Book: Shadows of Obsidian by Nicole Labrocca
Reviewed by A.Hampton Reads
Rating: 4.5/5
⭐️ 4.5/5
Shadows of Obsidian gave me exactly what I want from an epic fantasy: high stakes, immersive worldbuilding, powerful characters, and a relationship that felt earned through everything the characters had to survive together.
Sira and Zodiark were both incredibly compelling to follow. They begin the story isolated in very different ways, and I loved watching an unwanted connection force two people who are used to surviving alone to rely on someone else. Their POVs remained distinct throughout the book, and I was equally excited to experience events through each of their perspectives.
Their character development was one of my favorite parts of the story. Neither became a completely different person by the end; instead, they felt shaped by everything they'd experienced. Sira grows from someone willing to accept less than she deserves into someone who understands and claims her own strength, while Zodiark's anger and distrust gradually make room for a devotion he never expected to feel. By the end, they stand beside each other as equals—both incredibly powerful in their own right, but stronger because they've allowed themselves to need each other.
I also loved that Zodiark being a dragon felt fundamental to his character rather than simply another fantasy element added to the story. His history, isolation, anger, instincts, and relationship with humanity all felt intertwined with what he is.
The worldbuilding is detailed without requiring an enormous geographical scope. Many of the locations are relatively close to one another, which made the world easy to follow, but each setting still felt distinct. The stakes also continued to escalate throughout the book. There were several moments when I thought we had reached the major confrontation, only for the story to raise them again. The pacing kept me eager to see what happened next!
The writing felt confident and immersive, although there were occasional moments when the descriptions went a sentence or two beyond what I needed, particularly when an idea was already clear and then further explained through comparison. There were a few scenes that made me stop and reread based on how everything was described. Those moments occasionally pulled me out of an otherwise very immersive story and are ultimately what kept this from being a full five stars for me.
The romance is explicitly on-page, so readers who prefer closed-door or lightly detailed intimacy should know that going in. Personally, I felt the intimate scenes were earned by the progression of Sira and Zodiark's relationship and everything they had experienced together (though the spice was spicing!! 🔥)
Most of all, I loved where their story ultimately took them. Without spoiling anything, the ending gave the major choices room to breathe and allowed both characters to make those choices with respect for each other's autonomy. After reading about two lonely people survive so much, seeing them become powerful individually while finding someone they could completely trust made the ending incredibly satisfying.
If you love epic fantasy, dragons who are truly integral to the story, dual POV, detailed worldbuilding, high stakes, powerful characters, explicit romance, and relationships forged through impossible circumstances, Shadows of Obsidian is absolutely worth checking out! 🐉🖤
(I received an ARC copy of this book. All opinions are my own.)