An epic fantasy with a coming of age story, a unique band of heroes, a magic assassin, and mythical creatures. I thought this was a super engaging new fantasy and the narrator did a fantastic job adapting to the different characters, I could definitely picture them in my mind with these voices.

The only thing that could be improved was a bit improved character development and some better transitioning between scenes. I really did enjoy the last chapter coming full circle. In my opinion I don’t really think it needs another, it could definitely be a standalone fantasy.

Thank you NetGalley for an aARC in exchange for an honest review.

Great narrator, good storyline. Hooked from the first chapter. Thanks for letting me review. Would continue the series

Thanks to Netgalley, RS Moule, and Bookouture Audio for sending me an eARC of this book.

I thoroughly enjoy DnD-inspired, action/adventure stories pretty much above all else. I loved the concept of The Assassin's Shadow recounting the journey of a famous assassin told from the perspective of a "sidekick" a la Dandelion for Geralt. What this book excels in is the fun aspects of worldbuilding, monsters, missions, and action. You want to see a main character who does great things do those things well and we get that from Locan A'Shadow. The character narrating it all, Cetric, is also interesting in his own right. I appreciated his narration as a separation from Locan A'Shadow's mind and his perspective worked despite not being a standout feature. Characterization was pretty prevalent, while character work wasn't.

The main problem that I had while reading this book was how fleshed out and realized the series of events were. I got a sense that certain beats were wanting to take place but the cohesivity of it all didn't work for me since there wasn't enough to make the overall plot make sense. If each mission was its own thing, I think I could accept it. But instead it just moves from place to place, thing to thing, without a whole lot of narrative clarity and tension because I don't feel like I heard any exposition that made sense of it all. And if there was, the names and places didn't bare enough distinguishing to really differentiate between them.

All this to say the elements used were great, the ideas were solid and interesting, the RPG aspects were exactly what I wanted and expected, it was just the characters, story, and plot that wrapped it all together didn't really work. The descriptive writing itself was effective at setting a scene, and providing atmosphere, it just lacked a bit for me in the character work, dialogue, and plot execution.

The Assassin’s Shadow is a high fantasy novel filled with adventure, deception, intrigue. There were plenty of plot twists, lots of action and noble heroes. I found myself to be pleasantly surprised by the book.

I received an ALC of this book, and I'm always grateful to discover new authors. The story is a good one, but the narrator felt flat. I can't pinpoint whether it's the accent, tone, or pace. But it felt slightly off for most of the book. Some words had stronger inflections than others and I found myself having to go back and listen again, because I became distracted while thinking about the way something was said. It's possible it may come across better if read on page versus listening.

However, having said that, it was a good fantasy novel and had twists and turns throughout. It's something my teenagers would enjoy, as well. I would recommend to anyone that enjoys this genre.

I looked forward to reading The Assassin's Shadow given my experience with the author's Erland Saga series. Unfortunately, it did not go as expected. The story and the characters didn't resonate with me. I stuck it out hoping it would get better, but it never did for me. The narrator made the journey more bearable. His interpretation of the characters provided a picture of their appearance. His accents for each of the characters were distinct, so one could always know which character's POV one was hearing at any given time.

I

The Assassin’s Shadow is an action-packed fantasy adventure that delivers compelling world-building and thrilling battles but struggles to fully engage on an emotional level.

While the fast-paced action and intriguing setting kept me engaged, the characters fell somewhat flat. I struggled to connect with them, which made it difficult to stay invested in their journey. The pacing was uneven, and it wasn’t clear where the story was headed until nearly halfway through. Though a twist later in the book added some excitement, the overall plot remained predictable.

I listened to the audiobook and felt the narrator delivered a solid performance. However, the inconsistent accents used for some characters were distracting. Certain voices felt out of place or changed throughout the book, occasionally pulling me out of the story. Overall, it was well done.

Ultimately, while The Assassin’s Shadow had its moments, it didn’t fully land for me. The emotional disconnect, uneven pacing, and lack of compelling character arcs made it difficult to immerse myself in the journey. However, fans of action-heavy fantasy with a classic quest structure might still enjoy the ride.

I really wanted to like this book but sadly I couldn’t finish it. The writing itself is superb and has great world building. I just couldn’t connect with Cedric the main character, which makes reading a book harder for me. I do want to read other books by the author because I do think he is a very talented writer. This particular book just wasn’t for me.

This book was a wonderful start to an epic fantasy adventure. We follow the main protagonist a young man (whom comes from a well off family) as he journeys throughout this fantasy world in search of tools in order to defeat the enemy that has invaded his homeland. As we progress throughout the story the main character encounters more people who will either become his friends and help him in his quest or hinder him. The story had a great plot and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I listened to the audiobook so it was quite an enjoyable experience hearing the different narrator’s narrating the story, the voices used definitely fit the characters portrayed, the story had great pacing but was sometimes slow in certain parts I.e when the protagonist was travelling with some of his companions. Personally, I found it quite difficult to connect with the main protagonist and as a character driven reader this slightly pushed back my ability to fully enjoy the story. I found the main protagonist to be quite cowardly, vain, entitled and overall a character that is hard to like. Perhaps, if he reached a moment of epiphany and realised how far removed his mindset and mannerisms were from his fellow companions I may have taken a liking to him.

Book review: 3.75/5 ⭐️
Genre: high fantasy
📖 Read if you like: LOTR, Wheel of Time, The Witcher

This has all the makings of an epic high fantasy: a motley crew on a quest, tyranny, warring nations, elements of the supernatural and good versus evil theme. There are elements of this novel that will remind you of the classics like LOTR, The Witcher or Wheel of Time, though those are not bad comparisons. Yet, there is enough to differentiate this story to make it something new, primarily through the characters. Each was a little quirky and reluctant. There was also an interesting collection of creatures from vampires to elves, bog creatures to giants.

The hero of this story is the once legendary assassin Locan A’Shadow. Not your typical man, his is a myth of whispered tales that are outlandish and partly true. While possessing an unheard of skill with blades and shadows, he is a very flawed man. A drunk with a potty mouth, the horrors of his past colour his personality. Yet he cannot ignore the plight of the helpless, nor his deadly enemy Solis Deadhand - a vampire he once attempted to kill who is now back for vengeance.

This legendary story of the anti-hero Locan A’Shadow is told by the young noble Cetrik. Having run away from home and seeking the famed assassin, he comes across as a petulant braggart at times, while at others he is rather haughty and judgemental. He reminded me a bit of Jaskier in The Witcher. Someone obsessed with the legend and recording new and old adventures alike, but being rather idiotic and unskilled in practical purposes. His perspective is very naive and he seems more obsessed with writing his own legend than reality. Self-absorbed, but unaware of it. I didn’t particularly liked him as a character so that altered my overall perception of this novel, though I did love Locan A’Shadow and rather enjoyed the other imperfect characters on this journey.

The world building was well done and it is an action-packed fantasy in a boiling political landscape. I liked that Morvolt was more than just a horse and that Locan was very real in his attitude and feelings. There was a nice edge of humour to this dark and chaotic story, which made for ease of reading.

I did think the integration of Cetrik’s family into the storyline at the end was a little rushed, but I suppose it was necessary for his character arc. Overall, a fast paced plot with some compelling characters in a series I will likely continue.

🎧 The quality of this audiobook is excellent, but there are a number of accents so readers should be ready for that variation. This was the first time I really felt like I needed a physical book as a compendium, because the story and world are rather complex and I found I needed to go back and fact check , look at a map or time to absorb events. That being said, I can’t really criticize the performance, which matched the epic quality of the text. This is also a long book so an audiobook certainly made it more appealing to me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for a copy of this book. Book review: 3.75/5 ⭐️
Genre: high fantasy
📖 Read if you like: LOTR, Wheel of Time, The Witcher

This has all the makings of an epic high fantasy: a motley crew on a quest, tyranny, warring nations, elements of the supernatural and good versus evil theme. There are elements of this novel that will remind you of the classics like LOTR, The Witcher or Wheel of Time, though those are not bad comparisons. Yet, there is enough to differentiate this story to make it something new, primarily through the characters. Each was a little quirky and reluctant. There was also an interesting collection of creatures from vampires to elves, bog creatures to giants.

The hero of this story is the once legendary assassin Locan A’Shadow. Not your typical man, his is a myth of whispered tales that are outlandish and partly true. While possessing an unheard of skill with blades and shadows, he is a very flawed man. A drunk with a potty mouth, the horrors of his past colour his personality. Yet he cannot ignore the plight of the helpless, nor his deadly enemy Solis Deadhand - a vampire he once attempted to kill who is now back for vengeance.

This legendary story of the anti-hero Locan A’Shadow is told by the young noble Cetrik. Having run away from home and seeking the famed assassin, he comes across as a petulant braggart at times, while at others he is rather haughty and judgemental. He reminded me a bit of Jaskier in The Witcher. Someone obsessed with the legend and recording new and old adventures alike, but being rather idiotic and unskilled in practical purposes. His perspective is very naive and he seems more obsessed with writing his own legend than reality. Self-absorbed, but unaware of it. I didn’t particularly liked him as a character so that altered my overall perception of this novel, though I did love Locan A’Shadow and rather enjoyed the other imperfect characters on this journey.

The world building was well done and it is an action-packed fantasy in a boiling political landscape. I liked that Morvolt was more than just a horse and that Locan was very real in his attitude and feelings. There was a nice edge of humour to this dark and chaotic story, which made for ease of reading.

I did think the integration of Cetrik’s family into the storyline at the end was a little rushed, but I suppose it was necessary for his character arc. Overall, a fast paced plot with some compelling characters in a series I will likely continue.

🎧 The quality of this audiobook is excellent, but there are a number of accents so readers should be ready for that variation. This was the first time I really felt like I needed a physical book as a compendium, because the story and world are rather complex and I found I needed to go back and fact check , look at a map or time to absorb events. That being said, I can’t really criticize the performance, which matched the epic quality of the text. This is also a long book so an audiobook certainly made it more appealing to me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for a copy of this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this ALC in exchange of my honest review!

I truly do not know how to review this book... What worked REALLY worked and what didn't almost made me DNF this book. It is a pretty classic high fantasy story

What worked:
- I love unlikely allies, our group of travellers has a lot of potential. The chaotic dynamic between Locan and Cetrik was funny to read
- At first I was put off by the different accents done by the narrator, but honestly without them it would not have kept me engaged with the story, so props to the narrator; I felt like I was told a story by the campfire (it felt camp in the best way possible)
- The story was told through the eyes of Cetrik and his voice/tone had this storyteller vibe which I like. The prose in general made me feel like I was told a tale of old
- The bad guy was so cool. The powers he has is truly horrific, and the depiction of the battles were grisly and I really loved that.

What didn't work:
- The pacing felt absolutely off. I didn't know where we were going with this story until halfway through the book, when we meet our big bad and then the ending felt so rushed I almost missed some pretty important details, in a "blink and you'll miss it type of way"
- It felt somewhat unoriginal, save for the bad guy, which really had potential. I wish the magic system was more complex or better developed because it really felt like just any other fantasy world (and this tie to my next point)
- If it wasn't for Locan and his magic the first half of the book felt like historical fiction set in medieval England.
- I did not care for any characters, except for the horse. Some of them come into the story and disappear and we just end up not caring about them.
- My biggest gripe with this book is the portrayal of women. Even the strongest of them are reduced to their attractiveness. There's talk of sexual assault and men "having their way" with women. It was disheartening to read, considering Urlissa really could have been a strong female side character. It really felt like every time women were mentioned, it was alongside violence (sexual or physical)

I might give the next book a chance, to see how Cetrik evolves after the events of this book.

The Prince is not valued by his family and so goes in search of the greatest assassin Locan A’Shadow. Their paths will cross accidentally when bandits attack Locan’s home and steal the children. Why do they want the children and who for? Our adventure begins and when they discover Solis Deadhand is alive they decide he must be stopped at all costs.

Loved this very well written novel and the audiobook version (I read and listened to both). Great characters full of personality, qualities and faults. Very well paced and action packed. Lots of fights will be fought and dangers faced. A real adventure and highly recommend.

I am so sorry but this book is just not for me. I have tried to listen to the audiobook arc and I am going to DNF at 35%. This book had an interesting premise of an assassin who moves through the shadows. The story begins with Cetric telling the tale from his youth of how he met Locan the Assasin’s shadow. There were a few interesting bits but for the most part this starts out very slow. At 35% they have just started on their main quest. Nothing much has happened yet and I truly don’t care about any of the characters. If you like high fantasy and are ok with a slow beginning you might enjoy this. The narrator was very good and did an excellent job differentiating characters. However, some of the accents were a bit heavy and made it difficult to follow along without being able to access a physical copy. The book itself is well written which is why I am still giving it a 3 star for the portion I have listened to. But personally for me I need to put this down as I am simply not interested in what is happening. I appreciate the opportunity of getting an advanced copy of this arc and thank you to NetGalley and Hatchette publishing. I may go back to this later when I can listen to the audiobook arc and reading with the book but sadly I can’t continue at the moment.

I loved the narrator of this book, he was perfect for the writing style, kept me engaged throughout. Not sure I would have like the book so much had I not experienced it through audio!

I loved that it followed a similar format to LoTR but it did enough to individualise itself.

Enjoyable epic fantasy with some emotional twists and an interesting band of heroes. I really enjoyed the way this story was told and the narrator, David Thorpe was an absolute treasure to listen to. His voices and accents for our varying heroes added more depth to the already well-fleshed-out characters. His conveyance of emotions just helped with the overall immersion on top of the great worldbuilding. The ending was a pleasant surprise full of emotion and character growth. If you are a fan of epic fantasy with a rag-tag group of heroes, this is not one to be missed.

🗡️Quest turns into saving the world
🧛Reluctant hero
🗡️Morally grey characters
🧛Emotional betrayal
🗡️Matriarchy
🧛Secret identities

Thank you Bookouture Audio via Netgalley for the ALC. All opinions are honest and my own.

Epic Fantasy Read!!!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for this ARC!

This book read to me like a Brandon Sanderson novel… the world building was intense and honestly kind of hard to follow. I was given the audiobook ARC for this book and for Epic Fantasy Novels I like to be able to tab my books… tabs help my brain with world building! 😂😂
I did however really enjoy the audiobook!!!! There were so many accents and each character had their own way of speaking so that you immediately knew who was talking when!! The Narrator did an amazing job!!!

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it if you like epic fantasy!!

If you’re a fan of epic fantasy with a touch of grit and a dash of reluctant heroism, The Assassin’s Shadow will have you hooked. The story follows Locan A’Shadow, a retired assassin who just wants to live out his days in peace—until a dark force rises and drags him back into the chaos.

R.S. Moule does an excellent job weaving a world filled with danger, magic, and moral dilemmas, keeping you on the edge of your seat. The plot is fast-paced, yet there’s plenty of room for character growth, especially as Locan forms unlikely alliances with a young noble and an elf sorcerer.

David Thorpe’s narration is spot-on, bringing the diverse cast to life with distinct voices that match their personalities. His delivery makes the 16-hour journey feel seamless, so you’ll never be bored, even as the story shifts from tense moments to deep, emotional exchanges.

If you love authors like Joe Abercrombie or John Gwynne, you’ll feel right at home with The Assassin’s Shadow. It’s a fantastic start to the Legends of the Shadow series, and I can’t wait to see where this adventure goes next!

The Assassin's Shadow - R.S. Moule
Format: Audiobook
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What an epic start to a new Fantasy series!

I was given this ARC by @netgalley and @bookouture.


The story reminded me of playing Diablo with my son, with orcs and vampires and magical Elvin. The detail going into these creatures was amazing, and the world building phenomenal. @rs_moule had my full attention from the start.

It starts with Cetrik, who is seeking the deadliest man alive, Locan A'Shadow, and what transpires when he finds him. There are battles from the word go, politics that will blow your mind, and of course, some family drama! I was tense the whole time, just waiting for the next thing to happen.

The narrator did such a good job with the different voices of the characters. It really felt like I was right there with the little band of misfits as they trudged through the land on their quest.

If you are looking for high fantasy with epic battles, intriguing political viewpoints, then this is for you! I can't wait to see what else these two will get up to.


#fortheloveofreading📚
#fortheloveofbooks #justonemorepage #booksarebetterthanpeople #NetGalley #TheAssassinsShadow

The narrator did an AMAZING job especially voicing numerous characters.
This book is VERY high fantasy and readers who love a chaotic “mentor” and a mentee who doesn’t know what he’s getting into I think will really enjoy this.
Cetriks upbringing makes him very posh and haughty at the beginning of the book but by the end he’s a new person. This book does start off as a story telling/journal entry then evolves into the story itself. If you enjoy high fantasy, vampyres, a sassy horse, and a group of misfits then you’ll definitely enjoy this book!
Thank you Second Sky for the arc!

This is a pretty classic but compelling fantasy tale of unlikely companions joining forces to defeat the Big Bad.
The world building is interesting and the story itself is fast paced and full of action.
I liked it but I felt the characters missed something and I never really cared for them, which is really important to me.
I listened to the audiobook version and the narrator is good, but the heavily accented voices chosen for some of the characters didn't work for me, and it somehow put me off.
In short I think this is a solid story, but it didn't really stand out.

Thank you Bookouture Audio for this ARC!

First and foremost, thank you so much to NetGalley for this ARC.

While I do not think I am the intended audience for this book, it was quite a ride. It took a while to get in to, but once the story got moving, it was interesting! The ending was a little too gory and I would have liked a little more romance. Those are just personal preferences though.

#TheAssassinsShadow #NetGalley