Good for people who like: light world-building, easy punches to emotions, unique magic.

The book is a little confusing, I found it hard to figure out what was going on for about a third of the book. There's not a lot of explanation about why Wren has to hide her magic for a long while. I like Wren and her romantic interest, but I wish the author had pulled back from emotional aspects in the book that could have been there. Some of the impactful moments were lightened very quickly, which makes it great for readers who don't want something too hard to read or emotionally challenging.

Thank you to NetGalley and author Jen Bliton for this eARC

I was initially drawn in by the cool cover. Unfortunately this didn't really work for me.
For me it lacked urgency & seriousness. I felt like our MC was just going with the flow cause she had nothing better to do and it all just felt kind of surface level. Given this it made it feel very young - like the intended audience was the cusp of middle grade to young adult readers. And maybe that was the authors intention, it's just not my cup of tea.
I'm also hate insta-love which this 100% is.
To summarise there was nothing deeply offending about this book, but also nothing exciting.
2.75 stars

An amazing read! THIS BOOK captured my attention all the way through. I loved the journey and growth the FMC has and enjoyed how the plot thickened throughout the book. I found the magical system nd world to be very interesting too!

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me,
It was slow and didn’t grip me, the first few chapters are so important to me and if I’m not captured then, than I just lose interest and struggle thereafter.
I wanted to like it, on paper the description is everything I love but the actually story wasn’t there.
I’m sorry.

Whilst I don’t this book is inherently bad, it also didn’t really hit for me. This book felt almost painfully generic and like it was written with a tickbox of all of the common, popular tropes of YA fantasy books. I think the ideal audience for this book is a reader who is maybe just discovering YA fantasy and are eager to read more but don’t know what to pick up. This being said, I can also see this book being something that readers who have read a lot of the genre would eat up. I guess what I am saying is that it didn’t work for me but for somewhat subjective reasons 😅 I definitely think it was a well-written and plotted book, I simply didn’t vibe with it.

The Shadows of Wren by Jen Bliton is a captivating fantasy novel with a well-paced narrative. This was my first experience with Bliton's work, and I was pleasantly surprised by how both cozy and dark the story was. I devoured the book in just a few days, immersing myself in the richly detailed world-building and intricate magic system. The romance between Wren and Tyran was endearing, though I felt it could have benefited from a slower development. Their transition to love seemed a bit too swift, and the drama surrounding their relationship might have added more depth with additional obstacles. Despite this, I thoroughly enjoyed their scenes together!

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me, which I rarely find myself doing. I don’t know if I am just being picky these days, but I couldn’t get into it. Same tropes, different book. There wasn’t enough to keep me glued to the pages and that’s significant to me. In a world where series like ACOTAR and Fourth Wing exist, this just can’t and won’t measure up. It’s a tough genre for sure anymore. I am certain someone will or does love this book. It just wasn’t for me.

Ich weiß ehrlich gesagt nicht, wie ich dieses Buch bewerten soll, da ich es aufgrund relativ kurzer Ausleihdauer (ohne Verlängerung) nicht lesen konnte.

Unfortunately this was did not finish. I read the first 30% but it didn't capture my interest. I didn't care for the characters or find myself invested in the world building and found the plot rather boring. The writing wasn't spectacular and there wasn't anything in this fantasy I haven't seen a hundred times before. Not for me.

I really enjoyed this book! The writing style was addictive, with pacing that kept you reading! I didn’t love the characters at first but they really grew on me. I can’t wait to read more from this author!

This book was ok. Its like a good vs evil type fantasy book. Wren is the female main character and has shadow magic powers.

The Shadows of Wren was quite an enjoyable book.

The action is filled in a world full of magic and quite a lot of intrigue. The story follows Wren, a shadow wielder that works at the local library. All is well until someone starts attacking the libraries looking to steal some important knowledge and so, Wren's adventure begins. She'll meet a necromancer and learn that not every single one of them is evil. Together they will learn more about shadow magic and also fall in love. I didn't really like the insta-love part, but they are quite cute and he gives her an adorable nickname.

All in all, the book is really nice and reminded me of Sorcery of Thorns

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

I thought at first this was going to be a non-starter. The premise interested me but the first 6 or 7 chapters were slow and I did consider putting it back down again. It starts picking up in depth and pace once the FMC meets the MMC and things start coming together. Although I did like them as a pairing the instalove is not something I can get behind and I find these things awkward.

The World Building was spot on, to be honest, but the plot and characters could have had the same detail to them for me to be able to connect a little more but it wasn't a bad book.

Wren and Tyran give a new definition to moving into a relationship quickly.

The Shadows of Wren is a romantasy novel about necromancers, shadow magic, and the consequences of too much power. One thing I will note before I review any further is that there are a fair amount of grammatical and spelling mistakes (at least, in my copy) so if that's something that you can't ignore like I did, this book is not for you. Also, the telepathy in this book is not differentiated form normal text, meaning it can be a bit confusing at times.
The story itself took me a little while to get into, and I think it had to do with the characters, which I'll get into in a little bit. The magic system was interesting - there are witches, mages, warlocks, and necromancers, and they're all different. The main character, Wren, is a mage (meaning she can use elemental magic from what I gained, but she seems mostly to stick with fire) who also has shadow magic. I didn't really get a clear sense of the plot from the beginning, which is something I struggle with in books, but it definitely became more direct and interesting to me around 60%. I will say that I called most of the plot twists, but that's not exactly uncommon in YA fantasy for me.
I think my biggest struggle was trying to connect with the characters. At first I was excited for Wren because I don't usually see shadow-wielder women in books, but her personality fell a bit flat for me. The same goes for Tyran, whose only personality seemed to be hitting on Wren at every chance he got...and I mean every chance. They met in the woods a few chapters in and started making out at 30%, and then they didn't stop...ever. Bergen, Viggo, Endora, and the rest of the cast were relatively two-dimensional (although I liked Viggo's backstory). I also thought that Rhonin was a cool idea for a villain, but his motives were a bit bland.
If you're in the mood for a short, dark YA romantasy, The Shadows of Wren is a fast-paced read that checks all of those boxes.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!

3.25/5

I want to thank NetGalley, and the author Jen Bliton for providing this e-ARC. Witch, I will be giving my honest and sincere review.

We follow Wren and a magical worldbuilding, we find ourselves in a fantasy world.
Wren first lived in an orphanage but found out she had a gift.
Prepare yourself for a world full of ancient magic, amazing characters, sweet enemies to lovers with a mysterious necromancer, Tyran…
Overall I enjoyed this book, it was fast-paced, and we see the story being focused around Wren and Tyran's first encounter in a forest developing into a romance, with all the emotions and conflicts of who they are, we get to see their journey to save their lands, full of action and mystery.


#TheShadowofWren #NetGalley #bookstagram #bookaholic #bookreviewer #Bookreader

When I first requested this book, I was so interested in the premise. However it took me a long time to actually wan to pick up the book and once I did start reading I felt the pacing was too slow for me and ultimately resulted in me having to DNF this book.

If I had to sum this up in a few words, I'd say it's full of magic, romance, unforgettable characters and has excellent world building. Bliton has a wonderful way of describing everything, that drops you right into the heart of the story. I really liked Wren, she has unique magic, and Tyran makes the perfect match for her. I would love to learn more about how their magic is linked, and the history of magic in the world overall. The story itself moves along at a good pace, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I really hope to see further adventures, and more chances to explore the world in future books!

A solid romantasy that I flew through and was easily immersed in. It combined the best of the genre and although will not become a new favourite, was enjoyable throughout and faultless for what it delivered. Character creation is key in this genre, for me, and this author nailed every aspect of hers.

This was a new to me author and it was not disappointed! I could get enough of this book. It was so good that I couldn’t put it down!

A captivating, quick, cozy read for every fantasy lover! I can't wait to read more by this author. The pace was a little slower, and this seems to be firmly YA, but I'm a sucker for a cute necromancer.