A Tale of Stars and Shadow
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15
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A corrupt kingdom. A rising darkness. Can a broken warrior save a world?
Mithranar is a country divided by ignorance and magic. Oppressed by their winged folk rulers, humans struggle to eke out an existence. Their only help comes from the mysterious Shadowhawk, a criminal who has evaded all attempts at capture. Meanwhile, something else … something violent … stalks the streets, and it has ambitions that could bring Mithranar to its knees.
The arrival of a foreign warrior will change everything.
Descended from the ruling house of the kingdom of the Twin Thrones, Talyn Dynan is a born warrior. But after a combat mission goes tragically wrong, she is left broken and wracked with guilt, her confidence in tatters. A dangerous mission to the allied country of Mithranar is her final chance to prove she can still be an elite warrior.
And it could change the world.
Or end in her death.
A Tale of Stars and Shadow is the first book in an adult epic fantasy series for readers who love: political intrigue, found family, a hint of magic, and a strong female lead.
Featured Series
2 primary booksA Tale of Stars and Shadow is a 2-book series with 2 primary works first released in 2019 with contributions by Lisa Cassidy.
Reviews with the most likes.
I love hidden gems. Little personal secrets, books or other things that are just so good you don't want to share them with anyone else save a couple close friends. Curiosities that maybe aren't the most universal, but connect with you in a deep way.
I stumbled across this book on a reddit thread. It was mentioned in a comment with one upvote. I looked it up, read some reviews, and decided that this was either going to be awful or incredibly good.
And I'm so glad I picked this up, because god damn this is the best fantasy book I've read this year.
The genre of this is still unclear, and I think that's wonderful, because it digs at everything someone who loves modern fantasy could ever want. Competence porn. A ragtag group of misfits banding together. Swashbuckling raids and adventures. A huge assortment of magics and people who can fly. A slow burn romance. And an overwhelming sense of immersion that drags you into the story from the first page.
ATOSAS finished fourth in the 2019 Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off, behind three novels that have gone on to become very famous. It scored an 8.5/10 in that competition. This book probably reads much better post-pandemic, with the trend towards cozier, more optimistic fantasy, and slightly tropier, guilty-pleasure elements becoming the norm in some popular books. Make no mistake, this is very modern genre fantasy. Don't go into this expecting some literary masterpiece - this is just setup of a very nice world and plotline, and flawless execution.
And I loved it. You probably won't like it as much as me, but I still think you should read it.
Rating: 9.5/10
Comparisons: somewhere in between Eli Monpress (but more serious), Mistborn (but lighter and faster-paced), and Fourth Wing (with good writing and without the sex).
