Review: Reign of Shadows (Reign of Shadows #1)

Reign of Shadows, Book 1 in the Reign of Shadows Duology by Sophie Jordan

Published By: Harper Teen
Publication Date: February 9, 2016
Date Read: May 22, 2025
Genre: YA – Fantasy
Source: Loaned via Spotify
Format: Audiobook
Pages: 304

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Seventeen years ago, an eclipse cloaked the kingdom of Relhok in perpetual darkness. In the chaos, an evil chancellor murdered the king and queen and seized their throne. Luna, Relhok’s lost princess, has been hiding in a tower ever since. Luna’s survival depends on the world believing she is dead.

But that doesn’t stop Luna from wanting more. When she meets Fowler, a mysterious archer braving the woods outside her tower, Luna is drawn to him despite the risk. When the tower is attacked, Luna and Fowler escape together. But this world of darkness is more treacherous than Luna ever realized.

With every threat stacked against them, Luna and Fowler find solace in each other. But with secrets still unspoken between them, falling in love might be their most dangerous journey yet.

With lush writing and a star–crossed romance, Reign of Shadows is Sophie Jordan at her best.

“We can’t stop loving and caring about others just because it hurts when we lose them.”

I’ve been such a huge fan of Sophie Jordan for years, ever since I picked up Firelight by her, and I have been obsessed with her YA series ever since. I’m not sure why it took me so long to pick this one up, but here I am 9 years after the release of Reign of Shadows, absolutely obsessed once again. Reign of Shadows is one I didn’t really know a lot about before I started reading this one, I picked it up purely because it was Sophie Jordan, but oh my word did it grab me right from the start. I really enjoyed this one.

Reign of Shadows is a YA Epic Fantasy set in a totally new world. It had some major rapunzel vibes to me, with our female main character, Luna, being a lost princess living in a tower. However, that is where the similarities end. One thing I really loved about this one is that Luna is completely blind. I didn’t realise this when I first picked up this book, and honestly the representation of being completely blind in a very dangerous world, where zombie like creatures come up from the ground at certain times and attack just utterly grabbed me. I was so anxious and nervous as to whether Luna was going to survive her journey. I truly couldn’t put this book down.

Reign of Shadows is Sophie Jordan’s storytelling at its best. The writing is so addictive, that once you have adapted to being in this totally new world, you don’t want to leave. I was listening to this one on audiobook, and I listen on my commute to work. Every day I was praying that my day would speed up and go faster so I could get back to reading this book. I honestly couldn’t stop thinking about Luna and Fowler and what was going to happen with them. This book has twist after twist and I didn’t see so many of them coming. I remember being half way to work in the car and gasping out loud because of one of the twists. I usually guess twists quite easily in books, but this one I just didn’t. I couldn’t believe what had happened and couldn’t wait to see how everything was going to come together.

I really enjoyed every moment of Reign of Shadows. The ending has me driving down the road mouth agape, and I cannot wait to see what is going to happen in book 2. This is one of the strongest YA duology first books I’ve read in a while and I will definitely be diving into the second book very soon. If you’re a fan of high fantasy series, I definitely think you should pick this one up. You won’t be disappointed. It has a fast paced plot, high stakes, some great disability rep and a touch of romance. It was a fantastic set up to what I’m sure will be an exciting and explosive second book.

“The world was a merciless place. Hard and cruel. Except when you found someone to trust and love. Life, however fleeting, possessed meaning then.”