What do you think?
Rate this book
Radiant Legacy #2
Shadow of Death
Above the hungry crowd chanting for blood, I put my body on the line in the hopes that maybe, just maybe, it will be enough…
Welcome to the Mouth of Hell, where I’m training to defeat my past before it destroys my future. To beat my father and secure my freedom, I’ll have to be stronger than I’ve ever been before. If fighting in the cage leaves me too bruised and exhausted to focus on my crumbling personal life, that’s just a bonus.
Some truths hurt more than lies.
And I’m not the only one aching. Ciprian’s a stranger. Alistair’s losing it. Luca’s walking on eggshells. And my ex is here, watching, judging, and stirring up things better left alone.
My control is slipping. My monsters won’t be ignored.
Attraction is one thing and loyalty is another. Staying alive and off the enclave’s radar should be our only priorities, so why am I feeling things I’m scared to name? I can fight to the death and kill to protect, but I’m not sure I have what it takes to forgive and forget.
Shadow of Death is Book 2 of the Radiant Legacy series—a paranormal romance featuring a strong FMC, protective MMCs, and a medium-burn, multi-POV story where the woman ends up with multiple love interests, some of whom also fall for each other.
Set in Alana Kay’s Legacy Universe, this series overlaps chronologically with the Lost Legacy trilogy. While either series can be an entry point into the universe, reading both will give you a richer look at the magical world they share.
You can expect: Angels, demons, vampires, shifters, witches, found family, forced proximity, friends to lovers, emotional tension, steamy payoff, and high-stakes supernatural mystery.
Welcome to the Mouth of Hell, where I’m training to defeat my past before it destroys my future. To beat my father and secure my freedom, I’ll have to be stronger than I’ve ever been before. If fighting in the cage leaves me too bruised and exhausted to focus on my crumbling personal life, that’s just a bonus.
Some truths hurt more than lies.
And I’m not the only one aching. Ciprian’s a stranger. Alistair’s losing it. Luca’s walking on eggshells. And my ex is here, watching, judging, and stirring up things better left alone.
My control is slipping. My monsters won’t be ignored.
Attraction is one thing and loyalty is another. Staying alive and off the enclave’s radar should be our only priorities, so why am I feeling things I’m scared to name? I can fight to the death and kill to protect, but I’m not sure I have what it takes to forgive and forget.
Shadow of Death is Book 2 of the Radiant Legacy series—a paranormal romance featuring a strong FMC, protective MMCs, and a medium-burn, multi-POV story where the woman ends up with multiple love interests, some of whom also fall for each other.
Set in Alana Kay’s Legacy Universe, this series overlaps chronologically with the Lost Legacy trilogy. While either series can be an entry point into the universe, reading both will give you a richer look at the magical world they share.
You can expect: Angels, demons, vampires, shifters, witches, found family, forced proximity, friends to lovers, emotional tension, steamy payoff, and high-stakes supernatural mystery.
394 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 2, 2025
20 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Alana Kay
6 books28 followersALANA KAY is a romance author with a soft spot for imperfect heroes, tough heroines, and steamy love stories. She made her debut into paranormal romance in 2024 with her novel The Last Wish (Lost Legacy Book One) and completed the trilogy in February 2025.
Alana Kay fell for romance novels in the early aughts after sneaking bodice rippers from her mom’s dog-eared collection of paperbacks. A big believer in happy endings, she likes her love scenes on page, her adventures nonstop, and her magic off the rails. When she’s not typing feverishly, she’s either snuggling with her dog, cats, or husband in sunny Los Angeles or impulsively signing up for a sporting event she’s not nearly athletic enough to commit to.
Author of the completed Lost Legacy series, including The Last Wish, The Last Dream, and The Last Djinn. Her in-progress Radiant Legacy series releases its third book, Fear No Evil, in 2026.
For updates, sign up for her newsletter, follow @AlanaKayAuthor on social media, or head over to AlanaKayAuthor.com.
https://linktr.ee/alanakayauthor
Alana Kay fell for romance novels in the early aughts after sneaking bodice rippers from her mom’s dog-eared collection of paperbacks. A big believer in happy endings, she likes her love scenes on page, her adventures nonstop, and her magic off the rails. When she’s not typing feverishly, she’s either snuggling with her dog, cats, or husband in sunny Los Angeles or impulsively signing up for a sporting event she’s not nearly athletic enough to commit to.
Author of the completed Lost Legacy series, including The Last Wish, The Last Dream, and The Last Djinn. Her in-progress Radiant Legacy series releases its third book, Fear No Evil, in 2026.
For updates, sign up for her newsletter, follow @AlanaKayAuthor on social media, or head over to AlanaKayAuthor.com.
https://linktr.ee/alanakayauthor
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 31, 2025
Alana Kay does it again! I said it before, and I’ll say it again, I never want to leave this world! This series connects with her previous completed series The Last Djinn, however, you don’t need to read that series in order to read this. This is set in the underground supernatural world of Las Vegas, it’s why choose with some seriously delicious MMCs! Celine is one of my all time favorite bada** FMCs, she is an angel with very emotional wings! Our MMCs include an Angel, basilisk shifter, vampire and a nightmare demon!
Celine is hiding from her father, but when angel children start showing up in Las Vegas randomly she needs to figure out what’s going on. The one person from her past that she never planned to see again may have all the answers. She also has to hide out from the supernatural enclave, but that may be harder because she fell for a member of it.
If you’re looking for a why choose paranormal romance look no further than this one!
Celine is hiding from her father, but when angel children start showing up in Las Vegas randomly she needs to figure out what’s going on. The one person from her past that she never planned to see again may have all the answers. She also has to hide out from the supernatural enclave, but that may be harder because she fell for a member of it.
If you’re looking for a why choose paranormal romance look no further than this one!
December 6, 2025
Alana Kay is a master weaver. (No pun intended with the cover.) Her writing is seriously underrated in the why choose genre. Each book just gets better and better with how she weaves the story together. In Shadow of Death, every character is distinct, has their own motivations and struggles, and impacts the story in meaningful ways. There's a large, overarching plot and lots of romantic relationships; and somehow, Alana Kay manages all the complexities of them without sacrificing one character's progression for another's. The action and the spice are written with intention, not just to fulfill an entertainment or spice quota. Each moment matters to the characters and their story.
Shadow of Death (SoD) takes the best of Darkest Valley's (DV) world building and expands on it in clever ways, and there are fun extra lore details in SoD that connect all the way back to Lost Legacy if you read that series too.
Celine continues to be my favorite badass stripper angel, now complete with pit fighter experience. Her angel magic is so unique; I've never read anything quite like it. The fight scenes...No spoilers, but there's an epic one...
Ciprian is still my overall favorite MMC in the Radiant Legacy series, because we have so much history with him in the Lost Legacy series too, and he has some truly touching moments in SoD. But the surprise for me this book was Malach.
I know everyone loves Alistair and Luca (and they are great!), but I loved every single page Malach was on. After DV's ending, I didn't know what to expect of him, and he continued to surprise me in SoD. There's a lot going on with Celine and the other MMCs, but Malach stands out in a completely different way from them. He has a such a solid presence while also providing some really funny moments. There was an intriguing undertone to him throughout the book that was very compelling and a bit mysterious. I want even more of him.
Alana Kay writes some of the best endings in paranormal why choose - the last 30% of the book had me on the edge of my seat. I could feel the adrenaline and terror in the final pages. I got everything I wanted in Shadow of Death and more. And now, I can't wait to find out what happens to our crew next. With a foreboding title like Fear No Evil, March can't get here fast enough.
Shadow of Death (SoD) takes the best of Darkest Valley's (DV) world building and expands on it in clever ways, and there are fun extra lore details in SoD that connect all the way back to Lost Legacy if you read that series too.
Celine continues to be my favorite badass stripper angel, now complete with pit fighter experience. Her angel magic is so unique; I've never read anything quite like it. The fight scenes...No spoilers, but there's an epic one...
Ciprian is still my overall favorite MMC in the Radiant Legacy series, because we have so much history with him in the Lost Legacy series too, and he has some truly touching moments in SoD. But the surprise for me this book was Malach.
I know everyone loves Alistair and Luca (and they are great!), but I loved every single page Malach was on. After DV's ending, I didn't know what to expect of him, and he continued to surprise me in SoD. There's a lot going on with Celine and the other MMCs, but Malach stands out in a completely different way from them. He has a such a solid presence while also providing some really funny moments. There was an intriguing undertone to him throughout the book that was very compelling and a bit mysterious. I want even more of him.
Alana Kay writes some of the best endings in paranormal why choose - the last 30% of the book had me on the edge of my seat. I could feel the adrenaline and terror in the final pages. I got everything I wanted in Shadow of Death and more. And now, I can't wait to find out what happens to our crew next. With a foreboding title like Fear No Evil, March can't get here fast enough.
December 2, 2025
Alana Kay always delivers incredible romance alongside skilled writing and exciting plot. A rare talent! Highly recommend
December 6, 2025
This one really has me on the edge of my seat. I'm losing it for book three. I love all these guys. They're so compelling. Alistair will forever be my number one of course. Celine is an amazing FMC-I love that she's tough and take no prisoners but is still a decent person. I feel like it's going to get worse for them all before it gets better....but I don't want off the ride!
December 20, 2025
Not as good as the first book. Mostly because there was very little in the way of a plot.
After the events of the last book, this one was more of a "hurry up and wait" situation. The cliffhanger at the end of book one turned out to be nothing. There was no reason for Celine to fear her betrothed because he was a big softie who only wanted to bask in her attention. The attempted murders were a misunderstanding - no hard feelings - and he only started dropping angel children everywhere so he could rescue thecm. So...all of book one's questions were answered.
The big bad can't cross realms, so the gang just sat around and waited while he sent assassins in his place. Celine's storyline was more like an extended training montage than a character arc. She can't go after the bad guy, so instead she'll become a cage fighter? Luca didn't have an arc, aside from being the supportive boyfriend. Ciprion pouted and licked his wounds, and Allistair pouted, licked his wounds, and took out his anger on Ciprian.
Maybe the author wanted to avoid moving the plot forward until she could sync up the timeline with Sheena's story, but the auction scene from Sheena's book was like 80% into this book and everything before felt like filler.
The only interesting thing to happen occurred in the last chapter, so I assume that book three will be better?
After the events of the last book, this one was more of a "hurry up and wait" situation. The cliffhanger at the end of book one turned out to be nothing. There was no reason for Celine to fear her betrothed because he was a big softie who only wanted to bask in her attention. The attempted murders were a misunderstanding - no hard feelings - and he only started dropping angel children everywhere so he could rescue thecm. So...all of book one's questions were answered.
The big bad can't cross realms, so the gang just sat around and waited while he sent assassins in his place. Celine's storyline was more like an extended training montage than a character arc. She can't go after the bad guy, so instead she'll become a cage fighter? Luca didn't have an arc, aside from being the supportive boyfriend. Ciprion pouted and licked his wounds, and Allistair pouted, licked his wounds, and took out his anger on Ciprian.
Maybe the author wanted to avoid moving the plot forward until she could sync up the timeline with Sheena's story, but the auction scene from Sheena's book was like 80% into this book and everything before felt like filler.
The only interesting thing to happen occurred in the last chapter, so I assume that book three will be better?
December 30, 2025
4.5 stars rounded up!
Shadow of Death is just as well-written as Book 1 in the Radiant Legacy series.
I'm a big fan of Kay's writing style - it's upbeat and action-focused, but still allows the characters a lot of room for some funny dialogue.
I'll be honest, the main plotline of this series isn't really what's hooking me. The side plot with the mysterious assassins and orphaned angels is pretty background stuff and not super compelling: it's the characters and their drama that I love.
In this book, we meet Celine's 4th MMC, Malach, an angel from her past. I found him to be an intriguing new addition, although there wasn't as much development between them as I expected.
With Ciprian, Luca and Alistair though? We get all the juicy secrets, smutty scenes and angsty relationship drama I was hoping for.
Alistair was somehow still a hottie even with his shitty attitude, whereas Luca was just perfect bf material throughout. We saw an even sweeter side to Ciprian in this book, and I liked his rapport with Malach.
One of the best things about having such different men in this group is how much Celine changes depending on who she's with, and Ciprian and Luca definitely bring out her softer side (which I love).
Only time will tell if this series is going to be a trilogy or a four-parter, but I'll be eagerly awaiting the next one regardless.
Shadow of Death is just as well-written as Book 1 in the Radiant Legacy series.
I'm a big fan of Kay's writing style - it's upbeat and action-focused, but still allows the characters a lot of room for some funny dialogue.
I'll be honest, the main plotline of this series isn't really what's hooking me. The side plot with the mysterious assassins and orphaned angels is pretty background stuff and not super compelling: it's the characters and their drama that I love.
In this book, we meet Celine's 4th MMC, Malach, an angel from her past. I found him to be an intriguing new addition, although there wasn't as much development between them as I expected.
With Ciprian, Luca and Alistair though? We get all the juicy secrets, smutty scenes and angsty relationship drama I was hoping for.
Alistair was somehow still a hottie even with his shitty attitude, whereas Luca was just perfect bf material throughout. We saw an even sweeter side to Ciprian in this book, and I liked his rapport with Malach.
One of the best things about having such different men in this group is how much Celine changes depending on who she's with, and Ciprian and Luca definitely bring out her softer side (which I love).
Only time will tell if this series is going to be a trilogy or a four-parter, but I'll be eagerly awaiting the next one regardless.
January 3, 2026
Shadow of Death is the second installment of the Radiant Legacy series! It picks up right where Darkest Valley left off, immediately throwing you back into the fringes with even more danger this go around. With everyone on edge, Celine must prepare to face her past while also mending her heart in the present. Her guys are on edge, working through their own grudges until the angsty bubble inevitably pops.
I was so ready for this one, and it did not disappoint! This series was expertly woven into The Lost Legacy series, revisiting the twists and turns of Sheena’s story through Ciprian’s eyes. I loved the raw emotion we got to experience from his character and the compassion that the others showed him.
And Malach, my sweet himbo angel, I couldn’t get enough of him. A super serious guardian angel type with dry humor and unbreakable devotion? What more could you want. I can’t wait to see where the relationship between him and Celine goes. I am anticipating his time to shine! 🤞🏻
I’ve had so much fun reading this series, it’s different, edgy, and filled with twists and turns. I can honestly say I don’t know where it will take us next and I love the surprise! Fear No Evil can’t get here soon enough. 🫶🏻
I was so ready for this one, and it did not disappoint! This series was expertly woven into The Lost Legacy series, revisiting the twists and turns of Sheena’s story through Ciprian’s eyes. I loved the raw emotion we got to experience from his character and the compassion that the others showed him.
And Malach, my sweet himbo angel, I couldn’t get enough of him. A super serious guardian angel type with dry humor and unbreakable devotion? What more could you want. I can’t wait to see where the relationship between him and Celine goes. I am anticipating his time to shine! 🤞🏻
I’ve had so much fun reading this series, it’s different, edgy, and filled with twists and turns. I can honestly say I don’t know where it will take us next and I love the surprise! Fear No Evil can’t get here soon enough. 🫶🏻
February 7, 2026
alana kay the author you are. i LOVE the world building, i love the magic system, i love the characters, i love the relationship between the characters not only to celine but to one another. i can just say i overall love this book series dearly. it was action packed, had a gripping plot but still incorporated the romance. the way alana kay wrote it didn’t take away the impact from either the story nor the romance. why choose is a top genre for me and alana kay just hits every time. also how do you expect me to wait till march to continue???
December 12, 2025
I love these books but Alistair is turning out to be insufferable, after what he did to Ciprian he doesn't deserve forgiveness. He didn't even grovel after slut shaming the fmc?? when will his character development come because right now I don't want him in the harem
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
December 5, 2025🔴 This is a poly romance, not a RH 🔴
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews