Book Talk Review; Shadow & Ghost: City of Shadows

 

I don't even have the words to describe how this book makes me feel

Kit Winter does not get caught.

As the most infamous thief in America, Kit enjoys a carefree, transient lifestyle—or, he did, until someone slapped a pair of handcuffs around his wrists and offered him an impossible Rot in prison or join the most dangerous division of the Darkmagic Investigation Agency, the Renegades.

Kit’s pretty sure he chose wrong. The Renegades are the most elite fighters in the world—none more so than their legendary dark-witch-killing lieutenant, Zach Riley. Kit is utterly outmatched and unprepared for hunting witches and demons through the dangerous, magic-riddled city of Las Oscura.

But when a routine hellhound hunt turns fatal, Kit’s criminal skillset might be the Renegades’ best shot at tracking a deadly new killer through the shadowy underground—and Kit’s chance to earn his place on the team. However, hunting witches is worlds away from Kit’s old life, and if he wants to survive, he’ll need to learn to trust his team—and balance his burgeoning feelings for a certain lieutenant.

This is an action-packed slow-burn romance culminating in some spicy scenes towards the end. Each book in the series will be increasingly spicy as the romance builds.

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Holy Hell. It's been a while since a book completely blew me away--coincidentally, the last book to do so was also urban fantasy, but I digress. This book is how you do urban fantasy right. And we see so little of that that sometimes I think of throwing in the towel with the genre (only sometimes. I love it too much to ever seriously consider it). 

This is the first book in the Shadow & Ghost series and what a freaking opening it is! Right away we're thrown into this world, and there's a slow build-up as we learn how the world around the narrator MC, Kit, works. While single POV isn't my favorite, I get why this one was written this way. Like Kit, we are thrown into this situation and don't know the players or how things are going to shake out. It was a brilliant move on the author's part as she kept us as unbalanced as Kit was. 

I absolutely loved Kit. He's such a brat. His mouth doesn't stop running, and though he's really freaking smart, he's kind of a dumbass as well. It's endearing. I loved the way the author wrote in his ADHD as well. It was real and authentic, not overdone, but more as a way to show that this is why the dumbass is such a dumbass. He really can't help himself, and that's something I understand all too well. When your brain is going a hundred miles an hour in twenty different directions, sometimes it's hard to make what others would consider sane decisions, and it was perfect. 

The other MC in this book is Ghost or, Zach Riley, Kit's new lieutenant. He's a mystery, wears a hood and mask so no one can see his face. The rumors about him are out of this world, he leads the most feared team of witch-killing assassins there is, and he, for some reason, picked Kit for his team. And I absolutely love every frightening inch of him. 

We start the book with Kit getting caught and spend the first thirty percent going through training with him, first basic and then with his new team. It's a slow book, not to say it's boring, far from it. Kit isn't the type of character who could ever be boring. His mouth is lethal, and his inner thoughts make you wanna hug him and never let him go. The world building and set up are so well done that even though the main plot takes over a third of the book to actually plot, you don't feel bored or shortchanged at all. It needs to be slow. You need to understand who Kit is as a person and how the team operates in order to really dive into the choices that are made here. 

This book may be a slow burn in both romance and plot but holy hell, once it gets started it REALLY gets started. The plot kicks off with a bang, and while I knew what was coming--it takes a lot to get one over on me. I'll give this author props for a valiant effort, but I called every single plot twist before it actually happened. That being said, it didn't dimish how well put together this book is. From start to finish, this book takes you on a ride. 

In true urban fantasy fashion, it's more about the plot than the romance and I loved that. There's a different between paranormal romance and urban fantasy and the author showed that she knows the distinction well. While it takes a while, a long while, for anything to happen between Kit and Zach, you could feel the tension and chemistry throughout the whole book. There's this edge. You know they will, eventually. It's the anticipation of not knowing the when that keeps you coming back for more. Because both of these men are a little broken, and so it takes them a hot minute to stop being dumb and admit they want--need--each other. 

Very much applaud the author for this book. Hands down one of my top favorite urban fantasy novels as it has everything I could ever want: well-done, ingenious plot, found family, and the promise of an explosive romance. 

*Quotes- 

"With his face burrowed in his hood, he truly looks a ghost. But that’s the thing about ghosts. They’re not real. Not really there. Incorporeal. Blinking in and out of existence. Touching nothing. Shadows, on the other hand, are everywhere, always. Touching everything. Creeping up, unseen, unnoticed. They rule the night, but even at high noon, in a barren field, a blade of grass casts a shadow in the breeze. So, you tell me what’s more dangerous: a shadow or a ghost?"

"I realize how much I feel those words. How much, for the first time in my life, I felt like I belonged somewhere. But that’s been ripped away, and it hurts like absolute hell. For the first time, I was part of something else, something bigger. A team. A family. And I wanted it. Still want it. I want to not be alone."

"“Our masks are us, as much as what’s underneath, aren’t they?” I cock my head. “Or do we get to pick and choose which pieces we want to keep? Which are you, Ghost-Boy? The mask or the pretty face?”"

""You came back for me. Stood up for me. Trusted me. Nobody’s”—the words catch—“nobody’s ever done anything like that for me. My whole life is this wild stormy sea, and you're this little bit of calm in the middle of the madness.”"