Review: Shadow Wings (Darkest Drae #2) by Raye Wagner & Kelly St. Clare

Title: Shadow Wings

Series: Darkest Drae #2
Author: Raye Wagner, Kelly St. Clare
Publisher: Raye Wagner, Kelly St. Clare
Published: February 8, 2018
Pages: 348
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
Source: Kindle Unlimited
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I will never be controlled again.

A manipulative dragon shifter. A sexy phaetyn prince. Me? I shouldn’t even exist. 

With peace established in Verald, I should be free; Lord Tyrrik is liberated from his blood oath, after all. But the freedom in Verald is an illusion. If I remain, destruction will surely follow. 

As soon as I come into my powers, the blood-thirsty emperor of Draecon will know. Even now, he is hunting me. 

When a Phaetyn prince arrives promising safety, the solution seems perfect. A little too perfect. But is the objective of our group security or something more? Because everyone is telling me what my goals should be. 

Who do you trust when everyone has lied to you? 

Should I listen with my head – or my heart? 

I might not get a choice.

Goodreads / Amazon

MY REVIEW

DISCLAIMER: This review MAY contain spoilers. 

This book has a completely different feeling than the first book in this series. And not in a bad way. I loved the first book, and I loved this one equally as much. The first book was a little more unpredictable and much darker. This book seemed to focus more on character development and the expanding plot.

So many things that we were scratching our heads about in Blood Oath are revealed. We get some clarity about certain things and we get insight into others. I loved getting more acquainted with the Phaetyn people and their corrupt rulers. I love the course that the plot charted in that aspect of the story. I also liked the new information about the mountain kingdom. Seeing the other cultures in this world was enlightening and brought so much more to the story. 

The characters are continuing to grow. Ryn especially. At the beginning of the book, she was dead set on ignoring the harshness of the world she lived in and letting someone else take the lead on going up against the evil emperor. She also is going through a lot of emotions regarding Tyrrick and his recent betrayal. She has to figure out if she can forgive him when she knows that he deceived her to protect her. She also finds out some shocking information about her lineage and has to deal with that along with her Drae awakening on her eighteenth birthday. So many changes are happening for Ryn. On top of all that she ventures into a strange kingdom, going in blind, and has to deal with prejudice and an ever-growing threat. I loved the inclusion of Dyter in this book. He was there with Ryn almost the entire book. It really warmed my heart that her father figure was there helping her and encouraging her along the way. The love that they had for each other was obvious and it was beautiful. There usually aren't many parental figures present in literature for one reason or another so I was overjoyed to see it. 

The romance in this book was much more interesting. I adored all the banter between Ryn and Tyrrick. I loved all the little breadcrumbs in relation to the big reveal (that we all saw coming, but it's all good) that were scattered throughout the book. Ryn is still not over the events that happened in Blood Oath and she is trying to come to terms with them and she fights her growing feelings for Tyrrick in the process. 

Overall, this was a fantastic second-in-series book! This book really strengthened the plot and the characters were amazing! I would recommend this series to all fantasy fans. This series has a little bit of everything and is the kind of story that you could read again and again. I am so delighted that I chose to read this series. Now, on to the final book!

Check out my review for the first book in this series!

Blood Oath (Darkest Drae #1)

Find my review here.

This book is a little darker than I expected. Do you enjoy dark fantasy? What books have been on your radar lately?