In the Shadowlands, strangers wear familiar faces, myths are reality, and lies hide behind the most beautiful stories.
Lachlan Murray disappeared without a trace. As his girlfriend, twenty-nine-year-old Carys Morgan refuses to accept the police’s explanation—that he simply left her. She travels to Scotland to seek help from Lachlan’s twin brother Duncan, and learns she was right—Lachlan didn’t leave her, he left her world to return to his own.
The Shadowlands are a mirror of the world Carys knows. Every human in her world also exists in this one with one key difference—magic.
Humans aren’t supposed to be able to wield the magic of the Shadowlands, but when Carys learns she can talk to dragons, she’s drawn deeper into a complicated world that would as soon kill her as keep her. And if magic and murder weren’t enough to overcome, she must navigate complicated feelings for two identical men from vastly different worlds.
USA Today Bestselling Author Elizabeth Hunter weaves an enchanting adventure, full of mythology and romance, in the first installment of a brand new romantic portal fantasy!
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arc disclosure
Thank you, Valentine PR and Elizabeth Hunter for giving me a chance to read this book!
intro
A romantasy with dragons? I’m there. Also, this is such a unique and intriguing concept that I was immediately drawn in.
main thoughts
I’ve been extremely blessed this year with some fantastic ARC reads and this is one of them. I loved the world building, the lore, the atmosphere, the concept, the creatures–just everything. I love that everyone in the “real world” has a twin who is their opposite in the “fairy tale world.” It was so interesting to see how two people could share the same face yet be so vastly different.
Also, the plot point of Carys wanting to find her boyfriend and find out the truth of what happened to him didn’t go the way I expected it to, but that somehow made it better. I don’t really know how to explain that other than it went differently than what I was anticipating and the author proved just how clever she is by writing it the way she did.
I really enjoyed the evolution of Carys. She seemed to go from being somewhat unsure of herself to being focused and confident and not letting fear get in her way of finding the truth. It was also fun to see her sassy side and get to know how multifaceted she really is. She’s not just looking for her MIA boyfriend; there’s more to her than that, and I very much enjoyed that.
And…Duncan 😍 I loooove Duncan. He’s so grumpy in the best way. You know I love those grumpy men! I also love Cadell and in a perfect scenario, I’d be pulling for a #whychoose relationship, but I really don’t think that’s the direction the author is going, lol. In any event, he makes a great sassy best friend. I think he even gives Tairn a run for his money in a few places 😂
bullet points
- I love the name Carys. It’s something I haven’t really heard anywhere else.
- The atmosphere of this book was incredible. It was so beautifully written that I felt like I was actually there.
- There was a bartender who was barely featured in the book who I would love to know more about. I have no idea if we’re going to learn more about him in the next book, but I was thoroughly intrigued, lol.
- Cadell is the king of sass and I love it.
- I am big time Team Duncan. I’m hoping that’s the direction book 2 goes, but to be fair, I’m going to read it, regardless, because I have to know what happens next.
- That cliffhanger though. Wow. I was not expecting that ending. I can’t wait for the story to pick up where it left off! I want to know everything 😂
final thoughts
If you’re a fan of fantasy romance, you need to read this book. This is a wonderful story filled with fascinating lore and an atmospheric story that sucks you in almost immediately. Not to mention the butterfly-inducing romance sprinkled throughout 😍
As always, if you do end up reading this gem of a book, please come back here and let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
looking for holiday-themed reads?
Check out my list of fall/winter holiday-themed reads on Amazon here: Holiday romance
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