The Shadow Kingdom is a hard book for me to review because the first half is so different from the second half.
The story follows a sentry named Eli, who lives in a color world near the border of the cursed black and white shadowlands. One night she is kidnapped and brought into the shadowlands and begins a long journey to get back home.
I loved the world building. Inkson does a good job blending old world black and white with new world color. The different kingdoms and their separation made sense. The different clans and races felt really original and I had fun learning about them through the story.
The first half was action packed and fast paced. It was interesting and I wanted to see how everything came together.
The second half switched tones into heavy angst and whiny tones. Suddenly Eli went from sympathetic and compelling, to jealous and crazy. The journey home stopped being important and Eli's interest in Tren became the only plot point.
Once we're in girly land, we stay there until she is rescued and the reader is subjected to a full chapter of exposition about characters we have no connection to and have no interest. It was a convenient ending that did not feel true to the story.

It starts in the world of color, Eli is kidnapped away from it to be brought over to the Shadow Cursed kingdom, a land that 300 years ago lost its color and lives in black and white.

This book started slow, then was fast paced for a while and started to bring the two main characters together. When I was at 90% the story comes to a plot twist where Eli realizes that she is more important than she knew.
At this point I knew this would go into a second book and was just reading to end it...well at 96% there is another change in events and ends abruptly. That threw me off.
We will see what happens when the second book comes out.

I received this ebook copy from the publisher and NetGalley for an honest review.

The Shadow Kingdom is a fast paced, eclectic construction of comparisons. The contrast between a world of colour with a world in B&W, conincides with the building of character - particularly the character relationships with others and themselves. Very interesting - and not overplayed concept.

This started off as a story with an interesting concept. However, I think this falls a bit into the delivery hole - the idea is great, the execution could be explored. Despite that, I enjoyed reading about a world without color and the lengths people who go to protect color - it portrayed how beautiful and important color was to our lives.

Imagine a land where all the color was sucked out, leaving its people with shades of black and white. Many years ago, a Shadow Curse was cast on an island, draining it of its color and leaving the people alone and in the dark.
Elliot West comes from a line of Watchman, tasked with keeping watch in case there is any sign of the Shadow Curse spreading into her homeland. It has been centuries, and no watchman has spotted anything.
That is until Eli is kidnapped and brought to the Shadow Kingdom.
Omigod I really enjoyed this book. It was a bit confusing at first but soon turned into an addictive read that I couldn’t put down.
I loved Eli’s character growth throughout the story. At first, she was scared and helpless with no real backbone. I got annoyed at her easily. As the plot went on and she was faced with more challenges, she became a stronger version of herself.
The book has you guessing until the very end! I honestly didn’t see it coming which is rare for me. I really enjoyed CJ’s descriptive writing and can’t wait for the next book!

Thank you NetGalley for this wonderful Ebook!

Fresh and different, The Shadow Kingdom is an engrossing way to spend a snowy afternoon snuggled under a blanket with hot cocoa by your side.

We start in todays modern world, on an island called Tallon, where our heroine Elliot (who goes by Eli, please!) goes on a day outing with a couple of friends. Eli is one of a long list of generational Watchmen keeping an eye on the straits that separate her island country from the Shadow Lands, a fabled evil place that is completely devoid of all color. Eli falls asleep as she and her friends lie on aeach in front of a cave. She wakes to a hand holding a wet cloth to her face as she loses consciousness, and we are off on our adventure!


This tale has everything; exotic lands and people, bad guys and good guys, royalty and peasants, and a handsome mysterious stranger. The action is continuous and the excitement keeps you turning the page until well after you should have gone to bed. Everyone is a fascinating character that you want to know more about, but the story keeps things moving along, and that's ok too.


Satisfying surprises, eye-brow raising twists and turns, right up until the absolutely ho-hum ending, which was a bit of a disappointment considering the rest of this wonderful book. Will it stop me from pining for the sequel? Not a chance. I'm eagerly waiting...

Elliot West stands vigil as watchman on the lookout for signs the Shadow Curse may be spreading across the Barrier Strait to her small northern isle. But in all the centuries since the curse was cast, no one, including Eli has seen a thing and even she is beginning to wonder if it’s all some grand hoax.