By Crystal D. Grant
Reviewed by Jubilee Anderson
GENRE: Christian fantasy romance
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐
COMPARE TO: By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson
He has known nothing but darkness for years. Now it’s time to let it consume him.
After witnessing the brutal death of his brother at the hands of the Steward Knights, Mason Grey turns to vengeance. Using his Gifts to read and control the minds of others, he climbs the ranks of the Dark Army, determined to earn the coveted Shadowstone—a powerful tool against the light-wielding Stewards. But when he is wounded in battle, he finds himself recovering in the home of a chatty peasant girl…without the use of his Gifts. Even worse, the girl mistakes him for one of the Stewards he despises.
Seria Gayle longs to be seen as more than the town washerwoman. When she finds an injured Steward in the woods, she welcomes the chance to use her healing skills and hopes it will earn her some respect. But as she nurses the sullen stranger back to health, she discovers he is nothing like the knights she has long admired.
When Mason’s true identity is revealed, Seria is devastated and humiliated. But she is offered a chance at redemption by the very prince that Mason hates. Now Mason struggles between two choices: accept the Shadowstone to avenge his brother or pursue this newfound light in the form of a peasant girl. With time running out and war looming, will Mason and Seria defy their own convictions for a chance at love or stand against one another like they’ve sworn to do?
Writing
This is one of the best medieval fantasy books I’ve read in a long time! I picked up this book because a good writer friend of mine recommended it to me. I am so excited to share my thoughts today. While I do spend a portion of this review on the negatives, my overall view really was positive!
Grant held me captive in the ropes of her story until the last page. I could not put the book down! She wove three things into Shadowcast in an especially notable way:
On Mason’s arc…
Mason’s character arc intrigued me. The choices he had to make were truly hard ones. I desperately watched as he wavered from his desire for revenge to wanting to be with his love interest, who was on the good side. I yearned for him to join the good side. The beginnings of a redemption arc are here.
On Romance…
We’ve all watched that movie where the characters fall in love at first sight, and a few scenes later, they’re making wedding plans. (Every princess movie I’ve ever watched XD) Physical appearances are, first, a poor way to judge whether or not someone would make a good wife, and second, do not make for a very deep relationship, nevermind a good story.
On the other hand, Grant showed us why Mason and Seria are perfect for each other. Mason has been revengeful and hateful all his life. Seria teaches him forgiveness and love. Seria overworks herself to care for her needs. Mason is willing to bend down far below his knightly status to wash laundry and help her support herself. Where one is weak, the other is strong, and the strong one builds up the weak. It makes for a beautiful romance that the reader desperately wants to work out!
On Gifts…
Grant’s idea of Gifts was unique, especially Mason’s Gift. It added an element of tension to the story. Mason had far more control, and the ability to twist that control, than if he’d just been a regular person. It also added to the allegorical aspect of the book, which, by the way, was also very well done!
The Beginning of Shadowcast was OK
One thing Grant could have done better was the first quarter of Shadowcast. I felt lost at the beginning. The prose was clunky, especially during fight scenes. (And believe me, as a writer, I know how hard fight scenes are!)
I wasn’t sure who exactly to root for because she switched back and forth from the point-of-views of two people on opposing sides. I knew Mason was the main character, but I would have liked Grant to stick with his POV more instead of switching back and forth at the beginning, since we could have gotten to know him better.
Overall, Grant excelled at creating character arcs and fitting those arcs together to make a story. Now let’s look at the second part of a story: theme.
Worldview
Shadowcast resonated with me so much! I loved Mason’s struggle between light and dark, and for the most part, Grant handled the story in a Christian light.
I would like to address one issue that brought my star rating down a little bit. This is probably the biggest issue I had with the book. Just a heads-up, I’m going to be looking at a somewhat touchy subject in Christian fiction: kissing and romance. I first want to make two things clear.
1) Kissing is not necessarily bad.
2) The reason I’m addressing this has to do with context. In other words, not every book with kissing in it has this problem.
Because my point of disagreement requires some context, I’m going to explain a little bit of the storyline, particularly towards the end of Shadowcast.
SPOILER ALERT!!!
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The Context
In Shadowcast, in the enemy camp, a side character tries to seduce Mason (he refuses), and because they are on the evil side of the war, the reader gets the hint that this is a bad relationship in the midst of an evil camp. They kiss several times during these scenes. Now stick with me for a bit because this next part is where it crossed the line.
At the end of the story, Mason kisses Seria. It should be the “lovers finally get together” kiss, but here’s the problem: Seria knows Mason’s not a follower of “the Lambient” (God). And she already knows she can’t marry a non-believer. Yet she still chooses to kiss him. Right after that, she tells Mason she can’t be with him because if she choses him, she’ll be opposing the Lambient, and so she walks away sadly.
What Do You Think About This?
I, as the reader, got the hint that this kiss was good and that something was broken when Seria walked away. Which is true. Something was broken. Someone was broken.
But my question is: How come a kiss/romance with Mason’s seducer is portrayed as wrong and a kiss/romance with Seria is portrayed as good, when in both cases, Mason is on the dark side? I felt a negative feeling when Seria walked away from that relationship. I felt regret, like the right thing for Seria in that moment would have been to go with Mason, despite him being on the bad side. But would it have been the right thing?
I don’t want to get too judgy here, because I also know that Shadowcast is the first book in a trilogy. This could be setting Seria up for an arc that will lead her to trust God more, and setting Mason up for a redemption arc. Also, maybe Grant wanted the reader to feel the regrets that Seria had when she walked away, or show the power of temptation and the fact that God forgives us even when we fall. I’m not sure.
Another Option
This is how I think Grant could have done it better: What if Seria had not kissed Mason because she loved him. What if Seria knew that by waiting, she was, first of all, not connecting herself emotionally to someone she knew she couldn’t marry, but also truly doing what was best for Mason and herself. Wouldn’t that make the reader feel so much more respect for her? It would show that the Lambient really meant something to her; he’s not just this Being floating around in space. We would still feel sadness and regret when she tells Mason no, but it would have been a victory for Seria, not a failure.
Again, I am not saying this to judge. I have not read the other two books. I cannot know the author’s true intentions, and can only guess that this will be part of a greater character arc, but this is one thing that made me stop and think a bit.
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SPOILERS OVER. Welcome back everyone!
To sum everything up, I had a slight disagreement with the theme that I felt was portrayed at the end of Shadowcast, but other than that, I agreed with what the author wrote. As I said in the beginning, while I’m spending a good portion of this review on the negatives, I had an overall positive view of the book!
To Watch For
- Sexual Content: There are several scenes where a side character tries to seduce the main character, and also a few kissing scenes.
- Violence: The story revolves around a war, although no wounds or killing are described in extreme detail.
- Sorcery: While not explicitly stated, it seems to be implied that the generals of the dark side are controlled by evil spirits.
I am dying to read the next book, ya’ll. If you get Shadowcast, be sure you have the other two close at hand! I think I’m going to buy them sometime this month, so you can look forward to book reviews on the last two books soon.
PAPERBACK PRICE: $19
DATE PUBLISHED: 2023