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*A THE GATHERING OF SHADOWS NOVELLA TOLD BY LUCIFER*
After the battle of Agalmath, and with his five books now in his possession, Lucifer and his servants have taken the ancient Bellatorian fortress of Benhir Karbor, where they've gathered a numerous army of Fallen Stars, Nephilins, Men, and Beasts.
As the Dark One plots his massive attack against Elysium and Tristar, a secret festers in his heart--one he has managed to keep even from his most loyal servants. The certainty of his victory is also shattered when shadows of his past return and betrayal arises amongst those who serve him.
"There are darker things hidden in my heart than any darkness you've ever seen."
After the battle of Agalmath, and with his five books now in his possession, Lucifer and his servants have taken the ancient Bellatorian fortress of Benhir Karbor, where they've gathered a numerous army of Fallen Stars, Nephilins, Men, and Beasts.
As the Dark One plots his massive attack against Elysium and Tristar, a secret festers in his heart--one he has managed to keep even from his most loyal servants. The certainty of his victory is also shattered when shadows of his past return and betrayal arises amongst those who serve him.
"There are darker things hidden in my heart than any darkness you've ever seen."
- GenresParanormalYoung Adult
Paperback
Published June 3, 2017
2 people are currently reading
197 people want to read
About the author
J.D. Netto
20 books539 followersJ.D. Netto is a multi-genre bestselling author whose debut fantasy series, The Whispers of the Fallen, became an underground sensation upon its release. He is the founder of Saved by the Page, a movement that encourages readers to share how books have impacted their lives, with select stories compiled into an anthology published in 2018.
J.D. is also known for Henderbell: The Shadow of Saint Nicholas, a speculative fiction novel that explores the cursed bloodline of Father Christmas. His The Broken Miracle duology inspired an album featuring Paul Cardall, David Archuleta, and Tyler Glenn.
In 2022, he released The Echoes of Fallen Stars, a fallen angel fantasy centered on Lucifer’s lost gay son and the secret romance between Lucifer and the Creator. USA Today hailed the series as “a creation that every fantasy lover must have in their collection.”
Beyond fiction, J.D. has compiled his expertise in branding, storytelling, and design into You Are Not for Everybody: An Honest Conversation About Branding, Storytelling, and Narrative. Continuing to push creative boundaries, he is set to release The Other Side of the Ocean, a YA novel inspired by real events, tackling contemporary U.S. immigration issues.
In addition to writing, J.D. is the founder of J.D. Netto Creative, a boutique agency specializing in brand strategy, graphic design, and web design. His work has been featured in OK! Magazine and ABC News. He is represented by Susan Velazquez at JABberwocky Literary.
J.D. is also known for Henderbell: The Shadow of Saint Nicholas, a speculative fiction novel that explores the cursed bloodline of Father Christmas. His The Broken Miracle duology inspired an album featuring Paul Cardall, David Archuleta, and Tyler Glenn.
In 2022, he released The Echoes of Fallen Stars, a fallen angel fantasy centered on Lucifer’s lost gay son and the secret romance between Lucifer and the Creator. USA Today hailed the series as “a creation that every fantasy lover must have in their collection.”
Beyond fiction, J.D. has compiled his expertise in branding, storytelling, and design into You Are Not for Everybody: An Honest Conversation About Branding, Storytelling, and Narrative. Continuing to push creative boundaries, he is set to release The Other Side of the Ocean, a YA novel inspired by real events, tackling contemporary U.S. immigration issues.
In addition to writing, J.D. is the founder of J.D. Netto Creative, a boutique agency specializing in brand strategy, graphic design, and web design. His work has been featured in OK! Magazine and ABC News. He is represented by Susan Velazquez at JABberwocky Literary.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 29, 2017
The darkness you thought you knew pales in comparison to what is found in Lucifer's heart. We are shown the true face of evil, and yet, are also shown the human characteristics that reside there. Be prepared for more bloodshed, secret revelations, and the beginning of another battle in the war between Lucifer's dark followers and the creators followers of light. Descent will thrust you further in to despair and leave you doubting all you though you knew.
I do not think I can deliver justice to this novella with my review. I felt like I knew just how dark and evil Lucifer was from the first three books of this series, and then I was shown a side of him I did not think could possibly exist. He is more than just evil and darkness incarnate. He has feelings of love, shame, and guilt. I felt like I learned multitudes about who he is and why he feels justified to destroy everything the creator loved and built.
I truly am in awe at what has been created between the blood drinkers and the Nephilin Nephele. The characters and creatures found in this series are dark, vivid, and imaginative! I cannot wait to see what becomes of this new creature!
I have said that each book in this series is better than the last. With each installment, the story becomes darker, more dangerous, and more intense. Descent does not disappoint with this claim. I cannot get enough of this series, and after Descent, I may just be a Lucifer girl!
Thank you to J.D. Netto and Of Tomes for providing myself and the street team with this ARC.
#thewhispersofthefallen #oftomes
I do not think I can deliver justice to this novella with my review. I felt like I knew just how dark and evil Lucifer was from the first three books of this series, and then I was shown a side of him I did not think could possibly exist. He is more than just evil and darkness incarnate. He has feelings of love, shame, and guilt. I felt like I learned multitudes about who he is and why he feels justified to destroy everything the creator loved and built.
I truly am in awe at what has been created between the blood drinkers and the Nephilin Nephele. The characters and creatures found in this series are dark, vivid, and imaginative! I cannot wait to see what becomes of this new creature!
I have said that each book in this series is better than the last. With each installment, the story becomes darker, more dangerous, and more intense. Descent does not disappoint with this claim. I cannot get enough of this series, and after Descent, I may just be a Lucifer girl!
Thank you to J.D. Netto and Of Tomes for providing myself and the street team with this ARC.
#thewhispersofthefallen #oftomes
May 22, 2017
Review of Descent by J. D. Netto
Rating: 5/5 stars
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When I decided to read Descent right away and to leave behind The Whispers of The Fallen I made the best decision ever.
Descent is just perfection!
Seeing some characters on Lucifer's side shocked me a bit but then... Well, let's say that I liked them better as bad guys. And Lucifer... I have divergent opinions of him: he obviously is the baddest of them all (or is he? Now that I think about it, I'm not so sure anymore), he is presented here as an heartless, cruel, cold, calculating and I may even add machiavellian person, but as we go on with the read, we find out that Lucifer has nothing more than regular human ferlings. In my opinion he's hurt, he begs for forgiveness on the inside but he would never say it out loud. He's so, so angry, and he just can't see beyond his pride. If you read the other books, and you don't agree with my point of view, that's not a problem. This is the first time I meet Lucifer, and I have time to change my mind.. I still have to read two and a half books!
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The setting is really dark and I loved it so much! The plot looks really interesting and since this is a novella from book 3, I can't wait to read it! Another thing I feel like I have to say, is that the writing improved a lot. Book one is full of repetitions, but this one was flawless. Well done!!
Rating: 5/5 stars
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When I decided to read Descent right away and to leave behind The Whispers of The Fallen I made the best decision ever.
Descent is just perfection!
Seeing some characters on Lucifer's side shocked me a bit but then... Well, let's say that I liked them better as bad guys. And Lucifer... I have divergent opinions of him: he obviously is the baddest of them all (or is he? Now that I think about it, I'm not so sure anymore), he is presented here as an heartless, cruel, cold, calculating and I may even add machiavellian person, but as we go on with the read, we find out that Lucifer has nothing more than regular human ferlings. In my opinion he's hurt, he begs for forgiveness on the inside but he would never say it out loud. He's so, so angry, and he just can't see beyond his pride. If you read the other books, and you don't agree with my point of view, that's not a problem. This is the first time I meet Lucifer, and I have time to change my mind.. I still have to read two and a half books!
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The setting is really dark and I loved it so much! The plot looks really interesting and since this is a novella from book 3, I can't wait to read it! Another thing I feel like I have to say, is that the writing improved a lot. Book one is full of repetitions, but this one was flawless. Well done!!
February 20, 2017
What to even say? These books just get better and better! This is the fourth installment to the series, but the first to be a novella, and I hope more is to come for these short novella's. I believe the best part about this book over all is the fact that it was the first book to be in Lucifer's point of view now that he is back. In the first book we had both Issac and Nephele's point of views but this is the first time to see anyone else. This book also introduces more new characters who come into play as part of his army against the Creator. We even see a few familiar faces return.
February 3, 2019
Love this *-* ☆☆☆☆☆
June 2, 2017
Full review on my blog: Books That Shape Us
“Other parts of the body can be broken and mended, but the wounded heart can never fully heal. Even eternity isn't enough time to repair the damage.” – Lucifer
A while ago, I read a very interesting theory about human character. It stated human beings normally possess three different masks: one they show to the world, one their close relatives perceive, and a final one they only see themselves, which ends up being the purest form of their character. In the previous novels, we’d seen the first two faces of the Lord of Darkness. However, the best way to understand his cruel point of view is by getting to know the secrets his final mask holds.
In this novella set in The Whispers of the Fallen universe, we have the privilege of immersing ourselves inside Lucifer’s own thoughts, feelings and concerns. What really took me by surprise while reading it was the fact that Lucifer is not so different from other characters we know: he has humane feelings, struggles, desires, and besides, his actions are well-justified when you see things as he does. Although darkness certainly resides inside his heart, for me, he ended up being one of the most engaging, well-developed, and round characters of the series.
What I really enjoyed about Descent were the amount of plot twists it contains. Multiple times, I was surprised by the unexpected secrets J.D. finally revealed during this story, one of them being Nephele’s nature: it was one of the details that intrigues me the most. I’m almost sure everything we read in the novella will set the bases for what is to come further in the series: a darker and more ruthless Elysium our characters must have to face.
As always, J.D. Netto keeps surprising us readers with fast-paced books that will keep you at the edge of your seat (I finished Descent in almost a day because I couldn’t put it down!), a dark thematic and themes such as betrayal, friendship, hope, passion, and especially, our own struggle against the darkness within us and how if we see things with another’s eyes, we will be able to see how alike we actually are.
I would like to thank J.D. Netto for giving me the opportunity of being a beta reader. Descent is the first ARC I’ve ever read, and it was a whole experience for me.
I give this novella a 5/5 and a 10/10 (my favourite so far)
Be sure to check out J.D.’s website: https://www.thewhispersofthefallen.com/
And, order your copy! It comes out tomorrow!
“Other parts of the body can be broken and mended, but the wounded heart can never fully heal. Even eternity isn't enough time to repair the damage.” – Lucifer
A while ago, I read a very interesting theory about human character. It stated human beings normally possess three different masks: one they show to the world, one their close relatives perceive, and a final one they only see themselves, which ends up being the purest form of their character. In the previous novels, we’d seen the first two faces of the Lord of Darkness. However, the best way to understand his cruel point of view is by getting to know the secrets his final mask holds.
In this novella set in The Whispers of the Fallen universe, we have the privilege of immersing ourselves inside Lucifer’s own thoughts, feelings and concerns. What really took me by surprise while reading it was the fact that Lucifer is not so different from other characters we know: he has humane feelings, struggles, desires, and besides, his actions are well-justified when you see things as he does. Although darkness certainly resides inside his heart, for me, he ended up being one of the most engaging, well-developed, and round characters of the series.
What I really enjoyed about Descent were the amount of plot twists it contains. Multiple times, I was surprised by the unexpected secrets J.D. finally revealed during this story, one of them being Nephele’s nature: it was one of the details that intrigues me the most. I’m almost sure everything we read in the novella will set the bases for what is to come further in the series: a darker and more ruthless Elysium our characters must have to face.
As always, J.D. Netto keeps surprising us readers with fast-paced books that will keep you at the edge of your seat (I finished Descent in almost a day because I couldn’t put it down!), a dark thematic and themes such as betrayal, friendship, hope, passion, and especially, our own struggle against the darkness within us and how if we see things with another’s eyes, we will be able to see how alike we actually are.
I would like to thank J.D. Netto for giving me the opportunity of being a beta reader. Descent is the first ARC I’ve ever read, and it was a whole experience for me.
I give this novella a 5/5 and a 10/10 (my favourite so far)
Be sure to check out J.D.’s website: https://www.thewhispersofthefallen.com/
And, order your copy! It comes out tomorrow!
February 25, 2019
The internal design gets better because a waste of ink was worth it to get each first page of each chapter white on black instead of the classic black on white.I really enjoyed getting a change of perspective from Issac, who was rather impulsive and uncontrollable, to Lucifer, the villain we barely got to know anything about.The political structure of the fallen are expanded as Descent takes an extremely dark twist on the aftermaths of what happened after book 3. You get to peer more into Lucifer's past, the people around Lucifer and how Lucifer behaves.It was something over a very short span of time, but it was enough to reveal Lucifer's ambitions and the powers of the Creator, as well as the internal battles Lucifer goes against, especially things concerning his history during certain battles.I was still not too satisfied with the way the book ended: Nephele, as I mentioned in my previous review, gets barely any role and in fact, comes back broken and battered; we have a final final final battle in which, despite the ending leaving the audience in suspense, is so unsatisfying because we do not hear the words from Lucifer himself of how exactly the ending truly ended. We only get glimpses before the book ends.But that being said, the use of a finished but slightly unfinished ending then fading into blackout (like a stage performance) really increases the mood, weight and suspense of a book.The finale to The Whispers of the Fallen series, follow Lucifer as we all follow through the Descent into madness and pain as everything finally comes to an end, as bonds and blood get spilled one last time.
January 12, 2019
Finally the end of this story. For the first time in my reading history i get to see the point of view from the bad guys sid!!!
The writer gives us more information and answers regarding the backstory of Lucifer which is good thinking if we want to understand his full story. We also get to see why the ''good guys boss'' wanted the Isaac and Xylia do certain actions which i wont reveal. And finally we are going to the final countdown, the final battle between good and evil!
But the only thing that caused me something was the end because it ended a bit abruptly focusing in one event without telling us what happens afterward and without giving us an answer as to what happened after the battle.
It seems to me that the battle didnt have a clear result.
In common tongue it was a draw if i take the last lines into deep consideration or maybe the writer plans to write a follow up.
I dont know the only thing i know is that it was nice being in the camp of the bad guys for once and i would like more answer on what occured later!
The writer gives us more information and answers regarding the backstory of Lucifer which is good thinking if we want to understand his full story. We also get to see why the ''good guys boss'' wanted the Isaac and Xylia do certain actions which i wont reveal. And finally we are going to the final countdown, the final battle between good and evil!
But the only thing that caused me something was the end because it ended a bit abruptly focusing in one event without telling us what happens afterward and without giving us an answer as to what happened after the battle.
It seems to me that the battle didnt have a clear result.
In common tongue it was a draw if i take the last lines into deep consideration or maybe the writer plans to write a follow up.
I dont know the only thing i know is that it was nice being in the camp of the bad guys for once and i would like more answer on what occured later!
November 30, 2017
Just finished Descent by J.D. Netto. A fun, yet quick read. It’s a nice conclusion to the series, or feels like a conclusion to The Whispers of The Fallen series. I would like to have a book that follows the Blood Drinkers around and tie that story line up with a nice little bow. Otherwise, a nice story taking the complexities of an evil man and simplifying his actions into something more relatable. Many of us deal with the struggle of ambition and how our ambition can effect our moral compass. More often than not, we can usually judge the right direction, but Lucifer’s story in this shows a man who spent years assuming his actions were just due to anger. In the end, I personally believe he had a hard time accepting the decisions he made, and possibly became filled with more regret than he cared to admit to. He felt obligated to his people and their interests, yet it was to a point that he forgot who he really was. Anyway, good read! Go check it out!
March 24, 2019
This read completely took me by surprise. I did not expect to understand or be able to see through the villains eyes and yet I did. I found it unique, unexpected as I read what was happening in that world and characters from a completely opposite side. I liked it and found it to be a quick and enjoyable read.
November 21, 2024
It was interesting to read from Lucifer's point of view of the war that has been waging on all across Elysium, but the ending made it feel like there was so many unanswered questions.
September 25, 2018
Amazing series. I absolutely loved these books. I met J D Neto at Boookcon 2018 and had a great conversation with him and decided to try his books. I can’t say enough about how much I loved these books. I read all 4 in one week and just loved them. I would describe them as part Narnia, Shadowhunters and everything by Ted Dekker. I highly recommend these books and trust me you won’t be disappointed.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews