Amazing addition. It’s quite possibly my favourite. Well written and a series that will have you completely invested.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me an e-copy of this book though I read this book in audiobook format.

I read the first book in this series last year and I think I enjoyed this second installment more than the first one.

There were a few points where Reichis actually made me laugh out loud and I almost spat my tea at one point because it was so unexpected! He's now my favourite character in this series.

It was nice to see Kellen's character development as even though he's 16 in this series, he read as a young 16 in the previous book.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to move on to book 3!

*I received an e-ARC of this book courtesy of Hot Key Books and Net Galley in return for a fair and honest review*

Boy oh Boy where to begin with this book. I am going to prefix this review by saying that I read and reviewed the first instalment, and I absolutely loved the idea, and I have finished this book thinking that this is a really unique fantastical world that I could really love. The problem still remains the writing, or more importantly, the story telling. I tried and I tried, I put it down, I read it in different formats, I tried to avoid speed reading, I didn’t everything I could to try and save it, but I really didn’t like it which is such a shame.

OK, where do we begin? The good bits? OK, yes let’s start with the good bits. I absolutely love the idea of wandering female warriors of unknown power and seriously brilliant manipulative skills. The whole world in which the magician’s learn and operate, the way they have different magical abilties and can call on different bands and properties is fascinating and fantastic. There are strong male and female characters, and there are relationships I feel are really important. There are magical beings, talking animals, and a magic that is indescribable and has a completely unknown powers. Somehow, with all of this wonder and creativity, the story falls flatter than a pancake.

For a start, it’s messy. The writing doesn’t flow write, and I often find it hard to track who is who and what is what. I am a speed reader, I read from a whole host of genres and levels, and have never struggled to understand a book in the way I did with this, which is surprising considering it is a YA novel. The pacing is unusual which means it surges where it isn’t supposed to and you wait a long time for things to happen when they shouldn’t do, and things come out at you with no time to recover from the action before.

On top of this, as great as the characters and the magic is, it’s so unexplored and untapped. Du Castell has created a really rich creative pool and yet it feels like we are swimming the surface and be dragged down when we need more information. I don’t feel like we’re being shown or told anything, it’s just kind of dumped there weirdly when you need it and is wholly missable. 

I don’t want to shit all over this series because I know it is deeply loved by many, and others don’t have such a negative reaction, but after experiencing two books within this world, I’m not actually sure I could tell you much of anything that has happened before, and certainly feel like embarking on the third story would be a huge mistake.

Shadowblack was as much fun as Spellslinger - great dialogue, twisty plot, & just the right number of fight scenes

Shadowblack is a very good sequel to Spellslinger, which I liked a lot as well.
This book picks up after the events of Spellslinger. I love De Castell's style of writing, which is a very energetic fantasy, easy to read and fun. But, not boring for adults too. He's very imaginative with the world he builds, the characters and the surprises that unveil.
I look forward to the next one.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for granting a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This story continues with Kellen, Reichus and Ferius. They are crossing the borderlands trying to escape the Jan’Tep who are trying to kill Kellen. Along the way they meet another Argosi woman and her charge, Seneira. Seneira is a run away and Rosie is taking her back home to her father. This is where the adventure begin, they must find out who is infecting the children with shadowblack.
Kellen is still the same young for his age 16 year old, who is still trying to figure out what path he is to follow, while Ferius is still giving none-answers, which is frustrating as hell for the reader never mind Kellen!
Kellen is told off a lot for the way he deals with things and how he rushes in to things, but they just need to understand that he’s 16 and has never been able to think for himself and this is all new for him.
In other ways he’s very intelligent and works things out quiet quickly. His heart is definitely in the right place.
This book is better than the first one as now the characters are established we can really get to know them, we also find more out about Ferius, even though at time she is very annoying.
Reichus is still threading to eat eyeballs and steal things but again we see another side of him that shows he can care for the people around him too.
Another good book although not a lot to say on it, and i can’t wait to read the next adventure in book 3.