I loved this book. I thought that the world building was done well without being complicated. I really liked Wren and found her to be enduring even with her sheltered upbringing. I also really liked Fin. I loved the magic system and thought it was a really cool spin on the light magic verses dark magic trope. I thought it was really cool that I thought I had figured out the big secret and then thought I got it wrong only to be pleasantly surprised that I had guessed mostly right! I'm really excited for book two and to see what happens to Wren and Elodie.

Actual perfection, there are no words. This sort of reminded my of Throne of glass and I couldn't stop reading. The passion was unmatched and I was gripping my kindle by the end.

This is fantasy romance and it's the first in a series.

Our female main character's spent her entire life hidden away in the woods with her mother and forbidden to touch her shadow magic. But when a night saves her life, she ends up having to repay the favour and the only way to do that is to use her forbidden magic.

Doing so means she's now being hunted, can she escape with the knight, possibly find her mother and maybe even discover who she really is.

I really enjoyed this, it has just the right mix of romance and fantasy plot. And great banter between the main characters!

We have warring Kingdoms, missing royals and a bit of a question mark over if the good guys really are good. Plus a magic system that I really liked.

And I do enjoy a female main character who doesn't want to get involved, doesn't want thrust into this life, she mostly just wants to find her mother and go away somewhere. Although there is that pesky attraction between her and the male main character, which roles and responsibilities get in the way of.

4.25 stars, I'll definitely be continuing this series

This is a new to me author but the description of the book really drew me in. I wasn’t sure what I was in for but I was not disappointed at all!

The Lost Queen series begins with A touch of shadows, the first book in Jessica Thorne's series. If you are looking for a good introduction to the Romantasy genre, I recommend this book. With uncomplicated magic system and minimal world building, the first installment is an easy read for new readers. I was captivated by the author's fast-paced plot with action, mystery, and a dash of spice. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment.

I will start by saying that I enjoyed this book. It was not without its issues, but overall I had a good time reading it and will definitely be picking up the next ones in the series.

The meh elements of this were, for me, a bit of a rollercoaster. I liked the beginning of the book. I felt a pull to the characters and was interested to learn more about what was going on and who these people were. Then we got to the middle. I didn’t feel like much developed in the romance. It was installed and then didn’t really go anywhere new. The characters stayed mostly the same and there was not a lot of world building. Once we got out of this and the story started to move again, I felt connected to the characters again and I wanted to know more. We also start to unravel some of the secrets and the stakes get higher.

I feel like this was a good setup for the rest of the series, but it almost could have been shortened and just made part of the next book. I needed this background, but the middle was slow. Now that I know where we are going, I am much more interested in continuing on though.

Took a while for me to finish but I did end up ultimately enjoying this book Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book

I loved this book. I was so good. the twist and turns kept me on the edge of my seat. I look forward to reading more from this author

i wish i never read this. thats honestly all i have to say. im scarred. cursed. who let me read this? i need a five month break just because of this :/

The world building and characters in this book were great. I enjoyed most of the story but was unsure of the ending. I would be interested to see how to story continues in the next book though. I would recommend this book,

This book really surprised me in the best way. The writing was smooth and engaging, keeping my attention almost the entire time, and the author's storytelling pulled me in from the start.

I especially loved Wren's story. Her development throughout the book kept me invested, and I genuinely cared about what would happen next.

While there were a few moments where my interest dipped slightly, it didn't take away from how much I enjoyed the overall experience. The world-building was solid, and the pacing worked well for most of the story.

If you're into short, well-written fantasy with a compelling lead, A Touch of Shadows is definitely worth checking out!

I really enjoyed this book and i can't wait to see where the author goes in the future with their writing.

This book was very repetitive and felt like I have read it before. Everything in the story up to what I read felt very told instead of a read experience. This was a very bland writing style and I had a hard time picturing the scenes,characters.

The romance was told instead of felt, almost wrote as if checking a box.

Thank you to Netgalley and Second Sky for this ARC copy for my honest review.

Jessica Thorne's novels are always a hit/miss for me. I enjoyed this one and think there's potential.
I'm surely it will be appreciated by romantasy fans, I found it entertaining and appreciated the world building.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

One thing I love is a good fantasy I love a book that can make me forget what's going on in the world and go into an imaginative world where the impossible happens and you meet characters and creatures you would never meet for real and this book had ot all

This was a surprisingly quick read. Felt it could have had more depth to it but still looking forward to a book 2 and hope there will be just more in it.

This was a super easy fantasy read, I'd say it's really great for people who are just starting to dip their toes into the genre. The world-building and magic system were not super complicated and honestly, felt a little underdeveloped but this is also just the first book in a trilogy so there's definitely lots of potential. This was a short novel and very fast paced which meant the romance was a little quick and insta-lovey, which I don't mind in a book but I know it's not everyone's cup of tea! I think there's still a lot of room to flesh out the characters but I did enjoy Wren and Finn and am excited to see what's next for them!

A Touch of Shadows is the first book in a new fantasy romance series, which follows a witch with forbidden shadow magic and a knight sworn to catch those who use it. Wren risks exposing her secret to save Finn, and the two then find themselves on the run from enemy soldiers closing in on Asteroth and looking to capture both.

I enjoyed the opposition between the light and dark magic, and I enjoyed how the back story played into it all - a good start to a new romantasy series, and one I'll be sure to continue.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
This book has all the amazing tropes we love about a romantasy! We fell in love with Wren instantly and following her story! This book is fast paced and incredibly written to the point you won’t want to put the book down! The enemies to lovers….. no spoilers but this trope is our favorite and boy did @jessthornebooks know it;) Thank you @secondskybooks and Jessica for sharing this amazing story AND for not making us wait for the second book BECAUSE a Kiss of Flame is out on the SAME DAY🥹🥹

A quick entertaining read. A good romantasy that I read in one sitting. I like more world building but still enjoyed the story.