Net of Shadows: London Urban Fantasy

Shadow Kingdom #2

by Naomi Kuttner

"You’ll find out how the Order works, Ivan. The hard way."

Ivan thinks he’s left the chaos of last summer behind him. Until the night he stumbles on a secret order of knights sworn to keep supernatural London safe.

Now Ivan's been forced to join them under the protection of an old enemy. The only problem?

If anyone finds out what Ivan can do with shadow power, he's dead.

Threats are gathering on every side, and in this hidden world, no one is who they seem to be.

Will Ivan be able to keep his secret safe while he learns to control his power? Dive into the world of shadow magic, where intrigue, mystery, and danger lie in wait for the unwary.

A fun, snarky urban fantasy series perfect for fans of Holly Black, Neil Gaiman, and Stranger Things.

Genres: Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy

630 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 18, 2023

About the author

Naomi Kuttner writes urban fantasy and cozy mysteries.

Living in New Zealand, Naomi spends her free time (ha!) raising her twin son and daughter, writing, taking the dog to the beach, and getting out on the water whenever possible.

Reviews

[The Man from DelMonte · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF 39%
I'd had enough by this time as the author is firmly on the cliché trail. The MMC is inducted into an ancient and secret order of knights. This takes it into private school territory with locker room japes and hazing of the newbie.
And there are more issues with the milieu. At one point there's a reference to 'blocks'. American cities do blocks; London is not built on the grid system.
There's a reference to an (if memory serves) envelope, "filled with crisp pound notes" Paper £1 notes went out of circulation in 1988.
Their new aged associate Mr Lewis says that his wife 'passed'. An Englishman of his vintage would say that his wife 'died'. He would view the use of the word 'passed' as a peculiar affectation. (I can almost hear his response. "Passed? What on earth are you talking about? She didn't pass anything. She died.")
Proof reading is also a bit lacking. "The aroma of melted cheese filled the room." Twice. On the same page.
The final straw came when I realised I was beginning to dread picking this up again. As I believe has been said elsewhere, life is too short to read bad books.

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ripped through this series in about a week or so while fighting a miserable, energy-and-concentration sapping summer cold. It was more or less what the doctor ordered: reasonably imaginative and well written without breaking too many of the unwritten rules of the genre. The plot has moved from a sleepy seaside village (and home of a Viking death cult!) to London proper so our main characters can go to University. But our hero Ivan quickly learns that all that paranormal stuff had followed him to London, and finds himself effectively shanghaied into a secret society of knights charged with keeping the more magical side of the city in balance and at least vaguely under control - at least until the Shadowmaker shows up.
This isn't a Great series, but it is a solid one. Good writing, good pacing, a magical system that isn't too unusual but also isn't obviously lifted in whole cloth from any single author in the genre.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

Net of Shadows moves Ivan and crew to London. They're keeping busy with school, jobs and affording luxuries like food. He's still go some magical abilities and his trusty Raven buddy hanging out with him. And then, of course, things get nuts! A shadow creature running around in London is being chased by mysterious Knight-type people on motorcycles. One of these mysterious men happens to be from Ivan's past, and they have to team up to keep Ivan alive. We have a lot of returning characters that we already love, and some new ones that are easy to fall in love with. The pace and dialogue of this book is spectacular and the adventure is insanely fun. Can't wait for book 3! Definitely recommend!

[Janine Keys · Rating 3 out of 5]

NOT Book 1..

I was enjoying this book despite feeling like I was reading book 2 and not 1 of a series. So many references to assumed knowledge of previous events and trying to piece that together while following the storyline on was...strange. When you get to the end of the book it refers to the story continuing in book 3. And the name of that book matches the one Amazon has listed as book 2. It's still readable and enjoyable as you can gather most of events as you go along tho big gaps in where some characters originate but still...I'd have like to have read the series as was intended

[Kristi Stanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epic Fantasy

The pace never stopped. The storyline twisted and turned and travelled along at speed but was always remained sharp and on point. There also were many underlying truths in this fantasy like Owen’s realisation that that for true forgiveness you must first forgive yourself. It is this underpinning reality that made this such a fantastic book, escapism based on truism, how does it get better than that?

[E-K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like the author has found their footing now; much improved over the start of book one. The London setting is more convincing and the characters interesting and more consistent. The voice jumps between characters a bit more than is like but still an engaging read.

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book #2!

The books are mislabeled—you want to read River of Night first or this will get confusing very quickly. Worth it, though! Getting ready for book 3.

[Kathi Chase · Rating 4 out of 5]

See last in series