by: Emma Noyes
Series: Soul of Shadow
Genre: Teen/YA Fantasy Romance
Release Date: July 29, 2025
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Hearts will shatter in this thrilling romantasy for fans of The Vampire Diaries and Heartless Hunter where love, magic, gods, and monsters collide.
A thrilling Norse mythology inspired contemporary romantasy sure to excite fans of The Vampire Diaries and Atlas Six.
Charlie Hudson just wants to get through junior year. Since the death of her twin sister two years earlier, she’s drifted through life, going through the motions at school and parties and even at home. The spark that once burned so brightly within her has all but flickered out.
Until her classmate goes missing in the forest, leaving nothing behind but a pair of shoes and strange symbols carved into a tree.
Drawn to the disappearances by forces she can’t explain, she finds herself investigating the mysterious, alluring newcomer in town, Elias Everhart. With piercing eyes and sharp wit, he dances around her questions, only intriguing her further. Elias has a secret. More than one.
But what Charlie doesn’t know is that those secrets will lead her to a place she never imagined: a world hiding in plain sight, made of magic, gods, and monsters - and a first love fated to fall apart.
In Emma Noyes's Soul of Shadow, truths and temptations lurk in the darkness, and for Charlie, the only thing more dangerous than facing her past, is the boy with the power to change her future.
For two years, seventeen-year-old Charlie Hudson has been grieving the loss of her identical twin sister, Sophie. She has become a shell of the person she once was. Growing up in the small Michigan town of Silver Springs, Charlie and her year-older brother, Mason, are allowed a lot of freedom by their single mother. There isn't a curfew, and she knows they go to parties where alcohol is present, but as long as they are responsible, she turns a blind eye.
Silver Springs is rocked when a teenager disappears, leaving behind his tennis shoes hanging from a tree branch. The tree where the shoes are found has strange symbols carved into it. People think the symbols resemble the Norse mythological language, but they aren’t actually sure. All Charlie knows is that the woods along the beach are dangerous and her mother doesn’t want her to go into them.
The new school year has just started, and Silver Springs High is all abuzz with the new kid, eighteen-year-old senior Elias Everhart, who has everyone’s heads turning. Everyone except Charlie, who has already had a run-in with the guy. Elias easily integrates himself with Mason and his friends. He soon has Charlie reluctantly wrapped around his finger when he introduces her to a world she never knew existed.
Dark forces are lurking around Silver Springs. While it appears Elias has an idea of what’s happening, he doesn’t share his thoughts with Charlie. She’s left to wonder if Elias is really someone she can trust or if he’s part of whatever is happening.
I’m torn between liking Soul of Shadow and loving it. As I previously stated, it wasn’t the story I was expecting when I picked up the book. However, I couldn’t put it down. This is an intriguing story that combines elements of fake dating, enemies-to-lovers, and a double mystery.
Charlie isn’t necessarily a lost soul. She’s more of someone who is trying to cope with half of herself gone (her sister). While others around her felt the loss of Sophie, Charlie truly lost her very best friend and other half. She just wants to get through school and life. Charlie loves her friends and family. If need be, she would protect them and anyone else with her life. In Soul of Shadow, she becomes the hero of her own story. Elias is truly a mystery. He only shows what he wants others to see. I can’t tell if he’s a bad guy or simply morally grey. He is definitely intriguing.
Soul of Shadow, what an interesting title, comes with some surprises. None more so than the final chapter. Prepare yourself, the story ends on a cliffhanger that will have you wishing you could read the next book and continue the wild journey Emma Noyes has taken you on.
~ Favorite Quotes ~
“You underestimate your own abilities.”
**Received a copy of the book from the publisher and voluntarily reviewed it. Also personally purchased a hardcover copy.**
Rating: 4.5
Purchase Soul of Shadow from:
(Affiliate Links Used)
The Soul of Shadow Series:
Heart of Mischief (Book 2) releases March 10, 2026
Places to find Emma Noyes:
No comments:
Post a Comment
STOP!
Comments that include links to other sites, or names including links WILL BE CONSIDERED SPAM AND DELETED.