3.75 stars! such an impressive debut!

i actually found the first few chapters quite slow so i was surprised at how quickly i breezed through the rest of the book after that initial hump. i enjoyed the plot and kylene’s character the most and everything kept me pretty engaged throughout BUT…

atmosphere and worldbuilding is second of the most important things in a book for me after the plot and though the story had me interested, being in the Grasp is what kept me turning the pages here and this was a perfect 10 in that aspect. i was fully immersed in the world and opening the book just completely transported me into it. for that alone, i’d 100% recommend this book.

overall, this was a solid elemental fantasy!

(arc review through netgalley)

I'll start with the things I like.
1. The magic system was pretty cool.
2. Pif was adorable

Now for the things I didn't like:
Is this set in medieval times? Who knows because at one point, gutter pipes are mentioned.
There are times in the book where there is so much description that it was a bit too much, but all descriptions seemed to go away from the book as soon as it was actually needed.

The editing needs work. People seem to appear out of nowhere. Words that should be entered into a sentence are completely missing. They're just needs to be a little bit more editing.

This book could also be considered YA. Yes, there are things that are a little bit more adult. But the entire book and the way that it was written just screams YA.

It's not a bad book. There are things about it that were enjoyable. However, as an adult reader that loves character development, creative world building, this one just did not do it for me.

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book*

"When Shadows Grow Tall" is the first book in a fantasy book series with fascinating world building that verges on dystopia in parts. At the heart of the story are power struggles and religious fights concerning the 'truth'. With two different focalisers, a ranger from an ancient brotherhood and a young girl leaving home following her seditious father, the story has a good pacing and manages to make the world feel vivid. I sadly disliked both focalisers and also the artifical mystery surrounding Kylene (especially in the end) somewhat annoyed me. The 'evil guys' also remained flat characters for the majority of the book. Maybe I was not in the right mood for this book, but I was kinda bored when reading...

What made me really mad, however, was the stereotypical usage of Celtic languages in yet another fantasy novel. Droch Fhortan = bad luck, really; to just name one example. If you have studied Celtic Studies and have learned Celtic languages (Scottish Gaelic, Irish, Welsh, and some Breton and Cornish too), seeing Celtic names in books about to be butchered by readers, audiobooks and whatnot, makes me sad on top. Especially if the words picked are not coherent in terms of context, time and language. Why do people still do this? I wish people would either put real work into the languages and cultures they exploit for literature or just make stuff up themselves. *sigh*

So, a promising novel with some flaws for me. I'm not sure if I'll read a sequel because I disliked the characters and found the overall conflict somewhat trite. Sorry.

3 stars max.

I was very excited to read this eARC but unfortunately it didn't quite hit the mark for me.

Let's start with the positives - it's beautifully written, I loved the descriptive and lyrical prose. The world-building is very well done, I got a good feel for environment and enjoyed the idea of the elemental powers and how they work. We're dropped right in it with regards to the magic system, but I like that. I love to figure things out as I go rather than being spoon-fed everything.

It's quite a slow-burn, which isn't necessarily a negative but it did take me quite a while to get through and I prefer a page-turner. It picked up around 40% when I started to get more invested in what was happening, but then dropped off again at about 60%. The order of the chapters is quite confusing - I understand that we're going back and forth in time but there didn't seem to be a clear pattern to it which affected the pacing.

There's a big gap between the end of Kylene's backstory and where she is now that disconnected me from who she is as a character in the present, and that brings me to the crux of the issue for me: I just didn't feel very connected to any of the characters. Kylene is the most well-developed but suffers from the latter, and Gunnar and Lovelace felt more surface level.

Overall this is a very impressive and imaginative debut novel, but does suffer from a few issues as mentioned. Thank you so much to Maressa, the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC.

When Shadows Grow Tall is the stunning fantasy debut from Maressa Voss and the novel was just as pretty as this cover (which is a good thing!)

The blurb itself is what drew me to this novel. I had no expectations going in but I'm glad I did because I am such a fan of the way that Voss writes. I like when novels give you the breathing space to work out things yourself and Voss' ability to slowly unravel the plot whilst not spoon-feeding you is something I really enjoyed. The writing style itself was heavy but poetic and whilst the start may be hard to understand, Voss guides you through this with ease.

An interesting aspect here is the magic system that is based on the elements - Fire, Earth, Air & Water. These allow for a succinct magic system that can be a tad complex but is entrancing once it gets going. Again, it's great to see Voss let you work it out for yourself rather than have tons of explaining. There are a lot of unique moments with magic and memories which makes for an absorbing concept that you really need to experience for yourself.

The worldbuilding is excellent and a great foundation to what Voss is creating. Each area, person and interaction is told brilliantly as we journey through many landscapes with these characters. I particularly liked the relationships between certain characters that felt incredibly real.

This is a brilliant debut from Maressa Voss and I'm eager to see what other books hold.

Thank you so much to Maressa Voss and NetGalley for giving me early access to this book in exchange for an honest review!

The writing style did need some getting used to, but I was on the edge of my seat pretty much the whole time - especially after I got past the 50% mark and the two narrators (yes, we have two POVs) seem to finally have met!

But that's also where I started to get confused.
.
.
.
[The following sections may contain SPOILERS]

I thought that "the girl" Lovelace, Gunnar, and the others found was Kylene. But at the same time, we're at her POV, and she's at a totally different place. So, "the girl" doesn't seem to be Kylene, after all. (Why they never asked her name, I couldn't fathom.)

Unfortunately, as soon as I accept that as a fact, the girl is revealed to be Kylene, after all - though she claims a different name now: Cora. As far as I know, unless I missed something, she never introduced herself to Lovelace and co., yet they seem to know a lot about her, and even know her past name and why she's where she is. In addition, Lovelace and Gunnar's mission, originally, was to find and secure Kylene; yet when they found her, instead they for some reason follow her to Omnia?

The last 40% or so of the book has a lot of showing, and feels like many things are skipped. I want to like it, I really do; I know the story has potential, that despite my confusion, I do plan to continue once Book 2 comes out, whenever that will be.

When Shadows Gr0w Tall by Maressa Voss
Published by Collective ink books, Roundfire books
3/5 stars!

Unfortunately, I struggled to get into this book despite it being very fast paced and well constructed. However, Voss created very likeable characters - Lovelace, Gunnar and Kylene.

Lovelace and Gunnar find themselves embarking on a journey where they are forced to face unimaginable implications, whereas, Kylene embarks on a different journey where she tries to find her Father. Her Father left letters which lead Kylene on a path to discover what he knew.

I would recommend this book if you want a face-paced fantasy journey with adventure and hints of magic!

Thank you to Maressa Voss, the publisher and NetGalley for this arc!

3.5 stars ⭐️ - this review contains some spoilers

First, thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC and to Maressa Voss for graciously sending me a physical ARC of this beautiful book. I adore the original artwork and its significance to the story.

In my opinion, this was a great debut novel! A slow burn fantasy with elemental magic and unique societal ways of knowing. I’m a sucker for Gaelic influences which also caught my attention right away.

Perhaps what I enjoyed most about this novel is the author’s writing style. I’d read that some folks could not get into it, but I personally liked it and felt the voice perfectly matched the type of story being told. I also learned several new words (thanks to Kindle reading for definitions)!

Other loves:
* I loved the way Voss used the first and second chapters of the book to begin to describe the magic and knowledge system in the story. The way this was accomplished through a vision of the main character was clever.
* I loved the realism and the way the author was able to illustrate the environment in each scene, as well as the whole story’s connection to nature and the earth. Foraging is awesome!
* I loved what the dactyli stand for in this story and the parallels to the maesters of the citadel in Game of Thrones.
* The magic system is interesting in the way the dactyli can experience memories. The details of how this is done and the thought that went into this seems unique to this world.
* Loved the twist toward the 3/4 point in the book. I was actually fooled, and I usually see twists coming!

Some critiques:
* I think I enjoyed the beginning of this book more than the end, particularly when I got to Kylene’s POV. I thought her family dynamic was rather interesting and was a bit sad we couldn’t get more of that!
* From there, I thought the plot was quite slow moving, understanding that much of this first novel needed to be world building.
* I struggled to wrap my head around the society of the Grasp and the core values and motivations of the people within it. The antagonists could have used more in the way of character development. Even with the short scene of them at the end, I never quite understood what Osbert’s regime was all about or why Alev would need or want to partner with him. I would not have minded a longer first book to better understand the antagonists, which would then make me feel more strongly for the protagonists and their new mission. This area of the story seems the most underdeveloped, but I’m hoping more will be revealed in the next book.
* Would have liked more detail about what the bellringers were doing and what their ultimate goal is/was.
* The climax felt a little rushed despite all the waiting we did up until that point.

Questions:
* Why did Kylene’s father save the letters he’d written and received from other bellringers? Wouldnt that get his family in trouble if they were found? And if he kept them because they were important to him why didn’t he take them?

Overall, I liked the book and plan to read the next one. I’m interested to see how the story evolves and the antagonists develop now that our protagonists and world building are further along!

I got about 100 pages in before I decided to give up. I just found it too boring and it felt like a chore to read it. What's the point of having an interesting chapter in the middle of boring ones about two men who's dialogue is long and confusing?

Thank you NetGalley for granting me access to this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This book! I absolutely loved the slow burn in this book. What’s even better is that it’s a fantasy slow burn!

The world building and story telling is fantastic throughout this book. I honestly could not it it down. What an amazing debut!

The synopsis of this story really intrigued me and the magic system was interesting and fresh however I fear I may have read a completely book to everyone else as I really couldn’t get into this book at all! The story felt like it had been jumbled and put back together in the wrong order, there were some chapters that started randomly somewhere else and this later was explained but it felt quite jarring to me as a reader. The writing itself was really good and I think this may have been the only thing that made me keep reading. I really wanted to enjoy this book as I found the first few chapters so captivating, with the vague but descriptive introduction to the villain but I didn’t really connect to any of the characters eventually. Thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book⭐️

There are many books that require a few chapters to warm up to. When Shadows Grow Tall by Maressa Voss will not be one of them. Readers will be swept up immediately by this writer's evocative imagery, particularly the rich, lustrous descriptions of nature - "lush green leaves like crushed velvet" - throughout the land of The Grasp. Every sentence feels lovingly polished.

One storyline follows Lovelace and Gunnar, our jaded, somewhat reluctant, yet secretly softhearted heroes. The other storyline follows Kylene, who feels, in many ways, like the more likely hero of the story. Sensitive, intelligent, resourceful, scholarly but scrappy.

The magic in this world derives all its power from the natural elements, which makes its role pleasantly understated. It's not flashy and, while it's relevant to the story, it doesn't steal the focus from the main plot or from the characters themselves. As someone who's grown thoroughly weary of reading about one Dark Magick Academy™ after another, this was a refreshing change.

However, the point where Kylene's plotline joins Lovelace's and Gunnar's doesn't feel like peaceful, long-awaited convergence I was hoping for. It was disconcerting as missing the top stair in the dark. I flipped forward and then backward several pages thinking I had missed something. After the storylines meet, the book seems to rush through its climax and falling action, tacking on an epilogue that, instead of offering resolution, raises more questions. It was a disconcerting ending to an otherwise outstanding book.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/197914183-when-shadows-grow-tall
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/43696692.Maressa_Voss

High fantasy
Elemental magic
Ancient brotherhood
Dual POV
Found family
Quest

“When truth becomes a weapon, who shall wield it?”

“So begins the battle for the minds of the people, and a quest for the heart of magic itself.”

When Shadows Grow Tall is Maressa Voss’s debut novel.

The book is told in two pov, one follows two rangers, Lovelace & Gunnar and the other follows Kylene, a young woman who is trying to find her missing father. Lovelace & Gunnar pov was quite interesting but I found Kylene’s pov to be a bit unnecessary / pointless at times.

The world building was okay, but a bit confusing, especially when there was a lot of new information about the world given during dialogue. I had to revisit / reread certain sections to understand what was going on.

The storyline itself was okay. The characters, especially villains were quite shallow.

I feel that the book & storyline would have been more cohesive with just one pov. Also I would have liked the book to be a bit longer so that there would have been time to explain certain things more and maybe then the ending wouldn’t have felt so rushed.

This started out really interesting. You're really thrown in, but the dual-POV was intriguing enough and the magic system was very inventive. However, around the 70-80% mark, I started to lose interest and by the time the ending rolled around, I was a bit frustrated, especially since the ending felt far too rushed. It felt like all this build-up for what amounted to not a whole lot of satisfying pay-off.

This is a potentially nitpicky opinion but I really hated the repetitive use of "man & woman" as gender identifiers. Like, please, you can just say "people" or any other word in the thesaurus to illustrate that. Think outside of the binary, I beg!

There was a religious system, but it sort of felt incidental? I guess, it didn't make a whole lot of sense and the way it integrated into the world wasn't always entirely clear to me.

This is a pretty expansive world and there was a LOT of info-dumping, which took place during dialogue. I wish there'd be more actual moments of discovery on both the part of the characters and the reader rather than outright telling. Also, there were parts of the book that felt overwritten in a way where I had to re-read the sentence or paragraph a few times because things weren't entirely clear. That's not to say the writing wasn't good at times. There were moments where things were illustrated in a way that I liked. Overall, though, it felt it was trying too hard to emulate a narrative style that didn't quite work.

The book, also, I think needed to be longer to account for the depth of the world. Like, I was honestly surprised at how short the book actually was in comparison to what the author was trying to outline. Sometimes a high fantasy book can accomplish this, but I don't think it worked here. Especially because the vast majority of the world-building had to be dumped into large chunks of dialogue as a result.

I'm also unsure of Kylene. I don't think she was an unnecessary character, but I do question whether her POV was even needed at all, despite later revelations in the book. I think the story would've felt more cohesive to just focus on Lovelace's POV and build from there.

Overall, while this started out interesting, I was ultimately left kind of bored. I'm not really interested in continuing with further books in this world.

If you want to read a great fantasy, with all the hallmarks of an epic, that also has some wonderful world-building then this is the book for you.

In a land known as the Grasp, ruled by a tyrant known as Osbert, who keeps his people under strict laws that suppress their freedoms and their knowledge. In this land, a young woman, Kylene, won't stand for half and hidden truths, she wants to know everything. She is forced from her village and goes on a perilous journey that shakes the very fabric of who she is. There are also the dactyli, elemental magic users who guard the histories of the world. Lovelace and Gunnar are part of the order, on the search for others of their kind to be raised in the order. They are fighting evil forces who are killing the young boys they have been sent to find until they are sent on the most important mission of their lives. They are to find the White Flame.

The world-building in this book was amazing, with depth and realism that brings you into the story. I did not truly get on with the author's style of writing, but that was just me, and it did not take away from the story unfolding before me. A must-read for fantasy lovers.

Maressa Voss’ debut novel When Shadows Grow Tall fulfilled all my requirements for enjoying a high fantasy novel. Firstly, two adventurers who can control two out of the four elements are trekking through the land while trying to rescue/find a powerful person before their enemies can. Secondly, two bold and boisterous boys sneakily join them on their adventure. Honestly, Pif was probably my favourite character in this entire book. His enthusiasm and childish glee ensured that the book has humorous elements woven into the more serious conflicts and murders described in the book. Pif also made sure a lot of my questions about the world got answered, since I was still a bit unsure about how the dactily exactly operated. Thirdly, we have a headstrong intelligent girl who sets out on a quest to find her father. Lastly, add an extremely powerful and apparently evil fire-controlling enemy in the mix and you have my attention.

The pacing of the book was on point, and there was always something new and exciting happening when the story started to slow down. Lovelace and Gunnar’s personalities played off each other quite well and I enjoyed their light banter throughout the book.

Overall, I loved this book and I cannot wait to see where the rest of the story goes. I am excited to see Maressa Voss writing the next instalment in this series (my only question would be if this is a duology or a trilogy?). To me, this book read like a mixture of Shadow and Bone, The Witcher, and some Avatar the Last Airbender thrown in, all series which I have greatly enjoyed. I will definitely be buying this book when it is released!

When it comes to possible improvements, I think the book could use a short glossary at the beginning of the book which readers can go back to be reminded of what exactly luth, dactily, the Grasp, the Fingers, and Kapnobatai are.

Slight spoiler in this last part of my review, so beware:

A sole negative was that sadly, the advanced reader copy I got of this book did not have any indication of when new chapters began, so I might have gotten lost at some points and am not sure if the plot point of Cora’s identity was intended to be more obvious than when I linked Cora’s faded yellow dress and the outfits of the Kapnobatai were described wearing. I think it was a good twist nonetheless and hope it is not obvious in the naming of the chapters of this book.

This book was the perfect opening to a fantasy series, it did take me a fair few chapters for me to get used to the world building and how it all works, it was also a slow start for me. Once I got into it I really enjoyed it! I also found the the characters really likeable. The writing in this was great! Maressa Voss sure does know to write a story and I can’t wait to see what happens in the rest of the series.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for allowing me access to this advance copy

Review: This was well written, fast paced, and had excellent character development. The world building is great and has a myriad of quests from which to entertain. Kylene is fun to follow around the landscape, never failing to entertain with her sharp wit. The magic is elemental, subtle and believable. The antagonist is perfectly cruel and without humor.

I am not sure if this is an authorial debut or not. If it is, just wow. The writing is expansive with intricate scene descriptions that allow the reader to visualize at great depth.

This author is and will be a force in the genre. Really well done.

Rating: 4.8/5

A good start for a fantasy series.

the words to describe even a normal thing in the book are totally extraordinary and unique. though i do think the description did get a little off putting for some of the time but they were beautiful most of the time.

i also think this is a bit of a slow start for the first book , there should have been something that made me look ahead for the next book, there were some things don't get me wrong but i did not get totally invested from the get go , so it was a slow read for me.

other than that i think for a debut this is one of the best book i have read.

thank you NetGalley and the publishers and the author Maressa Voss for letting me read the ARC of the book "when shadows grow tall" i enjoyed the book a lot and would love to read more.

truthfully, Aarohi S