The Fate of Smoke and Shadows

by Shelby Oval

Broken. Bound. Two souls, one fate.

Taken by the Shades and held in darkness, Lora is unraveling under the weight of everything that led her there. Haunted, broken, and barely holding on, she begins to hear a voice in the shadows urging her to fight… even as the veil calls her to surrender.

Stripped of his power and shattered by the loss of his closest friend, Garrison is left with one impossible truth: Lora is gone - and if he doesn’t bring her back, he won’t survive it.
Because Lora isn’t just the woman he loves.
She is half his soul.

Join Lora and Garrison as they navigate the next installment of the Shadowfire series.

543 pages, Paperback

Published August 13, 2026

About the author

Shelby Oval is the award winning author of Out of Embers and Shadows, book one in the Shadowfire series. Her second book, Into Flames and Shadows releases on Amazon on the 8th of January.

While Oval is a teacher by day, she is fighting wars, falling in love, and building worlds by night as she furthers her Shadowfire adventures. She loves to read fantasy and explore the different worlds other authors have created which is why she got a master’s in literature from the University of Glasgow - it was all for the books!

If you can’t find her reading or teaching or writing, then her partner has probably dragged her on another hike up another mountain - which means another book is sure to come soon!

The Shadowfire series is just one of many projects she is working on so there are plenty more opportunities to read her works. So whether you enjoy hiking or not - let’s all hope Shelby Oval’s partner keeps dragging her on outdoor adventures!

Reviews

[Jenna Barrett]

Wow! Just, wow! The fact that this is Shelby's first series is baffling to me. Her writing is much more like a seasoned author. Now onto Book 4... the pacing of this book is slower because of the situation the leads find themselves in, but it never felt like it was dragging. There may have been a couple of times I would have loved to step into the book to slap someone, though. My main frustration is simply the fact that I've been left with ANOTHER cliffhanger, and I'm reading these books as she writes them which means I actually have to wait for book 5. You will not regret losing a weekend reading this installment of The Shadowfire Series!

[Alexandria]

Shelby has done it again. I devoured this book, reading it in is entirety in about 24 hours. I was left hungry for more, but the space and time the characters were given in the novel felt needed. I desperately need the next book, there are still so many questions and desires that I need to see fulfilled.
But I highly recommend Shelby's work because her writing is easy to follow and she paints everything beautifully. I can't wait to see where this series goes next.

[SeaBee]

I am happily stuck into the latest instalment of Shelby Oval's fourth novel from the Shadow fire series. I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far. Lora is so broken but so strong, it's inspiring! I love this FMC! And I'm falling more in love with Garrison with every page! Can't wait to see where this goes. Hopefully I can come back to update later.

Edited to add:

That was amazing! Absolutely flew through it. Very good pacing, really engaging. We are learning so much about Lora and Garrison. It's great to see their progression theoughout this book. I'm already excited about the next book. I can't wait for the inevitable enotional fallout from Garrison's secret!