Review: Shadow Lands (The Warrior Chronicles #3) by K.F. Breene

Hello fellow fantasy fans. Today, I’m sharing my thoughts about Shadow Lands by K.F. Breene. Book 3 in her bestselling epic fantasy series, The Warrior Chronicles.

Read: 13^th – 15^th June 2019

Publication Date: 14^th July 2015

My Overall Rating: 5/5

Plot: 5/5 – Flow: 5/5 – Character Development: 5/5 – World Building: 4/5

Quote from Shadow Lands

”Usually men crave the power of the title. We have never had a woman through here.” The man followed closely behind her.

“Trust me, I would’ve rather sent him.”

“No. I don’t believe that is true.”

Shadow Lands is the third book (approx 326 pages) in K.F. Breene’s epic fantasy series – The Warrior Chronicles. A completed six book series with a prequel novella available too, which follows Shanti on her quest to kill The Supreme Being, Xandre, who is a despicable dictator who’s vision it is to have everyone in the land under his tyrannical rule. Xandre was part of the massacre of Shanti’s entire village when she was just 5 years old.

The world Ms Breene created is populated by peoples of different clans with varying skills such as being skilled craftsmen, effective traders or trained warriors who fight with blade and arrow to either protect their inhabitants or to enslave others. Some individuals, throughout this fantasy land, also have additional paranormal mind Gifts.

If you’ve read any of my reviews before, you’ll know that I write about how the story was told rather than the plot itself, which means that my reviews don’t contain spoilers of any kind or reveal any plot twists, so here’s what the official blurb has to say about the story:

***Book three in the bestselling series.***

In order to finally claim her title of Chosen and lead the Shadow People out of the Land of Mist, Shanti must make it through a century’s old system to test her battle awareness, her fighting skill, and her ability to stay alive. She’s about to enter The Trials, and she must do it alone.

Separated from Shanti on a dangerous island, Cayan must learn to use his mental skill while keeping his men safe from the people set out to kill them. But as more Inkna and Graygual flood the island, Cayan hears of a sinister force deep in the woods, rigging The Trials and killing any who venture too close.

It is now a race against time. The battle to become the Chosen has begun, and the victor is anything but decided.

 

Epic fantasy isn’t my first choice of reading material but I am a fan of K.F. Breene’s writing style and so started this series with an open mind back in December last year. I loved the first book, Chosen and downloaded the rest of the series shortly after finishing it, adding the Audible narrations too so that I could read AND listen to the stories, which has become my favourite way to read a book.

Shadow Lands starts where Hunted left off, with Shanti, Cayan, the Honour Guard, Sanders and a select few from Cayan’s army setting sail for the fabled and feared island where the Shadow People live.

Ms Breene has been building her world and introducing us to more aspects of this amazingly rich fantasy world in each book. Shadow Lands has a great plot that kept me gripped from beginning to end. It continues to build upon the previous books and has a great amount of action-packed fighting scenes. There are also heart-wrenching imagery of the horrors of war. However, it’s balanced beautifully with hope, love and fantastically written banter.

As a narrated book, I was once again impressed with Caitlin Davies’ performance. Loving the pace at which she read the story and her tonal adjustments for the various scenes and characters’ dialogue. I’d definitely buy books narrated by her in the future.

As my regular followers will know, I enjoy a story more when the leading female character is intelligent, resilient, self-reliant, has a good sense of humour and plenty of gumption. Shanti has all of these qualities and more. In fact, I love the way that all of the characters in this story have been written, their individual stories growing and developing in each book. They have all become very real in my mind (and heart). Oh, and like most Brits I do love a bit of banter. This story has plenty of it! I found myself COL (Chuckling Out Loud) throughout, usually at the banter and quips coming out of Shanti and the boys in the Honour Guard.

I loved the fact that the adventure aspect of this story kept me guessing what would happen next. The action kept me on the edge of my seat. The raw emotions and growing relationships, both platonic and romantic, made me go all dewy eyed as well as put a smile on my face. There was also the complex relationship between Shanti and Cayan that set my tummy a-tingling. *oooh*

 

Well, I gave Shadow Lands 5 stars, so I obviously really enjoyed it. 😉

However, I’ll remind you that this is only the third book in a six book series. Therefore, you must expect a cliffhanger or two. If like me you HATE huge life-or-death cliffhangers, rest assured, Ms Breene doesn’t leave us hanging with a perilous situation like that. There are background story arcs that are left unresolved, however in my opinion, this is a good thing as it leaves enough story to continue into the next book and beyond.

 

I didn’t want to stop reading this book! It had everything that I look for in a great story: Intelligent writing style that’s easy to read, main characters with depth of personality that I can believe in, depth of character in the supporting cast, gripping background story, believable settings and situations. I loved the balanced mix of aspects; relationship, tension, action and mystery.

Due to the graphic nature of some of the more violent scenes, I’d only recommend this book to adults who are not offended by this sort of content. Readers who enjoy independent capable heroines and strong alpha heroes, tense often traumatic and brutal confrontations within epic fantasy adventures. Shadow Lands left me breathless, desperate to read more of The Warrior Chronicles series.

Has my review of SHADOW LANDS (WARRIOR CHRONICLES #3) encouraged you to find out more? I really hope so! Click on any of the links below to check out the book yourself. Keep reading to find out more about the author.

Buy SHADOW LANDS (or catch up with the whole series) in print, ebook and audiobook through the usual sources, including:

Amazon UK ¦ Amazon US ¦ Audible ¦ The Book Depository

Or read for free with your Kindle Unlimited subscription.

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Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read this review. Click HERE is read my other thoughts and reviews about this series.

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