Thank you to Jessica Thorne, Second Sky, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

This book was a definite easy read without extensive world building and without a complicated magic system and it was pretty short for a fantasy book so it was also a quick read. It is the first book in an incomplete series, and the remaining books have yet to be written or released at this time.

Since this book was short, I do feel like that affected the plot and romance aspects of this story. The romance was very quick, a kind of love at first sight romance story, and it seemed like there was not enough time for the two characters to really form an actual bond and that fell flat to me, especially when this book is marketed as a romantic fantasy. I also wish that some of the characters were explored more. Elide was such a great character and it seemed like she had a lot of depth due to what we saw and I loved her as a character, I just wish we got a little more. I think that this was all due to the short length of the book, and that could have been improved if the story was just a little bit longer. Especially since it is the first book in the series, it is when the readers are first learning about the characters, and it would be the best time to give more details about the characters and their back stories. The rest of the characters, like Wren and Finn, were also great. They had many layers that were peeled back and explored more as the story went on, and it really added to the story as a whole but once again could use with some more exploring.

Speaking of the fantasy aspect, I did like the idea of the dark magic, but I feel like it wasn't as explored as I would have liked. Like I mentioned above, it didn't have a complicated magic system, but the book didn't go that in depth into the magic system, so it may actually be more complicated than was stated in this book.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and will be looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series. I would recommend to any lovers of fantasy books, with a romantic twist, without the unnecessarally long world building.

This book was a page turner! I found myself deseperate for answers and reading till 3am learning about this incredibly interesting world. I loved that Wren got to be her own shadow daddy and I loved the twists and turns she took learning who she is.

The world building was slow to start and a little bit confusing. It took me awhile before I understood the 2 different kingdoms and how it worked but once I understood I couldn't put it down.

Action, adventure, secret love, betrayals, and of course a bit of magic. Great world building and tons of court intrigue - solid fantasy read!

🌑✨ 𝓢𝓱𝓪𝓭𝓸𝔀𝓼 𝓞𝓯 𝓓𝓮𝓼𝓲𝓻𝓮: 𝓐 𝓖𝓵𝓲𝓶𝓹𝓼𝓮 𝓘𝓷𝓽𝓸 "𝓐 𝓣𝓸𝓾𝓬𝓱 𝓸𝓯 𝓢𝓱𝓪𝓭𝓸𝔀𝓼" 𝓑𝔂 𝓙𝓮𝓼𝓼𝓲𝓬𝓪 𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓻𝓷𝓮 ✨🌑

𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘮. 𝘞𝘳𝘦𝘯, 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤, 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘯, 𝘢 𝘬𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥. 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱? 🔥🖤

This book had me hooked right from the start—the glossary alone was a game-changer! When I was just 88 pages in, I was already desperate to pick up the next installment. The story practically read itself, with an addictive pace that pulled me right in.

However, I did find myself wanting more from the world-building and magic system. It’s an easy fantasy to fall into, but I wish there was a bit more depth. The romance, while intense and electric, leans into insta-love, and I couldn’t help but think a slow burn would have made it even more captivating.

Still, A Touch of Shadows is a spellbinding read that will leave you craving more. Fantasy romance fans, you won’t want to miss this one! 🌘✨

📅 This book will be published on September 5, 2024.

Special thanks to NetGalley, Jessica Thorne, and Second Sky for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Touch of Shadows by Jessica Thorne is an new adult fantasy romance full of danger, family secrets and devastating magic. The story is fast paced and captivating. You are instantly immersed into the plot but it does not take away from it. I have been enchanted with this wonderful tale, and
I can't wait to carry on with the rest of this series.

A must read for fans of fantasy, romantasy, and good old fashioned epic story telling

"A Touch of Shadows" by Jessica Thorne is the inaugural book in the Lost Queen series. This Fantasy/Romance novel is notably light on world-building and is relatively brief for its genre, offering a swift reading experience. It appears to be the first installment of a trilogy, with subsequent volumes expected in the coming months, and I am eager to see the story's conclusion.

Wren is drawn to shadow magic, yet she must conceal her abilities to protect her life. Finn, a noble knight, has vowed to serve Asteroth by pursuing users of shadow magic. He has not forgiven his father for his heinous acts, and serving as a spy for Asteroth is his chosen form of retribution. During their travels, a creature assaults Finn, prompting Wren to use her magic to save him, risking her own life. Their touch ignites a fiery passion as Wren's magic surges between them. However, they cannot afford to delve into their newfound connection, as enemy forces are breaching the borders. Bound by fate, they must cultivate trust to safeguard their realm.

The characters are engaging and accessible, making it an ideal read for those new to the fantasy genre due to its straightforward narrative and minimal world-building. I anticipate the release of the next book with great interest.

My gratitude to Netgalley and Second Sky for providing this Advanced Reader's Copy in return for an honest review.

A captivating fantasy romance that enthralled the reader from the start. The plot is filled with unexpected twists, and the character dynamics are particularly impressive. The unique magic system, featuring light and dark magic, adds depth to the story. The author's beautiful prose brings the world to life, with rich world-building and complex court politics. Overall, it's an exceptional start to a series that leaves the me eagerly anticipating the next installment.

2.5 stars - romantic fantasy

Wren grows up isolated with her mother elodie who is the local villages hedgewitch. Elodie has light magic where wren has dark magic that is tied to her hair that her mother regularly cuts to stop her magic growing. After an attack on the village wren and Elodie are separated and Wren meets knight Finn and uncovers some secrets about Elodie.

This book was ok but there was more things that I didn’t like about it compared to other romantasy books. I found the magic system confusing and the world building lacking. I thought it was YA until the spicy scene near the 70% mark and for me it just didn’t feel right very insta love due to the short time period it’s set over.

Overall I found it a bit meh and found myself skimming to finish it.

Thank you NetGalley, Jessica Thorne, and Second Sky for a copy of this book!


This was a quick and easy read, it was very short for a fantasy novel. I think it being short though actually took away from the story for me. I didn’t really get or understand the relationship between Finn and Wren- to me it literally made no sense because there really wasn’t any background for it. The magic system didn’t make a ton of sense to me either. I think just more information and world building needed to happen for those last 2 stars. I hope more information comes in subsequent books.

4.7 / 5.0

A Touch of Shadows by Jessica Thorne is a dark fairytale fantasy about a girl with magic hair, living in a tower, raised by a witch, who meets a knight named Finn and goes on a fantastic adventure to learn who she really is and where her family is actually from…

Sounds like Tangled, well, it’s not but it is.

This story takes the Disney version of Rapunzel and flips the narrative entirely. I won’t give spoilers but the plot of the book is twisted and entertaining. Thorne is a master storyteller and exceptional writer. She has created a detailed world and populated it with a unique twist on the magic we would expect, all with a believable cast of characters that develop nicely through the story.

This ends on a cliffhanger but at an acceptable break in the plot. Going by the blurbs for all three books, the story seems like it will write itself back to Rapunzel being locked in her tower again, but with her full arsenal of magic and maturity to see her free.

I am extremely excited to read more of this series and more from this author in general.


Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for access to this eARC.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

A fast and engaging read, I would recommend A Touch of Shadows for anyone wanting to venture into the NA Fantasy genre.

Focusing on Wren, our FMC who is a witch, living with her mother in a forest and supporting a small community with healing. Wren’s life is turned on its head, when unexpectedly a knight becomes magically bound to her.

The magic system is simple (light vs dark) yet this makes it easy to follow with no complicated explanations or concepts to understand. This makes the story also easy to follow, yet the world building was immediately pulling me in.

Unfortunately, the book lacked a little bit of finesse. It could have been fantastic if the characters had been fleshed out better, and more time spent on each of them in turn. There were multiple POVs which I felt gave plenty of opportunity for this, but sadly this wasn’t utilised enough. This is particularly disappointing around Wren and Finn’s relationship. I’m normally not a fan of ‘insta love’ in fantasy, but the premise of ‘magically bound’ really intrigued me. This could have been SO good if the two main characters had some more time dedicated to their feelings around this bond and how it was affecting them.

Overall, A Touch of Shadows has peaked my interest enough to see how the story plays out and I’m looking forward to book 2!

I want to thank NetGalley, Second Sky and Jessica Thorne for the opportunity to read this as an ARC. The review is my own opinion and I have given this freely.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (3.5 stars, rounded up)

First off, thank you to NetGalley, Jessica Thorne, and Second Sky for the ARC of "A Touch of Shadows"! As someone who loves romantasy, I was excited to dive into this one.

This book is a quick, engaging read, perfect for those who are either new to the fantasy genre or just looking for a fast-paced adventure. The story centers around Wren, a young witch with a mysterious dark power, and Finn, a knight on a mission who becomes magically bound to her. Their romance is pretty central to the story, but the magic and world-building elements are what drew me in. One thing I really enjoyed was how easy it was to get lost in the world Thorne created. The magic system, while not overly complex, has an intriguing dark versus light dynamic that kept me turning pages. The writing style is straightforward, making it accessible to readers who might not be as familiar with high fantasy tropes.

That said, I did feel that the romance between Wren and Finn was a bit rushed. Their connection seemed to happen almost instantly, which made it hard to fully invest in their relationship. A little more time spent on character development and exploring their bond would have made the romance more believable and satisfying. Additionally, the world-building could have been fleshed out more. There were hints of a larger, more complex world that I hope will be explored in the sequels.

Overall, "A Touch of Shadows" is a solid start to what could be an intriguing series. It's not groundbreaking, but it has enough charm and potential to keep me interested in seeing where the story goes next. If you're in the mood for a fast-paced romantasy book with a touch of darkness, this book is definitely worth a read.

Can't wait to see what happens in the next installment!

Thank you NetGalley for the eArc. This book was a quick read and a great option for someone looking to see if fantasy is for them. The development and details of the story drew you in quickly but I felt like the first book could have been longer, more time to explain the background of things without giving too much detail and more development of the love interest. BUT overall really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to see what happens next!

This book was a maybe for me. There were sometimes where I was so consumed with it that I couldn’t get enough and other times when I was waiting for the story to speed up. Overall not a bad read. I could see this being a good book for people that are new the the fantasy genre..

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an arc and listen to the audiobook.

I started with the audiobook, which was narrated fantastically and then moved to the book.

A Touch of Shadows was a decent romantasy read that had some unique magical elements and interesting characters. It may be a good starting point for those new to the fantasy genre, however those who are more experienced may find it lacking in originality and depth. The romance felt a bit rushed and could have benefited from more development, and the plot points sometimes felt blunt and fell short.

Overall, while enjoyable, the book didn't quite hit the mark for me in terms of world-building and character connection.

Ugh. This one had potential. There was little to no world building. No background on the characters or the magic system. We were thrown in. Normally I like insta love books. But the way these two characters came together and were each others “hearts and souls” so quickly made no sense. We get nothing from anyone and I lost interest pretty quickly.

Thank you to NetGalley for the early access to the book for an honest review!

I did enjoy this book! It had a pretty straight forward magic system and was easy to follow! This could have used more world building in my opinion, but if you're someone that is newer to reading fantasy this is the book to start with for sure.

The plot and romance were very fast paced and in all, kinda under developed? I think this book could really benefit from adding more details!

Wren has been brought up on the outskirts of society and taught only to use her magic to help others. She becomes torn when she helps Finn, a knight and finds herself drawn to him, but before they can unravel their feelings, enemy forces catch up with them.
This was an OK story. I found the romance element somewhat forced and the world building could have been better developed. It did however have a good pace with plenty of action.

Thank you NetGalley for the ebook arc, I summary sounded great but the book itself has a slow start with an installed romance. Unfortunately I felt the romance was forced and too quick, and unbelievable. The characters felt flat and I didn’t care about any of them. I had to force myself to finish

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the early access of this book!

An easy to read romantic fantasy with some good characters and interesting story beats. Nothing particularly new but the elements were used well and didn't feel stale or overused.

I did find some story elements could have been explored more. The world building and the magic system were pretty basic and could have used some expanding.