A review by katvou
Born of Blood and Shadows by Jamye Smith

3.0

“I should be scared, but there is beauty in the chaos.”
“Enemies do make the best lovers.”

Fast-paced fantasy romance with interesting magic system.

The FMC, Ameris, was fierce character with interesting and tragic backstory. I liked how she grew throughout the story, but I wasn’t a huge fan of her tendency to blame everyone else for certain things that happened to her.

The MMC, Xander stayed a bit of a mystery to me and I would have liked to learn more about him as a character and his past.

I have mixed feelings about the dynamic between the FMC and MMC. There were aspects that I liked, for example some good banter between them, but also some things I didn’t personally enjoy, like how badly Xander treated Ameris at times or how dismissive he was towards her. Also the bond between them would’ve needed more explanation, and I would have liked to see more relationship development.

The villain, Oberon was honestly a bit meh for me, and I didn’t enjoy the potential love triangle.

I would have liked to learn more about the side characters, their history etc. There were multiple characters that seemed interesting.

The plot itself was engaging and there was a lot happening. Unfortunately some parts, especially towards the end, felt a bit rushed. 
And at times I personally would have needed a bit more explanation of what was going on. The magic system seemed interesting, and again, I would have liked to learn a bit more about it.

I would have also liked to learn more about the worlds, the Fae, and their history. Rhiannon seemed like a really important character but there wasn’t much information about her, and opinions of her seemed mixed.

Overall I think this story has potential. If you’re just looking for something fast and easy to read, you might really enjoy this one.



I received an ARC of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review. Receiving ARC didn’t affect my opinion of the book.