What do you think?
Rate this book
Between The Shadows And The Dawn
He’ll worship her before any Gods—even if it’s their undoing.
Keeper Adelaide Aylara is an elf of The Divide, a mountain range protecting her people from humankind, and she’s known the spirits that haunt its deepest caverns all her life.
But when her home is destroyed in an earth-shattering explosion, she loses her kin in the chaos as spirits bleed further into their realm. Worse yet, humans plucked her out of the ash and claimed she was their savior sent by the Gods, deities she most certainly doesn’t believe in.
Despite the centuries of animosity between their people, she strikes a deal with their annoyingly handsome Commander. She’ll assist in their mission to seal the tear in the mountains and bring whoever destroyed her home to the ax. In return, Commander Karsten Strom promises to find her family and return them to her. She knows she shouldn’t trust a human—let alone a Knight who belongs to the same order that destroyed her life—but she can’t help trusting his burning amber eyes. It’s a good plan, one she’s determined to stick to.
Now, she just had to stop herself from falling for him.
Commander Strom no longer fears death. Not after being a Knight of The Divide, sworn to protect the humans and elves from the spirits only to discover the order corrupt from within. Not after serving in Rannadal’s Viking clan, running raids because he had nothing left to lose.
The only fear he’s faced in a decade is when he’s confronted with a Keeper with eyes as hard as emeralds and a passion in her soul that quells both his heart and the spirits. Now, he’s fighting for both her safety and the protection of all of Midgard as the spirits threaten to tear them both in two.
He refuses to fall in battle, but he might just fall for her.
This is a dark and spicy Viking romantasy featuring a found family and forbidden lovers. This is the first in a series. Please mind the content warnings.
Keeper Adelaide Aylara is an elf of The Divide, a mountain range protecting her people from humankind, and she’s known the spirits that haunt its deepest caverns all her life.
But when her home is destroyed in an earth-shattering explosion, she loses her kin in the chaos as spirits bleed further into their realm. Worse yet, humans plucked her out of the ash and claimed she was their savior sent by the Gods, deities she most certainly doesn’t believe in.
Despite the centuries of animosity between their people, she strikes a deal with their annoyingly handsome Commander. She’ll assist in their mission to seal the tear in the mountains and bring whoever destroyed her home to the ax. In return, Commander Karsten Strom promises to find her family and return them to her. She knows she shouldn’t trust a human—let alone a Knight who belongs to the same order that destroyed her life—but she can’t help trusting his burning amber eyes. It’s a good plan, one she’s determined to stick to.
Now, she just had to stop herself from falling for him.
Commander Strom no longer fears death. Not after being a Knight of The Divide, sworn to protect the humans and elves from the spirits only to discover the order corrupt from within. Not after serving in Rannadal’s Viking clan, running raids because he had nothing left to lose.
The only fear he’s faced in a decade is when he’s confronted with a Keeper with eyes as hard as emeralds and a passion in her soul that quells both his heart and the spirits. Now, he’s fighting for both her safety and the protection of all of Midgard as the spirits threaten to tear them both in two.
He refuses to fall in battle, but he might just fall for her.
This is a dark and spicy Viking romantasy featuring a found family and forbidden lovers. This is the first in a series. Please mind the content warnings.
556 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 20, 2025
4 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 8, 2025
I am always ready for a good Viking romantasy, so I jumped at the chance to get a copy of Between The Shadows And The Dawn to review. The cover was gorgeous. The summary was intriguing. I was sold. And hot damn, did Jenna Streety deliver.
The story did feel a bit slow at first. I was enjoying it, but I was reading 5 pages here, 10 pages there. But that very quickly shifted into being unable to put the book down. I was going through the motions of life waiting to get back to this story.
The grounding as a Viking romantasy makes the world the author has created feel familiar and accessible. However, there are world and magic elements the reader has to learn. I thought it was fairly easy to make sense of, but I would say that readers should be aware that this is a bit of a denser story before picking it up. This is also definitely a slow-burn. It has stunning moments of romance that left me blushing, but those are moments of yearning. Spicy yearning, but yearning all the same. Readers should go into this knowing we’re here for the long-haul.
As for the actual plot and character, I was really blown away. The plot is compelling. I have theories and questions, and genuinely want to know what will happen next. But the characters make this shine. These characters are so rich and dynamic. It is incredibly easy to connect to them emotionally. None of them are perfect, which is so refreshing to read. Karsten and Adelaide, and even a good chunk of the side characters, just come across as real and raw. And while there are heavy topics like PTSD and religious trauma and even addiction, it’s contrasted so nicely with moments of levity or romance. And this is a romance I can really believe. The pacing and development has been incredibly thorough. It is a little slow. And it’s a long book. But it really didn’t feel long. I was just watching this romance grow incrementally until I was dying inside from the yearning. (The yearning!!!)
I loved the writing. There were some pretty lush descriptions, but it wasn’t too heavy. I do have a couple of moments notes where I thought the wording was off, but that can easily just be personal preference. It wasn’t anything that detracted from my enjoyment.
I will add that one of my personal pet peeves for books is a timeline. I tend to get very caught up on if a timeline is believable and if time references match up. This is the first book in quite some time where I never once questioned if the timeline made sense. And that tells me the pacing was perfect and that there was decent attention to detail with a continuity edit.
5 stars. I’ve already been recommending it to friends. It’s just so good. It was worth every second of reading. I already want to read it again and see what I may have missed. 5 stars, no notes.
The story did feel a bit slow at first. I was enjoying it, but I was reading 5 pages here, 10 pages there. But that very quickly shifted into being unable to put the book down. I was going through the motions of life waiting to get back to this story.
The grounding as a Viking romantasy makes the world the author has created feel familiar and accessible. However, there are world and magic elements the reader has to learn. I thought it was fairly easy to make sense of, but I would say that readers should be aware that this is a bit of a denser story before picking it up. This is also definitely a slow-burn. It has stunning moments of romance that left me blushing, but those are moments of yearning. Spicy yearning, but yearning all the same. Readers should go into this knowing we’re here for the long-haul.
As for the actual plot and character, I was really blown away. The plot is compelling. I have theories and questions, and genuinely want to know what will happen next. But the characters make this shine. These characters are so rich and dynamic. It is incredibly easy to connect to them emotionally. None of them are perfect, which is so refreshing to read. Karsten and Adelaide, and even a good chunk of the side characters, just come across as real and raw. And while there are heavy topics like PTSD and religious trauma and even addiction, it’s contrasted so nicely with moments of levity or romance. And this is a romance I can really believe. The pacing and development has been incredibly thorough. It is a little slow. And it’s a long book. But it really didn’t feel long. I was just watching this romance grow incrementally until I was dying inside from the yearning. (The yearning!!!)
I loved the writing. There were some pretty lush descriptions, but it wasn’t too heavy. I do have a couple of moments notes where I thought the wording was off, but that can easily just be personal preference. It wasn’t anything that detracted from my enjoyment.
I will add that one of my personal pet peeves for books is a timeline. I tend to get very caught up on if a timeline is believable and if time references match up. This is the first book in quite some time where I never once questioned if the timeline made sense. And that tells me the pacing was perfect and that there was decent attention to detail with a continuity edit.
5 stars. I’ve already been recommending it to friends. It’s just so good. It was worth every second of reading. I already want to read it again and see what I may have missed. 5 stars, no notes.
August 22, 2025
When Jenna told me about her idea for this book, I was hooked from the start and anxiously awaited it’s arrival. Now that it’s out in the world, I devoured it in a matter of days, and am so excited to say the Between the Shadows and the Dawn should be on every fantasy-romance readers reading list!
Between the Shadows and the Dawn follows Adelaide Aylara, an elf and Keeper of the Divide, a mountain range protecting her people from humankind. But when her home is destroyed, she must team up with human Knight Karsten Strom, who belongs to the same order that destroyed her life. As they’re pulled together through forces out of their control, and with roaming spirits on the loose threatening the humans, they must work together to calm the Spirits – all while fighting their growing attraction for each other.
Jenna’s writing is impeccable. It’s hauntingly beautiful, with rich prose and descriptions that paint the scene with perfect imagery. Her own blend of Norse mythology, combined with her own myths, make the world of Between the Shadows and the Dawn feel rich and alive. She meticulously blends world-building with the plot, making this an exciting and gripping read, where I couldn’t wait to turn the page to see what happened next. Jenna draws the reader into a rich and imaginative world torn between elves, spirits, and humans, and asks the question: what would you do to protect the people you love? Adelaide and Karsten are fully fleshed out characters, each vibrant and captivating every time they’re on the page. And who can forget about their budding romance? Starting from enemies to eventually friends and confidants, their mutual dislike and hatred of each that blossoms into trust and friendship is organic and flows well in combination with the rest of the story.
Jenna manages to capture a brand new fantasy world, both full of exciting characters, twisty plots, and danger lurking around every corner. I feel very blessed to have followed Adelaide and Karsten on their journey since the very beginning, and I cannot wait for the second book! Move over, Sarah J. Maas – Jenna Streety is making her mark on the fantasy romance genre, and you don’t want to miss it!
Between the Shadows and the Dawn follows Adelaide Aylara, an elf and Keeper of the Divide, a mountain range protecting her people from humankind. But when her home is destroyed, she must team up with human Knight Karsten Strom, who belongs to the same order that destroyed her life. As they’re pulled together through forces out of their control, and with roaming spirits on the loose threatening the humans, they must work together to calm the Spirits – all while fighting their growing attraction for each other.
Jenna’s writing is impeccable. It’s hauntingly beautiful, with rich prose and descriptions that paint the scene with perfect imagery. Her own blend of Norse mythology, combined with her own myths, make the world of Between the Shadows and the Dawn feel rich and alive. She meticulously blends world-building with the plot, making this an exciting and gripping read, where I couldn’t wait to turn the page to see what happened next. Jenna draws the reader into a rich and imaginative world torn between elves, spirits, and humans, and asks the question: what would you do to protect the people you love? Adelaide and Karsten are fully fleshed out characters, each vibrant and captivating every time they’re on the page. And who can forget about their budding romance? Starting from enemies to eventually friends and confidants, their mutual dislike and hatred of each that blossoms into trust and friendship is organic and flows well in combination with the rest of the story.
Jenna manages to capture a brand new fantasy world, both full of exciting characters, twisty plots, and danger lurking around every corner. I feel very blessed to have followed Adelaide and Karsten on their journey since the very beginning, and I cannot wait for the second book! Move over, Sarah J. Maas – Jenna Streety is making her mark on the fantasy romance genre, and you don’t want to miss it!
October 3, 2025
You will truly be transported to the world of Between the Shadows and the Dawn and fall deeply for its characters.
Adelaide and Karsten are both individually engaging main characters in their own right. Their protrayels of grief, PTSD, and addiction I found to be very realstic and relatable.
Following their relationship as it progresses along the lines of enemies to friends to lovers, is such a rewarding experience.
The world itself while easy to grasp, was well thought out and unique. I am a sucker for mythology based fantasy. I haven't found a lot influenced by Norse Mythology and was so happy to find it included Between the Shadows and The Dawn.
You can truly tell Jenna poured her heart and soul into this world and its characters. It's felt in every page.
I'm very excited to see where the rest of the series takes us.
Adelaide and Karsten are both individually engaging main characters in their own right. Their protrayels of grief, PTSD, and addiction I found to be very realstic and relatable.
Following their relationship as it progresses along the lines of enemies to friends to lovers, is such a rewarding experience.
The world itself while easy to grasp, was well thought out and unique. I am a sucker for mythology based fantasy. I haven't found a lot influenced by Norse Mythology and was so happy to find it included Between the Shadows and The Dawn.
You can truly tell Jenna poured her heart and soul into this world and its characters. It's felt in every page.
I'm very excited to see where the rest of the series takes us.
October 18, 2025
Jenna had me at Viking romance and this book did not disappoint. The world in this book is fascinating and I can’t even knock the overall lack of spice because the story is that good. I cannot wait to read book 2
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews