L.K. Evans Blog

I LOVED IT

I’m in the mood for entertainment, something fun with nifty magic and a great character. I’m not in the mood to think or solve a complicated plot. My brain needs a rest and I need an escape. So this series was perfect.

Caim is an assassin who gets a job that turns sour and is thrown into a political uprising. Nothing about it is remarkably unique, but it’s fast paced and just an overall fun read.

First off, the magic in this book was just plain fun to read. Our protagonist, Caim, can command shadows. This in and of itself kept my attention. How Sprunk wrote those scenes were engaging and very well done. I could easily imagine it and it was incredibly entertaining. What I think made it stand out even more was the lack of any other magic, and even better was the lack of drawn out explanations on how the magic worked. I got a basic idea how based on some key sentences that managed to raise some story questions along with answering some and providing backstory. It was weaved into everything nicely. Loved it.

The characters for the most part were engaging and done well. I wouldn’t say they were A complicated or intriguing set, but I was satisfied with what I was given. Caim was well thought out with some good layers added to his personality. He grew in the book, which is always a good thing. Josey was our other protagonist. I didn’t care much for her in the beginning, which I think was kinda the point. She changed the most throughout the book and I enjoyed watching her toughen up. I actually found Kit raised my curiosity and held my attention more than Josey. I enjoyed Kit and Caim's interactions far more than Caim and Josey's. They had nice banter and an ease to their relationship that Josey and Caim lacked. The other characters were standard, in my opinion. Nothing stood out about them, but the story carried me past any disappointments there.

Speaking of, I enjoyed the pace of this book. It wasn’t slow for me and held my interest. Some of the action scenes were brilliant. Sprunk’s descriptions were done incredibly well for a gal who doesn’t care much for descriptions. His fight scenes were also engaging and wonderfully entertaining. The world was fine by me, nothing crazy or unique, but had history and felt developed.

So overall I enjoyed this book enough to immediately pick up the next one in the series. The shadows were the deciding factor for that choice because I found them super fun. I’d recommend this series to anyone who enjoys fantasy and is looking for a quick read that’s high on the entertainment value.