Jane Routley

This book never really seemed to have a discernable point – there were many infodumps with not much background and a large host of characters to keep in mind. It made my reading experience choppy and a little lost. It didn’t really seem to fit into what I usually experience with first books in a series or a standalone fantasy book – too many characters at once, a lot of information but without in-depth background worldbuilding. That isn’t to say that the world itself wasn’t interesting – it was, I would appreciate more background information than what the book contained. I did enjoy the female-dominated hierarchy with female mages far more powerful than their male counterparts. The mages enjoy their royal status but those who do not have a single drop of magical power are always less than – even those descended from royal bloodlines like Shine. The Empire of Light draws some similarities in my mind of Great Britain while Ghostland reminds me of the United States. I wasn’t a huge fan of the political aspects and posturing of the royal family in this book, it made things even harder to keep straight. At times I felt like this book had so much going on but it wasn’t really meaningful which made it difficult to keep going.

I loved Katti, the wildcat that has claimed Shine as her own. That she and Shine could understand one another to communicate – in a fashion. The old gods worshipped by the peasants in the book were far more interesting to me than the Lady of Light was. Shine I liked, for the most part, she could be a simpering female at times but what won me over was the pride that she had for being the first to make the estate run in the black. I would have loved to learn more about Shadow and if this becomes a series we could possibly see more about him and his homeland. Shadow was nearly normal in comparison to the mages that rule the Empire of Light, it made him a far more likable character. We could also learn more about the mystery surrounding Shine’s orphan status if the author decides to write a second book – that story arc I would be interested in.

I would possibly recommend this book to older readers of YA who enjoy fantasy, LGTBQ+ elements, political intrigue, murder mysteries, and loads of family drama. Fair warning that this book contains some steamy sections (the Empire of Light is very open about sex in their desire to gain more female mages) and familial relations of a sexual nature that are to put it nicely – cringeworthy. Those relationships reminded me very much of how royal families had a tendency to operate in medieval times. I would like to thank Solaris, Jane Routley, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a gifted copy of Shadow in the Empire of Light – all opinions are my own.… (meer)

I'm quite ambivalent about this book. There's plenty about it that I enjoyed egregiously - the "women's politics" court-and-courtesan setting and trappings are precisely my cup of tea, and I loved loved loved Kitten Avignon, who was a complex and intriguing and charismatic lady of business (with a sword, but without the ability to read and write). But I find myself less-than-whelmed with the of-the-Book nature of the religious system, and especially the demons (and I'm not really sure why; this is something I'm quizzing myself on but it seems more subjective than objective, so let's not call that a fault with the book but rather with me). And an unfortunately large percentage of the second half of the book is given over to our heroine resisting the heavily-pressed suit of Virile Sexyman - which has significant story-importance, but was sadly quite tedious to read, especially since he was unpleasant for reasons both of his non-book context (he's quite a '90s love interest) and his behaviour (enough grab-assery, mister). I would note that the heroine's power caused an occasional nose-wrinkle, but overall worked pretty well in the story for me.

So, I really don't know. I feel like this might fit in nicely with those who enjoyed Anne Bishop's Black Jewels, or Kushiel's wossnames - it's very heavy on the magic/desire linkages, especially through sensuality and worldliness - and I found it more fun to read than I did either of those series.… (meer)

Really a romance, with the fantasy side being very thin. The first section documents the early life of Dion, a naive and intolerant young girl suddenly forced to live with a courtesan. Her ability to adjust is helped by her habit of kicking six kinds of feces out of anyone who threatens her, however. The second part of the book goes into full-blown romance mode, but if you wade through it, a very acceptable high fantasy finale is your reward. The writing is high quality and has a variety of humorous sections. Well worth the read, even if you don't enjoy romances.… (meer)