(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.