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chronicallybookish 's review for:
Shadow of Light
by Molly E. Lee
Quick Stats
Age Rating: 15+
Over All: 3.5/5 stars
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 3/5
Special thanks to Entangled Teen and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.
Lana (@thatgaybooktoker on TikTok and @thatgaybookstagram on instagram) likened this series to The Shadowhunter Chronicles—without the incest. And I have to say, she’s 100% right.
The Ember of Night series is urban fantasy and paranormal romance at its best, and the vibe and world reminds me of TSC when it comes to many of the aspects I like about it, and lacks the ones that I don’t (like I said!! No sibling relationships! Or cousins! Or anything of the sort!).
Shadow of Light starts right where Ember of Night left off, and Harley doesn’t get a break. This book also felt much more fantasy heavy than the first, involving other dimensions and fantasy worldbuilding. The lore intensifies as well, and I must say—it’s more unique than I expected. Molly E. Lee manages to craft a unique world and story that is still strongly reminiscent of the genre. It takes the common archetype of a paranormal fantasy romance, and utilizes it well without being confined to the cliches that can sometimes be found within the genre.
The steam between Harley and Draven definitely ramps up in this book. There are instances that I wondered if it was going to cross over into a little too mature for YA when it came to sexual content, but it never did, which I appreciate.
Honestly, I feel like the amount of lusting and sexual tension between the two of them ended up taking away from the story itself at times. It was just so much, and so blatant. It didn’t feel integrated with the rest of the narrative, and it wasn’t always written in a way that felt realistic or in a way I could connect with. It felt like every other paragraph Harley would get lost in her fantasies about Draven, and only 10% of the time did those fantasies feel natural. Don’t get me wrong. There were romantic scenes and make-out scenes and such that I genuinely enjoyed and felt were done well, but compared to the amount of such content in the book, they were few and far between.
Part of why that bothers me is because the plot and lore were really good, but they kept getting lost in the romance. The book had the potential to be a 4.5-5 star read if the author had focused just a little more on fleshing out those scenes and leaving out some of the scenes where Harley did nothing but drool over Draven.
I still recommend this book, especially for shadowhunter fans, and I’m excited to pick up a copy of book 3 when it comes out (I love that it comes out in May so I don’t have to wait a whole year!)
Age Rating: 15+
Over All: 3.5/5 stars
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 3/5
Special thanks to Entangled Teen and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.
Lana (@thatgaybooktoker on TikTok and @thatgaybookstagram on instagram) likened this series to The Shadowhunter Chronicles—without the incest. And I have to say, she’s 100% right.
The Ember of Night series is urban fantasy and paranormal romance at its best, and the vibe and world reminds me of TSC when it comes to many of the aspects I like about it, and lacks the ones that I don’t (like I said!! No sibling relationships! Or cousins! Or anything of the sort!).
Shadow of Light starts right where Ember of Night left off, and Harley doesn’t get a break. This book also felt much more fantasy heavy than the first, involving other dimensions and fantasy worldbuilding. The lore intensifies as well, and I must say—it’s more unique than I expected. Molly E. Lee manages to craft a unique world and story that is still strongly reminiscent of the genre. It takes the common archetype of a paranormal fantasy romance, and utilizes it well without being confined to the cliches that can sometimes be found within the genre.
The steam between Harley and Draven definitely ramps up in this book. There are instances that I wondered if it was going to cross over into a little too mature for YA when it came to sexual content, but it never did, which I appreciate.
Honestly, I feel like the amount of lusting and sexual tension between the two of them ended up taking away from the story itself at times. It was just so much, and so blatant. It didn’t feel integrated with the rest of the narrative, and it wasn’t always written in a way that felt realistic or in a way I could connect with. It felt like every other paragraph Harley would get lost in her fantasies about Draven, and only 10% of the time did those fantasies feel natural. Don’t get me wrong. There were romantic scenes and make-out scenes and such that I genuinely enjoyed and felt were done well, but compared to the amount of such content in the book, they were few and far between.
Part of why that bothers me is because the plot and lore were really good, but they kept getting lost in the romance. The book had the potential to be a 4.5-5 star read if the author had focused just a little more on fleshing out those scenes and leaving out some of the scenes where Harley did nothing but drool over Draven.
I still recommend this book, especially for shadowhunter fans, and I’m excited to pick up a copy of book 3 when it comes out (I love that it comes out in May so I don’t have to wait a whole year!)