Tammie

4.5 stars.

2.5 stars

I'm sorry to my friends who liked this book. I really wanted to like it too and I wish I had but unfortunately, this wasn't for me. Going into this I was actually hoping the villain wasn't really a villain, but a Robin Hood type instead. In some ways that's kind of true, but Robin Hood didn't torture people, so this villain was actually a villain in my opinion. It seems a lot of other reviewers felt the opposite about him, that he wasn't villainous enough, and I can see where they're coming from if they picked this up hoping for a character that did lots of dark things. I can also see where they are coming from because this villain is written in a way that doesn't make sense. A person who likes torturing people would be a lot more hardened than this guy was.

I not only have problems with the way The Villain is written in this book, but I also have problems with the way the book is written as a whole. It was supposed to be funny, and I know other people found it funny, but the humor fell flat for me. It's also seems like it's supposed to be either cozy fantasy, romantasy, or satire, and in my opinion it fails at being any of those things. I'm not really sure if the author knew what she wanted it to be. The villainous acts of The Villain (though not as villainous as some people wanted him to be), make this not a good cozy fantasy, and the lack of any real romance in the book makes it a poor romantasy. There's a lot of longing and admiring that goes on but only one kiss and a couple of hugs actually take place. This could have worked as a satire if the author would have fully gone for that, but it doesn't lean into it heavy enough. There's also the fact that it reads like a middle grade or YA novel, and it's supposed to be written for adults. It felt very juvenile, but with cursing and dead tortured bodies thrown in. It just didn't work for me.


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This was a standalone novel in the Cass Leary series. We will be reading this series in 2026, I think starting in January. I don't know where this novel fits into the timeline of the series but it was a good standalone with very little spoilers for the rest of the series. There were some spoilers involving relationships but as far as I could tell that was it. It let me wanting to read more of the series, which is always a good thing. I enjoyed reading the Christmas theme at Christmas time. The courtroom drama was little too Hollywood and not quite realistic enough, but that didn't bother me enough to matter too much. Though I hope that won't be a regular occurrence. I didn't care for the narrator of the audio but will probably keep listening to these on audio instead of eye reading anyway. This is the genre I enjoy listening to the most, and I need some audio books to listen to while I work around the house.


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I read The Shadow of What was Lost by this author a couple of years ago, and ended up disappointed in it. I didn't think the story was bad, but it just didn't wow me the way I was hoping it would. So, I had decided that maybe this author just wasn't for me, and I didn't pay much attention to this book when it was announced. That is, until I saw my Goodreads friend, Petrik talk about it on his YouTube channel. Then I saw my friend Niki Hawkes talk about it on hers as well, and I thought maybe I should pay some attention to it. So I ended up adding it to my to-read list. I have to tell you that I am so glad I ended up reading this book! The story pulled me in right from the beginning and I just couldn't put it down. This is one of the best books I've read in a while. If you like dark academia, or magic school type fantasy books, then you will probably love this one.

This is a Roman inspired series, and I liked that about it. It felt a little different from some of the other books I've read, and I found the use of other people's will in the magic to be both intriguing and horrifying. There were several events in this book that were surprises, especially the one at the end. I didn't expect that at all, and now I can't wait to read the next book.

I thought the author was good at creating characters that I could care about and sympathize with, while also creating a world that was interesting, with a plot that was compelling with unexpected elements.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a ARC of this book.

Review also posted at Writings of a Reader and my Facebook page.