Shadow Knights by Jennifer Anne Davis Pages: 302
Published by Reign Publishing on December 10, 2019
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy & Magic, Romance
Source: eARC from Author
As a member of the Knights of the Realm, Reid swore an oath to protect her king only to discover he harbors a traitorous agenda.
Being a woman raised in a man’s world, Reid thought becoming a Knight would give her purpose and strength. So far, it has done nothing but give her trouble. The king ordered her to spy on the Axian royal family while she prepares for her marriage—a marriage neither she nor Price Dexter wants. Once in Axian, Reid realizes she’s being used as a pawn in a decades-old political match. With the king and Knights seemingly at odds, Reid’s allegiances are torn, especially when she finds friendship in the unlikeliest of places.
As the kingdom of Marsden teeters on the brink of civil war, Reid must decide whose side she’s on—even if that means betraying her king in order to save the kingdom.
Note: This is book 2 in a series that must be read in order. If you are new to the series, you can check out my review of book one, Realm of Knights HERE
Shadow Knights is a young adult fantasy book and is the second book of the Knights of the Realm series by author Jennifer Anne Davis. By now, you all know how much I love Jennifer Anne Davis. Her Reign of Secrets series is one of my favorite fantasy series, and then book one in this series, Realm of Knights blew everything out of the water. It had all the makings of a new favorite series for me! And that was pretty much cemented when I devoured Shadow Knights. I love this series so much! Book 3, Hidden Knights comes out TOMORROW, and I cannot contain my excitement! I need the book on my kind right now. If you are new to the series, this is the perfect time to binge read them!
I am not going to get spoilery in this review, but at the end of book one, our main character Reid, finds herself in an interesting position. Her whole life she has pretended to be her father’s eldest son, not daughter, so that her father’s land had a male heir to pass to. Through a series of events, she finds herself in a secret organization, and ends up in a neighboring Kingdom, which turns out to be completely different than everyone in her kingdom was led to believe. I loved how surprising the kingdom of Axian and the Kingdom of Marsden were. I will admit that I think they both played off some extremes to prove a plot point, but I think it worked really well in the larger story, and I am dying to read the next book to see how it will all turn out. And being the master fantasy writer that Jennifer is, her plot becomes even more nuanced and twisty. And the surprises and political intrigue are top notch as expected, but I love all of the layers that found within the story. Every character has a secret of two up their sleeve, and they are all so fantastic!
And the romance is slow burn banter at it’s best. Oh, how I am enjoying it all! It is swoon worthy, and so well built. I loved watching it simmer along for the whole book, and I am basically ready to combust with excitement at the next novel. I need it right now. If you are a fan of fantastic politics, wonderful characters, a kick ass plot and a wonderful slow burn romance, you simply must read the Knights of the Realm Series. It has it all, and throughout everything it has Jennifer Anne davis’ signature fantatsic writing style. I have more of the plot laid out in my review of book one, but this sequel does a great job expanding on the plot and taking it in new directions. This was a perfect sequel. I think I may like it more than the first book, which is really saying something because that was already a favorite of mine!
Fantasy is my favorite genre by far, and Jennifer Anne Davis has written one of my favorite fantasy series of all time. I love that Jennifer Anne Davis keeps me on my toes so much. In a way that few authors can, she has me flipping pages not only because the story is addictively good, but because I have no idea where it will go next. And that is so darn refreshing, I can’t even tell you how much I love her novels. She is in a class of her own when it comes to writing great fantasy. If you have never read a book by Jennifer Anne Davis, you are really missing out. Pick any of her series and start reading! I think Realm of Knights is a great book for new readers to fall in love with. You will become just as hooked as I am. Read this series now! You can thank me later. 🙂
sherry fundin
after reading your review, i had to check my kindle. i have two of her books, but neither are from this series. this does sound fabulous.
sherry @ fundinmental