Good Choice Reading: Reign of Shadows by Sophie Jordan

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Title: REIGN OF SHADOWS
Author: Sophie Jordan
Pub. Date: February 9, 2016
Publisher: Harper Teen
Format: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
Find it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Goodreads

Seventeen years ago, an eclipse cloaked the kingdom of Relhok in perpetual darkness. In the chaos, an evil chancellor murdered the king and queen and seized their throne. Luna, Relhok’s lost princess, has been hiding in a tower ever since. Luna’s survival depends on the world believing she is dead.

But that doesn’t stop Luna from wanting more. When she meets Fowler, a mysterious archer braving the woods outside her tower, Luna is drawn to him despite the risk. When the tower is attacked, Luna and Fowler escape together. But this world of darkness is more treacherous than Luna ever realized.

With every threat stacked against them, Luna and Fowler find solace in each other. But with secrets still unspoken between them, falling in love might be their most dangerous journey yet.

With lush writing and a star–crossed romance, Reign of Shadows is Sophie Jordan at her best.

MINI REVIEW

I am a huge fan of Sophie Jordan! I was super, super, super excited when I found out that she was releasing a new young adult series, and high fantasy at that! It's all I've been reading lately.

My first thought after reading chapter one was YES! This book is definitely going to rock! I loved Luna from page one. I thought she was a pretty kick-butt character.

A couple of chapters in, Sophie Jordan reveals something that left me with my jaw open. And the way she did it had me cracking up! For some, they might pick up on it right away, but I was completely taken by surprise. It made the story so much more interesting after that. I just had to know how? How does Luna do it? The story was very unique compared to other young adult novels I've read in this genre, which I think is why the story still feels so fresh in my memory. I actually read it about four months ago, but I can remember almost every little detail. SO GOOD!

Of course I don't have to sit here and type away how swoon worthy Fowler is. If you are a fan of Sophie Jordan's then you know just how fast she can make your heart beat with her romances!!!

4.5 Stars!

(From Fowler's POV)

I faced Luna, annoyed at the intrusion. In truth, annoyed at everything. I shouldn’t have been here with any of these people. I should have been far away, my only distraction avoiding dwellers.

Propping my hands on my hips, I gave her an eyeful, waiting for her shock, her embarrassment, but it didn’t come. She stared straight at me, still that oddly composed girl from the forest unaffected by arrows flying at her head or approaching monsters.

Or by me standing naked in front of her.

“I didn’t realize you were in here,” she explained.

I didn’t bother to reach for my clothes. I angled my head, waiting for her to move, to avert her eyes, to turn. Expected behavior. She did none of those things. She didn’t even blink.

“Your mother—”

“Perla is not my mother.”

“Your friend then.” I lowered my hands to my sides. Awareness prickled over my skin at the proximity of this girl to me when I wasn’t dressed. “She complained that I reeked of blood and the outside. She told me to change in here.”

Luna angled her head in that curious manner of hers. “Perla doesn’t like the Outside. Not even the smell of it. Reminds her of them.”

My bare feet moved over the cold stone as I approached her, waiting for her to bolt. I swept my gaze over her, inches from her now. Still, she gave no reaction. I was reacting but she didn’t seem to notice.

I studied her. She was too clean and her attire was far too fine. The gold thread woven into the bodice transfixed me. It was a long time since I had seen a female wearing so fine a dress. Most people wore threadbare garments, worn and patched.

Shaking my head, I looked at her face again, studying the smooth and shining hair and bottomless dark eyes. Now, in the lamplight, I could detect tiny flecks of amber in the deep brown depths that I hadn’t noticed outside.

Her lips parted slightly with unspoken words. I was close enough that I could count the smattering of freckles on her nose. They weren’t sun-kissed freckles. There was no chance for that. Not in this life.

She stared back at me, her stare fixing dead center in my chest. An alarm went off in my head, warning me that something wasn’t right. Something wasn’t as it should be.

“You . . .” My voice faded as I struggled with an idea that couldn’t be possible.

“What?” She lifted her chin, her expression mild, unaffected, her eyes now looking directly at me.

Through me.

My heart hammered in my ears as I slowly lifted a hand between us. Not touching, but simply putting it out there with all the stealth of a hunting predator. “You should have knocked.”

“Why?”

“Why?” I echoed like I was testing the word, tasting it. This close, her body radiated a warmth that settled into the pores of my exposed skin. “Are you really so bold you don’t . . .” My voice constricted into that strangled hoarseness again. I looked down at myself and then back up to her face again. Still no reaction on her part. She folded her hands in front of her, the fingers laced. She wasn’t this bold. No. She was something else.

I took her hand. She started at the sensation of my callused fingers on her softer skin. My pulse jumped and skittered at the base of my throat, but I ignored it, placing her chilled hand, palm flat, against my bare chest. Her fingers spread wide, each one a burning imprint.

She made a choked, mewling sound.

“Because”—my voice scratched out of me—“I’m naked.”

Fire scored her cheeks. It was the blush I expected when she first walked into the room.

Now she knew. But she hadn’t known before.

She gasped, tugging her hand. I held it there a moment before letting go. She pulled away as though stung.

I stepped toward her, this time waving a hand before her face.

“Stop that,” she snapped, sensing the air stirring in front of her. Only sensing though. Not seeing. She swatted at my hand, stopping when her back hit the door.

“You—” My voice broke off and I dropped my arm.

She shook her head fiercely, hair pelting her cheeks. Her eyes gleamed, panic moving over her features. She reached for the door latch at her hip, ready to flee.

She didn’t want to hear it. Didn’t want me to know.

“You can't see."

Sophie Jordan grew up in the Texas hill country where she wove fantasies of dragons, warriors, and princesses. A former high school English teacher, she's also the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Avon historical romances. She now lives in Houston with her family. When she's not writing, she spends her time overloading on caffeine (lattes and Diet cherry Coke preferred), talking plotlines with anyone who will listen (including her kids), and cramming her DVR with true-crime and reality-TV shows. Sophie also writes paranormal romances under the name Sharie Kohler.

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