Promise of Shadows Review

Promise of Shadows by Justina Ireland

Title: Promise of Shadows

Author: Justina Ireland

Series: None

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: March 11, 2014

Genre: Greek Mythology; Romance; Fantasy; Supernatural; Young Adult

Pages: 371

Format: Hardback

goodreads

Zephyr Mourning has never been very good at being a Harpy. She’d rather watch reality TV than learn forty-seven ways to kill a man, and she pretty much sucks at wielding magic. Zephyr was ready for a future pretending to be a normal human instead of a half-god assassin. But all that changes when her sister is murdered—and she uses a forbidden dark power to save herself from the same fate.

Zephyr is on the run from a punishment worse than death when an unexpected reunion with a childhood friend (a surprisingly HOT friend) changes everything. Because it seems like Zephyr might just be the Nyx, a dark goddess made flesh that is prophesied to change the power balance. For hundreds of years the half-gods have lived in fear, and Zephyr is supposed to change that.

But how is she supposed to save everyone when she can’t even save herself?

I’m just going to put this out there: Any Greek mythology book is really just playing for second. Two words: Percy Jackson.

With that said, this is a very good second place. It’s not a Percy Jackson, but it is good. Zephyr Mourning is a Harpy. But, unlike how Greek mythology really goes, she is not a chicken with the head of a woman. No. She just has wings, and bright blue hair. Apparently having flying apparatuses on your back and unnaturally colored hair makes you a harpy. Not what I was expecting, but okay. Even with her feathery wings and electric hair, she still is not a very good harpy. Not good at magic, not good at killing people. She just can’t seem to do anything right. When her sister is murdered and she does the unthinkable in retaliation, things take a turn for the worst. With dark magic at her side, she must learn to fight for not only herself, but also for others.

I start with the things that I liked. I liked the main character. I liked the romance. I liked the spin on the “light always beats dark” theme. Zephyr, unlike many other heroines, is not a badass, or morally righteous. She can’t kick butt at will or have any incredible skills. All she has is her dark magic that is strangely evil-like and her blue hair. She doesn’t even have wings. And yet, she is supposed to be the famous Nyx. While she herself is not capable of awesomeness, her dark powers are just plain cool. I loved how Ireland played with the irony of dark powers being good and light powers being bad. I liked how the main protagonist had antagonistic tendencies, giving intricate depth to the character.  

Here’s the thing: I have a thing for bad boys. Or, rather, fictional bad boys. You know, the jerks that the girl has to reform and crack the hard sexy outer shell to get to the even sexier sensitive stuff. Well, the love interest just happened to be one of those boys, more or less. While the romance was sudden, it was also sweet and touching.

I thought this book was incredibly creative. I wish that it wasn’t a standalone; it has so much potential! But still, it was worth reading. More than worth it, I would say. And the cover is just gorgeous, isn’t it?