Review: Empire of Shadows by Miriam Forster

Empire of Shadows

Author: Miriam Forster
Series: Bhinian Empire #2
Publisher: Harper Teen
Genre: YA Fantasy
Format: ebook
Release Date: November 4, 2014
Source: egalley received from publisher via Edelweiss
Rating: 4 Stars
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***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way changed my opinion of the book. The review below is my open and honest opinion.***

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Cast out of her family three years ago, Mara turned to the only place that would take her—a school where students train to protect others. But Mara is stunned when guarding a noble girl in the Empire’s capital turns out to be more dangerous than she could’ve imagined. More shocking still, she finds the boy she thought she had lost forever outside the gates of her new home.

Mara knew her life in the dizzying Imperial city would hold dangers. How could she have known that her heart, as well as her life, would be at stake?

Empire of Shadows will take readers on a spellbinding journey into the world Miriam Forster first introduced in City of a Thousand Dolls—a world with a divided society, deadly courtiers, heroic traitors, and deeply laid conspiracies.

My Review:

So this isn’t really a sequel to City of Thousand Dolls. It’s actually a companion and it takes place before the first book which I wasn’t really expecting, but I really liked. That being said, you should definitely still read them in order (City of a Thousand Dolls and then Empire of Shadows). I think reading them in the correct order is more fun as details will be revealed and reading them out of order may make plot devices easier to figure out.

I liked the first one a tiny bit better than this one, but this was still a rich and wonderful story. It takes place in the capital city of Kamal. I loved being able to see the city that we heard bits and pieces about in the first book. Our main character, Mara, was amazing. She went through some brilliant character development. She harbors a lot of guilt and self-loathing and I loved that she didn’t heal overnight. It took a long time and a lot of different events for her to forgive herself and move on.

This book could have been really predictable and for a brief moment in time, I thought it was going to be. And I was so disappointed. But the author didn’t do it. She went another direction, a direction that I absolutely loved. I really loved all the subtle connections to the first book. We get to see a lot more Sune in this book (magical creatures that can shift between animal and human form). And we get to meet a couple different kinds of Sune. (Garren!!!)

The other main character, Emil, was okay. His storyline felt a little flat to me compared to Mara’s and I never fully connected to him. I did appreciate the sibling aspect and how determined he was to go after his brother and make things right. Emil was inherently a good guy and I think that’s maybe why I didn’t connect to him. He almost seemed too perfect. He was always trying to please everybody and he didn’t seem to make many mistakes.

Another thing I had an issue with was the romance. It was very under-developed to me and I didn’t believe in it at all. I never got the feels and I missed that. But overall, this was a great companion novel full of the same rich world-building and twists and turns that will leave you gaping. There was one part in particular that I knew would come eventually, but when it happened, I was still completely shocked. Pretty sure I gasped out loud on an airplane. People may have been staring. *shrugs*

Have you read this one yet? What did you think of Mara? The Sune? Did you feel like the romance was rushed? Which one did you like better, this one or the companion?