Shadowborn (Light And Shadow Trilogy #1) by Moira Katson

4 Paws

Fantasy Has Been Reborn!

First off I would like to thank Moira Katson for sending me a copy of this wonderful book to read and review – I hope I don’t disappoint her or any of you guys reading this!

It has been only two generations since Arthur Warden seized the throne of Heddred from the Conradines, and now the crown rests on the head of Garad, sickly and weak. Shadows gather: legacies of the centuries-long rivalries for power, old betrayals, the endless plots of the courtiers, and the murmur of rebellion in the southern provinces…

Catwin, plucked from her life at the edge of the Kingdom, is thrust abruptly into the world of the Court when she is chosen by the Duke of Voltur to be a Shadow-spy, shield, and blade-to his niece, the Lady Miriel DeVere. The Duke’s ruthlessness is legendary, and he will stop at nothing to become the power behind the throne, using Miriel as a pawn to catch Garad’s heart.

But the Duke’s carefully-laid plans are only a piece of the intrigue of the court, and greater forces than Catwin can imagine are massed against her, determined to eliminate Miriel and impose a new order of their own. If Catwin and Miriel are to survive, they must learn quickly who to trust, and when to turn their skills against the very people who have trained them…

So the book is a mediaeval fantasy fiction, thrusting you into the world of shadows, betrayals, evil plots and ruthless tyrants, with a splash of female tenacity and kick ass attitude! In this book you will understand fear, feel pain and know what it is like to truly hate a character. *Nods*

I was well impressed by how this book was written, I have to admit I’m not one for medieval style fantasy books, but this one really was truly inspiring. It had a really well designed pace, though I very occasionally I just wanted the story to stop lingering on something and get on with it – but that’s just me! I did, however, find it hard to keep glued to the book – I was more, read a few pages and then I would have to put it down, as if my brain needed a breather or something. *Shrugs* I don’t know what it was!? But what truly, massively, amazingly impressed me was how attached I got to certain characters – mainly Catwin – my God, I actually teared up a times *grabs tissue and blows nose* and that is definitely not like me, so obviously I was well impressed at that.

Anyway, lets move on to the characters in a bit more detail – maybe then you will understand how well written they truly were.  Right I’m gonna start with ‘The Duke’ – annoyingly no name but I’ll ignore that – he’s stern, powerful, with an anger you wouldn’t want to mess with but surprising fair. Shocker!! Though I don’t like how he uses people as tools and once they are of no further use, he throws them away – that really got my goat!

‘The Lady’ – no name again *grinds teeth* – now if bitch had a picture in the dictionary, her face would definitely be it. At first I thought ‘oh she seems nice, I wouldn’t mind getting to know her a little better.’ Then the story unravels further and I found myself wanting to beat the crap out of her for hurting poor Catwin and for what reason … none! *rages* Now I’ve disliked characters in novels before but she’s on my ‘I Hate This Person And I Want To Smash Their Face In’ list.

Okay, rage rant over *takes deep breaths* time to move on to characters I do like, namely Catwin. She is the teller of this little tale, which isn’t so little and everything told is from her perspective – nice change. She is abandoned by her parents because of some prophecy – not telling, don’t want to spoil it – and raised by the Sorceress Roine (Nice but a little soft at times and has a foul mouth – so I like her.) She lives a fairly nice life, running errands now and then, wearing what she wants and basically being invisible to anyone – until one day, things go sour and she’s made to be a helper of sorts to the Lady’s daughter Miriel and is trained to be her ‘Shadow’. Lashings, pain, anguish, belittling, punishments … it goes on and I’ll tell you, I felt so connected with her because of all the trials and hardships she goes through.

I suppose I should say more about the other characters but I wouldn’t want to spoil it for everyone. It’s the type of book you won’t want loads of spoilers, you want to have some hints and read it for yourself. It’s a really amazing book and I bet you are all wondering why I only gave it 4 paws … it’s the whole, not having a name but just a title – It drives me crazy. I want to know the persons name, even if they are a Duke or whatever. If they are key people in the story I need a name!!!

If you wanna get your hands on such an awesome book, please check the links below and enjoy!

Shadowborn – Amazon UK (Free ebook)
Shadowborn – Amazon US (Free ebook)
Shadowborn – Smashwords (Free ebook)