Shadows of Thysia

Book: Shadows Of Thysia by C. C. Martinez

Reviewed by Your_bookish_fantasy

Rating: 4/5

𝓝𝓞 𝓢𝓟𝓞𝓘𝓛𝓔𝓡𝓢
⚜️𝔻𝕖𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕝𝕖𝕕 𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 𝕠𝕗- Shadows of Thysia

𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 netgalley
𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰, 𝐢𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐢 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐦𝐲 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤.

⚜️ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤-
🗣 𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿s Samantha Archuleta and Rowan Whitlock ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ each

📚 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 / 5

🌡️ 𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗲 none yet, not really 🫑/ 5 -𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑚𝑦 𝐺𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑠 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑚𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑠

Which books have I also given this same rating? (𝑠𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑦𝑙𝑒𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑤𝑛)

5⭐️ Fourth wing / Bound by inked flame / Anathama / The Lies of Lena / Of silver and Curses
4.5⭐️ Bitten / The Female / Quicksilver / Bride / Lights Out / A Bargain so Bloody
4⭐️ Spellcaster / One Dark Window / From Blood and Ash / Phantasma / Butcher & Blackbird
3⭐️We Who Will Die / The Wolf King / Daughter of No Worlds / The Ex Hex

⚜️𝕂𝕖𝕪 𝕀𝕟𝕗𝕠:
Genre- Fantasy

🎧 11 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 35 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 (I 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚘𝚗 1.5 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚎𝚍)

📖 402 𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀

𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝗣𝗢𝗩 / #𝚍𝚞𝚎𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚢𝚕𝚎 𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗

𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲- April 14 2026

𝗣𝗹𝗼𝘁 or 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 driven? 𝒜 ℳ𝒾𝓍

𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲 & 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗻𝗼- incomplete series book 1

𝗔𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 on 𝗞𝗨? ✅𝒴ℯ𝓈

𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗲- 𝓂ℯ𝒹𝒾𝓊𝓂

𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲? ❌𝒮𝒶𝒹𝓁𝓎, 𝓃ℴ, 𝓃ℴ𝓉 𝓊𝓃𝒾𝓆𝓊ℯ ℯ𝓃ℴ𝓊𝑔𝒽, 𝒾𝓉𝓈 𝓌ℯ𝓁𝓁 𝓌𝓇𝒾𝓉𝓉ℯ𝓃 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝒹𝒾𝒹𝓃𝓉 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓃𝒹 ℴ𝓊𝓉 ℯ𝓃ℴ𝓊𝑔𝒽 𝒻ℴ𝓇 𝓂ℯ 𝓉ℴ 𝓇ℯ𝒸𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝒾𝓃 𝓈𝒶𝓎 6 𝓂ℴ𝓃𝓉𝒽𝓈 𝓉𝒾𝓂ℯ.

𝐀𝐧𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧? (Disability, plus size, mental health etc...)❌

𝒟𝒾𝒹 𝒾 ℯ𝓃𝒿ℴ𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈?✅

𝒲𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒾 𝓇ℯ𝒶𝒹 𝓉𝒽ℯ 𝓃ℯ𝓍𝓉 𝒷ℴℴ𝓀 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓈ℯ𝓇𝒾ℯ𝓈?✅

𝒲ℴ𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒾 𝓇ℯ𝒶𝒹 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 ℯ𝓁𝓈ℯ 𝒷𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒶𝓊𝓉𝒽ℴ𝓇?✅

𝖂𝖍𝖔 𝖜𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖉 𝖎 𝖗𝖊𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖒𝖊𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖘 𝖙𝖔? People who love a FMC that grows into her power and her ‘chosen one’ role along with enjoying a plot with many secrets and mysteries, mythical creatures and blood bonds!

⚜️𝕊ℙ𝔼ℂ𝕀𝔼𝕊 𝕀ℕ 𝕊𝕋𝕆ℝ𝕐:
💋𝐻𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑠
🧝‍♀️𝔽𝕒𝕖

⚜️𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕔𝕖 𝔽𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕤:
🔥𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧
😍IᑎՏTᗩ ᒪOᐯᗴ ᒪᑌᔕT
🙏𝐻𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑠 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡
💋𝒮𝓅𝒾𝒸ℯ 𝒾𝓃𝒸𝓇ℯ𝒶𝓈ℯ𝓈 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 ℯ𝒶𝒸𝒽 𝒷ℴℴ𝓀
🌡𝕐𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝔸𝕟𝕘𝕤𝕥, 𝕋𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟
🔺 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒

⚜️𝕋ℝ𝕆ℙ𝔼𝕊
😈𝕊𝕖𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕤 & 𝔹𝕖𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕪𝕒𝕝𝕤
👑𝓡𝓸𝔂𝓪𝓵 𝓲𝓷𝓽𝓻𝓲𝓰𝓾𝓮
🧬 𝐔𝐧𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠
🧸𝐹𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑦
🤩Epic Side Characters
🍭𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕟𝕪 𝕍 𝔾𝕣𝕦𝕞𝕡𝕪
🧩𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒙𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒚
💈 ᗷᗩᑎTᗴᖇ
🧨𝕊𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕪 𝔽𝕄ℂ
🤬 Feminine Rage
🥊 Revenge
⏳𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬
💪chosen one
⌚𝔸-𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕖
👑Shadow Daddy

✨ 🪧 Cliff Notes Version : ✨
I judged this on the cover and wasn’t going to read it, but I did anyway and I’m so darn glad I did! That cliff hanger left me hunting down the author to yell at her masochistic ways! The love triangle, secrets, blood pacts and history really made this story come alive!
Martinez doesn’t shy away from showing the cost of ambition and the weight of legacy, giving the story a depth that lingers long after the final page.

⚜️𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫 𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒓, 𝑳𝑰𝑺𝑻𝑬𝑵 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒕?⚜️
(𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡- 𝐵𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑜𝑟 𝐴𝑢𝑑𝑖𝑜?) I recommend the audiobook very highly!

⚜️𝔸𝕦𝕕𝕚𝕠 𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨:
The narrators did an excellent job of this book!
The male narrator in particular had a wonderful range and it was easy and clear to tell his characters apart! The accents and struggles, the emotions and inflections he exhibited truly made his characters come to life!
The female did a wonderful job also, she spoke with clarity in all her roles, again with brilliant accents and inflections. Sometimes I struggled to tell apart her internal thoughts from the spoken language but that my only criticism.

🌍 𝕎𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 𝕓𝕦𝕚𝕝𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝕨𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕡𝕒𝕔𝕚𝕟𝕘:
First of all I would like to make a confession-
Normally I wouldn’t have picked this book up. I don’t really care for the cover and the blurb was interesting but it didn’t grab me. However, I had a gap in my time to fit an audiobook and this was available so I nabbed it. And I am so very glad I did!

I'm not a massive fan of characters from our world being taken to fantasy worlds... (my brain doesn’t find that believable… dragon shifters with 2 peens- fine, but portals… noooo! 🤷‍♀️🫣) BUT this is one of my few exceptions. It was done really well and I loved the dry humour that came out of it. Immediately, I was invested in Eleni and her story - working herself silly as a nurse, the harbouring guilt, the regrets, and the way she handled the death of her estranged grandmother all made her such a sympathetic heroine.

The world building was ok but some of it was done in quite a clunky way, and I’m really confused about what the developer has to do with this story? I feel that was completely unnecessary as it did nothing to the plot and just became another thing to get answers too.

The prose/writing style is immersive, lyrical, and razor-sharp, balancing suspense, action, and emotional tension. That tension is meticulously built, and the twists are as darkly shocking.

I really enjoyed the elemental magic system, and the different factions in play in Thysia. But I do wish we had more information on the war and the history to help us better connect and understand the world as it is now. This being said- I felt like the very naive FMC didn’t ask nearly enough questions to help educate herself or protect herself. It left me thinking she was annoying as a lead character rather than rooting for her

The FMC is dropped straight into a world she doesn’t understand, seeing things that shouldn’t exist, and is drawn straight into conflict. As the story develops she learns a bit more about herself, and the mystery of where she came from - although this is still largely unresolved due to the massive twist and cliffhanger the book ends on, and develops many questions about her family and their history.

As other reviewers have mentioned there were some small inconsistencies in Eleni’s character later on, as well as continuity errors, but all in all I found this to be a solid debut. There were so many intriguing info hints and plot teasers included that were left open by the end of the book that, while they definitely left me wanting more, also left me feeling a unfulfilled, as I had more confusion and questions about the world and the characters story by the end than I had had at the start.

Although I was disappointed by the lack of resolution of any of the major plot points by the end of this book, I was pulled in by the many mysteries we were offered (and there was a lot) blood contracts, secrets, betrayals, who’s loyalty truly lies where, is velorn sworn to silence and bound? Is there fated mate bods in this world? And on and on my mind races…

And that ending made me throw my headphones, snatch up my phone, hunt down the author on insta and give her a piece of my mind! Brutal is an understatement!!

🧝‍♂️ ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤:
The characters are quite wonderful. They are flawed, cunning, and achingly human, navigating a world that demands sacrifice and punishes weakness. Their struggles, desires, and secrets are what makes them so relatable and easy to connect with and feel for- making every triumph, betrayal, and heartbreak hit like a dagger to the chest.

The FMC is Not too serious unless she needs to be, she’s compassionate, curious, and funny. However, Eleni’s attraction to both Ehlark and Velorn, and her initial interest in Cody, gave me the impression that her interests in men are a bit flighty, this is kind of explained away later in the book but it still didn’t sit right. Since our FMC seemingly shows interest in nearly every single man she interacts with, it made the romantic aspect feel unappealing, unimportant and flat.

Ehlark was a cutie and seemed so passionate and genuine and I’m hoping to see more of him in the next book- yes I know but I refuse to believe! And I’m defo hoping for someone to put a certain bunny boiler in her place too!

I don't care that our Verlon is a massive shadowy red flag... I need him to be the one, I’m hoping for a fated mate. But I’m also hoping for a why choose for her and her roaming eye too.

I did really like the mystery surrounding Velorn’s character. So many questions about his background, motivations, his secrets and to what extent he makes his own choices or is merely following orders, along with the contrasting personality traits that keep slipping through, is probably the main reason I am invested in the rest of the story to come!

😥 𝕎𝕙𝕪 𝕟𝕠 𝕗𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤?
I didn’t understand why there was so much detail in the earth part of the story as it made me more confused, I’m hoping there is a reason to be revealed in book 2 but for now it’s a negative. I also didn’t like how flighty the FMC was, how she didn’t actually ask questions and then there are the said inconsistencies in her character.
Mostly though, it’s the lack of history, lore and answers that has me knocking stars off. The next book has the potential to be a 5 star though.

⏳ 𝕎𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕚 𝕣𝕖-𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕠𝕣 𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕕?
I’d re read as a catch up, and yes I will recommend.

𝐹𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑚𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑢𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠;

𝕋𝕚𝕜𝕋𝕠𝕜
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IᑎՏTᗩ
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𝕄𝕪 ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕊𝕪𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕤:
⭐️ DNF

⭐️⭐️
I managed to finish it but it was rubbish. I won't keep a physical copy and won't recommend it, but it's a shame as the plot could have made a good book in another author's hands

⭐️⭐️.5
It was OK. I wish I didn't start this one as it didn't do it for me as I struggled to read it. It had an interesting premise that fell flat but I had to see what happened in the end.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
I don't regret reading it, and I will read the next one, but this one did have a few flaws. [These could be repetitive writing, gaps or plot holes, better character growth or world building, areas needing more detail]
Generally, the book lacked depth and became confusing. The plot resonated with me even though it annoyed me on the whole.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
I'm glad I read it. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to the right people, but I wanted more! Sadly, it's easily forgettable with a few issues I just couldn't overlook/get past.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Good book! I loved it, but... I needed more! I really did enjoy it, but it had a few parts that needed more detail or added history/background or lore. But that's because the story or characters were memorable, and the plot was strong with brilliant twists. I would re-read if I needed to catch up for the next book and would recommend.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Great book! I truly wish the story had been thought about more, or the author had been given more time as this book is so close to brilliance! I will likely read again and will definitely be recommending it to all!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
WOW! Absolutely amazing book! Well written with great characters and a plot so memorable that it will stay with me. I will definitely read this again, I will be recommending it and sharing it with the whole world! Also- I NEED A PHYSICAL COPY!

🔥⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🔥
This is my God level tier. The book must be perfectly memorable. Even after reading 50+ more books, I will remember character names and emotions along with the plot. If there is a special edition, then I need to own it! If there is a conversation on books- I'm talking about this!

SPICE SCALE:
🌶️– segsual language and a little on-page action

🌶️🌶️– a lot of segsual language and some on-page open door action, may be occurring a couple of times

🌶️🌶️🌶️– a lot of explicit action and dirty talk, occurring frequently with 2/3 lurvers

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ – super graphic and explicit, occurring 4 or more times, can be more grey and taboo themed.

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ – Kinks and Fet!shism, explicit and super graphic. It is likely to be tushy play, toys, playrooms, and more

Read full review on ARC Library