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A captivating, magical sequel to "Shadows' Apprentice" that beautifully expands on the protagonist's journey of discovering his abilities.

Synopsis

Welcome to the second book of the Shadows' Apprentice.

The Night Emperor is here and is the least of Nick’s problems. However, Nick looks on the bright side of his problems. His goal of becoming the Empire’s new leader is looking good. For once in his life, Nick feels like he’s going in the right direction.

Until something he kept in the dark comes to light, jeopardizing everything.

Now he has one week to save his uncle, school finals, and less than a month before the Spring Festival arrives. If he fails to save his uncle, his uncle dies. If he fails to do well in the Spring Festival, he dies. Nick barely survived the rebellion; now, he doesn’t know if he’ll survive the month.

Blood don’t kill blood, but blood will be spilt anyway.

The Soul of Shadows is the spellbinding sequel to K.L. Alexander's debut novel, The Shadows' Apprentice, which was a breathtaking, epic young adult fantasy novel that transported me into the character's world. In the first novel, we learned about the five-year rebellion between the Kingdom of Availa and the Night Emperor, ruler of the Land of Andromendor. The Night Emperor defeated the rebel leader Markus in combat, leaving the people of Availa distraught and in chaos. Buildings were destroyed, children were sick and hungry, and people ran for their lives. The Emperor took over The Kingdom of Availa and its people. He created a dystopian society, creating different factions involving children born with a seed of shadow magic.


The reader will continue to explore the story through the story's protagonist Nick, a teenager who continues to be brave despite the loss, heartache, and challenges he has faced. Nick continues to thrive with the support of his friends. The secondary characters genuinely add to the story's plot and serve a purpose in the story. As we saw in the first book, Nick, his cousins Braawen and Lorcan, and friends Rohana, Kaius, and Takara have been taken to Equinox House. This school focuses on providing the necessary training to develop their physical abilities and bring out their unique abilities. A teacher named Volodimir has worked closely with Nick for almost a year, helping him learn shadow magic. Nick and his teacher have been meeting after dark in secret. He has taught Nick to listen to the shadows, shadow jump, and hone his magical abilities. Everything Nick has learned about his teacher changes when he learns the truth. Volodimir, his teacher, is the Emperor, the man who took over his kingdom and killed his father—the person who turned his world upside down.


Nick questions the Emperor's reasons for training him. Although the Emperor keeps telling Nick that he saw his gift and proved his potential, Volodimir has an agenda. The Night Emperor wishes to eliminate all of the rebellion's leaders, including Nick's Uncle Tybalt. The Night Emperor claims if the rebellion's leaders surrendered as he requested, they could have held important positions under the Emperor—the possibility of rebel leaders leading the kingdom. If the Kingdom of Availa had obeyed the Emperor's request, Nick's father would be alive, and the war could have been prevented. Nick and his friends believe Tybalt could be the answer to restoring the kingdom, but they need to find him before his cousin, the shadow assassins, and the Night Emperor does. With final exams and the spring festival fast approaching, Nick and his friends devise a plan to rescue his uncle. Will Nick and his friends be able to save Tybalt and return home?


The story's setting is dynamic with the author's creative ideas and the beautiful sensory details, literary elements, and description of the characters, The Kingdom of Availa, Equinox House, and the mastery of crafting a magical world within a controlled government that mirrors a historical time period of kings and queens. Alexander's writing style is very descriptive, which I absolutely love because the author includes many details about the setting and characters, so the reader can get a clear and complete idea of what is happening in the character's world and create imagery in the story. The concept of shadow magic still amazes me and provokes mystery into the story's plot. It keeps the reader invested in the story and wants to know more about the character's abilities and how they will use their abilities to protect themselves and save their home.


I love that the sequel provided more background information on the Kingdom of Availa and Nick's parents. I felt like the added context gave me a better understanding of the protagonist and his journey. It also contributed to the endgame of The Night Emperor and explained why the war happened in book one. I also enjoyed seeing the characters grow. Each character seemed more mature and goal-oriented, growing into the person the author hoped they would become by learning their special gifts and who they are.


Soul of Shadows is a captivating coming-of-age story that keeps your interest with the twist of shadow magic and mystery. It truly makes you not want to put the book down with the battle between kingdoms and the protagonist discovering the truth about the Night Emperor. Can Nick and his friends save his uncle? Can his uncle be the answer to saving the Kingdom of Availa and stopping the Night Emperor's plans? If you are a fan of Cassandra Clare, Veronica Roth, and Kim Richardson, you will love reading K.L. Alexander's sequel to her debut young adult fantasy novel, The Shadows' Apprentice.







Reviewed by

Destiny Constantin has been passionate about teaching and writing since she was a little girl. She holds a Master's Degree in English and Creative Writing and loves sharing her knowledge and background with her students and other writers to help them build their writing skills.

Synopsis

Welcome to the second book of the Shadows' Apprentice.

The Night Emperor is here and is the least of Nick’s problems. However, Nick looks on the bright side of his problems. His goal of becoming the Empire’s new leader is looking good. For once in his life, Nick feels like he’s going in the right direction.

Until something he kept in the dark comes to light, jeopardizing everything.

Now he has one week to save his uncle, school finals, and less than a month before the Spring Festival arrives. If he fails to save his uncle, his uncle dies. If he fails to do well in the Spring Festival, he dies. Nick barely survived the rebellion; now, he doesn’t know if he’ll survive the month.

Blood don’t kill blood, but blood will be spilt anyway.

CONQUEROR


‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,’

Psalm 23:4 KJV


           A great shadow falls over the school, a shadow of fear and awe. Most students are still trying to process the night’s events. Arran’s pathetic defeat shows the school the difference between a Purple Shadow Wielder and a Black Shadow Wielder. Purples are the Elite, but Black is Legendary.

Arran’s absence is felt even harder in the Purple Circle. While all the Purple students are talking about the mighty power of the Emperor, Emelie tells everyone that she needs time to process. Thankfully, everyone understands she’s not from the empire and needs time to understand their ruler’s greatness. Emelie just smiles and walks, barely able to contain the excitement in her steps. She glances at Braawen’s door, but it’s already closed as she heads to her room. She sits on her bed and sighs. In the silence, a giggle escaped her lips. She laughs at how the Night Emperor, the man who had killed her family, is here. She will have to thank him; the fewer people who know about her past – the better. 

She composes herself and walks over to her vanity. Emelie sits down on the plush cushion, smiling at her reflection, and tells herself, “This can still work. I can still get on the Emperor’s good side. Maybe I’ll even mention my dear Aunt Estelle.” Her smile drops when she remembers pale lilac eyes and blood pouring on the floor. She pushes herself away from the vanity, knocking down a hairpin. The hairpin makes a quiet clink as it hits the floor, yet it sounds like a cannon that snaps her from her memory. She shakes her head and then quickly picks up the tiny silver accessory. Her pale blue eyes are unfocused as she remembers her aunt’s hairpin. It had a dragon on it, littered with black stones. And it was sharp. 

          “It was an accident,” she mumbles to herself. Emelie sits down on her bed and sighs. “Get it together!” she snaps at her reflection in the mirror. “What happened to Estelle was your father’s fault. Not yours.” 

She can remember her father screaming at the body littered on the floor. 

           Emelie smiles as she puts the silver pin in her hair. “I am the only royal blood of Availa. It’s my destiny to be an empress. I’m one of a kind.” She smiles.

______

 

          Braawen lies in his bed, remembering the fight. He can’t help but grin mischievously at the memory of the sheer strength of the Night Emperor. The Emperor was toying with Arran. He smiles, replaying the event in his mind; this time, he is the Emperor, and Nick is the professor. Then he replaces Nick with Kaius, then with some of the other people in Purple who needed a good smack. He smiles as he sees his enemies on their knees one by one. All of them are begging for forgiveness. 

Then he sees the last person he wants to be on their knees the most: Markus Archer. He sees the man like the day he saw him when they arrived in Andromendor. Braawen doesn’t even let Markus beg or apologize. He just cuts off the man’s head. 

          Braawen sighs and looks at the window, seeing the radiant stars tonight. The Night Emperor is here. The Emperor already knows his skills. Now all he has left to do is deal with Uncle Tybalt. The Emperor will surely embrace him if he succeeds, perhaps even as a son. As much as Braawen loves his uncle, there is one thing he remembers from the battlefield. It’s them or him.

          “I will always choose me.”

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About the author

Hello Everyone! I have loved reading and writing for as long as I can remember. I love to read YA fantasy, historical novels, and Epic fantasies. However, I'm willing to broaden my usual genres to read amazing stories. view profile

Published on June 12, 2023

Published by

150000 words

Contains mild explicit content ⚠️

Genre:Fantasy

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