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A Legend of Light and Shadow
What if the legends were real?
For thirty years, Jenevieve lived a quiet life in the peaceful land of Nimea, unaware of the ancient power lying dormant inside her. But when a terrifying nightmare and a dying lily awaken her magic, the illusion shatters.
Her innocent village is attacked by a horde of dark creatures, and she’s thrust into Etheria—a realm of fractured alliances, forgotten lore, and a war long in the making, divided by those who stand in the light, and those who dwell in darkness.
The man she once loved stands steadfast at her side, but when an enigmatic Etherian puts himself in her path, it sparks a rivalry that threatens to unravel all she thought she knew.
As chaos spreads, Jenevieve must reconvene a legendary council of legendary leaders, navigate the volatile magic now surging through her veins, and come to terms with her role in a prophecy that could reshape the world.
With the future shrouded in shadow, Jenevieve clings to the one thing she believes protecting those she loves. Her family. Her friends.
Even if it means surrendering to the darkness within.
Even if it costs her everything.
What if the legend—was you?
For thirty years, Jenevieve lived a quiet life in the peaceful land of Nimea, unaware of the ancient power lying dormant inside her. But when a terrifying nightmare and a dying lily awaken her magic, the illusion shatters.
Her innocent village is attacked by a horde of dark creatures, and she’s thrust into Etheria—a realm of fractured alliances, forgotten lore, and a war long in the making, divided by those who stand in the light, and those who dwell in darkness.
The man she once loved stands steadfast at her side, but when an enigmatic Etherian puts himself in her path, it sparks a rivalry that threatens to unravel all she thought she knew.
As chaos spreads, Jenevieve must reconvene a legendary council of legendary leaders, navigate the volatile magic now surging through her veins, and come to terms with her role in a prophecy that could reshape the world.
With the future shrouded in shadow, Jenevieve clings to the one thing she believes protecting those she loves. Her family. Her friends.
Even if it means surrendering to the darkness within.
Even if it costs her everything.
What if the legend—was you?
487 pages, ebook
Published October 19, 2025
2 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 23, 2025
A Legend of Light and Shadow is an absolute page turner. In her debut novel, Jillian Wiley brings a fantastical world to life with a story that is so riveting, it makes you want to keep reading. The main character, Jen, feels different from many fantasy lead characters due to being in her 30s. As such, her motivations and characterization feel different from many novels I've read. The supporting cast of characters is fantastic.
One thing I really appreciate about Wiley's writing is the pacing. The story never feels like it meanders or dives too much into the weeds. She does an incredible job of world building while moving the story along. As the story builds, it gets harder and harder to put the book down as the suspense builds. The last 100-150 pages were impossible to find a stopping point because I needed to know what was going to happen next.
If you are at all interested in fantasy, I highly recommend this book. I cannot wait to see where the story goes from here.
One thing I really appreciate about Wiley's writing is the pacing. The story never feels like it meanders or dives too much into the weeds. She does an incredible job of world building while moving the story along. As the story builds, it gets harder and harder to put the book down as the suspense builds. The last 100-150 pages were impossible to find a stopping point because I needed to know what was going to happen next.
If you are at all interested in fantasy, I highly recommend this book. I cannot wait to see where the story goes from here.
October 17, 2025
Jillian Wiley is roaring out of the gates with her author debut, and creates a world that is easy to fall into with a roster of characters that are well-fleshed, likeable, and impactful. This is a fast-paced adventure that doesn't waste your time. Wiley gives you enough lore and enough world-building to keep things moving, and it's always interesting and never too much. She keeps you reading and wondering where things are going to go next. Jenevieve is a strong, relatable, and compelling female main character, and I personally can't get enough of fantasy fiction with FMC's as someone who has read countless high fantasy books with male MC's. Watching Jen's relationships develop with the men in her life was delicious, and watching her find herself and understand and grapple with the identity thrust upon her kept me rapt. I look forward to reading more of the world Wiley has created. Please support her and pick this one up!
October 19, 2025
A Legend of Light and Shadow is author Jillian Wiley's debut novel, and the entire books drips with the love and attention this author has given to make this story the best it can be.
The first few chapters alone set an ambitious stage for the remainder of the book, introducing a our 30-year-old protagonist's complicated emotional history, a staggering number of supporting characters, and a core mystery that will play out of over the course of the entire book. I was fully invested by the end of Chapter 1, and the book kept on cooking.
The characters in particular are where the novel shines. Our protagonist Jenevieve is a fully realized person from the jump, a woman of inner strength, deep insecurity, and a intense devotion to the people she loves. Her emotional journey is lifeblood of this book, and Wiley delivers her heartwrenching story with unflinching realism. Jen is absolutely a heroine worth your attention, praise, and tears.
As an author myself, I'm almost jealous at how well this book balances its supporting cast. While not every character is as fleshed out as Jen, there are very few points in the book where any character feels like a mere appendage or narrative tool to get from point a to point b. Each member of Jen's family feels fully realized from the start, as do the majority of the inner circle of friends who follow her throughout the story. Even with a sizable cast being introduced from the jump, the book doesn't let up on bringing in more characters as the story winds on, many of whom feel like they could lead novels of their own if given the chance.
All these characters populate of fantasy world that I wish we had more time to explore. Jen and her friends hail from a secluded part of the world, where the magical elements at the center of the plot are thought of only as myth. What they know about magic comes only from dusty old books. The reader will spend a sizable portion of the middle of the book without a firm footing on the setting, though this is clearly intentional on the author's part. Jen is just as lost as the reader is. She repeatedly bemoans the fact that she doesn't know what f--- is going on. This is perhaps my only criticism of the novel. I just wish for the reader's sake (and Jen's!) that we had some kind of recap sequence where we could all review exactly what we know about Etheria and its geography, denizens, and dangers.
From a writing standpoint, Wiley weaves of a complicated emotional journey in with some genuinely heartfelt, heartbreaking, and downright hilarious moments. The book's large cast opens up numerous opportunities for both humor and interpersonal conflict. The fact that most of the cast is 30+ (in some cases 300+) years old means there's a lot of history to work with to form more complicated relationships, which is again, one of the key strengths here. I laughed out loud at several moments, especially in the earlier chapters before the story hit its darkest moments.
As a Romantasy novel, romance absolutely plays are a role here. However, at no point does the romantic subplot become the central focus of the novel. Wiley expertly uses the book's core romance to further explore Jen's emotional journey, unveiling how such relationships can both exhasperate and alleviate one's inner turmoil. Jen's primary love interest is a character almost as fully realized as she is, and someone you will feel nearly as complicated emotions for as Jen does herself. Again, the relative maturity of our main cast is a strength in this arena. This isn't a teenage romance rife with simple miscommunication and immaturity.
The relationship is complicated, the characters KNOW it's complicated, and a metaphorical, magical grenade has just been through in the center of it all. They both are mature enough to give each other grace for their faults and mistakes, but also real enough to still feel the pain of those mistakes deeply. Masterful.
While A Legend of Light and Shadow is not without its faults, the book's strengths far outweigh its weaknesses. For me, the best measure for success is how much I wanted to keep reading from chapter to chapter, and this story had me HOOKED from the moment I cracked into my ARC. It gets my hearty recommendation not only for Romantasy readers, but for the general SFF audience as a whole.
NOTE: For those sensitive to it, there's a single spicy scene, which you will know is happening when it hits. The emotional aftermath is explored in the next chapter, so you are safe to "close the door" on your own without missing out on plot.
The first few chapters alone set an ambitious stage for the remainder of the book, introducing a our 30-year-old protagonist's complicated emotional history, a staggering number of supporting characters, and a core mystery that will play out of over the course of the entire book. I was fully invested by the end of Chapter 1, and the book kept on cooking.
The characters in particular are where the novel shines. Our protagonist Jenevieve is a fully realized person from the jump, a woman of inner strength, deep insecurity, and a intense devotion to the people she loves. Her emotional journey is lifeblood of this book, and Wiley delivers her heartwrenching story with unflinching realism. Jen is absolutely a heroine worth your attention, praise, and tears.
As an author myself, I'm almost jealous at how well this book balances its supporting cast. While not every character is as fleshed out as Jen, there are very few points in the book where any character feels like a mere appendage or narrative tool to get from point a to point b. Each member of Jen's family feels fully realized from the start, as do the majority of the inner circle of friends who follow her throughout the story. Even with a sizable cast being introduced from the jump, the book doesn't let up on bringing in more characters as the story winds on, many of whom feel like they could lead novels of their own if given the chance.
All these characters populate of fantasy world that I wish we had more time to explore. Jen and her friends hail from a secluded part of the world, where the magical elements at the center of the plot are thought of only as myth. What they know about magic comes only from dusty old books. The reader will spend a sizable portion of the middle of the book without a firm footing on the setting, though this is clearly intentional on the author's part. Jen is just as lost as the reader is. She repeatedly bemoans the fact that she doesn't know what f--- is going on. This is perhaps my only criticism of the novel. I just wish for the reader's sake (and Jen's!) that we had some kind of recap sequence where we could all review exactly what we know about Etheria and its geography, denizens, and dangers.
From a writing standpoint, Wiley weaves of a complicated emotional journey in with some genuinely heartfelt, heartbreaking, and downright hilarious moments. The book's large cast opens up numerous opportunities for both humor and interpersonal conflict. The fact that most of the cast is 30+ (in some cases 300+) years old means there's a lot of history to work with to form more complicated relationships, which is again, one of the key strengths here. I laughed out loud at several moments, especially in the earlier chapters before the story hit its darkest moments.
As a Romantasy novel, romance absolutely plays are a role here. However, at no point does the romantic subplot become the central focus of the novel. Wiley expertly uses the book's core romance to further explore Jen's emotional journey, unveiling how such relationships can both exhasperate and alleviate one's inner turmoil. Jen's primary love interest is a character almost as fully realized as she is, and someone you will feel nearly as complicated emotions for as Jen does herself. Again, the relative maturity of our main cast is a strength in this arena. This isn't a teenage romance rife with simple miscommunication and immaturity.
The relationship is complicated, the characters KNOW it's complicated, and a metaphorical, magical grenade has just been through in the center of it all. They both are mature enough to give each other grace for their faults and mistakes, but also real enough to still feel the pain of those mistakes deeply. Masterful.
While A Legend of Light and Shadow is not without its faults, the book's strengths far outweigh its weaknesses. For me, the best measure for success is how much I wanted to keep reading from chapter to chapter, and this story had me HOOKED from the moment I cracked into my ARC. It gets my hearty recommendation not only for Romantasy readers, but for the general SFF audience as a whole.
NOTE: For those sensitive to it, there's a single spicy scene, which you will know is happening when it hits. The emotional aftermath is explored in the next chapter, so you are safe to "close the door" on your own without missing out on plot.
October 28, 2025
589 pages later and I finally finished. This took me a lot longer to read than I expected. It has a very slow pace so it didn’t grab my attention and pull me in to want to binge read it.
I think this is very well written. I love all the characters and how I could tell there was more than meets the eye to some of them. There were interesting plot points that kept me wanting to read more, but I wish the pace was faster.
Like any good fantasy novel, the last 100 pages or so were the most exciting. There were plot twists I didn’t see coming, magic, torture, and lots of action. I’m glad I kept going and read until the end because it was an excellent ending that put me through so many emotions. However, this isn’t a book I see myself rereading or reading a sequel too. I wanted more to happen to keep me intrigued all the way through.
I think this is very well written. I love all the characters and how I could tell there was more than meets the eye to some of them. There were interesting plot points that kept me wanting to read more, but I wish the pace was faster.
Like any good fantasy novel, the last 100 pages or so were the most exciting. There were plot twists I didn’t see coming, magic, torture, and lots of action. I’m glad I kept going and read until the end because it was an excellent ending that put me through so many emotions. However, this isn’t a book I see myself rereading or reading a sequel too. I wanted more to happen to keep me intrigued all the way through.
November 4, 2025
What a great start to a trilogy! It gave me nostalgia vibes of daughter of no worlds book one. Lots of great characters. This author does a great job balancing and developing a large fun cast. The story is absolutely intriguing! I cannot wait for the next installment to see what happens next! This book felt refreshing, and also like an instant comfort classic all at once 10/10!
January 17, 2026
Love love love! You’d never guess by reading this was a debut author! Fantastic world building and a plot line that keeps you on the edge of your seat!
December 6, 2025
Great debut novel
Overall, I enjoyed this book. Everything was great: characters, world building, magic system, plot. The pacing of the book was on the fast side, which I don't mind at all. If anything, I was never bored.
The highlight of this book for me is the main character's journey not only discover her destiny, but to accept exactly what that meant for her. Her emotional reactions to her powers and abilities felt very raw and real. The romance dynamic between Jen and Damien is also one of the most interesting ones I have encountered. It's no fairytale romance, and felt incredibly realistic. I also enjoyed the build up of Ronan's character and am excited to learn more about him.
I wanted to give this book 5 stars, but unfortunately, there were some issues that I could not look past. There were a fair amount of typos in this book, and while I can overlook one or two typos (especially from an indie author), there were enough in this book to confuse me at times. Specifically, Leenya/Leeyna's name was misspelled enough times that I'm not sure what her name is supposed to be. I hope that the author is able to invest more resources into proofreading and editing for the next book, because I will definitely be reading it.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. Everything was great: characters, world building, magic system, plot. The pacing of the book was on the fast side, which I don't mind at all. If anything, I was never bored.
The highlight of this book for me is the main character's journey not only discover her destiny, but to accept exactly what that meant for her. Her emotional reactions to her powers and abilities felt very raw and real. The romance dynamic between Jen and Damien is also one of the most interesting ones I have encountered. It's no fairytale romance, and felt incredibly realistic. I also enjoyed the build up of Ronan's character and am excited to learn more about him.
I wanted to give this book 5 stars, but unfortunately, there were some issues that I could not look past. There were a fair amount of typos in this book, and while I can overlook one or two typos (especially from an indie author), there were enough in this book to confuse me at times. Specifically, Leenya/Leeyna's name was misspelled enough times that I'm not sure what her name is supposed to be. I hope that the author is able to invest more resources into proofreading and editing for the next book, because I will definitely be reading it.
October 12, 2025
Excuse me as I SCREAM over Jenevieve. A strong and willing to push herself FMC that isn't a teen or in her early 20's!? Secrets that will potentially cause chaos to a realm long thought lost or legend with witty supporting characters that help each other discover their worth, their strengths and willing to support each other in their weaknesses. I cannot get over this book. I was captivated from the first line and constantly thrown off because I thought I knew where the story was going then was gloriously wrong! Jillian had left me awestruck and clawing for more!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews