Voss's debut novel, When Shadows Grow Tall, introduces readers to a fallen world held under tyranny where magic and information is held only by the few. The story follows two separate paths - that of Kylene, a young woman searching for her father, and rangers Lovelace and Gunnar who have assembled a ragtag party. Voss's descriptive prose is a treat to read and really brings the world to life while also leaving much to the imagination. Kernels of information about the magic system, government, and the general way in which this world functions are hidden. Much that is revealed is told to characters through dialogue - an interesting method of exposition and one that does feel quite natural, even if one is left with more questions than answers.

While I'll certainly read any sequels, I feel as though I'm a third of the way into this story at best and the motivations of many of the characters feel incredibly unclear. I'm still not entirely sure what is going on here as so much has only been hinted to.

I LOVED IT ALL!

In the beginning we meet our new friend Kylene, who lives with her parents and sister. Spending her time tinkering with the occasional explosive experiments in their basement. Kylene is the FMC that is forever curious with an actual head on her shoulders - not fixated on some random guy, that's her sister - but more about that later.
We then meet Gunnar and Lovelace. Two rangers of a magical order that are trying to find kids with earthly magic or abilities. I don't want to spoil the why, but in the first three chapters you figure out what's the big bad.
I enjoyed the writing, the world building and the characters. I loved Kylene immediately and felt Gunnar's dread.
This is easily one of my favorite reads of the year so far and appreciated the way the storylines of our friends connected.

If you are looking for a great adventure, this is it!

#CuriosityAndCourage

"You must never stop asking questions, my darling. If you don't go about asking questions, no one has to worry about the answers they're giving you."

Thank you to Maressa Voss for giving me the opportunity to embark on this adventure!

I bought this book on an impulsive whim and went into it not knowing what to expect and I came away absolutely loving it! For me the book hit the perfect spot right between a slow burn fantasy and an epic adventure. I really adored the characters and the multiple perspectives. The atmosphere and the vibes were really interesting, and I felt like I cared a lot about the characters and the world as a whole. Great read!

When Shadows Grow Tall by Maressa Voss is a solid fantasy read that really drew me in. I loved the dual storylines—one following Lovelace and Gunnar as they try to stop a rogue magic user, and the other with Kylene searching for her father. The world-building was so immersive, and the magic system was well-developed and subtle, which I appreciated. The start was a bit slow, and there were a couple of things I wish had been explored more, but the character development and the atmosphere kept me hooked. Overall, I'd give it a 4/5!

Excellent. Mystery, magic, female lead. Deep and rich worlds. Loved this and can’t wait for a sequel. Thank you to the author. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher.

I really enjoyed reading this book. This is the first time I have read anything from Maressa Voss, and I was not disappointed. The characters, story line, and world building were all well done. I thought she did an excellent job with the fast pace and keeping me entertained. I was hooked from early on, and I couldn't put it down. The writing style was also well done because of the descriptive nature. The author made me feel like I was right there in the middle of the story. I can't wait to read more from the author. I absolutely recommend this book to other readers.

Thank you Net Galley, Collective Ink Books, and Maressa Voss

"When Shadows Grow Tall" had moments of promise, but ultimately fell into some well-worn fantasy tropes that prevented it from truly shining. Maressa Voss clearly put a lot of work into crafting her world, but unfortunately, the world-building often manifested as clunky info-dumping. Instead of organically weaving details into the narrative, large chunks of exposition were dropped in, halting the story's momentum and making it feel like a textbook rather than an adventure.
Beyond the world-building issues, the plot itself felt tired and predictable. It rehashed familiar themes and tropes that have been done before, and frankly, better. There weren't any real surprises or twists, and the story followed a well-trodden path that offered few, if any, original insights. This lack of originality made the reading experience feel somewhat uninspired.
The writing style also contributed to the book's shortcomings. At times, the prose felt stilted and awkward, hindering the flow of the narrative. While there were glimpses of potential, they were often overshadowed by clunky dialogue and a general lack of polish.
Despite these criticisms, "When Shadows Grow Tall" wasn't a complete failure. There were moments where the author's passion for her world shone through, and some of the characters showed potential. However, these positives weren't enough to outweigh the book's significant flaws. Three stars feels like a fair rating – it's an okay read, but it's unlikely to leave a lasting impression.

Thank you to Maressa Voss and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest view.

The premise is interesting and the synopsis really enticed me in. The book cover is also pretty. Unfortunately the outside is better than the inside. The characterisation was weak, the pacing and plot were both off, and the info dumping was insane. I think it has potential but it needs a major rewrite and further editing.

Thank you to Netgally for this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

I really wanted to enjoy this more than I did. I am tired of Gaelic inspired fantasy and this came at a bad time. I don’t mind fantasy novels with a lot of world building but I just wished less of it occurred in info dumps.

Kylene and Lovelace were interesting enough characters but I didn’t like Lovelace’s POV until about 80% of the way through and I think he made the story drag. Kylene’s may have been more interesting due to the fact that she was younger and her journey was so much newer to her than Lovelace’s was to him. I did enjoy the banter between Lovelace and Gunnar and Pif was one of the most enjoyable characters in the book.

My biggest issues were the pacing, the character arcs and the antagonist. To start, the beginning of the book is so visceral and attention that everything afterwards felt like a drag (again, a lot of it was during Lovelace’s POV.

I also think the book was dragged down by the very binary good versus evil characters and plot. Because every character had a very strict archetype, it felt like there was little room for character development or deviation from a set, predictable plot. This good versus evil also heavily applies to the antagonists. Alev and Osbert are very stereotypical villains that don’t have much going for them, either to make me believe that they’re extremely evil (other than were told they are) or to even find some sort of sympathy for them.

I also think that even if a first book is intent on world building for a series, there still needs to be more happening (for example Black Sun did a good job of this). This fantasy world where magic exists also just had such strict rules regarding gender and sexuality, I just wish we saw fantasy writers stray from.

“When Shadows Grow Tall” by Maressa Voss is a hauntingly beautiful tale that lingers in your mind long after the final page. The prose is lyrical yet raw, perfectly capturing the tension between light and darkness. It’s a story of resilience, heartbreak, and finding hope in the unlikeliest of places.

This was such a fun slow burn fantasy with some of my favourite elemental style books! Both the characters, writing style and atmosphere of this book were just to die for!

The only reason this isn’t a five star is I found the dialogue a bit cringy at times (especially with the villains) and a bit too much info dumping

This was unexpected and yet enjoyable. I really loved the world building and the character and magic system were really well done. The adventure and politics keep me entertained until the very end

3.5 stars

This is a slow-burn story with elemental magic and remarkable world-building. While following two rangers, Lovelace and Gunnar, who are the orders' last on a dangerous mission, at the same time, we follow Kylene, the daughter of a printing press on the journey to find her missing father which leads her to a mysterious group of outcasts with whom she takes up refuge.

With the magic of words, Voss has laid out beautiful visuals in great detail that allow for oneself to fully immerse into the world and the surroundings.

Although the writing style took time to get used to, the story is fascinating and leads to the turning of pages.

Thank you to NetGalley, Collective Ink Books, Roundfire Books and Maressa Voss for providing me with the eARC and the opportunity to read and provide an honest review!

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Fantastic! When Shadows Grow Tall is an impressive fantasy debut by Maressa Voss, weaving together intricate worldbuilding, dual POVs, and a unique magic system (not my usual genre of choice). Set in the Grasp, a realm teetering between enlightenment and oppression, the novel follows two rangers, Lovelace and Gunnar, and a young woman, Kylene, as they each embark on quests that will decide the fate of their world. Voss excels in creating a vividly detailed setting, with her writing style painting each scene in immersive, cinematic detail. The elemental magic system is subtle yet believable, and the characters, particularly Kylene, are so witty and strongly development. While the middle of the book slows in pacing, the narrative picks up as the POVs converge. Overall, When Shadows Grow Tall is a strong, well-crafted debut that certainly establishes Voss as a promising voice in the fantasy genre!

A great slow-burn, elemental fantasy!
I enjoyed this from the start, and as a debut, it’s a ringer.

This is a wonderful and enchanting debut. The pace is fast and while a little curious at first as there is little explanation or context given to the world, magic system or magical relations, the pace keeps you motivated. I loved the fact that context came in the middle of the book.

I found several typos but otherwise really valued this book’s originality and characters.

I must preempt this review by noting the two different aspects of this book that stuck out: the plot execution and the technical writing style. I rate the plot execution about a 3, and the writing style a 5, so this review will average those two scores out.

Starting with the plot execution: the way this book started, I was convinced that it would be a 5 star review. The two different POVs, the elemental magic system, and the lore folded into the worldbuilding, are all pieces of the novel that I loved so much. I am also always a sucker for the type of dual POV that don’t seem to coincide/overlap until suddenly they do. This book was like that, because each alternating chapter felt so different, and then they suddenly dovetailed together, and it was fun to see how it all came together. Where I had issues was in the way that the middle portion seemed to drag a bit, and elements of the plot started to feel very similar to other fantasy novels, without much of a spin. I kept waiting for something new, for the plot to go a different way, but the slow pacing made it difficult for a lot to happen, and it ended up feeling like I was waiting for something to happen that never did.

The writing style, on the other hand, is an easy 5 stars, one of the most beautifully written and described worlds I have read in recent memory. I was floored from the first page, and it was something I enjoyed all the way to the very end. On the whole, this book averages out to 4⭐, and I look forward to reading the sequel!

*Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Weirdly, I remember reading this book ages ago but didn't seem to write a review for it.

This was a really interesting read, although I did find the time line confusing.

I liked the characters. I thought that they were well written. I especially liked Kylene who finds out her father is involved in the rebellion movement against the tyrannical regime and ends up running away, seeking him.

Then you have the rather jaded rangers with magic who are part of an organisation that hoards their knowledge. The villain of the story is a member of this group who has broken away and is teaching people the magic.

The worldbuilding is also quite interesting. The magic system is nature based and one of the ideas is that you can learn the truth of things by tapping into nature to get a true account of things.

There is a lot of action in the book, and it is quite dark, but at times, the pace did drag a bit with a bit of info dumping and overly prosaic language.

I would definitely read the next, however.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6739916260

For some reason I couldn't quite get on with this one. It's a fairly standard fantasy novel with some nice ideas, but something about the pacing was a little off and there were lots of sections where my attention started to drift. I also couldn't fully get behind any of the main characters - they all felt a bit like caricatures will not much nuance to them, particularly the pantomime-esque baddies. I would have liked to see a bit more exploration of the motives of both the heroes and villains, as maybe then some of these people would have felt more real and I might have cared more about them. And I also didn't feel any real sense of jeopardy at any point, even when the heroes were seemingly at risk - this is always an issue in books where magic can provide a get out even in the most dire of situations, but I felt it particularly strongly with this one. So overall, while I recognise the author's talents, this just wasn't for me. Many thanks to her, the published and NetGalley for the ARC.