Rachel Hobbs

"He was pure darkness, a devouring abyss. Darkness and light never truly touched. They created shadows when they tried, and this shadow-stained world was proof of their efforts."

Ruby Peyton is a city girl stuck living the country life. She lives with her mother in a small town called Crichton. Her grandmother passed away, but not without giving her a precious stone necklace that holds great power of immortality. And now, a demon lord is interested in this human girl; a pawn that insists on being a queen. Turns out there's more to this demon lord that meets the eye and when hell finally lets loose on planet Earth, Ruby will have to make a choice.

The debut novel, Shadow-Stained by Rachael Hobbs is the first in a dark fantasy series for adults. The novel started slow initially but it didn't drag. Although the character development is firm, the editing is a little bit lacking. I noticed more than five errors in the story which is not supposed to be. It was somewhat distracting.

I enjoyed the dialogues between Ruby and the demon lord Drayvex. Secondly, I love the way the author painted their emotions very convincingly. At some point, there were repetitions that were slightly unnecessary. I feel the book should be reduced further to make for a faster read.

I totally enjoyed this book from start to finish. It was well-written, entertaining and engrossing. Rachael is an awesome writer and storyteller and Shadow-Stained is a proof of that. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. If you are a fan of the dark fantasy genre, then I recommend this book for your enjoyment. But I warn you, if you are sensitive to profanity, violence, death and battle gore then you're advised to steer clear. Otherwise, get a copy for yourself when this book gets published on the 14th of April and trust me, you will enjoy every moment of your time with this amazing work.

I want to appreciate the author and Book Sirens for giving me this advance readers copy for free in exchange for my honest review.… (meer)