Whispers of Shadows Part 1

by Royalty Sky

300 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 31, 2026

About the author

Royalty Sky is a London-based author with a lifelong obsession with romance, fantasy, and morally questionable characters who probably need therapy.

When she isn’t writing dark, intense romances filled with obsession, danger, and delicious tension, Royalty can usually be found obsessing over anime, singing along to Stray Kids, daydreaming about new fictional men, or convincing herself that starting another series is absolutely a responsible life choice.

Reviews

[The Book Ssirren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a love/hate for me. While the storyline itself was great, the repetition got to be overwhelming. And that really took away from the story.
I did really like the characters but this was lacking depth and it made it really hard for me to start invested in this. I think with another round of editing this could be an awesome story. But as it stands, it's a miss for me.

[Katie’s Cosy Bookshelf · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this as an ARC

For me there was elements I enjoyed and then elements I didn’t enjoy so much but this is just personal preference.

What I did enjoy - I really enjoyed the idea of the story, I thought the storyline was really interesting and opened up a new world that I’m hoping we keep on discovering. I liked the main characters and LOVED the end few chapters those were definitely my favourites of the book. I enjoyed that it was easy to read, I love a book that I can just sink my teeth into. If I didn’t enjoy the overall story then I couldn’t have continued but I did so I’m really pleased about that. I also enjoyed the diversity of the world and characters/ creatures.

What I didn’t enjoy - At the start there was quite a bit of repetitiveness of words and phrases, this did seem to get better towards the end of the book but the start for me was quite repetitive. The term Noahlim was mentioned a lot but we didn’t discover the meaning behind it. The main character is a Noahlim and it seemed extremely important to the storyline but it would have been great to get a better understanding of it before the book ended. I’m hoping we will know more in the next book if it is a continuing series. Some sequencing of chapters was a bit choppy and jumped in time back and forth a bit.

Overall, I did enjoy the book. I thought it had great potential and the premise of the story I did enjoy. I enjoyed the last few chapters the most and that is why I would like to continue reading the series. I just hope we get answers to some questions in the next one. The ending was also a good one!

I’m grateful to have read this as an arc, there is definitely a lot of potential with this series and I’m excited to see where it goes next!

[Angel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I write this in good faith, but if this wasn't written by AI(or at least edited by AI) then it really needs a look over from a real human editor and generous use of a thesaurus. The amount of times I read "her scar burned" or "his body tightened" is genuinely tiring. There were multiple instances of completely different characters use near-identical language to describe something/someone. The MMC daydreamed about the FMC 3 times in the same chapter in almost identical ways. I read 20% of the book and genuinely the plot was so thin that I doubted there was any substance to it at all. The FMC is referred to as a "Noahlim", which was not explained in the 20% of the book I read, despite the amount of importance put on it. I still don't know what that is, unless it's a twist on Nephilim? The FMC's "best friend" seemingly can explain exactly what the FMC's scar is, but for some reason has never thought to bring this up before. Both the FMC and the MMC have this faux-edginess to them that feels more like a teenager playing pretend than it does hardened, jaded adults. There was at least one case of "I" not being capitalized. I really, truly wanted to like this, and I think there's good bones, but this execution needs work.

ARC provided via Pen Pinery
https://penpinery.com

[Des · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okayyy, so paranormal romance is NOT a genre I usually dabble in, but Whispers of the Shadow might have me peeking over the fence a little bit.
The storyline was easy to follow, which I really appreciated because sometimes fantasy/paranormal books can throw you straight into a whole new world and expect you to figure it out. This one gave me enough to understand what was happening without feeling overwhelmed.
One of my favorite parts was watching the FMC try to fight what clearly feels like fate. Sis said, “Absolutely not,” while fate basically said, “Girl…anyway.” The assassin × target dynamic definitely kept me interested, especially with Alessandro being this whole vampire/werewolf situation.
Since this is Part 1, I definitely finished with some QUESTIONS. 👀 There are pieces of the story and characters that I’m hoping Part 2 digs deeper into, because I feel like we’ve only scratched the surface of this world.
Overall, this was a good introduction to the story and surprisingly easy for someone who doesn't normally reach for this genre. Now I need Part 2 because I have questions that need ANSWERS.
And apparently I'm dabbling in paranormal romance now. Who knew?

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's potentially a decent story but it suffers at the hands of tedious repetition of certain words and phrases - to the point I was counting how many times icy-blue eyes appeared on a page! There was far too much repetition of needless minutiae - I only need to know the colour of the FMCs shoes or dress once for an event.

Some of the chapter sequences make no sense - for example the FMC receives an invite to an event, and the following 2 chapters cover the days leading upto the event, but then it goes to the MMC issuing the invite and the days leading up to the event from his perspective. It would have flowed better with an alternative chapter focus, switching straight from him to her and back to him until it got to the day of the event.

The ending of the book is probably the most well written aspect, it's just a pity the preceding 85% lets it down. I really wanted to enjoy the book, but sadly there were too many negatives.

I recived a copy of the e-book as an ARC. I leave this review voluntarily and the views are my own.

[kitkat.reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would lean my rating toward a 3.75 or 4!

There were repetitive parts/confusing definitions as mentioned in other reviews; however, I think these would be easily resolved while editing.

Overall, after a slow burn beginning, I absolutely devoured this book! I loved the complexity of the characters and the world-building!! I felt like I was transported while reading, and I loved that! The last few chapters were some of my favorites, and I think with some edits to reduce repetitiveness/clarify what Noahlim are, it would be incredible.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kristin Lipponen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to start off by saying I don’t really read romantasy books so this was a first for me but I actually liked it. I loved the hybrid characters and the story. You throw a little mafia in there and the book is always better. The book was definitely a slow burn and the spicy scenes didn’t come till the end but I think that worked out in the end as I was caught up in the story more and getting all the pieces together. This book was well done and I can’t wait for the next one to see how the story continues.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Cat.thebookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whispers of the Shadows by Royalty Sky had a great premise, and I enjoyed reading it. Donna, a Noahlim assassin, finds herself inexplicably drawn to the vampire Alessandro, but she doesn't understand why. Could it have something to do with her mother? To complicate matters further, she's been sent to kill him.

There was some repetition throughout the story. Personally, I would have preferred the alternating POVs to progress chronologically rather than revisiting scenes from a different character's perspective several chapters later. That's just a personal preference, though, and it didn't take too much away from my enjoyment of the story.

One thing I was left wondering was: what exactly is a Noahlim? I tried Googling it but couldn't find anything. Perhaps I missed an explanation, or maybe it's a term unique to this world. As someone who doesn't read a lot of fantasy, I would have appreciated a little more clarity.

Overall, this is a slow-burn romantasy with an interesting premise, and I especially enjoyed the final few chapters when the main characters finally connected.

[Nadean Love · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm this one is a tough one as I read it as an arc and yes there were mistakes and yes there was some repetitive language and some confusion with characters but I actually ended up liking the story and wanting to know more.(I assumed those mistakes would get fixed) What I did not like (hence the low score) is wtf is a Noahlim?? It was not explained once and google nor AI nor other authors could tell me. And it isn't a nephilim..

[Samantha Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️✨ (2.5/5)
I really wanted to enjoy this one because the premise had so much potential, but unfortunately the execution didn't quite work for me.
The biggest issue was the constant repetition. Certain descriptions, words, and phrases were used so frequently that they became distracting rather than immersive. I found myself skimming over repeated details, especially when the same physical descriptions or outfit choices were mentioned over and over.
The pacing and chapter structure also felt disjointed. Some scenes were shown from one character's perspective, only for the timeline to rewind and cover the exact same events from the other's point of view several chapters later. Alternating viewpoints as the story unfolded would have created a much smoother reading experience.
That said, the final portion of the book was easily the strongest. The writing felt more engaging, the story finally found its footing, and I was genuinely invested by the ending. It's just a shame that it took so long to get there.
Overall, there are the foundations of a good story here, but repetitive writing and awkward pacing made it difficult for me to fully connect with it. 2.5 stars.

[Nicole Kowarsch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh do I like a good mafia-esque romance with a little bit of spice and fantasy sprinkled in! I received an ARC copy of part 1 of Whispers of Shadows and it was a fun read. I am totally did not realize I was a vampire girl but MMC has me rethinking that 😍🤣 although I did really like the book it seemed a little repetitive at times with descriptions of characters or scenes but I could look past that and liked the story

[Louise Souter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks for the arc copy 😀

The story behind this is somthing I like .
Donna the strong assassin sent to kill Alessandro our morally grey hybrid, an falling for him instead .
It just took me a while to get into and some of the beginning was a very repetitive for me .
Definitely a slow burn.
I did enjoy the last couple of chapters where our main characters finally connected .

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was so so for me. The storyline had promise but the execution was not the best. There was quite a bit of repetition in the sense that the same things were said just in a slightly different way. I also felt like the beginning was a little heavy and it took a bit to get into the rhythm of the story. The ending better and I’m hoping part two will remedy the issues.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG!! A fantastic story. Lots of interesting twists kept this book a real page turner. Characters were multilayered. Great character interactions. Chemistry between main characters was hot! Read cover to cover.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lilo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it others to read. I was abit confused at first but I decided to power through and now I cant wait for part 2. Although I do wonder what a Noahlim is but I hoping that part 2 gives more info.