The Shadow Spinner

Thanks to NetGalley for an arc of this book. Below is my honest review.

Hermit is a shadow spinner. He controls shadows and spin stories. During his travels, he meets N’Halia at the inn where she lives and works with her foster father. After a horrible incident, the inn burns down and only Hermit and N’Halia survive. Until that night, N’Halia didn’t know her magic can actually spark lightning. So, N’Halia leaves her home town with Hermit. What else can she do and where can she go?

This is a pretty standard first book in an epic fantasy. There is a grumpy character who trains the young hero, a villain/evil group (spoilers, so not specifying), training montages, practice fights, revelations about what is really going on, and a found family who set off to save the world.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The characters were likable and you wanted to root for their success. I appreciated that there were some lighter scenes and funny scenes. It wasn’t all end of the world doom and gloom. There were a bit too many fight scenes for my taste, though.

I loved this so much! I was entrantsed by this and I can't wait for more!
I just reviewed The Shadow Spinner by Eric Kao. #TheShadowSpinner #NetGalley
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Thoroughly enjoyed this read and highly recommend it for young readers interested in exploring new fictional stories

4/5 stars! This was the first book I've read by author Eric Kao. The premise of this fantasy novel was interesting and it is the first in a series, which is always exciting. It felt like the magic system was kind of similar to the structure in Divergent with people's abilities putting them into supporting roles in society. This was a unique and interesting take on fantasy in a new world and I enjoyed it. My only concern is that the shifting POVs got confusing at times. Looking forward to reading the next installment in this series.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

I received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The storyline was extremely unique. It's always refreshing when you come across books that are different. Sometimes stories can feel like you have read them before. Great start to the series

Genre: NA, Fantasy, Action (sci-fi?? 👀 I don’t usually read it)

Third Person omniscient pov (the best…like the side comments were just it!)

Violence: Lots of fighting scenes….

This book is about….. Saving the world basically but the thing is…the leader is goofy, very unserious, and nonchalant. Everywhere he goes he’s always causing trouble and people who know him most of the time…are not really happy to have him back. He’s just a goofball. But he’s also kind of skilled and a “god”(kind of) so that (does not even out) makes it okay. It also closely follows the life of N’Halia (Hermit’s champion) who is slowly becoming as goofy and nonchalant as her leader - like the master-like pupil. And then there’s a whole bunch of other important characters.

This is a very conversational, laugh-out-loud book and I’m so grateful that I got this from Netgalley. I have never read a book like this one and it was just funny and captivating. I like N’Halia and Araina and..all of them…I love their progress. They all started out as average and mediocre and then they started improving and getting so much better. With practice. LESSON: practice freaking makes perfect. I love this book and I can’t wait for the second one.

What didn’t I like? First I don’t know what is wrong with my app but it kept on skipping pages and it was weird so that took me a long time to read because of that. I was super annoyed lmty. And second reason, I read this book like it was a standalone, and book 2 is not even out yet I almost cried when I got to the end. Like we were getting to D-day come on now!

Regardless, I recommend you read this book (if you haven’t) or check it out and make sure to add it to your tbr for that someday you’ll read it! ♥️

The cover of this book is what drove me to it. The words inside are what kept me driving through it. The ending makes me wants to revisit that drive.

'The Shadow Spinner' will be a treat for fans of action-packed fantasy with fun magic, quippy dialogue, and found family. The grumpy-sunshine dynamic between characters is often enjoyable for readers within the genre.

There are a lot of action scenes: depending on the reader, this will either suit them or distance them from the story. The fast pacing keeps the plot moving, however it would have been enjoyable to have more restful scenes between the action. That would vary the pace and give the reader more time with the character development, which would make the emotional moments more hard-hitting.

I enjoyed the main characters and found them interesting overall. The dynamic between them was fun, although sometimes it took away from the emotional impact of a scene. I particularly enjoyed N'Halia's back story and growing confidence.

If you're a fantasy reader who is looking for a book in line with a game, this could be ideal: a fun magic system in line with 80s high fantasy, character banter and found family, and a lot of action.

A bit formulaic, but well-written enough I'll call it classic. Great characters make up for a lot of what I like in stories, so I'm in love with Kao's writing.

This might be one of the best books I've read in a while. All of the characters are loveable in their own way and Hermit might just be my favorite character.

I felt myself getting very excited at times and I just HAD to know how it ended. I just couldn't stop reading! I can't wait to see what happens next in book 2!

I absolutely recommend this book to anyone who loves a good coming-of-age story with political intrigue and magic.

This was an unexpected read. I wasn't expecting the humor in this book... That being said I loved it. Hermit is a great character and I can't wait to read the next novel and see how this story goes.

This was such a good read I loved it and was completely hooked from the first page. Definitely recommend

This is an interesting read.

The characters are engaging and the story is wonderfully written with you being drawn into world full of magic.

The story is fairly violent in places although it also made me chuckle.