Cece ❀Rants, Raves &Reviews❀'s Reviews > Shadow Wings

I fuckingg told y’all the second one was better!!

Remember in the first book, where our heroine's entire personality was that she didn’t know diddly shit about her powers??

NO MORE

Both Ryn and the world is really developed in this book, so we get to learn more about the Drae and Phaetyn ! We *finally* venture outside the goddamn castle to see the other kingdoms and cultures *fist pump*

If you like dragons, then you should absolutely read this series



Ryn, She’s naive. She’s immature. But fuck it, at least she trying to save the world

“I glanced back at Tyrrik. He was still lying right where I’d left him, looking pretty much dead.
“Good, good.” I gave myself an inane pep talk, not believing a word of it.”

Her inner dialogue was just hilarious to read and brought a comedic element to otherwise dangerous threatening situations as she visits other kingdoms to rally the troops! Her POV is purposefully sarcastic & dramatic cuz its her coping mechanism to deal with the shit storm that is her life

The absolutely BEST part of this book was the group dynamics by farrr

Honestly, this misfit of characters Dyter, Tyrikk and Ryn was friggen hilarious to read, as they had to *reluctantly* work with each other to fight the invading emperor, reestablish their kingdom, heal the land and figure out where the fuck the Drae and Phaetyn been hiding !! Oh and try not to kill each other in the process



Dyter being father figure to Ryn, and matchmaker for Tyrikk. Tyrikk being a scary badass who is finally free and doesn't have to hide his every emotion *don'tcry don't cry*And Ryn going from village soapqueen to a real power player in the world. She struggles between hating Tyrikk but needing to ally with him.

“My brief flash of good humor disappeared. “It’s Tyrrik’s fault. He’s sulking.”
“I’m not sulking,” the one-hundred-and-nine-year old said.
“Mmm-hmm, sure.”
Dyter exploded. “Enough!” He whirled on us, stomping back to wave a finger in my face. “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t speak at all.”
“That’s what we were doing before,” I huffed. “You said it made you cranky.” By this point, I was needling the old man, but I craved an outlet for my frustration, and he’d offered one.”

Now... the love interest

Tyrikk hurt Ryn in the first book and well… she will never let him forget it

The way book *accurately* developed the enemies to lovers trope was sooo well done with building up the chemistry. It was definitely a, *The lady douth protest too much* but I just fell heads over hells for Tyrrik and loveddd the banter between them

“You ruined my tavern!” I grabbed at Tyrrik, and he lowered his head. Holding either side of his Drae face, I narrowed my eyes at his slightly sheepish expression.
“You are so paying for that,” I snarled, staring into his inky eyes.
I released his head and sank to my knees. “Everything . . . I’ve worked for. In ruins.”
Tyrrik nudge me with his snout. "You’ve only been here three days.”

Side note: have y'all seeennnn this cover?? fucking art!

The world is just fucking brilliant. Shape shifting, dragon empire, heroine learning powers, plots of overthrowing tyrannical kings, and did I mention dragons? Where the first book has several problems but no actual plot *wtf*. This second book builds ups the great antagonist, explains the world better, and Ryn works to find her place in it.

Overall, I love this book because of the unique characters and how the dragons element was really developed in a unique way. First, its a female of a friggen 18 year old who is only FIRST leaving her village on top of being a NEW dragon... and her POV absolutely reflects that!

She gets easily distracted and possessive of treasure, she doesn't fully understand why but she knows it'll make her happy so she just does it! and fuck, isn't that *absolutely* the mentality that a dragon would have?!

“My mouth dried as I saw what he held aloft. Playing it cool, I asked, “What’s that?”
“A gold trinket.”
Desire shot through me, and I propped myself up, licking my lips. “What kind of trinket?”
“It’s an antique pill box that once belonged to an esteemed baroness.” He tossed the pill box in his hand. “Want it?”
“The gold beckoned me. It was just what this cave needed. A bit of sparkling wealth. Actually, I needed it. I got to my feet and murmured, “Yes.”

The critiques

Ryn... overdid the guilt thing... by a friggen landslide



I know we going for a hard to get vibe . But it was overdone and made other more *important* elements get overshadowed by Ryn's dramatic ranting

For those that didn't read the first, you might get *even more annoyed* by this aspect as why Ryn so fucking dumb, I just had the mindset she a petty bitch and just went with it.

Highly recommend for a fun fast-pace fantasy. It's action packed, has a unique take on dragons, a comedic heroine, and you get to interact with different kingdoms that each have their own culture and differences. Plus the love interest is a total babe.

This second book had completely different feeling than the first book in this series, that I preferred because it matched Ryn's personality better. She was too lighthearted and young for the dark vibes of the first, that I felt a total disconnect between the character and her actions. Let's be real... a young girl getting kidnapped tortured for a YEAR would have a MUCH darker attitude after the fact. But Ryn didn't. Which is why I basically pretend the first book didn't happen... because it didn't match the characters. Authors, you can't have characters remain unaffected by the events YOU WROTE

And now to end with another quote because it just made me fucking cAcKlE and roll on the floor at how Ryn's dragon is such a *baby* but tries so hard to be a baddie

“He turned to the guards and announced us. “We seek an audience with King Zakai. Please inform him that Lord Tyrrik the . . . Free Drae, Dyter of Verald—ambassador to King Caltevyn, and Ryn are here.”
I practically gave myself Drae whiplash at that. I lowered my head to Dyter, a low growl rumbling in my chest. Shouldn’t I be Ryn the Coolest Drae, or Ryn the Phaetyn-Drae? Or maybe Ryn the Phaetyn-Drae, daughter of Ryhl—
Dyter eyed me nervously and blurted, “I mean to say, Ryn the most powerful Drae.”