Oh…wow! First thing, please, read the trigger warnings before embarking on this journey! This is a dark, messed up, story. As in, the characters are super dark and messed up, and do a lot of dark and messed up things. If you can’t separate that from real life, or don’t want to read something like that, this book isn’t for you. That said, I enjoyed this a lot! Corrupt Shadows follows Evie, a witch with both shadow and death magic. The book starts off…intensely, let’s say. And it doesn’t get less intense from there! Evie has a demon, Lorcan, stalking her. He is trapped in the Shadow Realm, and Evie is his only way out, and his chance at revenge.
Evie is a very complex character. She’s deeply traumatized. Her family was slaughtered when she was a child, and she was taken in by a witch hunter who really messed her up, all in an attempt to “save her”. It had big gay conversion therapy vibes honestly. He tried suppressing her magic, but it made it uncontrollable, and she does something by accident that causes them to come after her, and only messes with her poor psyche more. It has long lasting effects, and more than one person is hurt because of it. She’s self medicating to keep her magic at bay in present day, and wow, if this wasn’t the most relatable part of her. Self medicating to deal with suppressed issues, or mental illness you’re trying to suppress, is so common and understandable. It made me soften toward Evie, so when she got into some of her more…evil leaning behaviors? Let’s go with that. I couldn’t stop sympathizing with her. This was definitely written very well to keep you on board even as she toes a messed up line.
This is only increased when she meets Lorcan. He has a lot of issues himself. He was similarly traumatized, in addition to being betrayed and tricked and caged at various points in his life. Stuck in the Shadow Realm, he’ll do anything to get free and get back to Hell or the Human realm. Evie is his ticket, but her suppressing her magic makes things difficult. And when they meet, the two have serious chemistry, and their messed up edges fit together like two puzzle pieces. I definitely felt for Lorcan. He does deplorable things, but everything he’s gone through would cause a lot of trauma that would affect anyone. It definitely felt like everyone has been against him his whole life, and he’s now a fractured person—demon, because of it.
There are several great supporting characters. None more so than Evie’s familiar. A fruit bat named Gomez, who is absolutely adorable! The way he interacts with everyone is so great. His hostile relationship with Lorcan is definitely one of my favorites though. It’s hilarious. Rosa is Evie’s best friend, and a sex therapist. She’s a very colorful character—literally! She wears a lot of colors compared to Evie and Lorcan, but she’s also got a colorful personality. There’s a few others who are interesting, but also some characters we don’t really get much on yet. Namely, Lorcan’s brothers. I’m hoping we find out more about them and their motivations next book!
The plot is interesting to follow, as Lorcan tries to lead Evie where he wants her. And she seems to be falling into his trap. Except that the relationship between the two is very unexpected to him. It is what lends the twists and turns we need, along with his brothers, who helped Evie’s ancestors trap him, and the Order of witch hunters. The two of them end up trapped together, and the relationship progresses to a point that Lorcan begins coming up with ideas for how to move forward. I loved his struggle as much as I loved reading their relationship. It’s so complex and messed up, but also has a very sweet undertone. The two of them have been without someone to truly care for them for so long. Watching them both soften made me really root for them to be there for each other.
Inevitably though, things go wrong. His brother is just the worst, and he has the worst timing! The climax leaves Evie in quite the spot, and Lorcan no better frankly. I need to know where this goes next book! The ending leaves us on a cliffhanger, and I hope it’s one easily resolved, but these two never seem capable of easy when it comes to anything. The information Evie found out also needs to be handled, and I’m really looking forward to that conversation! I also just really want Evie and Lorcan together. The smut in this is excellent, and I definitely need more from them!
I received an eARC of this a bit early when I purchased the kickstarter package.