This was a great opening to a new fantasy series, the world building was well done although it took me a few chapters to wrap my head around the magic system. The characters are loveable and made me want to root for them. I really enjoyed the format between the two main characters’ stories, my only criticisms are that the end didn’t have enough action for a fantasy for me, there was a lot of exposition that would’ve been better before the face off as it was harder to take in the new information after all of the drama. The only other thing was that the villains fell a bad flat for me. Without spoiling, I expected a lot from this mysterious ruler and he didn’t turn out like I thought he would, but it does make a good contrast to the real villain. I’m very excited to see where this series goes next!

Thank you to NetGalley, Maressa Voss and Roundfire Books!

"When Shadows Grow Tall" is a Fantasy novel, set in a fictional realm called The Grasp. This is the first book of the The Cycles of Night series.

This novel follows Lovelace and Gunnar, members of a mysterious brotherhood of "dactyli." They find themselves in a realm on the edge of enlightenment, gathering the "truest truth". When the order faces a fatal threat from a rogue member, Lovelace and Gunnar embark on a dangerous journey where they discover more than the welfare of the order is at stake. Their former compatriot, Alev, amasses an army of those he calls the Burned Ones, who possess the ability to wield impossible magic.

Meanwhile, A young woman named Kylene undertakes a journey of her own to find her missing father, a prominent printer wanted for sedition against the overbearing ruler, Osbert.

This book is for you if you enjoy:
Elemental Magic
Mysterious Societies
Epic Quests
Unlikely Heroes
Strong Female Characters
Gaelic Influences
Battles of Good vs. Evil
Vibe Check
When Shadows Grow Tall gave me Robin Hood vibes in the best way. You can't help but root for the cast of loveable underdogs as they journey through nature to restore order to The Grasp at the hands of the oppressive rule of the mysterious Osbert.

Minor Content Warning for the murder of a child. This isn't particularly gory; it is a minor, isolated incident within the novel.

Overall, I enjoyed When Shadows Grow Tall and give it ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
As with any fantasy series, you'll spend the opening chapters meeting the cast of characters and learning the vocabulary of the realm and its particular brand of magic. With the exposition well-established, and the first part of this adventure well underway, I'm excited to see what journeys await in Book 2!

I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

(Advance Review through NetGalley)

When Shadows Grow Tall was an interesting read for me. Fantasy is a favourite genre for me, however I feel there are a lot of things to get right and a lot of risky tropes that can ruin a book (I suppose that's not unique to fantasy, but I have a sense fails in fantasy are more severe).

The strengths of Voss' novel are the great pacing - I don't think I experienced boredom at any stage of the story, nor little desire to speed things up to get to the 'good parts' the story had a good balance of exposition and world building, very epic and vivid action, and overall was always fun to be in the pages of this one.

Our MCs are Lovelace - a good, albeit rebellious, ranger mage who is desperate to save young mages from a an evil outcast who keeps finding and murdering emerging mages before his order can recruit them.

And Kylene, whose story is a little more mysterious - her father has disappeared after being revealed to be too seditious for the dystopian regime in place over 'The Grasp' and Kylene is willing to risk it all to find him.

While the story was good fun there were a few flaws in my eyes.

The prose was on the odd occasion, a bit much, I never realized a dawn could be "fresh and crisp as a new apple" but also break "as easy as an egg." To be honest, its not quite purple but there were moments that the simile were just enough to push me out of the story.

While the world building was really well delivered throughout the story rather than big info dumps, it felt like the whole story was interspersed with lore and particularly towards the end I really wanted more ACTION not more exposition. Especially the last few chapters - there was a bit of a sense of 'first book in a series' syndrome where not a huge amount of significant plot points happened as obviously enough needed to be saved for later books.

My final beef was that the villains were just a bit shallow and cheesy, their dialogue very "mwah ha ha." while the mythos around them was suitable, the delivery of their actual presence was somewhat flat.

Overall this book is great for fantasy lovers, especially if you're looking for intense magic battles but based in a relatively gritty grimy mundane world.

As a debut novel, "When Shadows Grow Tall" is absolutely outstanding!

Maressa Voss is highly skilled with synonyms and antonyms, without being overbearing. It's like a glassblower creating a vase, you see the shape, but the glassbower breathes life into it, clips and shapes, rolls and expands. This is the best way I can describe the writing style

I was absolutely hooked from page one, sucked in and gripped. The worldbuilding is awesome, the world and elemental magic unique and the charatsers relatable.

This. Book. Is. Incredible.

A powerhouse debut that will knock your socks off and help you put them back on again and give you a cuppa. Fantastic

Thank you to NetGalley for the free eARC. I leave this review with a huge smile voluntarily

I requested this ARC almost before I finished reading the synopsis.

It did not disappoint. It exceeded my expectations!

When you review on NetGalley, you will find both books by more established authors and books by debut authors. There’s only so much you can glean from a plot summary…you just have to take a leap of faith and hope the story is as good as it sounds.

Folks, I’ve been burned before. I’ve had to slog through some not-so-good debuts. This, however, is not one of those disappointments. It exceeded my expectations! I’m so happy when I take a chance on an unknown author and it pans out! I’m thrilled with this book.

The worldbuilding is excellent, and Maressa Voss paints pictures with words. You are transported to the Grasp, with all of its various peoples and climes. You will feel fear and exhaustion with Kylene, as she embarks on an arduous journey. You will learn about the dactyli, and travel along with Lovelace and Gunnar on a quest that has long been foretold. The magic system is intriguing and well-thought-out.

This starts with a bang. That opening scene is absolutely gut wrenching. I don’t have the words to adequately express my emotions upon reading it. Just…go get this book when it comes out on August 1st.

When Shadows Grow Tall is an amazing debut, and Voss is one to watch. I can’t wait to read her next book!

Thank you to NetGalley, Collective Ink Books, Roundfire Books and Maressa Voss for gifting me this wonderful ARC. All opinions are my own.