Title: A Hunt of Shadows
Author: Elise Kova
Pub. Date: March 1, 2022
Pages: 382
Pub: Silver Wing Press
Genre: YA Fantasy Romance
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The second book in A Trial of Sorcerers is filled with forbidden magic, shadowy intrigue, heart-pounding action, and slow-burn romance.
Eira is now a champion of the Solaris Empire. She’s off to a land she’s only dreamed about. But a nightmare awaits her.
Her sworn enemy has escaped. His allies are powerful and deadly. And Eira finds herself tangled in the dangerous web of the undercity of Risen where the mysterious Court of Shadows and lethal Pillars battle for the fate of the kingdom.
But vengeance has a price. When Eira is captured by her enemies, it’s not only her life, but the lives of her friends, and the man she loves most, at stake. The woman she was won’t be enough to turn the tides churning against her from long before she was born. She’ll have to become something more. She’ll have to love deeper and fight fiercer than ever before.
The only way to kill a legendary champion, will be to become one herself.
Experience Eira’s adventure in the A Trial of Sorcerers series by USA Today bestselling author Elise Kova today, for readers who enjoy young adult, epic fantasy, filled with sorcery, deep friendships, forbidden romance, and tales of faraway lands.
A Hunt of Shadows takes place after the events of A Trial of Sorcerers. Readers should begin with A Trial of Sorcerers before reading A Hunt of Shadows.
This will be a spoiler free review. Thank you to Elise Kova for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. I love being a part of her reviewer team, and it was so much fun being back in this world. I highly recommend diving into her Air Awakens Universe – you really won’t be disappointed.
If you’re interested, you can check out my reviews for the Air Awaken Series – here.
As well as my review for the first book in the Air Awakens: Vortex Chronicles Series – here.
And ultimately, the first book in this new Air Awakens book – A Trail of Sorcerers – here.
I really can’t recommend these books enough, or any of Elise’s other books – The Golden Guard Novellas, The Loom Saga, The Wish Quartet and the Married to Magic Series. You’re really in for a treat.
And even better A Hunt of Shadows is out now, so you don’t have to wait!
But let’s actually jump into why we’re here – why I’m writing my first blog post since November 1, 2021. I know I’ve been MIA – it wasn’t planned, and the longer I went without posting, the harder it was getting back into it.
Elise was kind enough to send me an eARC of this second book in the A Trial of Sorcerer’s Series, and I couldn’t have been more excited. Like I said, I’m a huge fan of this world she’s created and I’m always thrilled to dive back into it. If you’re like me, and needed a little refresher of what happened in the first book, and everything Eira went through, Elise has got you covered! She’s written up a summary of everything that happened in A Trail of Sorcerers and let me tell you – it was so helpful, and jogged my memory just enough that diving into this second book was seamless.
Eira’s journey is really just getting started. She’s still dealing with everything she went through in the first book. She’s pushing people away, getting lost in the need for vengeance and her emotions. She’s reckless and runs headfirst into everything. She’s a bit chaotic and I love it.
Upon arriving on Meru, her choices and actions lead her to secret societies and danger. She meets new people, takes bigger risks and put herself and those she cares about in jeopardy. But that doesn’t stop her.
I love that her friends are there for her – her relationships with them felt real and grounded. I loved that even when they wanted to coddle and protect, they had no problem calling her on her bullshit either. Alyss is amazing, such a sweetheart. She always has Eira’s back, and cares so deeply – she’s definitely the “mom” of the group. Noelle is wonderful, her attitude is so much fun, but I love her fierce protectiveness she has for Eira – especially after some things come to light. She might be snarky, but she’ll stand up for those who need support.
Then there’s Cullen. I was really excited in book 1 to see how his arc was going to play out. I hate to say it, but I’m just a smidge disappointed. The progression of feelings in this book happens so fast, and it made it hard to really buy into it. The appeal of him in the first book was that there was a bit of a rivalry between him and Eira, he was brooding and secretive. I know a lot has happened since then, but he kind of felt like a bit of a different character. I just felt a little underwhelmed by the progression of his feelings in this book.
As for Ferro, he can kick a bag of rocks. I can’t believe that Elise had me at one point kind of in love with this guy. Kudos to her for writing him so well. The reveals that happen surrounding him in this book are pretty good, wasn’t really expecting them. Though, his actions – they sucked, and they’re why he can kick a bag of rocks. Hard. Leading with his pinky toe.
One other little issue I had, was that everything just happened so quickly. I honestly don’t mind fast paced books, and I didn’t necessarily dislike that events were happening quickly. But I kind of wish they’d been drawn out more – especially with everything Eira was getting into. Just like with certain feelings and emotions, everything felt like it was on fast forward. And time does pass in the book – so maybe it’s just the time jumps that made it feel quick. Either way, I wish it had been a little slower. I loved the events that Elise wrote into this book and all the shit she put Eira through. Yeah, that sounds terrible, but I love chaos and drama and figuratively flinging characters off a cliff so they can fight their way back to safety and solid ground.
Overall, this was a good second installment and true to Elise Kova fashion, the ending leaves you dying and desperate for the next book. I don’t know how I’m going to possibly wait, but it really might be time for another Air Awakens Universe reread.
If you read and loved A Trial of Sorcerers then I highly recommend checking out this book, and I’m going to figuratively chuck the first Air Awakens book at you and yell at you to read it. If you know me in real life, then I’m literally going to chuck it at you, because you have no excuse lol.
Writing The Universe 