Realm of Shadows by Rektok Ross – Romantasy Book Review
A fun, modern twist on an ancient story.
Realm of Shadows by Rektok Ross is available to buy now, click below!
Alysander is a college student who just wants to transfer into her top choice of school, but she’s fallen at every hurdle to that so far – the latest issue being her sister getting the part she wanted, and that might have earned her that transfer, in the play Hercules. And it’s also her sister who fits in so perfectly in their town, and who is in an on-and-off relationship with her best friend Hayden. But there’s more trouble brewing under the surface, with the girls’ dad who disappeared when they were young, and the secrets their mother keeps about who he really was and where he’s gone – with hints about ancient mythical pasts and gods.
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The writing style and modern setting gave me Zodiac Academy vibes, but the world-building is much more on the Hades x Persephone Saga by Scarlett St. Clair, which is the original Greek mythology that the story is based on.
If you know me, you’ll know that I can’t resist a Persephone story! Her mystery cult was the subject of my dissertation, and Ancient Greece is kind of my specialist subject. I love seeing the different twists that people put on that tale to bring it into the modern world – every one of them is a little bit different.
The relationship between Alysander and her best friend, who just happens to be a boy she is obsessed with (and who seems to like her back?!) is brilliant. As they start to unravel the secrets between them, secrets that are much bigger than the way they feel about one another (and her sister), the world it’s set in broadens beautifully. I can’t wait to see more of that!
Read more:
- Wicked Onyx by Debbie Cassidy – Romantasy Book Review
- The Sun and the Starmaker by Rachel Griffin – YA Romantasy Book Review
- The Faithful Dark by Cate Baumer – Gothic Fantasy Book Review
The only thing I struggled with in this story was the relationship between the sisters – I can see that the development of this is clearly a key part of the story, but when they’re acting like mortal enemies, it’s just so strange to me as someone who has as a close relationship with my sister, so I struggle to see it as “real” – but that’s a personal problem, not an issue with the book! I’m really excited to see how that changes going into the next book in the series as there was a huge jump in what was going on towards the end.
The writing was very much YA and felt very true to that genre – it was well done as the way the characters acted and spoke to one another felt very age appropriate. It might bother some, but I enjoy YA! The spice level was low on this one as the romance is only developing, but I wonder if we’ll see more in future books.
Realm of Shadows is the first book of the Heir of Hades series.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for an ARC of this book.
