Book Review | Shadowless

Hello, dear readers, and welcome back to my blog! Today I’ve got another fantasy book review that I know you’ll love!

Shadowless is Alison Robinson’s debut Christian fantasy novel about a girl and her ghost-like Shadow. In a world where souls are bound to magical creatures called Shadows, Rowena is cursed with a Shadow that, well, doesn’t look like anything in particular. But even worse, her Shadow can’t perform magic– a death sentence in her kingdom. She partners with a snooty Scholastic named Penalynn to uncover the truth about the souls that humans share with their Shadows, but what they learn could shatter everything.

I met the author of Shadowless at a local writing workshop, and she is such an amazing person (and writer!) From the first page, this book grabbed me and wouldn’t let me go– but it wasn’t like I wanted to leave! With an eloquent and gripping writing style, incredibly realistic characters, beautiful and intriguing worldbuilding, and a fantastic page-turning plot, Shadowless is a fitting portrayal of the perfect YA fantasy novel. (And it’s a series, so you know that I’m quivering with excitement for the next book to release!) Shadowless would be a great read for anyone who loves unique fantasy stories that include magical animal sidekicks, well-written character interactions, immersive worldbuilding, and shocking discoveries.

I love this book for many, many reasons, but one is that Alison’s characters truly shine. She has a background in theater and counseling, and that shows through her characters. When we get a glimpse into their deepest thoughts, we feel as if we know them on a personal level. Everything they do and think resonates with our own fears and desires. I rarely see characters written so wonderfully and deeply, and it only added to the beautiful complexity of Alison’s work.

To make sure readers aren’t surprised by anything they might find in books I review, I like to give a section where I explain any content warnings in the books. As a reminder, some people can handle things in stories that other people cannot. I consider myself a sensitive reader, so keep that in mind as you read the CWs. Just know that within the context of the story, a lot of these content warnings are presented in a much milder and more eloquently written way compared to how they sound through my somewhat blunt descriptions of them.

WARNING: The Content Warnings section may contain spoilers for the book as well as thorough but non-explicit discussion of things that some younger readers may not be comfortable reading. I will never go into gross detail about anything that may make readers uncomfortable.

Before we jump in, I just want to remind readers that this book is considered a Young Adult novel, so it is better suited to older readers ages 14+ due to content and reading level. I’ll further discuss the content below:

• Magic: Each person has what is called a Shadow, a magical being in the shape of an animal that can perform magic. There are four branches of magic that a Shadow can operate within, and Shadows can also communicate telepathically with the human they are bound to. The magic ranges from controlling the light of the moon to destroying castles to influencing thoughts.

• Gore: A minor character whom the main character and her friends visit a few times is portrayed as a madman of sorts, and later in the book they find him dead. Simply put, due to magic he was rapidly aging, so when they found his corpse it had rapidly aged too, and it was described in a slightly gory way. Throughout the book there are also some mild descriptions of blood, mostly in a medical sense (using needles and describing mild injuries).

• Intensity: There are a few scenes at the end of the book that might make some readers uncomfortable. A character’s Shadow is killed by an enemy, thus killing half of his soul. He is unconscious until wakened by his son, but when he awakes he is in a state of wild frenzy due to half his soul being gone, and he starts screaming and writhing madly. He accidentally falls off the castle balcony into a river, and is rescued by another character, but they learn that the fall killed him. A scene similar to this happens where another character, in a moment of intense grief, kills his Shadow. The main character fears that if he is wakened he will also go mad because half his soul is gone. She keeps him sedated with potions so that he won’t awake. (This scene is at the end of the book and acts as a cliffhanger, so based on this and a few other events I believe the plot of the next book will involve finding a way to save him if possible.)

• Romance: There is one scene near the end of the book that involves romantic tension and a kiss between the main character and another character, but it is very mild.

All in all, Shadowless is an incredible book that I no doubt will read again and again! So many amazing elements such as the worldbuilding, plot, and characters were combined to create a complex, engaging story that I would recommend to any fantasy reader! And writers, this book does so many things so very well, and would be a great book to learn from. I know I have!

That’s all for now! I hope you enjoyed reading this review, and I hope you’ll go check out Shadowless! Don’t forget to leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads (or if you’re an overachiever, both!) if you decide to purchase it or check it out from the library. Leaving reviews is one of the best ways to support authors, especially debut authors like Alison!

You can purchase Alison’s book on Amazon or direct-from-author on her website, where you can learn more about her and her writing.

Is there a book you’ve read recently that has inspired you or taught you something? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!

See you among the shelves,

Emma G. McKee

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