The closet comparison I could make is a YA, dumbed down version of the society Crescent City, mixed in with some predictable actions and narratives throughout the story. Amber leaf lived a perfectly good life with Sombra and her fellow Crystal Ponies, in the Crystal Empire. Some of the chapters could have been much longer with more inner dialogue and more time describing some of the setting. Before reading on please keep in mind that all of my opinions on this book, are simply that, personal opinions that are relative to my preferences!

The romance in this book was immaculate, the spice was a nice bonus because it wasn't too much, but it wasn't too little. Additionally, because of its energy immunity, the Electroshocker could only slow down The Umbra instead of stunning it. Graphic violence and death; loss of a family member; a vigilante serial killer; explicit sex scenes; brief mention of sexual assault; attempted rape; mention of child abuse. Along the way, she's been stopping other potential victims from meeting the same fate by tracking down and killing those with the blackest of souls.

The author does a good job building the realms and explaining each type of "mystic" character throughout the chapters. When she's unexpectedly caught, she's sentenced to 500 years in the Vincula realm, where our MMC, Caius, reigns as the Umbra King.

This book was weird because at some points you felt IN IT and at others you felt weirdly detached from it all. Yes, I meant it as a play on 'shadow' - I just figured someone, somewhere would have named their fic 'The Shadow King' - plus, I believe I read somewhere that Sombra's name is based off the word Umbra (seemed fitting). Caius is the notorious Umbra King, ruler of Vincula, King of the Monsters, and the thing nightmares are made of. He is such a loving man when he cares about someone and seeing his character unfold was so beautiful.She also included a “World Guide” at the beginning of the book, and I appreciate that extra effort made for readers. At first, I thought he was a little too forward and aggressive, but wow this man had some of the best lines. She begins to question her reality when her sister’s killer plagues her dreams, insisting he’s innocent. And while I found myself bored while reading this, it obviously is a well loved series, as Bookish Box has continued the limited edition prints, and just released the second book for those who want a complete collection. Support towers such as the Commander and DJ Booth are crucial since they can boost the firerate and range respectively.

The worldbuilding was a little confusing at first, but thankfully there is a full glossary and the front that explains everything. Our main character goes through a period of being a little bit (read a lot) jealous and almost has a temper tantrum because she thinks he hooks up with somebody. Even though the writing style isn’t fantastic, the character development and plot were well written and balanced throughout.However, if The Umbra is near the exit, you should use the Star Cannon to prevent it from reaching the exit to give your towers more time to attack it. It's not a terrible read; don't get me wrong, it just was not the type of writing and dialogue that tended to grab me.