Gold Shadow is an enchanting story full of contrasts.

If I had to use metaphors to explain this book, I would use contrasting words - light and dark, the sun and the moon, soft and tough, etc. This story follows Ebony, a rough-around-the-edges type of girl who is apart of the rebellion, and Princess Irene, an innocent princess. While Ebony has seen the darkness in the world and is matured beyond her years with a tough exterior, Irene is quite the opposite! She is a foolish princess who doesn't understand how the world works because she's been 'locked in her tower' (in a sense).

Ebony's story is more centered around dystopia and rebellion (it reminded me of Divergent and The Hunger Games, for references) and Irene's a was a royal fantasy (think The Selection). I liked having the two separate stories within this world, but sometimes I got confused on who I was following. Most chapters said the lead character's name in it, but some took pages for me to be able to tell who was being followed. My only request would have been for the chapters to have titles or names to make sure I didn't get lost or confused when I pulled myself away from the book.

This book has serious potential to be the next big YA novel. It touches on many topics that most YA readers like - dystopia, destiny, romance, fantasy. It also has a diverse cast of characters that draw you in and make you feel for them. Irene was my favourite, but Ebony, Gavin and Aurora also stood out. There is also some massive world building within the book, since L.C. Perry is clearly setting up an epic series for these characters to partake in.

If I was to have any major cons about this book, it's that it took me a while to really sink my teeth into it. This is because of the world building with L.C. setting the scene for the reader. This shouldn't be much of a problem when the series continues, so it's only a 'minor' con in relation to the whole series. I also found there were many characters to follow, so when I pulled myself away from the book and threw myself back in, I couldn't fully remember all of them (similar to my Game of Thrones problems - so many characters, so many back stories - it can get tough!). That being said, I'd recommend binging this book. I read it in bits and pieces, and I found it really hard to remember some of the lesser viewed characters.

The book is a little bit dark at times - there are swear words, there is beating and humiliation and torture - but it is a dystopia. If you keep that in mind and you aren't a soft at heart reader, then you'll easily be able to enjoy this novel.

L.C. Perry's writing style is very easy to fall into and read. She's great with descriptions and character development. I haven't dipped my toes into YA for a while, so it was a bit of an adjustment for me, but the book was absolutely fantastic! I'd highly recommend this book if you love YA and fantasy (with a pinch of dystopia).

Finally - the ending. If you like books with cliffhangers, this one is for you! This book is definitely meant to be read in a series and not as a standalone. The ending closes enough to make you feel settled to wait for the next novel, but not enough to leave the book alone and be happy with the ending. There's truly no finale for these characters (yet).

Overall, this book was fun! It's a nice, YA dystopia that will be a great addition to your shelf!

Three out of five stars.

I received a free copy of this book from the author L.C. Perry in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Gold Shadow is a gritty, raw novel where you feel the bleakness of your existence come right off the page. Ebony has never known any other life. The hopelessness of her situation is shown in great detail, from frequent, graphic scenes of violence, to the way characters turn on each other for their perceived power (like in Scarlet’s case) despite the fact that all of them are nothing but cogs in the wheel.

Once Ebony and her friends are rescued by the rebellion, and meet Azure, the young, mysterious leader, we enter my favorite section of the book. Questions start being answered, and I especially loved… the scene with the interviews/interrogation where each of the character backstories were revealed. That was so well-done and moving, particularly Scarlet’s.

Princess Irene is your typical pampered, spoiled royal. She has a room where every wall is covered in instruments, tutors that come to teach her every subject, countless gowns, and she’s quick to tell her many servants that if they can’t put a smile on their faces, they need to come back later and not spoil her good mood. At one point, she even uses her princess authority to ORDER one of her friends to stop walking, and thinks to herself how defying her could be treason. The author does an awesome job using this perspective to play up the differences between slavery and the pampered aristocratic life, but needless to say, I found myself looking forward to the sections with Ebony and the rebellion.

And wow, that ending! Cool plot twist that ties the two story arcs together and sets things up nicely for both characters for book two! Really cool dystopian!

Trigger Warnings: graphic violence, graphic depictions of slavery, sexual assault, kidnapping

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader.
( )

~I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a honest review~

I loved this book and the author's style of writing. I think I found a new favorite author.
The whole concept is so well executed and interesting. It was so exciting reading a new idea, it was so refreshing. The book can be slow at places but this is truly introducing and taking a deeper look at the characters that make this story. You get to know them and develop a little bit of a connection with each of them.

The characters were very diverse which really isn't too common, even nowadays.

Ebony was born into slavery which set up her life to be filled with misery and abuse. She has been one of my favorite heroines because of her character growth. The growth wasn't too slow and wasn't too fast, it was done at the right amount of speed. It did not feel rushed like how so many character growths happen and it made sense. The last chapter was not rushed trying to tie up all the little loose ends of certain characters.

On the other hand, I was not the biggest fan of Irene, but I think that's kind of the whole point. She's self-absorbed and maybe that will change in later books, we'll find out.

I am so excited to read a sequel to this book. ( )

“... there was no way she could go back. In her mind, there were only two choices: Escape alive or die trying.”

The only life eighteen-year-old Ebony has ever known is that of a slave. Living in what they call a root city, she spends her days underground, having seen the sun only a handful of times. Only being able to stomach the life she leads for so long, she devises a plan to end it all. Ebony gets the surprise of her life when, as she’s enacting her plans, she encounters rebels from the world above. Originally thinking her only choices were a life of misery or death, she’s suddenly faced with an option she never thought she’d have: escape to freedom.

Honestly, it was a struggle to make it to the end of this book. If it were only the countless grammatical errors appearing on every other page, I could maybe look past them. Sadly, there are many other issues. The writing, for one, is completely contradictory between the narration and the dialogue. The conversations between characters is almost embarrassing to read because of how juvenile and ridiculous it sounds compared to the more sophisticated prose of the narrator’s voice. Additionally, the plot is static except for the beginning when she escapes and the end of the book. It also doesn’t help that there’s virtually no world-building to give the reader a sense the world and society in which the characters are living (very angry, shallow characters I might add). Oh, and because the story does this, let me randomly throw in here that there’s a second perspective told from Princess Irene whose role is confusing at best and irrelevant until the very end of the story.

The only reason I gave this book 2 stars instead of 1 is because the underlying concept of the story makes a thinly veiled attempt at being somewhat interesting. Otherwise, my overall opinion of Gold Shadow falls as flat as the characters.

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Gold Shadow takes place in an alternate North America ruled by a monarchy that employs the use of slaves in underground "root cities" that never see the light of day. The main character, Ebony, who is about 17 or 18 and regarded for her striking gold hair, was born into slavery and the lifetime of abuse has led her to bury her feelings and emotions behind a veil of emptiness.

The early portion of the story pulled me in right away as I was caught up in the emotion of Ebony's predicament and her loss of will to go on. The story began to drag a bit as the reader is introduced to the rebels intent on overthrowing the kingdom. There are a lot of characters introduced at this point and it's tough to keep track of all the personalities.

Next enters Princess Irene, daughter to the king and queen responsible for the conditions in which Ebony finds herself. The princess is, by design, not likable and she's clueless about what is going on in her parents kingdom. Irene is the same age as Ebony, and it is inevitable that their paths will cross.

The book finds its groove again in the latter 20% of the story as Ebony and the rebels finally cross paths with Irene, and the emotion that came across in the beginning of the book begins to take hold again.

This is the first part of the series and the author really has something good here. Looking forward to the release of part 2! ( )