Ratings9
Average rating4
Upon the black sands and beneath the ever-watching eyes, a tale of shadow magic and ancient mysteries unfold in this new dark epic fantasy series.
In the desert city of Yontar, Nya cares for her sick mother. But when Nya is arrested, her mother’s death is all but certain unless Nya joins a secret project that promises her freedom. If she survives.
Rai, a mercenary, has a shadow dark enough for two. In his quest to discover the nature of the creature living in his shadow, Rai collides with old friends and new enemies, stumbling into an ancient mystery that could mean the end of the world as they know it.
All the while, a darkness stirs and rebellion threatens, helmed by a man who promises justice will reign.
Featured Series
1 primary book2 released booksShadowbinders is a 2-book series with 1 primary work first released in 2023 with contributions by Andrew Watson.
Reviews with the most likes.
I like the steampunk art style, but the story didn't grip me as much as I'd hoped. It begins as a very standard magical girl portal story right down to stock bullies. Once we got rolling in the other world, the story picked up a little, but so far it's a little too familiar for me. I'll probably keep going with the series a bit to see if the story gets a bit more developed now that the intro arc is over.
I'm pleasantly surprised by this fast paced and action packed debut novel. Watson does an amazing job at building a believable world that feels way bigger then what is mentioned in this book. There is lots of potential for future stories.
Some of the fantastical elements were original and well executed. The snarky humour is just perfect and got a few chuckles from me.
The characters are layered and I got really emotional invested in some.
4.25 ⭐️
This book was great, fast paced, action packed and with great characters! Plus an animal companion who in my brain was a proper little cutie! Its really hard to believe this is a debut novel as it felt very polished and well crafted! Loved the world building and the setting, I'm a sucker for Ancient Egypt and this gave me that feeling to the max. The magic was so interesting and I really cant wait to see how it moves forward in following books. It really had everything, heart pounding action, intrigue and heart breaking gut punches followed up by some of the best humour I've read in any book! Would highly recommend this book to anyone!
Plus Fax! Love Fax
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were fleshed out and I could ignore some of the weaker writing.
The prologue was amazing and by far the best in the book.
The biggest strength was the worldbuilding. Well thought, flashed out and downright incredible. Reminds me a little of Brandon Sanderson.
The ending felt a little rushed. I would have loved it more is there was just a bit more of a set up, a fear for the characters and more time to understand why the characters made the decisions they did. it felt more written to achieve one point than the characters making choices that would lead to a certain point,
Still enjoyable, with a few debut author mistakes.