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The Cadeleonian Series #5
Master of Restless Shadows: Book One
Freshly graduated Master Physician Narsi Lif-Tahm has left his home in Anacleto and journeyed to the imposing royal capital of Cieloalta intent upon keeping the youthful oath he made to a troubled writer. But in the decade since Narsi gave his pledge, Atreau Vediya has grown from an anonymous delinquent to a man renowned for penning bawdy operas and engaging in scandalous affairs.
What Narsi―and most of the larger world―cannot know is the secret role Atreau plays as spymaster for the Duke of Rauma.
After the Cadeleonian royal bishop launches an unprovoked attack against the witches in neighboring Labara, Atreau will require every resource he can lay his hands upon to avert a war. A physician is exactly what he needs. But with a relentless assassin hunting the city and ancient magic waking, Atreau fears that his actions could cost more than his own honor. The price of peace could be his friends’ lives.
What Narsi―and most of the larger world―cannot know is the secret role Atreau plays as spymaster for the Duke of Rauma.
After the Cadeleonian royal bishop launches an unprovoked attack against the witches in neighboring Labara, Atreau will require every resource he can lay his hands upon to avert a war. A physician is exactly what he needs. But with a relentless assassin hunting the city and ancient magic waking, Atreau fears that his actions could cost more than his own honor. The price of peace could be his friends’ lives.
406 pages, Paperback
First published October 6, 2019
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1038 people want to read
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April 15, 2025
“Absolution came so easily in theater. A few lyrics and a murderer transformed into a dashing hero.”
You know how people are always saying “happy reading” whenever someone's starting a new book? I honesty kind of thought that was just a sweet little thing that people say to be polite. You know, like some kind of "Good morning, and in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night" deal. I guess that's why I never actually gave the sentiment all that much thought... that is, until I was reading this book, Master of Restless Shadows. Even though it’s pretty long and the story starts in an already lived-in fantasy world, chalk full of history and dynamic characters, I was never bored! I was like, "Oh yeah, I'm reading this, happily!" And every time I figured I’d sit down and read a chapter or two; I’d find myself losing hours. In fact, as I was flying through the pages at an alarming rate, I got increasingly excited to see what came next with every new story development. I know I'm literally just describing what it's like to read a good book, but as someone who's more of a “broad strokes,” concepts kind of guy, it's actually pretty rare that I manage to hang on to every word and every detail without any issues, let alone with a book that isn’t interested in holding your hand through its complicated lore. I mean, this is also because I've learned a bit too late that this is, like, the eighth book in a long-running series, but my point stands. I was never lost! And reading this was like opening a present every time I started it back up again! Ahh I see, "happy reading!" Don't mind me, the phrase is just going into my normal lexicon. Heads up, I’m seriously going to start throwing that around at every opportunity now! Otherwise, sometimes I get a little insecure because I feel like I’m always reading books from, like, four years ago. It can totally feel like I’m always a step behind, forever catching up. Like I’m missing out on all the hip, new releases! Then I find a gem like this one and the world rights itself again. A little dramatic, I know, but I have a lot of love for this book! It was just so wonderfully written, rich in detail, and full of tenderness and empathy. The story created here by Ginn Hale is nothing short of a masterpiece. It’s awe-inspiring. Incoming shade, but this book is like Game of Thrones… if Throne of Games had people of color and queer people that existed outside of cartoonish stereotypes. Or if women were allowed a semblance of agency besides that of “maternal instincts” and motherhood. Woah, where did all that come from? Leftover resentment sometimes seeps through, I guess. It kind of sucks that Game of Thrones is always my go-to frame of reference for political-type fantasy novels, but that’s kind of just how my mind works.
You know what? I can come up with a better comparison than that. I mean, I read a lot of fantasy, so I should be able to think of literally any other fantasy book that Master of Restless Shadows is similar to, right? Let’s end the cycle here (this resolve will not last)! Well, it seems like I don’t have one example of other stories with similar vibes… I have several! Seriously, I’m as surprised as you are. Some good ones are: The Thief of Peace by Jess Whitecroft, King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo, A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland, A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows, and I'm still reading it as of right now, but Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling is yet another hit in the list of number ones! Phew, all fantastic stories full of depth and wonder and most importantly, I loved all of them! Now that I’m out of breath with all that listing, I should probably talk a little about this book though. That’s why I’m here after all. Well, there’s not much for me to say in the way of criticism. No really, only love coming from over here in my corner. It’s perfectly crafted, and so refreshingly character driven that I didn’t even notice all the complicated, overarching plot-lines. This helped me a lot, because by the time I saw the pieces falling into place all I could do was whatever the real life equivalent of an exclamation point is. A gasp, I suppose. But that doesn’t sound as good, so I’ll say that this is a “!” kind of book. The way the narrative was handled was a welcome surprise because a lot of the times in the “realistic” fantasy books that have a million story threads and several different point-of-view characters, it can be overwhelming, to the point where we don't know what's going on... and then sometimes maybe even the author doesn't know either! That was Winds of Winter shade, by the way. Also, you can always tell when the "idea well" has run dry because every now and then a book will get to the point where it feels like several characters suddenly become omnipotent, always guessing at things and knowing information about each other that they really shouldn’t be privy to. All just to move the plot along quicker. That was Game of Thrones season 6-8 shade, by the way. This book, however, is patient and every conclusion and every discovery had throughout the story feels natural and earned, and even though there are four pov characters, I kept them straight in my head even though they certainly weren't ha ha. Everybody in this book is queer. Anyway, let me oversimplify things by breaking the characters down to their core traits, according to me:
• Narsi: Sexy doctor, cultural alienation vs. adventurous wanderlust. I love him.
• Atreau: Thirsty af, a sentimental trickster like Varric from Dragon Age. He's cool too.
• Ariz: Stoic, buff, enthralled by the Thorian and walks around like The Winter Soldier.
• Fedeles: Prince man, can’t control his shadow. Like, his shadow is literally a demon thing.
And after coming to this understanding, I didn't feel all that lost anymore! They were all great, but I did list them in terms of how much I enjoyed reading their chapters. Obviously, Narsi’s the best, but Atreau was especially entertaining because he puts on this entitled “rich boy” act around others as a smokescreen, because behind the scenes, he's actually amassing this huge spy network to keep tabs on the other nobles. And under this well-crafted façade, he’s surprisingly cutthroat and ruthless. Always planning on how best to use people to further his own agenda. But he’s also… really funny, because he literally can’t help but gush about Narsi at every single opportunity! Even when he isn’t present at that moment, you'd best believe that Atreau's there, showering him with adoring praise every couple of paragraphs. Watch out dude, people might think you actually have a heart. Mans was sprung for real. And I get it, you know? I’m pretty sure that I had a crush on him too. I think it’s actually pretty challenging to write a “charming” character and make them genuinely likable to the reader. Anytime I’m told a character is charming beforehand; I’m already gearing up to hate their ass. The problem for me is that most the time authors go really big with their personality and make them too loud, too obnoxious, and all-around too unpleasant, and by the time they realize nobody actually loves their “love-to-hate,” "charmed, I'm sure," character, instead of rectifying the problems, they usually just have side-characters look to the camera and assure the reader that, no, they really, really are a smooth operator, and call it a day! Tell, don’t show, that’s what I always say! And this, in my opinion, is where they really go wrong! They never let other characters dislike them because they're worried that the readers will in turn start to hate them, but then ironically, the fact that they're loved by all in the narrative is usually the reason why I hate them! It's a whole thing.
Anyway, Narsi was charming as hell and I love him. He has a quiet amusement and kind presence to him that permeates throughout the entire story. It’s telling that in a story full of spies, warriors, conniving nobles, and all kinds of magical creatures, it’s the humble physician that steals all the hearts and proves the most fun to follow along. Slight spoilers, but when he has a brush with death, it never once felt out of place that several characters go to him to pay their respects, despite having only been in the city for a couple days at best. There's no weird emotional dissonance like at (spoilers for Avengers: Endgame?) Tony Stark's funeral! Like, why the hell were The Guardians of the Galaxy there??? Anyway, Narsi serves (and he serves) as the glue that holds the whole thing together. Despite all the plotting and scheming, his grounded nature keeps the narrative from breaking at the seams. Because he’s the main focus, the story always feels beholden to something more tangible. Also, as someone who’s mixed race, I found his trying to find a home and acceptance in a strange land painfully real and incredibly compelling. The way Narsi has to navigate not just through all the political scheming, but also the invisible social constructs put upon him because of the color of his skin was instantly relatable. His sense of displacement is just so~oo real, you know? Sure, he's unfailingly polite and reserved, but how much of that is due to the fact that he literally has to be constantly hyperaware of his behavior around others in order to be accepted? That he owes his survival to always being "one of the good ones," forced to accept every dirty look in stride lest they react with violence… man, it's just soo~ooo real! Too real. He's basically become my favorite character from... anything, really. I guess this review kind of got derailed by my gushing... oops! Call me Atreau the way I'm smitten! Yeah, so… I loved this book! Oh yeah, and like I said, I didn’t realize that this was, like, the fifth book in a series! Thankfully I wasn’t too lost though (thanks to my amazing Sherlock deducing method, as seen all the way up there), and after finishing the next one, I’ll probably go back and binge read all of them! I’m only one book in and I honestly can’t get enough of this fantasy world that’s bursting with life and imagination. Happy reading!
In a strange land, with no plans / Surrounded by doors, yeah / I can’t find myself anymore / With foreign people, you’re my temple / I want things like they were before / But I don’t know myself anymore (Strange Land – NIKI & Phum Viphurit).
Woah, I read this book twice now:
I totally agree with whatever that guy said up there, but now here’s more! Just kidding, I won’t make this review any longer than it already is. But then again… I am bursting at the seams to gush about this book some more… so, who knows where this will go? All I’ll say on the matter is that this is still as wonderful as it was the first time I read it. It’s a perfect book, really. You know how people often say something like, “Oh, you’re about to read [blank]? I wish I could go back and read that book for the first time again!” and normally that never applies to me because my memory is bad enough to the point that every reread feels like reading something brand new… but that doesn’t apply here because I totally remember every word of every chapter in Master of Restless Shadows, and my love hasn’t dulled one bit. Every twist was twisting, every surprise still had me gasping, and every romantic monologue had me in a choke-hold. It really doesn’t get better than a reformed player falling head-over-heels over a genuinely good guy. Never! I don’t consider myself to be the most sentimental sort, but I guess my crush on Narsi is still going strong! I mean, I love all the characters in this book so much, but it's gotten to the point where I’m almost afraid to go back to the very first book in the series because Narsi won’t be there! I’ll spend every page being like, “Where’s Narsi!?!? Where’s my boy!?!?” I don’t know, it’s just so refreshing to read a book where the main source of conflict isn’t interpersonal relationship drama and the main couples actually like each other. In a world of “enemies-to-lovers,” I guess my favorite will always be the stories about people who love each other and enjoy each other’s company. It’s a novel thought, really.
Here for the nosedive, whatever you need / And I'm savin' all the bold lines, I'll say 'em while you sleep / You're sleepin' on the wrong side, and I'm turnin' endlessly / Screamin' for my lifeline, lifeline, life.
You know how people are always saying “happy reading” whenever someone's starting a new book? I honesty kind of thought that was just a sweet little thing that people say to be polite. You know, like some kind of "Good morning, and in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night" deal. I guess that's why I never actually gave the sentiment all that much thought... that is, until I was reading this book, Master of Restless Shadows. Even though it’s pretty long and the story starts in an already lived-in fantasy world, chalk full of history and dynamic characters, I was never bored! I was like, "Oh yeah, I'm reading this, happily!" And every time I figured I’d sit down and read a chapter or two; I’d find myself losing hours. In fact, as I was flying through the pages at an alarming rate, I got increasingly excited to see what came next with every new story development. I know I'm literally just describing what it's like to read a good book, but as someone who's more of a “broad strokes,” concepts kind of guy, it's actually pretty rare that I manage to hang on to every word and every detail without any issues, let alone with a book that isn’t interested in holding your hand through its complicated lore. I mean, this is also because I've learned a bit too late that this is, like, the eighth book in a long-running series, but my point stands. I was never lost! And reading this was like opening a present every time I started it back up again! Ahh I see, "happy reading!" Don't mind me, the phrase is just going into my normal lexicon. Heads up, I’m seriously going to start throwing that around at every opportunity now! Otherwise, sometimes I get a little insecure because I feel like I’m always reading books from, like, four years ago. It can totally feel like I’m always a step behind, forever catching up. Like I’m missing out on all the hip, new releases! Then I find a gem like this one and the world rights itself again. A little dramatic, I know, but I have a lot of love for this book! It was just so wonderfully written, rich in detail, and full of tenderness and empathy. The story created here by Ginn Hale is nothing short of a masterpiece. It’s awe-inspiring. Incoming shade, but this book is like Game of Thrones… if Throne of Games had people of color and queer people that existed outside of cartoonish stereotypes. Or if women were allowed a semblance of agency besides that of “maternal instincts” and motherhood. Woah, where did all that come from? Leftover resentment sometimes seeps through, I guess. It kind of sucks that Game of Thrones is always my go-to frame of reference for political-type fantasy novels, but that’s kind of just how my mind works.
You know what? I can come up with a better comparison than that. I mean, I read a lot of fantasy, so I should be able to think of literally any other fantasy book that Master of Restless Shadows is similar to, right? Let’s end the cycle here (this resolve will not last)! Well, it seems like I don’t have one example of other stories with similar vibes… I have several! Seriously, I’m as surprised as you are. Some good ones are: The Thief of Peace by Jess Whitecroft, King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo, A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland, A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows, and I'm still reading it as of right now, but Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling is yet another hit in the list of number ones! Phew, all fantastic stories full of depth and wonder and most importantly, I loved all of them! Now that I’m out of breath with all that listing, I should probably talk a little about this book though. That’s why I’m here after all. Well, there’s not much for me to say in the way of criticism. No really, only love coming from over here in my corner. It’s perfectly crafted, and so refreshingly character driven that I didn’t even notice all the complicated, overarching plot-lines. This helped me a lot, because by the time I saw the pieces falling into place all I could do was whatever the real life equivalent of an exclamation point is. A gasp, I suppose. But that doesn’t sound as good, so I’ll say that this is a “!” kind of book. The way the narrative was handled was a welcome surprise because a lot of the times in the “realistic” fantasy books that have a million story threads and several different point-of-view characters, it can be overwhelming, to the point where we don't know what's going on... and then sometimes maybe even the author doesn't know either! That was Winds of Winter shade, by the way. Also, you can always tell when the "idea well" has run dry because every now and then a book will get to the point where it feels like several characters suddenly become omnipotent, always guessing at things and knowing information about each other that they really shouldn’t be privy to. All just to move the plot along quicker. That was Game of Thrones season 6-8 shade, by the way. This book, however, is patient and every conclusion and every discovery had throughout the story feels natural and earned, and even though there are four pov characters, I kept them straight in my head even though they certainly weren't ha ha. Everybody in this book is queer. Anyway, let me oversimplify things by breaking the characters down to their core traits, according to me:
• Narsi: Sexy doctor, cultural alienation vs. adventurous wanderlust. I love him.
• Atreau: Thirsty af, a sentimental trickster like Varric from Dragon Age. He's cool too.
• Ariz: Stoic, buff, enthralled by the Thorian and walks around like The Winter Soldier.
• Fedeles: Prince man, can’t control his shadow. Like, his shadow is literally a demon thing.
And after coming to this understanding, I didn't feel all that lost anymore! They were all great, but I did list them in terms of how much I enjoyed reading their chapters. Obviously, Narsi’s the best, but Atreau was especially entertaining because he puts on this entitled “rich boy” act around others as a smokescreen, because behind the scenes, he's actually amassing this huge spy network to keep tabs on the other nobles. And under this well-crafted façade, he’s surprisingly cutthroat and ruthless. Always planning on how best to use people to further his own agenda. But he’s also… really funny, because he literally can’t help but gush about Narsi at every single opportunity! Even when he isn’t present at that moment, you'd best believe that Atreau's there, showering him with adoring praise every couple of paragraphs. Watch out dude, people might think you actually have a heart. Mans was sprung for real. And I get it, you know? I’m pretty sure that I had a crush on him too. I think it’s actually pretty challenging to write a “charming” character and make them genuinely likable to the reader. Anytime I’m told a character is charming beforehand; I’m already gearing up to hate their ass. The problem for me is that most the time authors go really big with their personality and make them too loud, too obnoxious, and all-around too unpleasant, and by the time they realize nobody actually loves their “love-to-hate,” "charmed, I'm sure," character, instead of rectifying the problems, they usually just have side-characters look to the camera and assure the reader that, no, they really, really are a smooth operator, and call it a day! Tell, don’t show, that’s what I always say! And this, in my opinion, is where they really go wrong! They never let other characters dislike them because they're worried that the readers will in turn start to hate them, but then ironically, the fact that they're loved by all in the narrative is usually the reason why I hate them! It's a whole thing.
Anyway, Narsi was charming as hell and I love him. He has a quiet amusement and kind presence to him that permeates throughout the entire story. It’s telling that in a story full of spies, warriors, conniving nobles, and all kinds of magical creatures, it’s the humble physician that steals all the hearts and proves the most fun to follow along. Slight spoilers, but when he has a brush with death, it never once felt out of place that several characters go to him to pay their respects, despite having only been in the city for a couple days at best. There's no weird emotional dissonance like at (spoilers for Avengers: Endgame?) Tony Stark's funeral! Like, why the hell were The Guardians of the Galaxy there??? Anyway, Narsi serves (and he serves) as the glue that holds the whole thing together. Despite all the plotting and scheming, his grounded nature keeps the narrative from breaking at the seams. Because he’s the main focus, the story always feels beholden to something more tangible. Also, as someone who’s mixed race, I found his trying to find a home and acceptance in a strange land painfully real and incredibly compelling. The way Narsi has to navigate not just through all the political scheming, but also the invisible social constructs put upon him because of the color of his skin was instantly relatable. His sense of displacement is just so~oo real, you know? Sure, he's unfailingly polite and reserved, but how much of that is due to the fact that he literally has to be constantly hyperaware of his behavior around others in order to be accepted? That he owes his survival to always being "one of the good ones," forced to accept every dirty look in stride lest they react with violence… man, it's just soo~ooo real! Too real. He's basically become my favorite character from... anything, really. I guess this review kind of got derailed by my gushing... oops! Call me Atreau the way I'm smitten! Yeah, so… I loved this book! Oh yeah, and like I said, I didn’t realize that this was, like, the fifth book in a series! Thankfully I wasn’t too lost though (thanks to my amazing Sherlock deducing method, as seen all the way up there), and after finishing the next one, I’ll probably go back and binge read all of them! I’m only one book in and I honestly can’t get enough of this fantasy world that’s bursting with life and imagination. Happy reading!
In a strange land, with no plans / Surrounded by doors, yeah / I can’t find myself anymore / With foreign people, you’re my temple / I want things like they were before / But I don’t know myself anymore (Strange Land – NIKI & Phum Viphurit).
Woah, I read this book twice now:
I totally agree with whatever that guy said up there, but now here’s more! Just kidding, I won’t make this review any longer than it already is. But then again… I am bursting at the seams to gush about this book some more… so, who knows where this will go? All I’ll say on the matter is that this is still as wonderful as it was the first time I read it. It’s a perfect book, really. You know how people often say something like, “Oh, you’re about to read [blank]? I wish I could go back and read that book for the first time again!” and normally that never applies to me because my memory is bad enough to the point that every reread feels like reading something brand new… but that doesn’t apply here because I totally remember every word of every chapter in Master of Restless Shadows, and my love hasn’t dulled one bit. Every twist was twisting, every surprise still had me gasping, and every romantic monologue had me in a choke-hold. It really doesn’t get better than a reformed player falling head-over-heels over a genuinely good guy. Never! I don’t consider myself to be the most sentimental sort, but I guess my crush on Narsi is still going strong! I mean, I love all the characters in this book so much, but it's gotten to the point where I’m almost afraid to go back to the very first book in the series because Narsi won’t be there! I’ll spend every page being like, “Where’s Narsi!?!? Where’s my boy!?!?” I don’t know, it’s just so refreshing to read a book where the main source of conflict isn’t interpersonal relationship drama and the main couples actually like each other. In a world of “enemies-to-lovers,” I guess my favorite will always be the stories about people who love each other and enjoy each other’s company. It’s a novel thought, really.
Here for the nosedive, whatever you need / And I'm savin' all the bold lines, I'll say 'em while you sleep / You're sleepin' on the wrong side, and I'm turnin' endlessly / Screamin' for my lifeline, lifeline, life.
October 4, 2019
Ah .. where do I begin .. ☺️ First of all, I’m the biggest fan of Ginn Hale. ❤️ Her duology “Lord of White Hell” is one of my all time favorite epic fantasy books. I just love how creative, expansive and complex her worlds and characters are. But I have serious mixed feelings about this book. 😅 Okay, I’m confusing you .. aren’t I? Let me recap a bit more.
First of all, I read “Lord of White Hell” duology two years ago and my memory isn’t that fresh of the Cadeleonian world setting and background stories in it. And then, I never got around to reading the second duology in the same world “Champion of the Scarlet Wolf” because they are quite long and I could never find time to fit them into my never ending ARC schedule. But I thought since it wasn’t mentioned, this book could standalone. It is not. 😅 At least it can’t for me. Not only you need to read the previous four books “Lord of White Hell” and “Champion of the Scarlet Wolf” duologies, you need to read them with no time in between because otherwise you will forget all about many characters and you will seriously be so lost.
Although I loved reading about Nasir, Atreau, Fedele, Ariz and all the other wonderful characters that were previously found in earlier books, until the end of the book, I really was kinda lost. May be I’m not sharp enough to handle all the complexity in this book? I don’t know. 😭 But there are just too much background stories and things from the previous books that I can’t remember or know for me to fully enjoy this book. As always, the world building is impeccable and the court treacheries and backstabbing fascinating and thrilling. 👏 Another thing I noticed is that glossary is at the end of the book instead of in the beginning. I never understand why authors choose to do that because I’m the firm believer in reading glossary beforehand before I dive into the story and it’s just not convenient to refer back to them again and again when they are at the end of the book. 🤷♀️ At least it isn’t for me. So although I enjoyed reading this book, I think I need a long vacation and reread every book in the same world in order to get the maximum enjoyment out of this lovely book. 🙂 Again, it’s me and not the book. I just don’t remember anything much from previous books. It was a beautifully written book with complex, realistic characters and a massive, intriguing and enthralling world building. 👏 Anyone who loves epic fantasy should try Ginn Hale books and they will surely fall in love. 😌
3.5 Magic, mayhem and marvel stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Disclaimer: An advanced review copy of this book was provided by the author via LesCourt services for an honest and unbiased review.
First of all, I read “Lord of White Hell” duology two years ago and my memory isn’t that fresh of the Cadeleonian world setting and background stories in it. And then, I never got around to reading the second duology in the same world “Champion of the Scarlet Wolf” because they are quite long and I could never find time to fit them into my never ending ARC schedule. But I thought since it wasn’t mentioned, this book could standalone. It is not. 😅 At least it can’t for me. Not only you need to read the previous four books “Lord of White Hell” and “Champion of the Scarlet Wolf” duologies, you need to read them with no time in between because otherwise you will forget all about many characters and you will seriously be so lost.
Although I loved reading about Nasir, Atreau, Fedele, Ariz and all the other wonderful characters that were previously found in earlier books, until the end of the book, I really was kinda lost. May be I’m not sharp enough to handle all the complexity in this book? I don’t know. 😭 But there are just too much background stories and things from the previous books that I can’t remember or know for me to fully enjoy this book. As always, the world building is impeccable and the court treacheries and backstabbing fascinating and thrilling. 👏 Another thing I noticed is that glossary is at the end of the book instead of in the beginning. I never understand why authors choose to do that because I’m the firm believer in reading glossary beforehand before I dive into the story and it’s just not convenient to refer back to them again and again when they are at the end of the book. 🤷♀️ At least it isn’t for me. So although I enjoyed reading this book, I think I need a long vacation and reread every book in the same world in order to get the maximum enjoyment out of this lovely book. 🙂 Again, it’s me and not the book. I just don’t remember anything much from previous books. It was a beautifully written book with complex, realistic characters and a massive, intriguing and enthralling world building. 👏 Anyone who loves epic fantasy should try Ginn Hale books and they will surely fall in love. 😌
3.5 Magic, mayhem and marvel stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Disclaimer: An advanced review copy of this book was provided by the author via LesCourt services for an honest and unbiased review.
Read
August 7, 2019DNF at 13%
No rating.
Look, I love Ginn Hale, but I was lost reading this one. I'm not typically a fantasy reader, and I would recommend reading Lord of the White Hell, Book 1 prior to starting Master of Restless Shadows because they are (apparently) set in the same world.
*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*
goodreads|instagram|twitter|blog
No rating.
Look, I love Ginn Hale, but I was lost reading this one. I'm not typically a fantasy reader, and I would recommend reading Lord of the White Hell, Book 1 prior to starting Master of Restless Shadows because they are (apparently) set in the same world.
*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*
goodreads|instagram|twitter|blog
October 7, 2019
ARC review .
Freshly graduated Master Physician Narsi Lif-Tahm has left his home in Anacleto and journeyed to the imposing royal capital of Cieloalta intent upon keeping the youthful oath he made to a troubled writer. But in the decade since Narsi gave his pledge, Atreau Vediya has grown from an anonymous delinquent to a man renowned for penning bawdy operas and engaging in scandalous affairs.
What Narsi―and most of the larger world―cannot know is the secret role Atreau plays as spymaster for the Duke of Rauma.
After the Cadeleonian royal bishop launches an unprovoked attack against the witches in neighboring Labara, Atreau will require every resource he can lay his hands upon to avert a war. A physician is exactly what he needs. But with a relentless assassin hunting the city and ancient magic waking, Atreau fears that his actions could cost more than his own honor. The price of peace could be his friends’ lives.
WARNING FOR VIOLENCE AND SOME TORTURE, HEED THE WARNING.
Dear Ginn Hale,
This book was the only ARC I requested this year. I reviewed couple more ARCs but those were offered. I pretty much never request ARC anymore, but for your books I always made an exception. I regretted doing so very much this time. If it was not an ARC I would have abandoned this book long time ago, I was that miserable when I read it .
Readers, please note that this is NOT a stand alone title. This is the third duopoly ( or maybe there will be a trilogy, I don't know ) in the Caledeonian series first being "Lord of the White Hell" and "Champion of the Scarlet Wolf". I have not reread the previous books before starting this one, but I certainly was not confused when I was reading this. Irritated? Yes. Confused? No, I was not.
This book does not continue the specific story dealt with in "Scarlet wolf" books, but it certainly continues overall story arc which is the way I see it is a fight against tyrannic evil, fight for the better world for as many people as possible. I certainly did not expect the fluff from Ginn Hale in general, and from these series in particular. For crying out loud "Lord of the White Hell" was a story about band of the school boys and was the lightest in tone overall amongst three parts of this series, but innocent person being possessed by evil and saving him from that possession was still front and a center of the plot.
So I did not expect the fluff, but what I expected was *some* lighter moments to give me as a reader a break from the constant misery a lot of Caledonians are in due to the power hungry sadistic politicians who only want more power and of course decent people are trying to fight them. I would argue that I did not get such a break at all in this book. Maybe once or twice . This book occupied 9028 locations on my kindle. Once or twice was not enough for me.
And when I say I got the break once or twice, I meant that we have the couple described in the blurb actually communicating with each other and I could see that they could be attracted to each other.
They are described in the blurb. I will be the first one to say that I consider the review which could be summarized as " I did not get the book I expected to get" to be unfair. I think you should evaluate the book you are reading rather than the book you wanted to read, but I am sorry when I am reading the third part of the series and the first two parts featured prominent romance front and center in addition to the fantasy plot, I think it is totally fair to expect to see prominent romance in these books as well, especially when blurb is talking about Atreau and Narsi, I think it is fair to expect a *romance* between them. I consider the blurb to be misleading so far in a sense that it led me to believe that we will see a romantic chemistry between them.
I fully realize that this is only half of the story. However this was a *very* long first part of the story and mostly it had been about political intrigues and power struggles so far. Which once again, let me stress I am perfectly content to read about. I was severely missing romance though.
Actually let me correct myself, there was another romance building and I would argue that the other couple had tons more chemistry than Atreau and Narsi so far. Which was so weird, because other two men had a lot of issues to deal with before romance between them would be possible, if they would survive the war ( I have no idea if they would survive or not, so this is not a spoiler, but pure speculation. I also have no idea if the romance will happen if they will survive). The blurb is silent about them and it will be very significant spoiler to discuss their activities and whereabouts so reluctantly I will remain quiet.
The writing about political intrigues and power struggles was clearly influenced by American political climate, which is once again I totally get - it is impossible for the American writer to not be influenced by what is happening in our country and for that not to be reflected somehow in her writing. It was just such a depressing read for me though. See above about needing some lighter moments.
I also think that we are supposed to see that in the fight of throwing evil sadistic ruler from the power once supposed to take their allies where one can find them and not to look for the perfect people, which I am in total agreement with. The side effect of this theme was that I really did not like most characters in this book including one half of so called main couple. Narsi was lovely. Atreau was not bad either, I was willing to give him more break that he would have given himself due to the work he was engaged with for the Duke of Rauma, but I just did not feel that he possessed enough charisma to be the lead character. I thought place on the sidelines was perfect for him in the previous books even if I appreciated the joke about him writing "Lord of the White Hell" and "Champion of the Scarlett Wolf" as his memoirs of the sort.
It is really too bad it will be very spoilerish to discuss second couple, because I suspect ( again speculation not spoiler ) that the title of the book refers to one of them and not to Narsi or Attreau, which if true, I find the blurb even more misleading then.
And may I say just how much I missed the magic in this book? Oh the magic still exists as a very important part of this world, what I missed was the beauty of the magic shown in "Scarlet wolf". There were couple of gorgeous descriptions, but that was it.
Once again we see characters from other books making a brief appearance as needed in person or in the thoughts of other people and I appreciated that appearances were part of the plot and not just a cameo. I also suspect that the themes from the first two books will be brought full circle at the end. I just hope that the second book will be less painful read for me.
Grade: B/D.
Freshly graduated Master Physician Narsi Lif-Tahm has left his home in Anacleto and journeyed to the imposing royal capital of Cieloalta intent upon keeping the youthful oath he made to a troubled writer. But in the decade since Narsi gave his pledge, Atreau Vediya has grown from an anonymous delinquent to a man renowned for penning bawdy operas and engaging in scandalous affairs.
What Narsi―and most of the larger world―cannot know is the secret role Atreau plays as spymaster for the Duke of Rauma.
After the Cadeleonian royal bishop launches an unprovoked attack against the witches in neighboring Labara, Atreau will require every resource he can lay his hands upon to avert a war. A physician is exactly what he needs. But with a relentless assassin hunting the city and ancient magic waking, Atreau fears that his actions could cost more than his own honor. The price of peace could be his friends’ lives.
WARNING FOR VIOLENCE AND SOME TORTURE, HEED THE WARNING.
Dear Ginn Hale,
This book was the only ARC I requested this year. I reviewed couple more ARCs but those were offered. I pretty much never request ARC anymore, but for your books I always made an exception. I regretted doing so very much this time. If it was not an ARC I would have abandoned this book long time ago, I was that miserable when I read it .
Readers, please note that this is NOT a stand alone title. This is the third duopoly ( or maybe there will be a trilogy, I don't know ) in the Caledeonian series first being "Lord of the White Hell" and "Champion of the Scarlet Wolf". I have not reread the previous books before starting this one, but I certainly was not confused when I was reading this. Irritated? Yes. Confused? No, I was not.
This book does not continue the specific story dealt with in "Scarlet wolf" books, but it certainly continues overall story arc which is the way I see it is a fight against tyrannic evil, fight for the better world for as many people as possible. I certainly did not expect the fluff from Ginn Hale in general, and from these series in particular. For crying out loud "Lord of the White Hell" was a story about band of the school boys and was the lightest in tone overall amongst three parts of this series, but innocent person being possessed by evil and saving him from that possession was still front and a center of the plot.
So I did not expect the fluff, but what I expected was *some* lighter moments to give me as a reader a break from the constant misery a lot of Caledonians are in due to the power hungry sadistic politicians who only want more power and of course decent people are trying to fight them. I would argue that I did not get such a break at all in this book. Maybe once or twice . This book occupied 9028 locations on my kindle. Once or twice was not enough for me.
And when I say I got the break once or twice, I meant that we have the couple described in the blurb actually communicating with each other and I could see that they could be attracted to each other.
They are described in the blurb. I will be the first one to say that I consider the review which could be summarized as " I did not get the book I expected to get" to be unfair. I think you should evaluate the book you are reading rather than the book you wanted to read, but I am sorry when I am reading the third part of the series and the first two parts featured prominent romance front and center in addition to the fantasy plot, I think it is totally fair to expect to see prominent romance in these books as well, especially when blurb is talking about Atreau and Narsi, I think it is fair to expect a *romance* between them. I consider the blurb to be misleading so far in a sense that it led me to believe that we will see a romantic chemistry between them.
I fully realize that this is only half of the story. However this was a *very* long first part of the story and mostly it had been about political intrigues and power struggles so far. Which once again, let me stress I am perfectly content to read about. I was severely missing romance though.
Actually let me correct myself, there was another romance building and I would argue that the other couple had tons more chemistry than Atreau and Narsi so far. Which was so weird, because other two men had a lot of issues to deal with before romance between them would be possible, if they would survive the war ( I have no idea if they would survive or not, so this is not a spoiler, but pure speculation. I also have no idea if the romance will happen if they will survive). The blurb is silent about them and it will be very significant spoiler to discuss their activities and whereabouts so reluctantly I will remain quiet.
The writing about political intrigues and power struggles was clearly influenced by American political climate, which is once again I totally get - it is impossible for the American writer to not be influenced by what is happening in our country and for that not to be reflected somehow in her writing. It was just such a depressing read for me though. See above about needing some lighter moments.
I also think that we are supposed to see that in the fight of throwing evil sadistic ruler from the power once supposed to take their allies where one can find them and not to look for the perfect people, which I am in total agreement with. The side effect of this theme was that I really did not like most characters in this book including one half of so called main couple. Narsi was lovely. Atreau was not bad either, I was willing to give him more break that he would have given himself due to the work he was engaged with for the Duke of Rauma, but I just did not feel that he possessed enough charisma to be the lead character. I thought place on the sidelines was perfect for him in the previous books even if I appreciated the joke about him writing "Lord of the White Hell" and "Champion of the Scarlett Wolf" as his memoirs of the sort.
It is really too bad it will be very spoilerish to discuss second couple, because I suspect ( again speculation not spoiler ) that the title of the book refers to one of them and not to Narsi or Attreau, which if true, I find the blurb even more misleading then.
And may I say just how much I missed the magic in this book? Oh the magic still exists as a very important part of this world, what I missed was the beauty of the magic shown in "Scarlet wolf". There were couple of gorgeous descriptions, but that was it.
Once again we see characters from other books making a brief appearance as needed in person or in the thoughts of other people and I appreciated that appearances were part of the plot and not just a cameo. I also suspect that the themes from the first two books will be brought full circle at the end. I just hope that the second book will be less painful read for me.
Grade: B/D.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 10, 2019
I should have reread Champion of the Scarlet Wolf, Book One series before this one. (I've reread White Hell often enough to remember it, but not the second series.) This book has a lot of characters and elements, and they draw from the previous books, in addition to some engaging new introductions. Having a better picture of who some of them were would have made the story clearer.
Having said that, I was caught up enough in the story not to put it down and do the reread, because I didn't want to wait to find out more. There are four main characters here - Narsi, the young physician who tracks down his youthful crush, Lord Atreau Vediya, out of a sense of gratitude and wistful attraction, and finds himself caught up in magic and murder.
Atreau - writer, libertine, man-about-town, and secret spymaster who doesn't remember young Narsi, but is attracted to the earnest physician. Even though there are good odds he's going to use Narsi for some vital political purpose, and maybe get him killed in the process.
Fedeles, freed from the horrific imprisonment and compulsion in the previous series, but still battling the dark shadow of his power that lurks under his skin with its anger and capacity for violence. In a city where power and prejudice, magic and religion, are at odds, his is an uneasy head, even at his distance from the crown.
And Ariz, a man held under the shadow of a spell of compulsion for the last ten years by a sadistic master. Ariz has murdered and spied within Fedeles's household, all the while using his best wiles to wriggle out of the worst demands of the spell. He's sometimes able to use twists of logic to thwart what he's asked to do, but not always, and his biggest fear is the day he'll be unable to avoid the compulsion to kill someone he cares about. Or the day his master's plots come to fruition.
All four men are interesting and well-rounded characters, with strengths and flaws. I felt most deeply for Ariz, who has to watch himself used as a pawn no matter how hard he struggles against it. Fedeles too has not shaken off the horror and fear of his past, and he can't settle into the secure future he so deserves, as threats gather around him.
This is full of more intrigue than action, as the players and their pawns, powers and allies, move into place. The book ends without either resting point or cliffhanger - just an unresolved moment as the story will continue. Well worth the read for fans of Ginn Hale's writing and universe, but I would urge a reread of the previous series (one or both) if you don't have the characters and events well remembered.
Having said that, I was caught up enough in the story not to put it down and do the reread, because I didn't want to wait to find out more. There are four main characters here - Narsi, the young physician who tracks down his youthful crush, Lord Atreau Vediya, out of a sense of gratitude and wistful attraction, and finds himself caught up in magic and murder.
Atreau - writer, libertine, man-about-town, and secret spymaster who doesn't remember young Narsi, but is attracted to the earnest physician. Even though there are good odds he's going to use Narsi for some vital political purpose, and maybe get him killed in the process.
Fedeles, freed from the horrific imprisonment and compulsion in the previous series, but still battling the dark shadow of his power that lurks under his skin with its anger and capacity for violence. In a city where power and prejudice, magic and religion, are at odds, his is an uneasy head, even at his distance from the crown.
And Ariz, a man held under the shadow of a spell of compulsion for the last ten years by a sadistic master. Ariz has murdered and spied within Fedeles's household, all the while using his best wiles to wriggle out of the worst demands of the spell. He's sometimes able to use twists of logic to thwart what he's asked to do, but not always, and his biggest fear is the day he'll be unable to avoid the compulsion to kill someone he cares about. Or the day his master's plots come to fruition.
All four men are interesting and well-rounded characters, with strengths and flaws. I felt most deeply for Ariz, who has to watch himself used as a pawn no matter how hard he struggles against it. Fedeles too has not shaken off the horror and fear of his past, and he can't settle into the secure future he so deserves, as threats gather around him.
This is full of more intrigue than action, as the players and their pawns, powers and allies, move into place. The book ends without either resting point or cliffhanger - just an unresolved moment as the story will continue. Well worth the read for fans of Ginn Hale's writing and universe, but I would urge a reread of the previous series (one or both) if you don't have the characters and events well remembered.
October 22, 2019
Let’s get this out of the way: if you do not read the other books in this series, you will be horribly lost. It’s been a couple of years since my last dip into this universe, and I struggled with the first few chapters.
A few things I thought differed somewhat from previous entries:
1. If memory serves, this is the first pair of protagonists in the series without some magic talent between them.
2. As if to contrast, magic plays a huge role in the story. Granted, the most recent books took place in high-magic areas, but we find out that there’s a lot of sorcery hidden in plain sight in this part of the setting that is overtly hostile to magic that isn’t the dominant religion.
3. Our nominal MC pair doesn’t do everything. Fideles in particular could have carried the story by himself if necessary, and his viewpoint chapters were some of my favorites.
My only significant criticisms have to do with editing, as there were a few noticeable errors.
Ginn Hale is one of my favorite authors, actually my very first M/M author. I’m thrilled to see her continue this series and look forward to the next chapter.
A few things I thought differed somewhat from previous entries:
1. If memory serves, this is the first pair of protagonists in the series without some magic talent between them.
2. As if to contrast, magic plays a huge role in the story. Granted, the most recent books took place in high-magic areas, but we find out that there’s a lot of sorcery hidden in plain sight in this part of the setting that is overtly hostile to magic that isn’t the dominant religion.
3. Our nominal MC pair doesn’t do everything. Fideles in particular could have carried the story by himself if necessary, and his viewpoint chapters were some of my favorites.
My only significant criticisms have to do with editing, as there were a few noticeable errors.
Ginn Hale is one of my favorite authors, actually my very first M/M author. I’m thrilled to see her continue this series and look forward to the next chapter.
April 24, 2022
3.5
White Hell can be read as a coming-of-age at a prestigious academy with a gang of friends, making your own decisions and mistakes, forging your life and finding your belief while at the end nothing is anymore as it was supposed to be but you're true to yourself and won the one person who means everything to you. Then Scarlet Wolf evolves into epic fantasy and shows the one of that gang who got lost on that way but still pushes forward aimlessly until fate forces a change of scenery, throws an unlikely hero into his path, who's worth fighting for and so finally gains his freedom.
Now Restless Shadow tells about those of the gang who are too damaged to forge their own way and who don't seem to have the means or energy to fight for their freedom. So coming of age is long past and only a lesson to accept the cards life deals and an epic fantasy full of mystical fate and magic wonders is a far away dream. Welcome at the capital of Cadeleon where you're nothing without allies or protection, where you have to be pure bred and magic is shunned by the church or used by nobility for their power games. It's a time with the old king on his dead bed when the moves for the time after are made, when machinations and intrigue are in full bloom and treason an easy charge, when the foundation of the state shows as rotten and history is only a chess piece, a means to an end and not a lesson to be learned.
Fedeles still believes as the Duke of Rauma he's only the poor substitute for Javier and defines himself by the time he was kept in thrall by a shadow curse. Doesn't matter that he was freed at end of White Hell and it certainly doesn't help that his own shadow seems to have a will of its own. After his experience of those terrible years he can't believe that it's his kind of inert magic. It's something to be kept locked and hidden. So his focus is on responsibility for his house, for his friends, his future king and responsibility for his wife and child even if it's not his child and the marriage was never consumed and done only for dynastic reasons and because it was the right thing to do. Both parties obviously knew what they went into and it fit both their needs completely. Their relationship was never and will never be about love but over the years it grew from a business partnership into a family business maybe nearly something like a friendship.
His growing attraction for Ariz seems first based on Ariz' calm and steady demeanor and Fedeles' need for a strong companion but after he becomes aware that Ariz is under the thrall of his brother-in-law and his murderous puppet, it becomes an even deeper although dangerous connection.
Atreau seems even more broken, so much that he eventually accepted the irreversibility of his role in life. His best time of life were those with the Hellions at the academy. There it was fun and lightheartedness but much more it was a safe bubble and protection from his abusive childhood as the 4th son of a baron who made him whore to pay the gambling debts but the Hellions became history at the end of White Hell and Atreau cultivated an air of charm and a reputation as libertine. His one approach into deeper affection ended in disaster and started the events of Scarlet Wolf. Also always loyal to his friends he learned his lesson that he needs to look for protection but at the end he will be on his own. Detached he now plays a role he no longer believes in but knows he's good at. Wastrel, scoundrel, drunkard, aloof coward, censored artist there's no reputation to loose anymore but there's still his wit, his charm and his stubborn will to survive which makes him a perfect spy master for Fedeles.
Narsi is the only ray of sunshine, sincere idealist and still harboring a teenage crush on Atreau. Although part Haldiim and with an unknown father he has known love in youth and could look up to courageous role models. He could be the guy to tear down Atreau's walls if the Cadeleonian power games don't get to him first because his mysterious heritage might throw him right into the middle of it.
It seems like a setup after my taste and because I totally enjoyed the first duologies I had no doubt about the 3rd Cadeleon story. I even held back reading this first book until the 2nd one was published because I just knew it would be torture to wait for Ginn Hale to be finish this duology. What can I say, I wasn't wrong in my assumption but nevertheless it isn't on the same level as the first 2 stories.
My first issue is a recurring one on serial books especially when it's an ongoing story: please add a summary of the previous books at the beginning of the new story and include all infos necessary from the past to understand the new story. Such a prolog would have done much good for Restless Shadow. It seems Ms. Hale was aware that her readers needed an info refreshment but she decided to add that into the current story and that didn't go well for the story flow. It quiet often started stuttering and it took some time until it flowed on its own and even then I wondered if I should recognize a certain character or if I didn't remember them differently – and that even happened after I read Scarlet Wolf recently.
The other issue: while the first 2 stories are focused on one couple and we're told the story from their point of view, now we have 2 couples. My issue is not that I have to follow 4 narrators, I'm used to juggle several POVs, but because both would have earned their own book. It seemed like Ms. Hale favored Javier and Elezar (and maybe to a certain degree Kiram) and only reluctantly agreed to listen to Atreau and Fedeles. I especially are miffed in Atreau's place (while he himself certainly would only smile and come up with a distraction to mask her rejection).
However, the world building is impeccable, the characters complex, the relationships far from insta and the machinations anything but obvious … and my original decision to wait for the 2nd book was justified because now that I'm in the story flow it would be torture to wait years for the next one.
White Hell can be read as a coming-of-age at a prestigious academy with a gang of friends, making your own decisions and mistakes, forging your life and finding your belief while at the end nothing is anymore as it was supposed to be but you're true to yourself and won the one person who means everything to you. Then Scarlet Wolf evolves into epic fantasy and shows the one of that gang who got lost on that way but still pushes forward aimlessly until fate forces a change of scenery, throws an unlikely hero into his path, who's worth fighting for and so finally gains his freedom.
Now Restless Shadow tells about those of the gang who are too damaged to forge their own way and who don't seem to have the means or energy to fight for their freedom. So coming of age is long past and only a lesson to accept the cards life deals and an epic fantasy full of mystical fate and magic wonders is a far away dream. Welcome at the capital of Cadeleon where you're nothing without allies or protection, where you have to be pure bred and magic is shunned by the church or used by nobility for their power games. It's a time with the old king on his dead bed when the moves for the time after are made, when machinations and intrigue are in full bloom and treason an easy charge, when the foundation of the state shows as rotten and history is only a chess piece, a means to an end and not a lesson to be learned.
Fedeles still believes as the Duke of Rauma he's only the poor substitute for Javier and defines himself by the time he was kept in thrall by a shadow curse. Doesn't matter that he was freed at end of White Hell and it certainly doesn't help that his own shadow seems to have a will of its own. After his experience of those terrible years he can't believe that it's his kind of inert magic. It's something to be kept locked and hidden. So his focus is on responsibility for his house, for his friends, his future king and responsibility for his wife and child even if it's not his child and the marriage was never consumed and done only for dynastic reasons and because it was the right thing to do. Both parties obviously knew what they went into and it fit both their needs completely. Their relationship was never and will never be about love but over the years it grew from a business partnership into a family business maybe nearly something like a friendship.
His growing attraction for Ariz seems first based on Ariz' calm and steady demeanor and Fedeles' need for a strong companion but after he becomes aware that Ariz is under the thrall of his brother-in-law and his murderous puppet, it becomes an even deeper although dangerous connection.
Atreau seems even more broken, so much that he eventually accepted the irreversibility of his role in life. His best time of life were those with the Hellions at the academy. There it was fun and lightheartedness but much more it was a safe bubble and protection from his abusive childhood as the 4th son of a baron who made him whore to pay the gambling debts but the Hellions became history at the end of White Hell and Atreau cultivated an air of charm and a reputation as libertine. His one approach into deeper affection ended in disaster and started the events of Scarlet Wolf. Also always loyal to his friends he learned his lesson that he needs to look for protection but at the end he will be on his own. Detached he now plays a role he no longer believes in but knows he's good at. Wastrel, scoundrel, drunkard, aloof coward, censored artist there's no reputation to loose anymore but there's still his wit, his charm and his stubborn will to survive which makes him a perfect spy master for Fedeles.
Narsi is the only ray of sunshine, sincere idealist and still harboring a teenage crush on Atreau. Although part Haldiim and with an unknown father he has known love in youth and could look up to courageous role models. He could be the guy to tear down Atreau's walls if the Cadeleonian power games don't get to him first because his mysterious heritage might throw him right into the middle of it.
It seems like a setup after my taste and because I totally enjoyed the first duologies I had no doubt about the 3rd Cadeleon story. I even held back reading this first book until the 2nd one was published because I just knew it would be torture to wait for Ginn Hale to be finish this duology. What can I say, I wasn't wrong in my assumption but nevertheless it isn't on the same level as the first 2 stories.
My first issue is a recurring one on serial books especially when it's an ongoing story: please add a summary of the previous books at the beginning of the new story and include all infos necessary from the past to understand the new story. Such a prolog would have done much good for Restless Shadow. It seems Ms. Hale was aware that her readers needed an info refreshment but she decided to add that into the current story and that didn't go well for the story flow. It quiet often started stuttering and it took some time until it flowed on its own and even then I wondered if I should recognize a certain character or if I didn't remember them differently – and that even happened after I read Scarlet Wolf recently.
The other issue: while the first 2 stories are focused on one couple and we're told the story from their point of view, now we have 2 couples. My issue is not that I have to follow 4 narrators, I'm used to juggle several POVs, but because both would have earned their own book. It seemed like Ms. Hale favored Javier and Elezar (and maybe to a certain degree Kiram) and only reluctantly agreed to listen to Atreau and Fedeles. I especially are miffed in Atreau's place (while he himself certainly would only smile and come up with a distraction to mask her rejection).
However, the world building is impeccable, the characters complex, the relationships far from insta and the machinations anything but obvious … and my original decision to wait for the 2nd book was justified because now that I'm in the story flow it would be torture to wait years for the next one.
December 22, 2019
Master of Restless Shadows by Ginn Hale // Or, The Gays vs. the Fantasy Church
➽ SUMMARY
⚔ Two M/M Relationships; all four have POV
⚔ Side Sapphics
⚔ Side Trans Man
⚔ Lots of Religion Talk; kinda parallel to Christianity & Rome/Vatican
⚔ Magic in a World without Magic
⚔ Court Intrigues
A childhood promise has led Master Physician Narsi Lif-Tahm to leave his hometown and journey to the royal capital of Cieloalta. Atreau Vediya, the man Narsi is chasing after, had a lot going on for him between the double life of a lousy author and the spymaster for the Duke of Rauma.
But with the royal bishop's attack on witches, a physician is exactly what Atreau needs to stop a war.
➽ THE CIELOALTA AND THOSE WHO LIVE THERE
The action takes place in a parallel Italy with the Crown and the Bishop wrestling for power.
Long ago there was a big battle in Cieloalta. Since then the magic was cast out and the only acceptable version of it is channelled by the Church while the rest is treated as a heresy.
This places lots of power into the Bishops hands and lets him rid of inconvenient people.
We also get to see many aspects of Cieloalta while following four different protagonists.
Narsi is close to one priest that isn't awful so he brings the good side of the Church along with the world of medicine and his perspective of an outsider seeing Cieloalta for the first time along with us.
Atreau shows us the underground of scoundrels and artists. Sometimes both at the same time. He knows the secrets of the capital and he learns them both while sneaking around and partying.
The Duke of Rauma brings us into the official court life. The balls. The daily duties. Politics. We tour palaces and look at marble statues with him all the while whispering in someone's ear.
Ariz gets the worst parts -- the awful people living there. We see him struggle and suffer in silence and learn that there is evil even in the most beautiful places. Or especially so.
The POVs are focused on men but all of them rely on amazing strong complex women and even though they're not the focus of the story, their characters are really well developed.
➽ WRITING STYLE & PLOT
I skimmed a bit because of how it was written so I may as well join those.
This book will be great for people who love history. I hate history. There are so many names and titles and politics. I enjoy political intrigues but I have a goldfish memory when it comes to names so I couldn't get so into it when I barely knew who is who for a long time.
But that is more of my personal failure so let's put it on the book's failures. It was interesting even though I didn't always know what was going on.
It was also rather slow, though my attention span is different than other people's due to my mental health stuff. You may enjoy the rich exposition. I couldn't stay focused for too long at a time.
What I really enjoyed about the writing style was that every POV had a distinctive voice. Each of those men had his own way of thinking and tone. Also, it's hilarious at times.
➽ RELATIONSHIPS
There were two relationships here.
The first one is Narsi and Atreau. They have kind of a budding romance and that at best; Narsi harbours his childhood crush while Vediya focuses on securing kingdom's safety and starts developing some interest in the other man but his past attempts at romance make him reluctant and he places his country above individual people.
The other is Ariz and Fedeles. And, well, now we have the longing and yearning guys! Those two are like magnets and desperately want some closeness in their lives. Ariz lives under difficult circumstances though and he can't hope from much from life so he can't even get the hint if it hit him in the face (also involving himself with the Duke would be dangerous for both of them).
➽ GENERAL FEELINGS
I'm interested in the 2nd book as well as the other books from this world but (in my opinion) it would profit from some stricter editing as it would be better shorter and faster-paced.
★★★★☆ | This releases on my birthday, yo. (At least one of the editions?)
"For his part Narsi wondered how Lord Vediya managed to woo so many lovers when he so blithely and constantly implied himself to be riddled with merrypox."
➽ SUMMARY
⚔ Two M/M Relationships; all four have POV
⚔ Side Sapphics
⚔ Side Trans Man
⚔ Lots of Religion Talk; kinda parallel to Christianity & Rome/Vatican
⚔ Magic in a World without Magic
⚔ Court Intrigues
A childhood promise has led Master Physician Narsi Lif-Tahm to leave his hometown and journey to the royal capital of Cieloalta. Atreau Vediya, the man Narsi is chasing after, had a lot going on for him between the double life of a lousy author and the spymaster for the Duke of Rauma.
But with the royal bishop's attack on witches, a physician is exactly what Atreau needs to stop a war.
➽ THE CIELOALTA AND THOSE WHO LIVE THERE
The action takes place in a parallel Italy with the Crown and the Bishop wrestling for power.
Long ago there was a big battle in Cieloalta. Since then the magic was cast out and the only acceptable version of it is channelled by the Church while the rest is treated as a heresy.
This places lots of power into the Bishops hands and lets him rid of inconvenient people.
We also get to see many aspects of Cieloalta while following four different protagonists.
Narsi is close to one priest that isn't awful so he brings the good side of the Church along with the world of medicine and his perspective of an outsider seeing Cieloalta for the first time along with us.
Atreau shows us the underground of scoundrels and artists. Sometimes both at the same time. He knows the secrets of the capital and he learns them both while sneaking around and partying.
The Duke of Rauma brings us into the official court life. The balls. The daily duties. Politics. We tour palaces and look at marble statues with him all the while whispering in someone's ear.
Ariz gets the worst parts -- the awful people living there. We see him struggle and suffer in silence and learn that there is evil even in the most beautiful places. Or especially so.
The POVs are focused on men but all of them rely on amazing strong complex women and even though they're not the focus of the story, their characters are really well developed.
➽ WRITING STYLE & PLOT
I skimmed a bit because of how it was written so I may as well join those.
This book will be great for people who love history. I hate history. There are so many names and titles and politics. I enjoy political intrigues but I have a goldfish memory when it comes to names so I couldn't get so into it when I barely knew who is who for a long time.
It was also rather slow, though my attention span is different than other people's due to my mental health stuff. You may enjoy the rich exposition. I couldn't stay focused for too long at a time.
What I really enjoyed about the writing style was that every POV had a distinctive voice. Each of those men had his own way of thinking and tone. Also, it's hilarious at times.
➽ RELATIONSHIPS
There were two relationships here.
The first one is Narsi and Atreau. They have kind of a budding romance and that at best; Narsi harbours his childhood crush while Vediya focuses on securing kingdom's safety and starts developing some interest in the other man but his past attempts at romance make him reluctant and he places his country above individual people.
The other is Ariz and Fedeles. And, well, now we have the longing and yearning guys! Those two are like magnets and desperately want some closeness in their lives. Ariz lives under difficult circumstances though and he can't hope from much from life so he can't even get the hint if it hit him in the face (also involving himself with the Duke would be dangerous for both of them).
➽ GENERAL FEELINGS
I'm interested in the 2nd book as well as the other books from this world but (in my opinion) it would profit from some stricter editing as it would be better shorter and faster-paced.
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September 12, 2019
I received an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.
5/5 stars!!
Did I expect to give any less to anything written by Ginn Hale?? Absolutely not!
First of all, I loved the first 4 books in the Cadeleonian Series, so of COURSE I was so excited when I learned there was going to be 2 more, and that we were finally (FINALLY) going to learn a little more about Atreau, his past, and what really happened to him during and after the events of Champion of the Scarlet Witch.
Having read the previous novels a couple years ago, I will admit it was a little bit difficult to remember all the specifics of them: the world, the characters, the drama... (solely due to sheer amount of the detail that has gone into building this world) but I slowly remembered as I was reading and it didn't detract from my reading experience as a whole at all. However, I would imagine that for someone who picked this up as an introduction to the series might have found the terminology Hale has created and the complex and intertwining background stories for each character a little harder to follow. (I would recommend reading the previous novels first, but it sounds like others found it was a good read despite not having the background.)
Overall, I LOVED it. I wouldn't--COULDN'T put it down. I would (and i HAVE) recommend this series to everyone! I am completely addicted to Hale's world and character building and the relationships between those characters (Skellen and Elezar were a personal fave, but I'm SO intrigued by Ariz and of COURSE I love watching my faves suffer, so I'm excited to see more of Atreau!!!).
The only downside to absolutely smashing my way through book 1 is that now I have to wait for book 2!!
5/5 stars!!
Did I expect to give any less to anything written by Ginn Hale?? Absolutely not!
First of all, I loved the first 4 books in the Cadeleonian Series, so of COURSE I was so excited when I learned there was going to be 2 more, and that we were finally (FINALLY) going to learn a little more about Atreau, his past, and what really happened to him during and after the events of Champion of the Scarlet Witch.
Having read the previous novels a couple years ago, I will admit it was a little bit difficult to remember all the specifics of them: the world, the characters, the drama... (solely due to sheer amount of the detail that has gone into building this world) but I slowly remembered as I was reading and it didn't detract from my reading experience as a whole at all. However, I would imagine that for someone who picked this up as an introduction to the series might have found the terminology Hale has created and the complex and intertwining background stories for each character a little harder to follow. (I would recommend reading the previous novels first, but it sounds like others found it was a good read despite not having the background.)
Overall, I LOVED it. I wouldn't--COULDN'T put it down. I would (and i HAVE) recommend this series to everyone! I am completely addicted to Hale's world and character building and the relationships between those characters (Skellen and Elezar were a personal fave, but I'm SO intrigued by Ariz and of COURSE I love watching my faves suffer, so I'm excited to see more of Atreau!!!).
The only downside to absolutely smashing my way through book 1 is that now I have to wait for book 2!!
February 19, 2020
Simply stunning. I’m not sure what else I can say.
Courtly intrigue, assassins, magic, burgeoning (queer) romance. Everything I look for in fantasy. Again - stunning.
If you’ve not read Ginn Hale then it would be in your best interest to do so right now. Like, immediately. But be warned that Master of the Restless Shadow is part of a series that begins with Lord of the White Hell an must be read in order.
5 stars - Wow
Courtly intrigue, assassins, magic, burgeoning (queer) romance. Everything I look for in fantasy. Again - stunning.
If you’ve not read Ginn Hale then it would be in your best interest to do so right now. Like, immediately. But be warned that Master of the Restless Shadow is part of a series that begins with Lord of the White Hell an must be read in order.
5 stars - Wow
December 2, 2020
Now starts the wait for part 2.
Most frustrating were the 30 pages in the end, listing all the names and places you have to know, and necessary information to understand the story. I wished this list was provided on page one to thirty. It would have made this novel less strenuous.
Further, I would have liked some romance.
Still, the last 50% I enjoyed.
Most frustrating were the 30 pages in the end, listing all the names and places you have to know, and necessary information to understand the story. I wished this list was provided on page one to thirty. It would have made this novel less strenuous.
Further, I would have liked some romance.
Still, the last 50% I enjoyed.
October 18, 2019
If this is your first Ginn Hale book, I would advised against starting with Master of the Restless Shadows. This is the third duology that started with Lord of the White Hell. The cast of characters, plot, conflict and world building is a continuation of everything established in previous entries.
So after reading Lord of the White Hell and Champion of the Scarlet Wolf, you’ll now have insight into the lives of four characters: Atreau, Narsi, Fedeles and Ariz. Having four different point of views took me for a bit of a spin from her usual two character POVs (judging from the blurb, I thought this would be strictly Narsi and Atreau).
This whole book seems to be more of a political setup that paced slowly. While the characters were entertaining, the book lacked a bit of the magic that the previous books had. By the end, I could feel this changing from politics to more of the magical and supernatural that always made this series shine.
So after reading Lord of the White Hell and Champion of the Scarlet Wolf, you’ll now have insight into the lives of four characters: Atreau, Narsi, Fedeles and Ariz. Having four different point of views took me for a bit of a spin from her usual two character POVs (judging from the blurb, I thought this would be strictly Narsi and Atreau).
This whole book seems to be more of a political setup that paced slowly. While the characters were entertaining, the book lacked a bit of the magic that the previous books had. By the end, I could feel this changing from politics to more of the magical and supernatural that always made this series shine.
October 20, 2019
It’s been 9 years since I read the White Hell books and about 5 years since I read the Scarlet Wolf books. And I have a terrible memory. So aside from a few key people I wasn’t sure exactly which characters and how much of their backstories we were meant to know already. It would’ve been a good idea to do some rereading but that’s not my habit so I muddled through.
This first book mostly lays out the players and factions for the conflict that’s brewing. It didn’t keep me quite as completely engrossed as I remember being with the other first books in this epic tale. I enjoyed getting reacquainted with this world and learning (or relearning) about the four men at the center of the story. It’s an entertaining setup, but it does leave you anxious to get to the action. Things were really getting good in the last 20%, though, so I’m excited for book 2.
This first book mostly lays out the players and factions for the conflict that’s brewing. It didn’t keep me quite as completely engrossed as I remember being with the other first books in this epic tale. I enjoyed getting reacquainted with this world and learning (or relearning) about the four men at the center of the story. It’s an entertaining setup, but it does leave you anxious to get to the action. Things were really getting good in the last 20%, though, so I’m excited for book 2.
October 2, 2019
On my blog.
Rep: gay mcs, bi mc, trans side character, wlw side characters, brown(?) mc
CWs: torture, mentions of past torture, violence
Galley provided by publisher
If you asked me whether I wanted to read a politicking fantasy with murder mysteries and gay characters, my answer would be fuck yes. Of course that’s something I want to read. So this was definitely a bit of a letdown in that respect.
Master of Restless Shadows is the first book in a sequel series, which, while not disastrous for understanding what’s going on, probably misses you out on a bit of the worldbuilding. Now, I don’t mind being thrown in at the deep end, usually. It’s just here, I couldn’t seem to keep the countries and churches straight, for whatever reason. Combine that with the denseness (or seeming denseness, could just have been me not paying enough attention) of the politics, and the basic worldbuilding (or lack of it) became kind of tedious.
But that’s not to say there wasn’t further worldbuilding done. Because there was. Boy, there was. It’s just it all happened in incredibly long and drawn-out conversations about politics and religion. And literature. And god knows what else, because honestly, I started skimming or even skipping some of the conversations. For the first two thirds of the book at least, I could swear nothing happened besides people talking. Someone died in the opening chapters and no one investigated, they just bloody talked. And then talked some more.
Which meant that the book just dragged. Combine that with the number of POVs (not convinced I need four in-depth POVs when the book itself is so dense anyway), and it just felt like the pacing was off. There was never a point where I got excited about where the book was going (except the end, when I got excited about finally being done). But it could have been so much more! The potential was there, but the execution wasn’t (for me at least. This is all subjective and mostly based on my sheer impatience when it comes to fantasy books).
Three other (relatively minor) points. Firstly, it’s implied Narsi and Atreu first kiss when Narsi is 13 and Atreu 19 (please correct me if my maths is wrong here). That just felt really uncomfortable to me, so I wasn’t the biggest fan of their relationship. Secondly, it’s really not necessary to mention a particular character trait every time you bring up a character (I’m talking about Fedeles, who, the first few times he’s mentioned, comes with the sort of epithet of “he hates physicians because of his past blah blah blah”). I got it the first time. Finally, this world comes complete with racism, sexism and homophobia! As if we didn’t already have enough of that. I have little patience for fantasy worlds that don’t just do away with that. Like, it’s a fantasy, you can have anything you want, and you choose to keep these things? But anyway.
Was there anything I did like? Sure, the writing and the characters (mostly). But unfortunately that wasn’t enough to carry the story for me in this instance.
Rep: gay mcs, bi mc, trans side character, wlw side characters, brown(?) mc
CWs: torture, mentions of past torture, violence
Galley provided by publisher
If you asked me whether I wanted to read a politicking fantasy with murder mysteries and gay characters, my answer would be fuck yes. Of course that’s something I want to read. So this was definitely a bit of a letdown in that respect.
Master of Restless Shadows is the first book in a sequel series, which, while not disastrous for understanding what’s going on, probably misses you out on a bit of the worldbuilding. Now, I don’t mind being thrown in at the deep end, usually. It’s just here, I couldn’t seem to keep the countries and churches straight, for whatever reason. Combine that with the denseness (or seeming denseness, could just have been me not paying enough attention) of the politics, and the basic worldbuilding (or lack of it) became kind of tedious.
But that’s not to say there wasn’t further worldbuilding done. Because there was. Boy, there was. It’s just it all happened in incredibly long and drawn-out conversations about politics and religion. And literature. And god knows what else, because honestly, I started skimming or even skipping some of the conversations. For the first two thirds of the book at least, I could swear nothing happened besides people talking. Someone died in the opening chapters and no one investigated, they just bloody talked. And then talked some more.
Which meant that the book just dragged. Combine that with the number of POVs (not convinced I need four in-depth POVs when the book itself is so dense anyway), and it just felt like the pacing was off. There was never a point where I got excited about where the book was going (except the end, when I got excited about finally being done). But it could have been so much more! The potential was there, but the execution wasn’t (for me at least. This is all subjective and mostly based on my sheer impatience when it comes to fantasy books).
Three other (relatively minor) points. Firstly, it’s implied Narsi and Atreu first kiss when Narsi is 13 and Atreu 19 (please correct me if my maths is wrong here). That just felt really uncomfortable to me, so I wasn’t the biggest fan of their relationship. Secondly, it’s really not necessary to mention a particular character trait every time you bring up a character (I’m talking about Fedeles, who, the first few times he’s mentioned, comes with the sort of epithet of “he hates physicians because of his past blah blah blah”). I got it the first time. Finally, this world comes complete with racism, sexism and homophobia! As if we didn’t already have enough of that. I have little patience for fantasy worlds that don’t just do away with that. Like, it’s a fantasy, you can have anything you want, and you choose to keep these things? But anyway.
Was there anything I did like? Sure, the writing and the characters (mostly). But unfortunately that wasn’t enough to carry the story for me in this instance.
June 28, 2022
Will write short review for the whole series on book 6.
October 25, 2019
A Joyfully Jay review.
4.25 stars
Master of Restless Shadows is an epic high fantasy. Lush description and detail lay out complex world building. There are dozens of characters, multiple plot twists, and Hale weaves a tale that flows seamlessly from one thing to the next. Page after page, new information is revealed, layers are built, and when this lengthy story ends, it’s on a cliff hanger. Because there is so much more to come.
I have to say that the blurb is a little misleading in its simplicity. This book is very long, and all of the ground work is laid. But there is so much going on here, so many different characters and plot points, that it got a little bogged down. If you’re used to reading high fantasy, then this won’t come as a surprise and it’ll be easier to navigate, but if it’s new to you, then be aware. This takes time to read, and has the potential to become confusing.
I wasn’t quite expecting this level of high fantasy when I picked up the book, again due to the blurb. But Hale takes the style and runs with it, crafting a book that would be worthy of sitting on a shelf with Robert Jordan or George R. R. Martin. Admittedly, it took some time for me to get into the story, but that was mostly due to my mindset at the time, and I was eventually drawn into the fantastical world of magic, religious zealots, and interesting and well-crafted characters.
Read Kris’ review in its entirety here.
4.25 stars
Master of Restless Shadows is an epic high fantasy. Lush description and detail lay out complex world building. There are dozens of characters, multiple plot twists, and Hale weaves a tale that flows seamlessly from one thing to the next. Page after page, new information is revealed, layers are built, and when this lengthy story ends, it’s on a cliff hanger. Because there is so much more to come.
I have to say that the blurb is a little misleading in its simplicity. This book is very long, and all of the ground work is laid. But there is so much going on here, so many different characters and plot points, that it got a little bogged down. If you’re used to reading high fantasy, then this won’t come as a surprise and it’ll be easier to navigate, but if it’s new to you, then be aware. This takes time to read, and has the potential to become confusing.
I wasn’t quite expecting this level of high fantasy when I picked up the book, again due to the blurb. But Hale takes the style and runs with it, crafting a book that would be worthy of sitting on a shelf with Robert Jordan or George R. R. Martin. Admittedly, it took some time for me to get into the story, but that was mostly due to my mindset at the time, and I was eventually drawn into the fantastical world of magic, religious zealots, and interesting and well-crafted characters.
Read Kris’ review in its entirety here.
July 1, 2020
How wonderful to return to Cadeleon! I loved this. It's gripping and complex and full of intrigue and magic and danger--a big, meaty high fantasy. I love this world and these characters. Note that this is a continuation of the story started in Lord of the White Hell and continued in Champion of the Scarlet Wolf, and they all share characters and plot. This book doesn't stand alone. There are a lot of characters and a big plot, so if you don't remember, you may wish to re-read. There is a glossary at the end, which may be helpful. Also, this is not a complete story and stops in the middle (some may call it a cliffhanger, but it's an appropriate place in the story to pause), so if you don't want to wait six months for the ending, you may wish to wait for the sixth and last book. I am so excited to read this whole series in one go! Lord of the White Hell, Book 1 was the first queer fantasy I read all those years ago and it changed my life. This series is so special to me.
This is a story about Atreau, but it is just as much about Fedeles. It's so great to see those two all grown up and living their lives. There are wonderful new main characters in Narsi and Ariz, though we have seen them briefly in previous books. The diversity is wonderful--there's POC, queer men and ladies, and a trans character. The plot is mostly about high-stakes political maneuvering and all the strings from the previous books are coming into play. The blurb kind of makes things out as much simpler and straightforward than they really are. There's a lot going on in this story, so pay attention. This isn't really a romance, so don't read it for that, but there's some budding relationships happening in the background, behind the saving-the-world business. Something big is coming for the series finale and I have a tiny hope that all our friends from previous books return to Cadeleon to fight the good fight. Javier does have a scene in this book and it was lovely to see him again.
This was excellent and Ginn Hale has made an amazing thing. The final book can't come fast enough. I am so ready.
This is a story about Atreau, but it is just as much about Fedeles. It's so great to see those two all grown up and living their lives. There are wonderful new main characters in Narsi and Ariz, though we have seen them briefly in previous books. The diversity is wonderful--there's POC, queer men and ladies, and a trans character. The plot is mostly about high-stakes political maneuvering and all the strings from the previous books are coming into play. The blurb kind of makes things out as much simpler and straightforward than they really are. There's a lot going on in this story, so pay attention. This isn't really a romance, so don't read it for that, but there's some budding relationships happening in the background, behind the saving-the-world business. Something big is coming for the series finale and I have a tiny hope that all our friends from previous books return to Cadeleon to fight the good fight. Javier does have a scene in this book and it was lovely to see him again.
This was excellent and Ginn Hale has made an amazing thing. The final book can't come fast enough. I am so ready.
July 12, 2019
** I received an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
Ginn Hale's newest fantasy continues to explore the universe she has previously established in other works. In this book, we follow a wide variety of characters, but most notably Narsi and Atreau. Narsi is a newly appointed master physician, whereas Atreau is an author, nobleman, and is much more than the lush he would have his peers perceive him to be.
Let me begin by stating that I have not read any other books set in this universe, and so I was diving in without having knowledge of characters/backgrounds/setting/magic system that had already been established. While I firmly believe that reading the other books first would have added to my reading experience, I also believe that a reader can enter the universe with this book without suffering for it. Hale's world-building is rich, intricate, full of culture, customs, magic, LGBTQ+ representation, and more.
The book does begin with a rather in-depth content warning for a wide variety of items. I was both pleased and surprised to see the content warning, and feel more books should include them. However, having finished the book, I can say that the content warning made me expect the story to be far more explicit and aggressive than it actually was.
For as many characters, places, gods, etc. featured in this book, Hale absolutely developed every last one of them. I have no doubt that even side characters had backstories and the characters were both charming and flawed.
As much as I loved reading this book for the amazing character development and world-building, it did make for a very dense read that wasn't something that could be read quickly. This is definitely a book for savoring rather than blazing through.
I found the ending to be a little odd, and it made me think of the scene prior to intermission of a play. It isn't a cliffhanger per se, but you absolutely couldn't allow the story to end there. I'm aware Hale intends on a sequel for this book, so I guess I'll just have to read the other books in this universe while I wait for that to come out.
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
Ginn Hale's newest fantasy continues to explore the universe she has previously established in other works. In this book, we follow a wide variety of characters, but most notably Narsi and Atreau. Narsi is a newly appointed master physician, whereas Atreau is an author, nobleman, and is much more than the lush he would have his peers perceive him to be.
Let me begin by stating that I have not read any other books set in this universe, and so I was diving in without having knowledge of characters/backgrounds/setting/magic system that had already been established. While I firmly believe that reading the other books first would have added to my reading experience, I also believe that a reader can enter the universe with this book without suffering for it. Hale's world-building is rich, intricate, full of culture, customs, magic, LGBTQ+ representation, and more.
The book does begin with a rather in-depth content warning for a wide variety of items. I was both pleased and surprised to see the content warning, and feel more books should include them. However, having finished the book, I can say that the content warning made me expect the story to be far more explicit and aggressive than it actually was.
For as many characters, places, gods, etc. featured in this book, Hale absolutely developed every last one of them. I have no doubt that even side characters had backstories and the characters were both charming and flawed.
As much as I loved reading this book for the amazing character development and world-building, it did make for a very dense read that wasn't something that could be read quickly. This is definitely a book for savoring rather than blazing through.
I found the ending to be a little odd, and it made me think of the scene prior to intermission of a play. It isn't a cliffhanger per se, but you absolutely couldn't allow the story to end there. I'm aware Hale intends on a sequel for this book, so I guess I'll just have to read the other books in this universe while I wait for that to come out.
January 18, 2020
What a difficult book for me to rate!
I'm a big fan of Ginn Hale's fantastic storytelling. I've been dying to read from Atreau's POV ever since Lord of the White Hell, Book 1, which if you don't know has a second installment and continues with Book 1&2 of Champion of the Scarlet Wolf.
So, Master of Restless Shadows gives us not only Atreau & Narsi but also Fedeles & Ariz. Yep, FOUR POVs, two romances and many many side characters. Now, that might delight many of you! As for me? I don't know how I feel about it.
Honestly, all I wanted was to read more from Atreau (HE'S SO FREAKING PRECIOUS).
I approve of Atreau and Narsi. Lovely couple, so many secrets and insecurities. Very precious. Also a bit mysterious and thrilling.
Perhaps I'm simply not a huge fan of Fedeles. Don't get me wrong, he's all right. He and Ariz were all right, I'm just not that much into them.
The book as a whole wasn't what I expected, what I wanted it to be.
Am I disappointed? Yes, a little.
I didn't get my fill of Atreau.
The story feels HUGE, so much is going on. Personally, I find it dragging (likely because I didn't care so much for Fedeles...). Took me a week to finish reading. Once again though, the story itself is brilliant; Ginn Hale is one very smart and imaginative person. Very admirable. It doesn't feel like we've been away for eleven years (since Champion of the Scarlet Wolf).
I NEED MORE ATREAU and Narsi. And I want Kiram and Javier back T__T
Many, many thanks to the publisher who kindly provided a free copy for an honest and impartial review.
I'm a big fan of Ginn Hale's fantastic storytelling. I've been dying to read from Atreau's POV ever since Lord of the White Hell, Book 1, which if you don't know has a second installment and continues with Book 1&2 of Champion of the Scarlet Wolf.
So, Master of Restless Shadows gives us not only Atreau & Narsi but also Fedeles & Ariz. Yep, FOUR POVs, two romances and many many side characters. Now, that might delight many of you! As for me? I don't know how I feel about it.
Honestly, all I wanted was to read more from Atreau (HE'S SO FREAKING PRECIOUS).
I approve of Atreau and Narsi. Lovely couple, so many secrets and insecurities. Very precious. Also a bit mysterious and thrilling.
Perhaps I'm simply not a huge fan of Fedeles. Don't get me wrong, he's all right. He and Ariz were all right, I'm just not that much into them.
The book as a whole wasn't what I expected, what I wanted it to be.
Am I disappointed? Yes, a little.
I didn't get my fill of Atreau.
The story feels HUGE, so much is going on. Personally, I find it dragging (likely because I didn't care so much for Fedeles...). Took me a week to finish reading. Once again though, the story itself is brilliant; Ginn Hale is one very smart and imaginative person. Very admirable. It doesn't feel like we've been away for eleven years (since Champion of the Scarlet Wolf).
I NEED MORE ATREAU and Narsi. And I want Kiram and Javier back T__T
Many, many thanks to the publisher who kindly provided a free copy for an honest and impartial review.
August 19, 2019
I received an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.
I've never read a Ginn Hale novel before and I'm glad that I did. This book is so full of interesting characters. Spies, assassin's, corruption, greed, God's and monsters, that leave you on your toes wanting to know what happens next.
The writting was phenomenal. I found myself reading this book fast, it was hard to stop put it at one point.
I can't wait until the second book comes out. I highly recommend this book to everyone.
And I will definitely, be looking out for future novels by Ginn Hale, as well as looking into some of her older material.
I've never read a Ginn Hale novel before and I'm glad that I did. This book is so full of interesting characters. Spies, assassin's, corruption, greed, God's and monsters, that leave you on your toes wanting to know what happens next.
The writting was phenomenal. I found myself reading this book fast, it was hard to stop put it at one point.
I can't wait until the second book comes out. I highly recommend this book to everyone.
And I will definitely, be looking out for future novels by Ginn Hale, as well as looking into some of her older material.
September 11, 2019
Master of Restless Shadows is out on the 6th of October. This is another great edition to two of her other series, Lord of the White Hell and Champion of the Scarlet Wolf. While this could be read as a stand-alone I do recommend reading the other books. This is a fantasy series following Atreau who is a familiar face from previous books. Loads of court intrigue, assassins and a group of allies desperately trying to avert a war. While slow to start, this ended on a high and I cannot wait to read the final part in this new series. Beautiful, rich world building and a diverse cast of characters. Well worth a read.
September 16, 2019
Netgalley provided me with an arc in exchange of an honest review. All the following opinions are my own.
This was such a nice book to read!! It had, in my opinion, a great balance between Greater Plot and Romance Plot. There were some really exciting bits, and then there were some dull bits, but overall I think it was nicely paced and the story nicely developed.
I'm gonna be honest, though: Although i can recognize the plot is really interesting and exciting, I was more invested in the characters' personal storylines. Specifically Ariz's, because he stole my heart from the very first time he showed up on the pages. My sweet summer child.
There is a lot of things about the book that i loved, others that I liked, and others that I didn't really care much for. There is, however, nothing that I hated. That's a very good thing. So I'll make a brief list of all these things I just mentioned:
I liked the content warning at the beginning. I had never read a book that had one of those, and I felt so amazed and touched that this book had it, because so many people forget to be mindful of readers' triggers and squicks. Good job.
I loved, loved the diversity in this book. There were gay characters, and trans characters, and POC, and amazing female characters, and gah, loved it. Hopefully we'll see more gay women in the next books (please... let me live Through Them), but I LOVED how diverse all these characters were.
I loved Ariz. I think all the characters were really well written, and I fell a little bit with all of them (except for one, whom you will know when you read the book. They can rot in hell.), and I read the story more for the characters than anything else.
The relationships were so well done. They made sense, they had a pretty nice slow burn (that had me yelling at my screen and my friend more often than not), and they were, as I said in the beginning, well balanced with the bigger plot.
I think the world building got a little heavy and a bit boring at times. This is most likely a personal thing, but I really didn't care much about the politics and power play beyond how they might directly affect the characters. I understand why they're necessary for the plot, though, and I think exposition was, for the most part, well executed.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I hope a lot of people also enjoy it, and I can't wait for the next one!! I'll spend the next year missing Ariz-- I mean, hah, everyone, ahem-- very dearly.
Thank you for the chance to read it!!
This was such a nice book to read!! It had, in my opinion, a great balance between Greater Plot and Romance Plot. There were some really exciting bits, and then there were some dull bits, but overall I think it was nicely paced and the story nicely developed.
I'm gonna be honest, though: Although i can recognize the plot is really interesting and exciting, I was more invested in the characters' personal storylines. Specifically Ariz's, because he stole my heart from the very first time he showed up on the pages. My sweet summer child.
There is a lot of things about the book that i loved, others that I liked, and others that I didn't really care much for. There is, however, nothing that I hated. That's a very good thing. So I'll make a brief list of all these things I just mentioned:
I liked the content warning at the beginning. I had never read a book that had one of those, and I felt so amazed and touched that this book had it, because so many people forget to be mindful of readers' triggers and squicks. Good job.
I loved, loved the diversity in this book. There were gay characters, and trans characters, and POC, and amazing female characters, and gah, loved it. Hopefully we'll see more gay women in the next books (please... let me live Through Them), but I LOVED how diverse all these characters were.
I loved Ariz. I think all the characters were really well written, and I fell a little bit with all of them (except for one, whom you will know when you read the book. They can rot in hell.), and I read the story more for the characters than anything else.
The relationships were so well done. They made sense, they had a pretty nice slow burn (that had me yelling at my screen and my friend more often than not), and they were, as I said in the beginning, well balanced with the bigger plot.
I think the world building got a little heavy and a bit boring at times. This is most likely a personal thing, but I really didn't care much about the politics and power play beyond how they might directly affect the characters. I understand why they're necessary for the plot, though, and I think exposition was, for the most part, well executed.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I hope a lot of people also enjoy it, and I can't wait for the next one!! I'll spend the next year missing Ariz-- I mean, hah, everyone, ahem-- very dearly.
Thank you for the chance to read it!!
March 4, 2025
5⭐️
It’s been a while since I started this series.
Finally I was ready for the final duology that follows Atreau.
While the first duology was a sort of coming of age (with excellent worldbuilding, character development, intrigues, betrayals and adventures), second one was more in the vein of epic fantasy. With even more amazing world building and awesome characters, magic, magical beings and a fight for survival.
The third one… it’s a bit darker and has lots and lots of political intrigues (also spies). And it’s as awesome a story as the other ones in this series 💗
It’s been a while since I started this series.
Finally I was ready for the final duology that follows Atreau.
While the first duology was a sort of coming of age (with excellent worldbuilding, character development, intrigues, betrayals and adventures), second one was more in the vein of epic fantasy. With even more amazing world building and awesome characters, magic, magical beings and a fight for survival.
The third one… it’s a bit darker and has lots and lots of political intrigues (also spies). And it’s as awesome a story as the other ones in this series 💗
July 25, 2019
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
This review has been originally posted at Gay Book Reviews - check it out!
When I received this ARC, I didn’t expect much, for some unfathomable reasons. And I was in for a very, very pleasant surprise (mind you, I prefer surprises to be like this rather than the other way around). The plot, split up between several third-person narrators, grabbed me at once, despite the first chapters being almost overwhelmingly complex. But nothing could be more normal: you enter an unknown fantasy world, you need to meet the main characters, you have to understand the undercurrents, the political schemes, and all that goes on behind the scenes. The book starts with freshly graduated Master Physician Narsi arriving in the royal capital Cieloalta to follow his former mentor, Father Timoteo, who is living with Fedeles Quemanor, Duke of Rauma, one of the current ruler’s best friends (he’s also the latter’s cousin). When Narsi arrives at his destination, he stumbles upon Atreau Vediya, a novelist, adventurer and notable lecher, who’s staying with Quemanor as well. It’s the very man who has paid for Narsi’s education back in the day and to whom Narsi has promised he’d find him and pay him back after his graduation. That Atreau has also been his first crush only adds to the tension that builds between the two almost instantly.
It would be too long to go into all the ramifications of the twisted and rich plot, which kept me reading on with bated breath for the entire 406 pages and left me like an orphan when I realized I had reached the end. Luckily this is only the first part of a series that promises to be nothing less than breathtaking. Ginn Hale knows her business. She effortlessly draws a rich and complex world where the past has seen glorious victories, great kings, magic, and vanquished monsters. She juxtaposes this sketchy picture of legendary deeds with a present filled with petty envies and schemings, with easy-to-find scapegoats (does that sound familiar!), ruthless churchmen, jealous and power-hungry royal family members, secret magic-users, lost spells, poisons, enslaving curses, torture, and many more things. What I absolutely loved was that everything had its right place in the story; even the most astounding and unbelievable bits felt plausible and just, with even room for more—I’m quite sure we shall get more in the next books. The romantic subplots are put in place in this one (Narsi and Atreau, Lord Quemanor and a hired, enslaved assassin) and shall evolve, I’m convinced.
The characters feel real (which is something to say for a fantasy novel!), and most of them have hidden agendas and grim and sombre parts, which just add to their intrinsic humanity. No one is solely good or bad, bar a few exceptions (Narsi, for instance, won my heart almost at once by his warm-hearted, outgoing, easy and feeling character). Real life is full of shades of grey (more than fifty at any rate, lol) with only exceptionnally black spots or white flecks. Well, the characters in this book—why, even the faultless plot—perfectly reflect this simple truth. We are sometimes compelled by circumstances to do things we recognize as morally bad (in most of our cases that concerns only small and unimportant things—we don’t have to run a kingdom or a church, after all). That doesn’t necessarily make us bad guys. Did I mention that this book was very well written and perfectly paced? No? Well, now it’s done. Anyway—this was really a first-rate read, and I’m waiting impatiently to read the follow-ups. I need to know how all of this ends, dear Ginn, so please make your quill go faster!
This review has been originally posted at Gay Book Reviews - check it out!
When I received this ARC, I didn’t expect much, for some unfathomable reasons. And I was in for a very, very pleasant surprise (mind you, I prefer surprises to be like this rather than the other way around). The plot, split up between several third-person narrators, grabbed me at once, despite the first chapters being almost overwhelmingly complex. But nothing could be more normal: you enter an unknown fantasy world, you need to meet the main characters, you have to understand the undercurrents, the political schemes, and all that goes on behind the scenes. The book starts with freshly graduated Master Physician Narsi arriving in the royal capital Cieloalta to follow his former mentor, Father Timoteo, who is living with Fedeles Quemanor, Duke of Rauma, one of the current ruler’s best friends (he’s also the latter’s cousin). When Narsi arrives at his destination, he stumbles upon Atreau Vediya, a novelist, adventurer and notable lecher, who’s staying with Quemanor as well. It’s the very man who has paid for Narsi’s education back in the day and to whom Narsi has promised he’d find him and pay him back after his graduation. That Atreau has also been his first crush only adds to the tension that builds between the two almost instantly.
It would be too long to go into all the ramifications of the twisted and rich plot, which kept me reading on with bated breath for the entire 406 pages and left me like an orphan when I realized I had reached the end. Luckily this is only the first part of a series that promises to be nothing less than breathtaking. Ginn Hale knows her business. She effortlessly draws a rich and complex world where the past has seen glorious victories, great kings, magic, and vanquished monsters. She juxtaposes this sketchy picture of legendary deeds with a present filled with petty envies and schemings, with easy-to-find scapegoats (does that sound familiar!), ruthless churchmen, jealous and power-hungry royal family members, secret magic-users, lost spells, poisons, enslaving curses, torture, and many more things. What I absolutely loved was that everything had its right place in the story; even the most astounding and unbelievable bits felt plausible and just, with even room for more—I’m quite sure we shall get more in the next books. The romantic subplots are put in place in this one (Narsi and Atreau, Lord Quemanor and a hired, enslaved assassin) and shall evolve, I’m convinced.
The characters feel real (which is something to say for a fantasy novel!), and most of them have hidden agendas and grim and sombre parts, which just add to their intrinsic humanity. No one is solely good or bad, bar a few exceptions (Narsi, for instance, won my heart almost at once by his warm-hearted, outgoing, easy and feeling character). Real life is full of shades of grey (more than fifty at any rate, lol) with only exceptionnally black spots or white flecks. Well, the characters in this book—why, even the faultless plot—perfectly reflect this simple truth. We are sometimes compelled by circumstances to do things we recognize as morally bad (in most of our cases that concerns only small and unimportant things—we don’t have to run a kingdom or a church, after all). That doesn’t necessarily make us bad guys. Did I mention that this book was very well written and perfectly paced? No? Well, now it’s done. Anyway—this was really a first-rate read, and I’m waiting impatiently to read the follow-ups. I need to know how all of this ends, dear Ginn, so please make your quill go faster!
May 26, 2022
3.5 stars. I wish I had had the wherewithal to reread the other Cadeleon books before tackling this one. I read them far too long ago for the memory of them to be sharp enough to understand what the hell was going on here. This is a very rich world Hale has built, there are so many facets to be understood that I felt lost for a lot of this book. That said, I very much enjoyed the characters. The book shifts perspective between four men, all of whom are very different and excellently written. It's very much a fantasy/political intrigue novel, and while there's some queer pining there's definitely no romance in this first one. After only seeing the glossary right at the end hopefully, I'm better armed for the second half of the story.
February 25, 2024
I enjoyed this one, but unfortunately it's my least favorite in the series so far. This one is a slightly departure from the previous two duologies in this series in that there are really four main characters and two primary couples, which I do think is a large part of why I didn't enjoy it as much. It was too broad of a focus for me, and I vastly preferred one of the pairings/related characters more than the others, so it dragged for me whenever it was focusing on the other two. I also wonder if part of the problem here is that Fedeles wasn't really much featured in the last duology, and his presence in the first was underneath a curse, so we haven't really had a chance to get to know him at all, unlike Atreau, who was a prominent side character in the last duology, setting him up nicely for us to care about his arc. I really enjoyed both him and Narsi, and though the build has been quite a bit slower than I'd prefer for the end of the first book, I still am very much enjoying.
With Fedeles, I just don't really care much about him at all--he's unrecognizable from the character we met in earlier books, and I just find him a little dull and underdeveloped. While I find Aziz a compelling character, the build between him and Fedeles felt really rushed to me -- I feel like we needed to see them more before the start of this book to not feel dumped in the middle of things without connection or context.
The tone of this one is also a bit different, with higher stakes and more political machinations. I didn't love the tone shift as much, though I think that's influenced by my lack of connection to half of the main characters in the book. I am also a bit bummed that the MCs from the previous books haven't really factored in much at all. That was my worry upon reading the summary, and it makes sense geographically, but having loved the first four books so much, the departure here in tone, set-up, and character is a bit of a detractor.
I did still enjoy it, and I remain cautiously hopeful about the conclusion, but this one didn't enthrall me as much as the first four books did.
With Fedeles, I just don't really care much about him at all--he's unrecognizable from the character we met in earlier books, and I just find him a little dull and underdeveloped. While I find Aziz a compelling character, the build between him and Fedeles felt really rushed to me -- I feel like we needed to see them more before the start of this book to not feel dumped in the middle of things without connection or context.
The tone of this one is also a bit different, with higher stakes and more political machinations. I didn't love the tone shift as much, though I think that's influenced by my lack of connection to half of the main characters in the book. I am also a bit bummed that the MCs from the previous books haven't really factored in much at all. That was my worry upon reading the summary, and it makes sense geographically, but having loved the first four books so much, the departure here in tone, set-up, and character is a bit of a detractor.
I did still enjoy it, and I remain cautiously hopeful about the conclusion, but this one didn't enthrall me as much as the first four books did.
May 3, 2023
A to Z Challenge: M
Okay, if book one is any indication, this will be my favorite of the Cadeleon duologies, because everything is kicked up a notch. I definitely recommend reading the Lord of the White Hell and Champion of the Scarlet Wolf books first; technically you could probably read this as a standalone, but you'd miss a lot.
We're back in Cadeleon this time, several years after the events of Champion of the Scarlet Wolf. Things have changed. Atreau, who was a prominent side character then, has changed quite a bit (and our perspective on certain events of that duology has changed, too), and we're finally really getting to know Fedeles. We've got not one but two romances simmering in the center of this one (and when I say simmering, I do mean it, this is very slow burn), and countless political maneuverings and creepy conspiracies. There's magic, intrigue, assassinations and several cats, and as always everything is thoroughly absorbing.
Okay, if book one is any indication, this will be my favorite of the Cadeleon duologies, because everything is kicked up a notch. I definitely recommend reading the Lord of the White Hell and Champion of the Scarlet Wolf books first; technically you could probably read this as a standalone, but you'd miss a lot.
We're back in Cadeleon this time, several years after the events of Champion of the Scarlet Wolf. Things have changed. Atreau, who was a prominent side character then, has changed quite a bit (and our perspective on certain events of that duology has changed, too), and we're finally really getting to know Fedeles. We've got not one but two romances simmering in the center of this one (and when I say simmering, I do mean it, this is very slow burn), and countless political maneuverings and creepy conspiracies. There's magic, intrigue, assassinations and several cats, and as always everything is thoroughly absorbing.
September 24, 2021
OHMYGODSOGOOD??? It's been ages since I read something so full of magic with vivid three dimensional characters. Next book is gonna be released on February 2022 sobsss how am I supposed to wait that looong? Thankfully this book doesn't end with cliffhanger. I hope the characters from previous books will appear in the next one, considering we brush upon mechanical cures (which needs Kiram as the expert mechanist), Black Fire and deadly magic (Javier and Skellan), and there is Grunito's descendant missing *oops*
January 14, 2020
La Hale è semplicemente troppo.. Mi servirebbe una vita per capire tutti i suoi intrighi, tutte le parentele, tutte le trame e tutte le divinità che mi caccia fuori :D
Popsugar reading challenge: A book with a map
Around the world in 52 books: A book featuring an LGBTQIA character or by an LGBTQIA author
Popsugar reading challenge: A book with a map
Around the world in 52 books: A book featuring an LGBTQIA character or by an LGBTQIA author
September 24, 2022
It seems with each new installment we get more characters and more world building as the plot expands. Even though these are three duologies with separate stories, everything is interconnected. Parts of this story reflect back to the first two books, for example. It’s crucial to read these in order.
This book also has side characters who are trans and lesbian and one of the main characters is bisexual.
It’s a long story of assassins and political intrigue, all possibly leading up to another war in the final book.
I do wish the main antagonist wasn’t so one-dimensional, but no one else is, and maybe we’ll learn more about him in the next book. This duology focuses on two different gay relationships and thus, has four points of view. I like all four of the characters. Some of the others, I’ve been wondering whose side they’re on, and it’s a great way to keep readers on the edge of our seats!
I plan to write one all encompassing review for the series when I’m finished, so this review is serving as notes to remind me my thoughts later on.
This book also has side characters who are trans and lesbian and one of the main characters is bisexual.
It’s a long story of assassins and political intrigue, all possibly leading up to another war in the final book.
I do wish the main antagonist wasn’t so one-dimensional, but no one else is, and maybe we’ll learn more about him in the next book. This duology focuses on two different gay relationships and thus, has four points of view. I like all four of the characters. Some of the others, I’ve been wondering whose side they’re on, and it’s a great way to keep readers on the edge of our seats!
I plan to write one all encompassing review for the series when I’m finished, so this review is serving as notes to remind me my thoughts later on.
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