This was a fun one from start to finish. I don’t think there was any need for a sequel though. I felt like this one was one that could have just been kept to one novel, but that might just be my take.

A really fun and interesting read. I had an enjoyable time reading this and it held my attention the entire way through that I finished it within the day!

A very light and easy young adult read that I breezed through in a couple of days.

It's nominally a fantasy novel set in a world divided into those with magical abilities ('mages') and those without ('mundanes'), and where women, whose powers tend to be stronger, run the show. Those are both concepts that have been done before, but unlike books like The Power, and even to some degree Harry Potter, this one doesn't take itself too seriously and really isn't pushing to get any kind of serious message across.

The fantasy side of things very quickly takes a back seat to a soap opera-esque family drama full of back stabbing and politicking, and the heroine also spends a fair amount of time sidetracked by romantic entanglements with the hot men who seem to constantly be falling at her feet.

So probably a bit of a guilty pleasure for me (well outside the target demographic), but lots of fun.

It was me, not the book. It had to be because the premise is great, the characters are fun, and the world building is spot on. I just could not get into it. I will pick it back up soon and hopefully be able to change this!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Rebellion and and Jane Routley for my ARC, given in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, this wasn't a bad read. But... it was a bit untidy, a bit all over the place. I loved some of the characters - Shadow, Katti, and the Mooncats - in both forms. I also liked Bright and Graceson, Klea, and Hagen. The rest, well, a bit flighty, a bit silly. Overdone, in some cases, for example Scinti. 

There was a bit too much 'pleasuring' going on, being talked about especially, it really made the whole thing feel a little shallow and inconsequential, more depth would have leant a lot to this tale. Also, the constant use of 'prick' irked me. The term has a derogatory connotation and isn't meant to be bandied about in general conversation. 

Overall, I think there is great potential, and I will be reading the next one with anticipation, but I do hope it is a bit tighter and has more depth than this one. The telepathic cat is a great concept, she needs a lot more page time, so do the Mooncats, and the magical, mysterious forest! Love that.

I was quite looking forward to this one. It sounded interesting and, amusingly, had a picture of a cat on the front just like my last read: Pawsitively Swindled. 
However, I will be perfectly honest with you already here at the start: I was rather disappointed and could not find the motivation to finish it. I don’t want to tear this book to shreds so I will keep my observances down to a few points. 
Firstly, there was so much talk about sex. I mean maybe I should have expected it a little as the description mentions a Fertility Festival, but I didn’t think that would mean people were simply allowed to have sex with whomever they pleased. Now, just so you know, this isn’t all explained in explicit details, but from the 30% that I read, sex is frequently mentioned or observed. 
Secondly, the plot was rather weak. There seemed to be too many other things that happened or were spoked about that bogged down the driving force that the plot could have had. 
Thirdly, this was an intriguing world. I am sad it was executed the way it was.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting my request of an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was... confusing. It has a very grandiose title and a very intriguing plot, but I found it quite misleading. It's a small book (and I don't mean by page count--by ideas). I think the author was trying to create a story of discrimination, sexual freedom, and women's empowerment, but it fell flat. The main character is supposed to be a feminist, but I found her to be the type that I don't like--she was the embodiment of "women are better." There was a scene in which she watched a man washing himself even after he said he didn't like that. That to me screams "no means yes" and it frustrated and upset me.

I believe the ideas behind this book were good, but the execution of them just weren't there. (Also, the telepathic cat isn't nearly as present as I was hoping; when we will get a good literary version of Salem??)

This fantasy book covers so much in its pages, that you don't know how it will end. So cleverly written the author starts coaxing the reader down one path just to then pull the rug from under their feet. I wasn't totally expecting the way the story played out, but it definitely left room for another book to be written and read.  
Shine is the daughter of a mage, who much to the disgust of the family, ran away with not just a mundane but a ghost, Shines father.
After being abandoned as a small child with no magical power of her own, Shine lives with her exiled aunt. With the rest of the family ready to gather at the manor, Shine and her aunt must play host to the great mages of their land. Shine is dragged pillar to post all the while trying to keep a life safe and hidden from the rest of the family. 
The author uses social prejudice as the background for this story, but it has all the family secrets and treachery needed to make this an intense read. Shine is a strong minded protagonist, who is loyal to her aunt and close to her cousin Bright, who due to a scandal is also exiled. This book held my attention to the very end. I hope to be able to read other books and find out if Shine manages to escape and save the life of the ghost she must protect.

I uh. Didn't love this. I wish I could articulate why, but it might have just been my expectations. I thought it was going to have a lot more intrigue but I didn't think there was any. I know the pub date is far off so hopefully, there's some time for revisions. Thank you for the ARC.

Shine Lucheyart is trying to live her mundane life, and just make it through the upcoming fertility festival to decide where her life is going to take her. When her banished cousin returns and entrusts her with a ‘ghost’ from the forbidden neighboring country. Shine maybe the granddaughter of the ruling Empress but being magic-less makes her less important than the rest of your family. But when she receives this unexpected guest, she realizes this may be her way to an adventure. With her family arriving, she must hide ‘ghost,’ and unravel the secrets and misdeeds of her family, while finding out for herself what she wants to do with her life. 
I was surprised by this book, and though I found that began slow it picked up to make up for the lack of information. There were many unanswered questions, which I hope will be answered in upcoming books. Between female empowerment, the openness of sex, talking cats, and learning about different forms of magic, this book is a fun read that will need more books to be answered. There was a lot of information written into this book, which made it difficult to read at times, but I also had to know who was behind everything and how this book will lead into others. It is a very fun read, especially for fans of strong female characters and touches of magic.   
I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley for my honest opinion.

#ShadowintheEmpireofLight #NetGalley
A good solid read for mystery and fantasy readers. I think readers will enjoy the characters.

What an odd little book. I could have lived with the thin thin plot and ridiculous naming scheme, but I draw the line at extremely graphic, seemingly pointless cousin porn.

Let me start by saying, this book is for someone, though that person isn't me.  I felt like the premise was fun and will be appealing to some, but it didn't deliver like I thought it would.  I enjoyed the names of the characters and the way society is structured through matriarchal lines.  There's a lot of free love in this book, which is fun, but possibly too risqué for me.  

The entire narrative takes place over a few days at a country estate with a LOT of kissing cousins, in the literal sense.  I understand that this world is meant to follow laws that are not like those of the world we inhabit in real life, but there are some things that are too far for the imagination to reach.  This is one of them.  I think at one point Shine is being propositioned by her first cousin and there's a nod to incest being gross at some point?  It's just a bit out there for me.  That might be me reading the lineage chart incorrectly or possibly an editing slip, but it didn't make sense there.

It reminds me a little of the Wicked novels, with fantastical names and interesting world building, but with a lot of sexual content thrown in.  It's a little bit unsettling for me, but again, that's just me.  This book has an audience out there.

There's a lot of talk about mating and some suggested rape.  Lots of drug use, it just wasn't my cup of tea.  I think it's written well and it would be good for some audience.  It could also, probably do with a trigger warning.   Overall, it's an interesting book, but probably not one I'd pick up again.

I received a galley copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review from Netgalley. 

I nearly DNF'd this several times. To be perfectly honest, the world building was lacking up front, and the social interaction was confusing. There wasn't enough background to understand what was expected as a reader, and what I should seem to already know about this world. By 38%, nothing had really happened and what did, didn't make sense. And, for a book that's supposed to be YA, there's a lot of questionable sexual themes. I'm all for realistic situations but my god that's a lot of unnecessary sex, rape, incest and group sex. To be honest, I got a little lost in the family relationships and dynamics, so they may call themselves cousin, but even non blood cousins make me squeamish. I really think this is a case of the "less is more" theory- any psychological impact was negated by the sheer quantity of it. I think the author was trying to make a bold statement about social mores, and contrast with the "Ghosts" but even the descriptions were a little thematically icky. The pale sickly technological people versus the tanned, beautiful magical? The idea of trying to force the color/race issue felt just like that- forced. Trying to make an us versus them mentality for the characters can be done in better ways, with more subtly and interest for the reader. 
The tag line for this book was so promising- murder, spies, telepathic cats, mayhem! We got the watered down version and it took nearly the whole book to get there.

Interesting, kinda, at least enough to keep me going to see how it ended. Not really my style though, as the feminist talk bored me, and found the telepathic cat a little odd. If I was in my 20s instead of my 50s I might have liked it a bit more. Would recommend if you want a quick easy summer read.

An interesting read. It always exciting to see someones elses take on magic! Loved the whole matriarchal society! Can't wait to see where the series goes.

Thank you, Rebellion and Netgalley, for accepting my request to read this ARC. 

Shadow in the Empire of Light is a promising feminist fantasy story about mystery, family drama and playful magic. Through my perspective, the summary talks about family dynamics, supernatural creatures and a rich cultural setting.  That's why I immediately requested this when I saw it. I was in the mood for some good magic and intrigue!

The story evolves around Shine, an orphan without magic in a family full of it. She lives with her eccentric aunt and telepathic cat. Their extended family arrives for the annual Fertility Festival and Shine is thrown into a mystery mixed with spies and playful magic. She has to choose where her loyalties lie and what she wants to achieve in the future. On top of that she also meets Shadow, an Outlander from the Ghostlands, who will bring even more complexity to her journey. Reading the summary I was met with a creative take on the fantasy genre, taking playful magic and mixing it with mystery and questions of loyalty. The promise of feminism and sex positivity also meant a great deal to me. This is something I will never get bored of in literature and I can only applaud authors for attempting it.

But finishing this book, I was met with conflicting feelings. The author claims to "write strong women" in her biography but I'm sorry to say that I didn't see them in this book. The majority of characters are disrespectful and unsympathetic, lacking development. Shine, the main character, is the sort of person that ignores people when they explain they're uncomfortable with how she behaves. She continues to behave like this for her own gain. Scenes in this book are regularly given a distasteful vibe because of this. It also didn't help her case that this book is written in first person.  I can't relate to a character that, for example, spies on a man washing himself, especially when he clearly states he doesn't want that. Women throughout history have fought against being treated like this so in my opinion we don't need scenes where the roles are reversed. Sex positivity is a good thing, don't get me wrong, but I find it infuriating when people force it upon others who don't want to talk about it. 

And Shine's character does improve a little at about 70% in the book. But her change of heart is never explored. There's no inner dialogue about what she thinks about her past behavior. Because of this, I found it hard to root for her. Her dynamic with Shadow regularly results into her racist thought process, talking about his skin and grammar. For me, this doesn't build up a good character unless they're met with consequences or relatable dialogue with others. And this never happens. I can understand Shine's character has grown through her heritage and upbringing but I can't encourage characters who are not being explored in a thoughtful manner. 

I think I understand what the author meant to do here. In some way, the first chapters give the promise of a world based on discrimination, racial judgment and characters who will be confronted with their behavior, resulting in deep development. The book would achieve this if it included criticism or consequences within scenes. In this way, the promised complexity and intrigue of this book is regularly diminished by its characters and the way dialogues are handled. 

The idea for this book is 100% there but the execution is at 30%. Reading this and seeing its potential in family dynamics and world building, I think this book would be better executed as a (high) fantasy tome. World building remains flat by a lack of setting and the culture is ignored throughout shallow dialogues about "pricks" and "sickly paleness of one's skin". The story attempts to take on too much focus on both characters, magic systems and culture. A good example for me is the character of Kitti, Shine's telepathic cat. This supernatural creature intrigued me from the beginning but I found myself hungry for more backstory. Kitti, at the end, has no real purpose towards the story and I wonder why she was created. 

If characters would be given more relatability through inner conflict, this might've been a good character driven story. The complexity of the world remains ignored by an overwhelming amount of characters without connection to the story, which resulted in me forgetting who was who. Reading this, I felt like I was given a draft for a promising story. It's something I would 100% enjoy more if the story had been fleshed out. I feel like this book is also a build up to a sequel. If this ever releases, I would be interested to read it. I think the quality and premise of the sequel will influence my opinion on this book. 

I was disappointed this book didn't offer trigger warnings for, as an example, incest.

Let’s start by saying I was immensely disappointed by this book. The plot sounded so cool. When I started reading this book, I was immediately confused. I didn’t understand anything at all about what was going on. Everything was just dropped there. It stayed that way for a few chapters, before I began to understand something. But even after that there was a lot that I didn’t understand. There was a lot going on, but nothing really happened. There were a lot of names thrown at you. And even with the family tree in front of the book I had no idea who everyone was, because everyone had like 3 names/nicknames. 

The world that Jane Routley build was quite interesting, actually. But there was so muh more potential in this world. Also, the story is very strong, but weakly elaborated. You could have made so much more out of a girl who doesn’t fit in her own family. In this way, I didn’t realy care much about the main character, I didn’t care about what would happen to her and couldn’t find some sympathy for her. 

Then about the writing style: overall, the writing style was good. But there were some things that could bother some people. Like the sex scenes. It didn’t bother me, but I can understand it if it would bother you. After all, the book was taking place during a Fertillity Festival, so there was obviously going to be sex. What I didn’t like was the way they tought about sex. At one point Shine was pretending to have seks with her cousin, like WHAT? Why would you do that, and why does anyone care? They also didn’t really care about Shadow, who was clearly uncomfortable with talking about sex, but they kept talking about his ‘prick’. That’s just rude. 

Overall, it was a very disappointing read. I don’t know if there is going to be a sequel, but I don’t really care about Shine enough to think I will read it.
 
Thankyou to Rebellion Pubishing and NetGalley for providing me this ARC

This book has a unique set up and I really enjoyed Shine and the way she struggled between her own dreams and her family. I was a bit disappointed by the plot of the story though, it was set up to be this adventure plot of Shadow going to find Shine's mother, but at half way through the book we still haven't left the estate. I also found during my reading that there were many spelling errors or issues with the grammar that pulled me out of the story. In all I think the idea of the book was great but the execution wasn't to my taste.

Spoilers/Trigger Warning
The book was an interesting read as it was set in a magical world where female mages were in power. The plot, while open-ended, was still interesting as you read through family dynamics and the magical politics surrounding the family. However, the book' used themes of rape, incest, and racism without any trigger warning, and it didn't feel necessary to involve those themes as casually as it did at all. The book, with an interesting premise, rushed through serious topics and made it seem overall cheap.