Fractured Shadows by K.A. Knight

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Shadows save me. Shadows guide me. Shadows fracture me.

Our lands are fractured. They have been split into three since before my birth, but they were not always this way. Once, we prospered, magic filling our lands before it was locked away withthem: the monsters.

Now we suffer and starve even as our king grows stronger and richer. Then my sister is called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice. Unable to lose the one person I love, I take her place willingly, protecting her the only way I can.

My name is Cora Black, and I’m barely twenty years old when I’m sacrificed to the monsters. If only they knew that I crave the same darkness that lives within their monstrous facades. If only the king knew I am just as much a monster as them.

Fractured Shadows

I volunteer as tribute!

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: ❤️💙💜💚
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙
World building: 🌏🌍🌏🌎
Character development: 😠☺️😋🥰
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Dual Narration

The heroine: Cora Black – She lives in a kingdom that has been split into three lands (the Dead Lands, The Gilded Lands and the Shadow Lands). Each year, a young girl is sacrificed to the hunt to appease the monsters and this year Cora’s beautiful sister is chosen, so (like Katniss), she volunteers herself in place of her sister. The sacrifice is hunted and killed so she expects to die.

The Heroes: Grimus, Bracken, Nero, Zetros, Krug and Razcorr – Grimus is a grumpy but good minotaur; Bracken is a charming and creepy fae; Nero is a sssexy naga (serpent man); Zetros is a massive and protective kraken shifter; Krug is a strong and aloof orc; and Razcorr is a magestic and intelligent gargoyle. Each of these monsters has their own extraordinary qualities.

The Story: Cora was born in the Shadow Lands where women have no rights and belong to the men. Monsters exist beyond the borders in the darkness beyond the shadows. When the darkness creeps closer, not even light can penetrate the shadows. This is why a girl is sacrificed each year, to hold the darkness back. Women are worked till they can barely stand and are kept obedient through regular beatings. Cora can barely hold herself back from hitting her father back when he beats her. While the women work and starve, the men are fat and lazy.

The king lives in the Gilded Lands and comes to the Shadow Lands every so often and chooses the most beautiful women to be his concubines. Cora and her sister know to show up dirty and looking their worst, so they aren’t chosen, as it is better to live in drudgery in the Shadow Lands than to be at the whim of the King. Her sister Kai has a boyfriend who is much nicer than most of the men and doesn’t seem as quick to anger. Cora still wants something more.

There is a wall of magic and barbed vines between the Shadow Lands and the monsters in the Dead Lands. It is the only magic in the kingdom. When Kai is chosen for the hunt, Cora knows that she has to step in since her sister was on the verge of getting married to her true love. Her father is only too happy about his daughter being chosen, since it means he will get gold and riches.

The story is a good one, I liked all the monsters and how they were all so different and had distinct personalities. Cora goes on a journey through the Dead Lands with her men, picking up more of them along the way. They face dangers, including other monsters and have to fight their way through the lands, but they become friends along the way. The intimate scenes are super steamy and quite different since they are all monsters with strange and wonderful anatomical features.

This story was told in dual points of view via dual narration and was narrated by Troy Duran and Brooke Daniels. Troy is my favorite male narrator and does a terrific job at everything he narrates. He has a deep sexy voice which is perfect for any Hero. Brooke Daniels has a clear feminine voice which sounds age appropriate for a twenty-year-old heroine and she does a great job as well.

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