Day’s YA: SOUL OF SHADOW

SOUL OF SHADOW by Emma Noyes
9781250342966
7/29/2025
Wednesday Books
Ages 13-18

E-galley available on Edelweiss and NetGalley

Charlie Hudson hasn’t been the same since the death of her twin sister, Sophie, two years prior. Once an excitable, ready-for-anything girl, the loss of her sister has left her filled with grief and simply going through the motions of everyday life. She’s just trying to survive her junior year of high school in Silver Shores, Michigan, with her best friends Lou and Abigail and her older brother Mason. But when a classmate goes missing, and his shoes are found tied to a tree in the forest–one that has strange Norse symbols carved all over it–she can’t help but feel drawn to the disappearance. During a trip into the woods to investigate, Charlie is introduced to Elias, a mysterious newcomer in town.  He’s beautiful and alluring, yet he evades her questions, only making her more curious about what he might be hiding. As more students start to go missing, and the investigation takes an unexpected turn, Charlie is introduced to a world hiding in plain sight–one filled with magic, gods, monsters, and more danger than she can imagine. 

SOUL OF SHADOW is one of the most unique contemporary fantasies I’ve read in a long time. The inclusion of Norse mythology throughout the story is something so different and exciting, and all of the mythology was explained in depth throughout the book, making it easy to understand, even for someone with very little prior knowledge of it. Emma Noyes’s descriptions of the magical world and its various creatures are incredibly immersive, making me feel like I too could see all of the intense visuals that Charlie faced firsthand. And given that this new world is essentially connected to our own, it’s made even more realistic as Charlie learns what is true and what isn’t in the Norse myths that she has come to learn from pop culture such as Marvel movies and video games. While the world is complex, it is easy to learn, the story is fast-paced, and the plot twists are abundant.

Charlie is one of the best lead characters I’ve ever read–her grief is so real and understandable, yet at her core she is a strong, determined, and powerful girl, even if she doesn’t see herself as so. She is willing to go to the ends of the Earth to protect her friends and family, and her development throughout the book is incredible to see, as she steps out of her comfort zone and believes in her own strengths. Her friendship with Abigail and Lou is laugh-out-loud funny and filled with witty banter, while also having such depth to it. They are always there to support her through her loss and encourage her. Readers also get to watch the evolution of her relationship with her brother Mason, which goes through its own ups and downs following the loss of their sister. And last but not least, the romance is everything you could want in an enemies-to-lovers, fake-dating drama with a morally gray love interest. Elias is cunning and sly–you love him one second and hate him the next—and the tension between him and Charlie is impeccable. As I learned more about Elias and his past, I kept wanting to uncover more and more about him. Their chemistry, their conversations, and their banter added the perfect intense romance to the fantasy plotline.

With magic, betrayal, typical high school drama, and an incredibly cute creature that you’ll wish you could adopt for yourself, SOUL OF SHADOW makes for a perfect contemporary romantasy. If you’re a fan of THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, SKY IN THE DEEP, or morally gray characters such as Damon Salvatore, Prince Cardan, and the Darkling, this is a must read for you.

Happy reading!
<3 Margo

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