ARC Review for Every Dark Shadow by Sarah Zimm
BLURB
“Orphan turned fugitive Ophelia Dannan has been safely hidden in the mortal world for four years, her memories and magic locked away from herself and the siphoning Gray King of Magus. A king whose armies hunt relentlessly for one source of pure magic that vanished with Ophelia.
A scholar, a smugger and a soldier have sworn their lives to hide and guard her until the time is right to awaken her magic. To protect her, they move her often and see to it Ophelia forgets the lives she lives with them. Rune chooses quiet farmsteads, filling Ophelia’s time with adventure and daydreams. Falcon prefers the grit of city streets ruled by gangs, challenging Ophelia to survive by wielding knives and swindling thieves. And Hart has all but given up his rotation with her, after what happened a year ago, to keep safe the girl he fears could destroy two worlds.
But across worlds in a kingdom as dark and brutal as it is beautiful, where the Gray King enslaves the magic born, rebellion is stirring and a dark force is rising to stake its own claim on the throne. When shadows reach tendrils across the mortal world for Ophelia, she's pushed into a perilous quest in search of truth, her magic, and a way to break the monarchy before it breaks them all.”
SUMMARY
Ophelia Dannan is unlike anyone else in New York—or her home realm of Magus, for that matter. Something about her magic is different, powerful enough to be dangerous in the wrong hands. Three keepers, a scholar, a smugger, and a soldier, are tasked with protecting her from the Gray King who hunts her. They juggle her back and forth between worlds and time periods in a perilous game of hide-and-seek, all the while stealing her memories so that she doesn’t remember who she is. But you can’t run from darkness forever, and when the four are finally put to the test, they have to face their own fears, the feelings that have been growing beneath the surface, and an enemy no one’s certain how to conquer.
OVERVIEW
I love the imagery-rich, slow-burn, wondrous and surprising. In Every Dark Shadow, you’ll also find parallel worlds, a strong female heroine, the one-bed trope, a mysterious wizard, a mad king, hidden truths, and magical forests. Every Dark Shadow is a YA-Adult crossover fantasy novel that gives you all of this and more as you follow the story of Ophelia and her three protectors, Rune, Falcon, and Hart. This book kept me second-guessing myself the entire time and I loved every minute of it; the unpredictable twists and turns transform this adventure across worlds into a fixating story that you won’t be able to pull yourself away from.
CONTENT WARNINGS
Other than a few suggestive moments/flirting between characters, there is no spice.
One character does use stronger language, but it is not excessive and instead lends to intentional characterization.
There are multiple descriptions of violence that involve blood, loss of limbs, death/killing, and fighting.
HIGHLIGHTS
Every single character is rich and diverse in their behavior, dialogue, perspective, and choices. They are so carefully crafted and have been so well-developed that even within their many differences, I was captivated as a reader rooting for all three love stories at the same time.
The plot is intricate and multi-layered but laid out for the reader masterfully. Clues and revelations are dispersed evenly throughout the book and no chapter feels too info-heavy.
The setting has been developed beautifully; every detail pushes the story forward, and the author trusts the reader enough to fill in the spaces.
The warring love interests gripped me all so equally and were so heart-wrenchingly beautiful that 400+ pages later, I still can’t choose.
The cliffhanger has left me undone so completely; I will be unwell up to the moment book 2 is released.
I finished this book just moments ago and my heart is left pounding, torn in four different directions. Every Dark Shadow is my first five-star read of 2023 (and I’m very particular about my stars); this book has certainly EARNED THEM ALL. Sarah Zimm has easily become one of my auto-buy authors.
I am a multi-genre reader who enjoys clean fantasy, romantasy, sci-fi, thrillers, mysteries, biographies, memoirs, historical fiction, and poetry. Please take into account that while this review is based on both my personal opinions and my academic background (BA in Editing & Publishing), what I share concerning this book may differ from your own reading experience.
