The Shadow Soul

****

4 Stars/5

Thanks to Netgalley and Patchwork Press for giving me this book to review.

Jinji’s home is destroyed and everyone she has known has been killed by a mysterious shadow and she is left alone with nowhere to go, until a young man called Rhen finds her. However, both are hiding secrets, Jin is masquerading as a boy and has magic, meaning she can weave elements and create illusions, and Rhen is a prince on the search for foreign enemies and can pull flames into himself. While they go on a search to discover what is happening in the kingdom Ourthuro, an evil power is after them and only Jin and Rhen hold the key to defeat it.

I really enjoyed The Shadow Soul as it is a good fantasy, is well written, and I was not bored from beginning to the end. There was a lot of traveling in this book, action and a hint of potential romance for future books. I got really invested in the story and characters and I enjoyed having the POV of both the male and female protagonist.

I really liked Jin as she is naïve, intelligent and has an inner strength, she has struggled but never forgot her heritage and is willing to get justice for her family but is also willing to help her friend. Rhen is really cleaver, much more than people expect, is very loyal to those who are close to him, has a good sense of humour and wants to prove himself. Rhen and Jin just clicked and I liked how they acted together and I wonder how it will change in the next book.

This is a really good book and I can’t wait to read the next book The Spirit Heir and the short stories in this series. I would recommend The Shadow Soul to fans of Tamora Peirce.