Shadows So Cruel: Court of Ravens, Book 2

Stacey Foss

What an ending

"This book had me feeling every emotion, it gutted me and put me back together more times than I can count. We start off right were book one ended and what a twist of events finding out that Galentia is a white Raven wow I didn't see that coming. She is truly coming into her own. Malyr and Sebian are lost trying to figure out where she went and how to get her back. While Sebian wants to make amends and show her truly how he feels, Malyr is struggling with knowing she is meant to be his and how he is not good enough for her. He lives in the dark with his shadows being more in control then he is, he feels he will just hurt her more. The story is once again fast paced and we get more back stories that give us amazing insights into the character and what happened to them that shaped who they are today. Malyr has been through so much abuse and hatred it's no wonder he is the way he is and Sebians losses are heartbreaking. The strength Galentia shows was exactly what these men need a strong woman who can be what they each need. We have more action, secrets are revealed and twists will break your heart. The tears fell many times as I read. Their story was beautiful in its twisted dark unhinged way. As the story comes to an end my thoughts are all over the place. I could not get enough and while the ending was perfect it still had my heart breaking. ["

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March 22, 2026 Verified Purchase

Honey Badger

Darkness, devastation, and plenty of spice

"4.5⭐️ 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ 1st person multi POV I actually liked this better than book 1. And the ending shattered my heart! This sequel delivered everything I wanted. Intense emotional payoff, character growth, and relationship dynamics that kept me invested from start to finish. Watching these characters fight their way back to each other while carrying so much pain and trauma made every emotional beat hit even harder. Malyr’s POV in the present timeline was everything! Getting inside his head added so much depth to his character. His growth throughout this story was one of my favorite parts of the entire duet. This book has darkness, devastation, and spice wrapped with tenderness. It had me smiling one minute and emotionally shattered the next. There were moments in this book that genuinely hurt to read, but in a way that made the story even more powerful. Liv Zander created deeply damaged, morally complex characters whose healing journeys felt raw, painful, and earned. This duet is a great dark romantasy, the perfect bridge-way from dark romance to romantasy. This book’s ending destroyed me emotionally and I’ll say if you’re looking for dark, unhinged, spice, and an ending that breaks you then this should be on your TBR! ["

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April 29, 2026 Verified Purchase

Dani

Loved.

"**🅡🅔🅥🅘🅔🅦** “𝗜’𝗺 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲.” I finished this book in a single day over the weekend. This book left me heartbroken and feeling a bit lost, as if I left a piece of my heart behind. Shadows So Cruel ultimately delivers a happy ending. Even if it wasn't the conclusion I had hoped for, I found it to be an intriguing story. Liv is not afraid to upset you with her writing. Ultimately, in times of war, loss of life is an inevitable. Liv Zander's writing immerses you in her world, and after reading this series, I can't wait to read more of her work. “𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗺𝗲, 𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮. 𝗡𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗼, 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲, 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝗺𝗲. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗳𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗲. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱, 𝗯𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵, 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁, 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵, 𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝘀𝘁, 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲… 𝘆𝗼𝘂… 𝗮𝗿𝗲… 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲.” Galantia discovers that she is a rare white raven. Now she must discover who she truly is. Her whole life has been a lie. While dealing with Maylr, who ultimately fulfills his promise by breaking her heart. Not only did he break her heart, but he is also her fated mate. Now she is picking up the pieces of a heart she never thought could be broken and a life that has been built on lies. “𝗜 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜’𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱… 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗯𝗲. 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂. 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂.” Sebian will forever remain my favorite character. I love this man. He is determined to win back Galantia's heart after breaking a part of it. After losing his family and fated mate, Sebian is finding hope and purpose in Galantia's love that reignites his spirit, making him willing to sacrifice everything to cherish and protect her. “𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙧𝙚, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙-𝙪𝙥 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙚, 𝙄 𝙥𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙙𝙚𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙚.” 𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙠𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙬. “𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩. 𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙢𝙚… 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙, 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙚? 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚? 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖 𝙙𝙖𝙮? 𝙎𝙖𝙮 𝙮𝙚𝙨. 𝙂𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙗𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙠𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩.” 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙢 𝙗𝙪𝙡𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙘𝙠 𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙙, 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝. “𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙞𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙩𝙧𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙪𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙢𝙚, 𝙝𝙢𝙢? 𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙞𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙖𝙢, 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚?” Maylr might not be my favorite character, but considering his traumatic past and the growth of his character, it’s hard to not like him in the end. He's genuinely trying to be a better man for Galantia, even if it means stepping aside for his best friend, Sebian, to love her. By the end of the book, I find myself actually rooting for him. You can feel all the effort he's invested in his transformation, because, really, who doesn’t have some work to do on their journey through life? “𝙈𝙮 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙚, 𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧, 𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙮. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡, 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙖 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙨. 𝙄𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙛𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪.” 𝙃𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙢 𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙨 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙟𝙖𝙬𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚. “𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝, 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙨. 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙠𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙡𝙚. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙚𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝.” This series has become one of my favorites of the year, earning a heartfelt 5 stars; a book that can evoke such deep emotion and bring me to tears is a rare find, making it truly remarkable, though I always remind readers to be mindful and check your trigger warnings. “𝙄𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙩. 𝙄 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚.” ["

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April 23, 2025 Verified Purchase

LouOnBooks

Stronger Sequel with Steam and Emotion—but Heavy Themes

"3.5/5 This sequel was definitely stronger than the first book, but I’ll be honest—the recurring SA elements wore me down. They were present throughout, and at a certain point, it just became too much. That said, the plot moved at a good pace, and the emotional stakes were higher. However, a lot of the conflicts or dramatic moments felt too easily resolved. I kept waiting for something to really hit, and while it got close, it didn’t quite land with the intensity I was hoping for. What I wasn't expecting? To cry. But this book got me. The characters felt much more fleshed out this time around, and you really start rooting for them. The story dove deeper into their traumas, and I thought those aspects were handled with more care and nuance than in book one. As for the spice—it was absolutely spicing. We get a full-blown why-choose situation, and it’s just as steamy as you'd expect. Smut girlies will not be disappointed. I do wish we’d gotten more background on the FMC’s family—those threads felt a little underdeveloped. And for a book that talked so much about the future, an epilogue would’ve been a perfect, satisfying close. A bit more world-building would’ve also gone a long way in tying everything—plot, relationships, and lore—together. All in all, a solid improvement with some standout emotional moments, but still room for growth. ["

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October 31, 2025 Verified Purchase

Titilayo

This was such a beautifully dark story!

"I believe Liz Zander is now going to be an author that I'm always looking Out for for a new release. This was such an amazing story I got this off of tiktok recommendations . I honestly thought that this wasn't going to be a good read and that I was going to drop this because sometimes book tok, Hypes up a lot of books that I end up putting on my reading list and once I finally read it they just don't end up being good. But this story Was done so well Liz has a way of taking such dark traumatic elements and themes and just telling a story that at the end of the day you find closure even if it's painful and I absolutely love the ending of this book because I'm so happy to see that malyr is moving on. That it took him a while to realize that traumatic events if you allow them to harbor over your life they will and that's why he was so angry for a long time but the ending brought me such peace when he said he's going to go have mash apples with his wife something so simple It's a hard thing to move on from but he is doing it. The pain with Sabian had me in so many tears! I'd never been so brokenhearted I had never been so brokenhearted by a fictional characters trauma like my heart goes out to the ravens and all the pain that they experience so much loss and the 3 of these characters. I'm not a big fan of of Polly characters I don't really dig the whole multiple lovers thing but these 3 it works so beautifully together! because they have experience such pain and my heart is just broken and full at the same time it's very hard to explain my emotions but I'm very happy I read this story this was really good. I don't know what I'm gonna read to make up for this but this was really good! Liz I don't know what you was drinking when you were made these duet books but baby please drink some more!!! Because you did your thing with this story this was such a beautiful story. I have no words if this book is in someone's reading list and I'm using voice to text so very sorry if there's a lot of no periods and random capitalization in the wrong places but if this book is in your to read list whatever you're reading or whatever you're not feeling right now drop it and read this duet book it's worth it!!!! It was an experience it's full of pain it's hurt, it's laughter, it's joy, it's redemption, it's hot, it's a powerful beautiful story and this was a painful beautiful ride and I am very happy that I read this!👏🏾❤ ["

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May 13, 2025 Verified Purchase