Shadows So Cruel

After finishing Feathers So Vicious, there was absolutely no question about whether I was continuing with Shadows So Cruel. Liv Zander had already made me far too invested in Galantia, Malyr, and Sebian to walk away, especially after everything she left hanging at the end of the first book. I did, however, go into this one hoping for a little more from Galantia and the Raven world itself, because those were the two areas where I felt the first book hadn’t quite given me enough. Apparently I should be more careful what I ask Liv Zander for, because she gave me both and then proceeded to emotionally destroy me with it. I still gave her five stars, so clearly I approved.

What I loved almost immediately was seeing Galantia finally start finding her footing in this world. She is still learning, still makes mistakes, and occasionally makes decisions that had me wondering exactly what her plan was, but she is no longer content to stand there while everyone else decides what is best for her. She starts questioning things, pushing back, and making her own choices even when she knows perfectly well Malyr isn’t going to like them, which you know is always going to win points with me. It felt like everything she had been through in the first book was finally starting to shape her rather than simply happening to her. That carries over into her void as well, because as she begins understanding what her power actually is and what she can do with it, you can almost watch her confidence growing right along with it. She doesn’t suddenly transform into some completely different badass version of herself just because we’re in book two; she simply starts trusting herself more, and that felt much more natural.

That confidence also changes the dynamic between Galantia, Malyr, and Sebian because she feels much more like an equal participant in whatever wonderfully dysfunctional thing these three have created. There was so much uncertainty, jealousy, manipulation, and fighting for control in Feathers So Vicious that I wasn’t entirely sure what their relationship would look like once they stopped trying to survive each other long enough to actually have one. Surprisingly, some of my favorite moments ended up being the completely ordinary ones. Watching them eat together, tease each other, share a nest, braid hair, fall asleep together, and develop their own little routines made me more invested in them than another hundred dramatic declarations probably could have. Galantia doesn’t have to love Malyr and Sebian in exactly the same way for both relationships to matter, either, and I think that’s where the Why Choose aspect really came together for me. Somewhere along the way, these three stopped feeling like separate relationships tangled together and started feeling like a family.

Of course, becoming more attached to Sebian while reading this particular book was apparently one of my poorer life choices. We get to understand him better here, especially the guilt he carries from his past and how much it still affects the way he sees himself, but I also started noticing how naturally he fits between Galantia and Malyr. He understands when Galantia needs someone to actually listen instead of telling her what she should do, and he knows Malyr well enough to get through to him when almost nobody else can. I appreciated that because it kept Sebian from ever feeling like he was simply the nicer option whenever Malyr was being an asshole. His relationship with each of them has its own weight, and unfortunately for my emotional stability, Liv Zander made me care about all of it.

Malyr surprised me too, although thankfully not because he suddenly grew a conscience and became Prince Charming. He is still Malyr, and frankly, I would have been disappointed if somebody had replaced my morally black Raven disaster with a functioning member of society between books. What changes is that revenge is no longer the only thing he has to live for. He has Galantia and Sebian now, along with people depending on him and responsibilities he can’t simply ignore, and for the first time he can actually see the possibility of a life beyond settling old scores. That means revenge suddenly has a price it never really had before. I liked that his growth wasn’t about making him good or asking him to forgive everything that had been done to him; it was about realizing that the people he loves might finally matter more than the people he hates. For Malyr, that is one hell of a character arc.

We also finally get more of the Raven world around all of this, which made a huge difference for me. Their territories, leadership, abilities, customs, and political problems become more tangible, and the larger conflict begins affecting the people Malyr is supposed to be leading rather than existing mainly as the backdrop for his personal revenge. Galantia’s growing abilities fit naturally into that larger story too, so the romance and fantasy sides never felt like they were taking turns waiting for the other one to finish. There is a lot happening between the political conflict, the magic, and everything left unresolved from the first book, but it all felt much easier to follow now that the foundation had already been established. My hyperactive squirrel brain certainly didn’t have time to wander off looking for something more interesting.

The dangerous part was that somewhere in the middle of all of this, Liv Zander managed to make me comfortable. I started enjoying those little glimpses of Galantia, Malyr, and Sebian simply being happy together and apparently forgot what kind of book I was reading. Without spoiling anything, there is a point later in Shadows So Cruel where I genuinely wanted to reject what I had just read. I kept thinking there had to be some loophole coming because surely she wasn’t actually going to do this to me after spending all that time making me care this much. She was. She absolutely was. Feathers So Vicious made me angry, uncomfortable, fascinated, and desperate to know what happened next, but this one made me grieve, and that emotional punch is probably the biggest reason it earned the extra star from me.

The spice is still very firmly sitting at five peppers, because anyone coming directly from Feathers So Vicious already knows Liv Zander did not suddenly discover modesty between books. What changes is the emotional context surrounding it. There is more trust, familiarity, affection, and vulnerability between these characters now, so the intimacy feels like part of the relationship they have built rather than something separate from it. More importantly, I never reached that point I sometimes do with extremely spicy books where I start wondering if somebody misplaced the plot somewhere between bedrooms—or nests, in this case. There was always enough happening outside the spice to keep me invested in the actual story.

There honestly wasn’t much that didn’t work for me this time around. The two things I most wanted after Feathers So Vicious were stronger development for Galantia and more of the Raven world, and Shadows So Cruel gave me both. I still would have happily taken even more Raven history, culture, and magic, but that was because I wanted to stay in the world longer rather than because I felt something important was missing. For me, this is where the Court of Ravens duet really came together and became more than the dark, twisted story that originally hooked me.

So yes, I would absolutely recommend Shadows So Cruel, and personally, I think it is the stronger half of the duet. Obviously, you need to read Feathers So Vicious first, and all of the content warnings I gave for the darkness of this series still apply. But if you made it through book one already invested in these beautifully damaged people, keep going. Just don’t make my mistake and get comfortable when they start looking a little too happy. Liv Zander apparently takes that personally.

Review By: SASSY
Owner • Creator • Queen of the Chaos
SassyReviews.com
Read, Reviewed, & BookDragon Approved… or Not.