*Blog Tour + Review* Of Silver and Shadow by Jennifer Gruenke

Book Title: Of Silver and Shadow

Author: Jennifer Gruenke

Publisher: Flux Books

Release Date: February 16, 2021

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Synopsis:

Ren Kolins is a silver wielder—a dangerous thing to be in the kingdom of Erdis, where magic has been outlawed for a century. Ren is just trying to survive, sticking to a life of petty thievery, card games, and pit fighting to get by. But when a wealthy rebel leader discovers her secret, he offers her a fortune to join his revolution. The caveat: she won’t see a single coin until they overthrow the King.

Behind the castle walls, a brutal group of warriors known as the King’s Children is engaged in a competition: the first to find the rebel leader will be made King’s Fang, the right hand of the King of Erdis. And Adley Farre is hunting down the rebels one by one, torturing her way to Ren and the rebel leader, and the coveted King’s Fang title.

But time is running out for all of them, including the youngest Prince of Erdis, who finds himself pulled into the rebellion. Political tensions have reached a boiling point, and Ren and the rebels must take the throne before war breaks out.

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Author Information

Jennifer Gruenke is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara, where she studied communication and writing. She grew up among the redwoods of Northern California, and now lives in Charlotte with her books and the houseplants she hasn’t killed yet. If she’s not writing or reading, you’re most likely to find her in a cafe, music venue, or the aisles of Trader Joe’s.

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Book Review

Of Silver and Shadow is one of the best debuts I’ve read in a long time. I read an early copy of this book back in 2020, and it was absolutely breathtaking. Filled with compelling storytelling, riveting character development, and exceptional world building, Of Silver and Shadow is a book that was impossible to put down.

The book starts off with one of the main characters, Ren. Eventually, the reader gets to meet the other point of views, which end up playing a huge part in the story. What was so cool was seeing all these different storylines come together in such a flawless way. I loved seeing how each chapter, each character, developed smoothly; nothing about this book felt rushed or pushed. Everything seemed to happen naturally. With how this book was written, I could easily picture the story in a movie sequence, which was an added bonus.

“Ren would be damned if anyone believed she was all bark and no bite.”

Ren does everything she can to keep her silver wielding abilities a secret. It’s a death sentence if the king were to find out about her abilities. But turns out someone does know about her, which is why she is sought out to help be the face of the rebellion. The world’s been absolutely brutal to her, so why should she try to help this kingdom? She’s done with the royal family, the rebellion, and everyone in town but her best friend. But she decides to help the rebellion by being the martyr. Of course, only as long as she gets paid – she has to make a living and help out her friend with living expenses for the kids that live in their place. She’s been an orphan for practically her whole life, so that much money would change so many things for her. But she starts to see the reasoning behind this rebellion and starts to build relationships with those around her (especially the one in charge of the rebellion). Her motives no longer become about money but about righting the system and getting rid of the royal family. Ren is one of my favorite characters because of her character growth – she starts off with so many rough edges, but she learns to let others in past her brick wall of a heart and gets comfortable with the idea of changing the kingdom. It was a great experience to see her grow into a better person.

“And the way {redacted} looked at her…iT was how she had never been able to look at herself. As if she was a person worth seeing, uncovered scars and all.”

I love this book and these characters so much. Adley and her relationship with Lesa was beautiful to read about; both would do anything to protect each other. Prince Kellen wants to do more with his life than sit behind the castle walls, which is why he runs an underground pit and spends his evenings with someone important to him. He has no desire to be a prince nor be like his brother, so it’s no surprise when he gets pulled into the rebellion. Each relationship in this book felt natural and genuine and not forced. All the hardships each character faced really played a valuable role in the storyline.

Gruenke’s writing is so mesmerizing. She knows how to tie together a beautiful story with lush, hypnotic writing. I was pulled in from the very first line; Gruenke’s writing is so well development and descriptive, I was shocked to find out this was her debut. Her writing weaved together this story of hardships and magic and rebellion, and made it into something that is truly unforgettable. She’s crafted a story like no other. The world she has created is daunting and sharp, but it was so well built that it was easy to picture everything about the kingdom. Gruenke’s writing style is probably one of my all-time favorite styles – I could see the amount of craft and dedication and love that went into this story in her writing. Honestly, everyone about this book is off-the-charts amazing and beautiful.

All in all, Of Silver and Shadow is a story that pulls the reader in and sets them on an adventure with friendship, rebellion, romance, and changing the future. It’s a book I highly recommend to everyone, especially if you are looking for a story with great character growth. Plus, if you read The Storm Crow duology by Kalyn Josephson, you might come across a reference to the book in Of Silver and Shadow.