ARC Review

Shaedes of Power by Jenny Grimes

Opal feels like she has no idea who she is. Her time in the human realm is coming to an end and she doesn’t have any idea what she’s learned. And on top of all that, her shaede hasn’t shown itself. As she and her companions are walking back to their NYC apartment, they witness something that should be impossible in the human realm: a shadow beast attacking a human. They quickly realize that something must be really wrong in the Seam if the shadow beasts are appearing on this side. Opal and her friends are summoned home and thus begins her journey of self-discovery all while trying to save her realm.

This is a slow burn, why choose romantasy novel that has a unique twist on a common magic system; its color driven (shaede). Grimes does a great job of introducing and explaining this twist to us without making her world building overwhelming or heavy handed. In fact, most of her world building is done by the FMC explaining her world to a human MMC. Having this magic system explained through a conversation makes it feel more casual, relatable, and easily absorbed. 

The plot moves along very quickly. The whole story seems to take place in a little over a week. During that time, the main characters are by now means idle. Each embarks on their own self appointed journey to save the realm. They do meet up frequently to discuss which means that details don’t get lost or left out. And the ending very nicely tied up everything. You are not left with unanswered questions but the epilogue does leave the door open for a sequel.

The main characters are a group of diverse personalities that all compliment each other well. Despite the tumultuous way that the main characters are all brought together, they seem to get along fairly well. There is not the amount of animosity or in-fighting that you might expect from a group of young main characters.

This book contains some mild spice; there are a few open door romance scenes. 

The book contains only minimal grammatical errors that do not detract from the overall story. 

Vibes this book gives: Tinkerbell (origin/self-discovery stories), a little The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller, a sprinkle of From Blood and Ash by Jennifer Armentrout

I received this advanced copy from Jenny Grimes via Book Funnel in exchange for an honest review and feedback. Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel.

Overall ⭐⭐⭐💫