Title: Shadows of Truth
Series: League of Liars #2
Previous book in this series: League of Liars
Author: Astrid Scholte
Genre: YA, high fantasy
Publication date: February 2024
Published by: Allen & Unwin
Source: Borrowed from library
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Synopsis: After their dramatic escape from Vardean prison, Cayder and his friends leap into the unknown, tumbling headlong out of Telene and into the strange and mysterious world beyond the veil.
Leta – who grew up believing a world of dark fairytales existed on the other side of the veil – finds that the truth is more magical, and terrifying, than she could ever have imagined. And it's the worst possible place to discover your boyfriend has been mortally wounded.
Meanwhile, Cayder and Elenora learn that both this world and their own are teetering on the brink of destruction. Still reeling from Elenora's betrayal, Cayder must overcome his feelings and work with her to prevent an apocalypse. They have to make it home, and to do so they will need the help of their old enemy, Dr Bueter – as well as old friends they thought were lost forever.
This page-turning sequel to League of Liars takes us beneath the surface of the familiar world of Telene, and into the shadowy realm that is the source of both its magic and its nightmares.
I was SO excited to finally read this book! I have been really looking forward to reading it since I read the first book in the series back in the Summer of 2023. Unfortunately, I didn’t end up loving it as much as I was hoping (I gave League of Liars 5 stars!), and I honestly don’t even know what it was about this book.
The last book ended in a pretty wild cliffhanger with (spoiler alert for League of Liars!) the kids jumping through the veil in order to escape the Vardean prison. So exploring this whole other world and following these characters as they tried to get back to their world should have been interesting and exciting but it just... wasn’t for me. The first book sucked me in immediately and I was HOOKED. This book though did not capture my attention in the same way. Now, it wasn’t boring, but I was just not as engaged. I don’t know why and it is honestly so disappointing.
Another thing about this book that I did not love was the romance. From what I remember (because it HAS been a while), League of Liars didn’t have much romance, but I didn’t hate the little that it had. In this book though, I could not stop rolling my eyes. It was SO cheesy and I was just not into it.
The ending was also very predictable. Like, who would’ve thought that this person in particular would do what they did and try to take over the world? Oh no...
However, I did not hate this book, I swear. Lol. I appreciated that we got a little recap at the beginning of the book because it had been SO long since I read the first book, so that was a plus. And like all of Astrid Scholte’s books, I enjoyed the world-building in this. I loved the mythos of the veil and the use of edem—I thought all the new information we got was super interesting. And I also enjoyed all the plot twists throughout the book... minus the big one I saw coming from miles away 😆
All that being said, this book was... fine. I was a bit disappointed because I had such high expectations, especially after giving the first book 5 stars. I just felt like it was very underwhelming compared to that first book. But overall, it was not bad. I just wish it had been better.
Another thing about this book that I did not love was the romance. From what I remember (because it HAS been a while), League of Liars didn’t have much romance, but I didn’t hate the little that it had. In this book though, I could not stop rolling my eyes. It was SO cheesy and I was just not into it.
The ending was also very predictable. Like, who would’ve thought that this person in particular would do what they did and try to take over the world? Oh no...
However, I did not hate this book, I swear. Lol. I appreciated that we got a little recap at the beginning of the book because it had been SO long since I read the first book, so that was a plus. And like all of Astrid Scholte’s books, I enjoyed the world-building in this. I loved the mythos of the veil and the use of edem—I thought all the new information we got was super interesting. And I also enjoyed all the plot twists throughout the book... minus the big one I saw coming from miles away 😆
All that being said, this book was... fine. I was a bit disappointed because I had such high expectations, especially after giving the first book 5 stars. I just felt like it was very underwhelming compared to that first book. But overall, it was not bad. I just wish it had been better.
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