A Shift in Shadows Review Spotlight

We're touring A Shift in Shadows by Maddox Grey and we are so excited to share it with you all! This is the first book in the Lost Legacies series, and we can't recommend it enough!

A Shift in Shadows is the first book in the Lost Legacies series by Maddox Grey. This urban fantasy novel is going to bring a variety of both paranormal and fantasy characters together into one book. 

From the beginning, you're getting thrown into the deep end. You're meeting Nemain under a slew of dire circumstances, and those circumstances are that she's being held and abused by vampires. Why? Well, apparently there is some former romance that went sour between herself and a particular vampire. He didn't take the rejection well, and it seems he has no intentions of allowing her a life outside of him being in it. Someone should remind him that..."No, means no." 

While Nemain may start out in a bad situation she doesn't stay in it for long. She gets rescued by another vamp, and then the story shifts forward in time a bit. Not a lot, but just enough that she's managed to evade Sebastian for a time. Unfortunately, that clock is running out and fast on her staying "out of sight." 

A Shift in Shadows holds a lot of promise, but it comes off as really chaotic. The storyline seems direction-less. Nemain is a "finder", she's a shifter, but she has magic. She has no idea where her magic comes from, but she knows it's dangerous. She also knows that if the daemons and fae find out about that they will try to kill her. This, of course, raises a lot of questions. Like...what the hell is going on? LOL! 

Nemain is a bisexual/non-coformist main character. She has multiple relationships with a variety of characters in this book. Hey, we're cheering her on all the way, because it's a refreshing twist to a typical trope. You get reverse harem vibes, without the true solid commitments. There's a reason for her aversion to giving her heart truly to someone, and the author lays that out plainly for readers. 

Hoping for some really steamy scenes? Well, you're probably going to be disappointed, especially when they are pointed in CW. You get a couple here and there, but quite a few of the steamy scenes are "fade to black." Basically, you're getting a hint that something is about to go down, but you don't get the scene playing out on the page. It's a touch disappointing, but it is what it is. 

We wanted to love this book with its conglomerate of various characters and drama, but it needed direction from the beginning. We needed some background on Nemain. We do get some here and there, but it needed to be done in a more cohesive manner that will elevate the story and draw this reader in more solidly. As it is, it left us with more questions than answers. 

Will we continue this series? Well, that's up in the air. We might, because we're intrigued by Nemain's story, but we can only hope for a more cohesive storyline moving forward. As for this book? Well, unfortunately, it falls flat. The beginning is too all over the place, and by the time the story settles in and starts getting truly interesting, you're halfway through it.

Soft 4 out of 5 stars

A Shift in Shadows (Lost Legacies Book 1)

Publication Date: October 2021 (First Edition)

Genre: Fantasy Romance

• Badass Morally Grey FMC

• Revenge Quest

• Hidden/Forbidden Magic

• She Saves Herself

• Touch Him and Die

• Sweet Golden Retriever Love Interest

• Morally Grey Villain Love Interest

• Witty Banter

• Found Family

• Queer Rep (FMC is queer/bi, nonbinary characters, queer relationships)

A wicked feline shifter. A cruel warlock.

And a dark secret that can devour worlds.

A bloody heart. That has been my birthday gift every year from the warlock I once loved. He used me, so I left him. And found the love of my life. We shared a blissful life together until Sebastian destroyed it all with one sweeping declaration.

You will always be mine.

After failing in my attempt to get revenge and barely escaping. I find myself once again starting over with the support of my friends and trying to let go of the past. When I meet the sweet and adorably innocent local werewolf, Andrei, I think I might finally have a real shot at finding happiness again. I should have known better.

Sebastian has found me and he’ll do what he always does—hurt those I love. But I have a secret. The dark magic I keep chained deep within my soul is a weapon just waiting to be unleashed. I could finally claim my revenge and protect everyone important to me. But my kind of magic is forbidden. And the price for using it may be my life.

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

CW:  Explicit sex scenes and blood drinking courtesy of vampires