The Devouring Sky

by Susan Samadi

She's supposed to protect the Veil; he once served the god trying to destroy it.

Generations ago, the ancient dragon god, Kaelorath, was bound within the sky to halt his rampage of destruction. To ensure his eternal imprisonment, a high sorceress wove a crystalline veil across the sky, shielding the world from his wrath. This veil dimmed the sun’s light, plunging the kingdom into perpetual twilight.

Now, the veil is breaking.

Virelle Velasaryn, a novice Twilight Weaver, is thrust into a perilous journey to retrieve the Shard of the Sun, the gift used to create the veil, and keep it safe from Kaelorath’s dark forces. Her unsteady magic, weaving threads of light and shadow, may be the kingdom’s last hope.

As Kaelorath’s power grows, Virelle must face not only the horrors unleashed upon the land but also the dragon god’s seductive whispers, tempting her with promises of power and glory. The closer she comes to the Shard, the clearer it becomes that the greatest threat may not lie in Kaelorath’s shadow but within herself.

"The killings wouldn't stop either. Not until I could learn to stare into the face of shadow and not flee when it stared back."

The Devouring Sky is an epic fantasy with a slow-burn romance. It is the first installment of the Threads of Twilight series.

365 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication January 20, 2026

About the author

Susan Samadi is an author of fantasy novels. She lives with her loving husband, her beautiful daughter, three seemingly suspicious cats and one medicated cat (she has anxiety, but don't we all?). She currently serves in the U.S. Air Force Reserves as an aircraft mechanic.

She loves rainy days more than sunny ones, and when she's not writing, you'll probably find her curled up with a cup of tea with her cats, crocheting something unnecessarily ambitious, or shamelessly bribing her husband to beta read one more chapter.

Reviews

[Addison Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve lost sleep over this book.

If you loved Shadow and Bone, this one’s for you.

This story feels dare I say new, while still weaving in familiar elements. To me, that in itself is a feat, especially in a genre where we’ve seen so many overly similar works as of late.
This world is something else entirely, cast in shadow and twilight by the Veil. The descriptions of each village, forest, and tower had me right there alongside our FMC, and I felt as if I were fighting right alongside her. And the love interest?? Talk about a slow burn, and I’m HERE FOR IT.

Malric has all the brooding MMC you could want, while still showing some actual personality and humanistic traits that I feel many MMC’s nowadays lack. The character building is well written and the characters themselves are consistent, while still showing realistic signs of growth.

I am a reader of connection, always tying one thing into another, and something I noticed consistently throughout this book was that while I could see moments of similarity to other stories, worlds or characters, nothing truly fit to match in description. The author has truly given me a NEW story to read. One that shows the internal struggles of light and dark in both a personal AND worldly stance, but offers it in a way that I have yet to see done.

While I enjoyed experiencing a new magic system, there were things about it that left me with questions. Some were answered throughout the book, but overall I don’t feel like I fully grasped the ins and outs of the magic in this world. BUT, that may be intentional setup for the next book. As a personal preference I do wish I would’ve received a bit more clarification.

Honest review in exchange for ARC

[Stephslayzzz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Devouring Sky is a fast-paced fantasy that jumps straight into the action, drawing you into a war between light and shadows. The magic system with shadow and light weaving is unique, and I really enjoyed learning how all the different weaving worked as the story unfolded.

The main character, Virelle, encounters several creative creatures with distinct strengths and abilities, adding tension and excitement to the world. I also really enjoyed the moody dragon ally. The romance with the male assassin is a slow burn, which made the emotional moments feel earned and satisfying.

Some relationships develop quickly, but the story still gives plenty of emotional depth, and the world is fascinating to explore. Overall, it’s a creative and engaging start to a series, and I’m genuinely thrilled to see what happens in book two.

(ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.)

[Nadya Alexia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished and i love love love it. truly it's amazing. I love how detailed it is and how it felt like we were going on this journey with her instead of just bits and pieces and massive time jumps. I felt like i went through every trial and error and accomplishments she had. The story was very easy to follow and I didn't get confused. It helped so much to be able to follow a map on her journey. Did not feel predictable and I was excited to see where the story was going and how she was going to handle the situations handed to her. Overall a very creative story and the world building was amazing. I felt all kinds of emotions; happy, sad, excitement, stressed, confusion, etc. 5/5. I cant wait to purchase the release!

[Jordan Parson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did actually like this book a lot. I’ve read a lot of books that are set in different worlds. The only thing I would really like to say is that I wish the author had spent the first chapter doing a little bit more world building, or background, a little more explanation of some of the cities or abilities or people. It still felt a little difficult near the middle to end of the book with all of that. But being said it was written well the characters were great. I enjoyed it, and I would be anxious to read the second. It was overall of fun read. Not anywhere near spicy is what I’m used to unfortunately but it was nice to change it up. I read this as an arc and was super grateful to be selected and would definitely read more of this author’s work.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The descriptions of monsters and magic had me turning pages and finding it hard to stop reading, the emotional descriptions made it easy to feel what the lead character was experiencing, be it grief, frustration or otherwise. I loved the plot and look forward to seeing what happens in the next book, however the world building could use some work. I found it easy, especially in the beginning to get lost a bit and have to re-read a page to figure out where we were and what was going on. Over all I loved the book and really look forward to the next one being released.

(I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.)

[TiaJade · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Devouring Sky follows Virelle as she searches for the shard of the sun to prevent the dragon god from unleashing hell upon the world.

I really enjoyed how the book started, it had me hooked and kept me wanting to read. The pacing was good and I enjoyed the idea behind the book.

Unfortunately, I started to find Virelle annoying and quite childish at times. Her actions were quite wishy-washy. I feel her character development was all over the place, and although character development isn’t linear, I feel like this could have been more consistent.

Overall the story was good, but the writing wasn’t a style I personally enjoyed.

[Matthew Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read the entire thing in on go - was so good I couldn’t put it down - loved it! Only now I need book 2+ and to find out what happens next - I love the characters, the setting, her magic thread weaving, can’t wait to see if she finds that balance, what happens if anything between Virelle and Malric, more about Thalorys, the King and his wife and the son we only heard a few mentions of but next to no details on besides going missing, there’s so many things I can’t wait to see what more we find out and how things go. Loved the characters and plot and can’t wait to get my hands on book 2!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Dharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this ARC! The world building was extensive and well explained, the imagery was so thorough it was like you were walking through the world with Virelle, and the romance is a very slow burn. top that off with a protective and grumpy dragon - you have a world you don't want to escape. the magic system confused me a bit at first, but as the book went on it made more sense. I'm devastated that the rest of the series isn't already out for me to devour, but I so look forward to reading it as it releases.

[Alex Merrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m so glad I had this arc on my phone, I found myself opening it up every time I had a spare minute. It’s fast paced, shadow and light, sassy dragons that stand squarely in your corner, and a love interest you hate and then kind of like and then hate and then starts to grow on you. The slow burn was slow burning and that was fantastic. The prose writing is beautiful and you can see where the author drew her inspirations from. I cannot wait for this to be published so I can add it to my shelf; and I shall wait patiently for her to write the next book.

[Erynn Snel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this ARC! The premise is awesome, the world-building and magic system are epic, and the descriptions really pull you in. The plot moves smoothly and is easy to follow without losing excitement. Thalorys is my favorite, because who doesn’t love a grumpy/overprotective dragon? Can’t wait to see where Susan Samadi takes the story next and watch her grow even more as a writer.

[Hope's Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did receive an ARC copy, and this is my honest opinion!

The enjoyed reading this. It was fast paced and hooked me in immediately. The plot was good, characters were great. I did have a few times where I had to go back and reread because I was a bit confused, but overall, great book and I look forward to continuing the story.

[Nicolette Keri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great 1st in a series. I’m super excited to see where it goes! With multiple magic systems at play and creatures straight from nightmares, we’re thrown right into a world of darkness in the midst of a war. It’s Fairly fast paced and the burn isn’t torturously slow which I personally enjoy. It was an absolute pleasure to read this ARC and I’ll be impatiently awaiting book 2!

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had me hooked from page 1. It has plot twist after plot twist and always left me feeling like my other shoe was going to drop 😂 I will just be sitting here hoping she will be starting her second book on this!

[Haley Meili Rouleau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved how it dove right into the action! World building was a little difficult at first, which is why I rated four stars. However, once I got into it, I was hooked. Very fun read!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Abigail Blais · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this ARC! This book truly was an epic fantasy, Samadi created a super interesting and exciting magic system that I cannot wait to read more about! Following Virelle’s physical and mental journey was truly a delight, I am excited to watch her grow!
And of course, I am rooting for Malric