within the first few chapters and it entirely changes the way you read the book and the way you think about her character. Fowler is rough around the edges and somewhat disliked by all at first, but readers soon get to see inside her back story and know why he has such a hard outer shell. The world was completely fascinating to me and I have already ordered the next book in the series because this one leaves off on a huge cliffhanger. I have to know what is going to happen! I have read a lot of mixed reviews about this book, but I must say that I am not one for a whole lot of action and adventure, but the journey that Luna and Fowler have started on is thrilling and intoxicating. Yay for my first Sophie Jordan novel!