King of Shadows and Secrets

Shadow King Trilogy #1

by Piper Easton

The God of Death has finally met his match.

I’ve been killing in exchange for coin for a decade, but executing the sun god’s high priest is bold, even for me. Fleeing south, I lay low in a town nestled against the forbidden forest, the mist crawling the ground reminding mortals to stay in the safety of the village.

But I’ve never been one to heed the warnings of gods, and now I find myself at the mercy of one.

The God of Death thinks me a liar when I tell him I have no idea how I stumbled across the veil and into his realm, and he is determined to get the answers he seeks.

Except I don’t care about his answers or his realm or his impossibly blue eyes. I want my freedom, and I will take it by whatever means necessary.

There’s only one problem—he doesn’t want to let me go.

Genres: Fantasy

331 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 20, 2023

Reviews

[Krysia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as an eARC for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book and had a good time! To me, this was a unique take on the Hades X Persephone trope. I also loved that the FMC was a badass assassin taking out piece of shit people and not naïve and virginal.

At first this world was a bit difficult to get into/understand as there were lots of mentions of the different gods and not much explanation into them. As I kept reading, it did become easier to understand and I hope we learn more as the story continues.

I will be continuing with this series and I'm very excited to see where this goes!

[Nicoleta Deca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cartea are ca subiect mitologic zeii din Olimp doar ca acum poarta o alta denumire. Sunt multe asemanari cu Hades si Phersephona din cartile lui Scarlett dar cu alte denumiri ale personajelor si o alta intriga. Povestea se apropie de genul dark, este romantică, cu actiuni intense și periculoase, in care avem conflicte mult mai mari, cu intrigi, zei, și o iubire imposibilă. Elora este o tânără care a petrecut zece ani ucigând pentru bani. O viață aspră, plină de violență și pericole.Totuși, realizează un act deosebit de îndrăzneț executand pe preotul celui mai important zeu al soarelui, Parmis, Se retrage într-un sat aproape de o pădure interzisă, pentru a-și ascunde urmele. Acolo, viața ei se schimbă complet când intră, accidental, în tărâmul de dincolo de văl , in Regatul Umbrelor și îl întâlnește pe Zeul Morților, Thieran. Rana pricinuita de o bestie mitologica o lasa aproape fara viata, si ar fii murit daca nu ar fii fost gasita de Thieran. Dar salvarea ei de catre Zeul Mortilor nu o scapa de problemele ce vor aparea si de faptul ca devine prizoniera in acel regat. Prezenta ei in acel taram face sa produca schimbari majore pe care Zeul Morților trebuie sa le afle raspunsul inainte de a o elibera sau ucide.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay definitely was not expecting it be this good.

I was looking for a fantasy book with romance and someone recommended this book for me but I had no idea it was a Hades and Persephone retelling. Usually whenever I read a Hades and Persephone retelling Persephone is always the shy and innocent virgin with no backbone and the plot is just pure spice, but its definitely not the same for this book Persephone who is Elora is strong spirited badass that knows how to handle a sword and is totally opposite to shy and innocent.

I loved the tension between Elora and Thieran and the special connection they share with each other and the possessiveness in Thieran made my heart flutter every time, and how jealous he gets every time another man gets a little too close to her had me giggling like a middle schooler lol.

I finished this book in 2 or 3 days because I legit couldn’t stop reading and I immediately started with the next book of the trilogy and currently waiting for the next one ( my only problem tho is the s*x scenes someone online said that there wasn’t any but if you’re not a fan of smut then it’s fine because you can definitely skip over the pages like I did since there wasn’t much because like I said this book isn’t just smut and actually has a plot)

[Ciru · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this. Loved Elora's personality. Loved that Theiran was the right combination of arrogant and cocky to match.

What bogged down the book a bit was that it all primarily takes place in the Shadow Realm and apart from the we-need-to-fix-the-veil agenda, there really isn't very much going on in terms of adventure.

That's why I'm excited for the transformation at the end. What I'm looking forward to in book 2 is Elora kicking vengeful ass. She knows what the gods do wrong, I want to see her doing things right, with that cockiness and with power. Slitting throats, taking over realms and power and righting wrongs.

So, enjoyed this. Looking forward to a more adventure filled book 2.

[Kai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad take on hades and pers, but a bit slow. I found myself skim reading through some more tedious bits. Not bad writing, obviously meant for world building, but it wasn’t my pace. I also found the spice, unnecessary, and skipped most it. That may have more to do with it just not being my vibe though. I wasn't overly compelled by the couples connection, but I did find the overall narrative of the story interesting, and plan to try the 2nd book because I am interested in the world. Hopefully book two doesn’t drag as much.

[Sumaya Alzahrani · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun ride I loved the world and the atmosphere
It is my second retelling of a hades mythology it was twisted and crazy but i liked it.

[Camille Arr]

DNF 30% I really tried and the writing itself is pretty good but I have a really hard time with the pacing of this.

[Kayla Lacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book! It’s a very close 5 stars for me. It had me hooked from the beginning and I couldn’t stop reading until I was done. The story is great, the characters are amazing, and you never know what’s going to happen next! It’s got the spice and romance and ugh I just love it! Must read!