Syhl Shallow is on the brink of war...
3.5
Carving Shadows into Gold Book Cover Carving Shadows into Gold
Forging Silver into Stars
Brigid Kemmerer
Fantasy
Bloomsbury YA
January 28, 2025
Hardcover, Ebook, Audiobook
496

Dangerous magic. Fateful choices. Broken promises. The spellbinding series by New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer continues. The King's Courier Tycho has made a treacherous bargain. Now beholden to the magical scraver who saved King Gray's life, one false move could end everything. Jax escaped his life in Briarlock and traveled with Tycho to Emberfall. But life outside his small village brings unexpected challenges--and unlikely adversaries. After years of hating the royal family and their magic, Callyn never expected to be at the Queen's side, with magic on her fingertips. But at the royal court, she can't trust anyone--including the man she thought she loved. Cast apart, Tycho, Jax, and Callyn must learn to wield the magic that is dividing their kingdom. As the magical scravers attack from the north and the king's rivals gain strength, time is running out. War is looming. Love is tested. And magic could be the only answer. . .

My, my, tensions are high in Brigid Kemmerer’s latest installment of the cursebreakers spin-off series, “Carving Shadows into Gold”.

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If you’ll recall from my review of “Forging Silver into Stars”, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the new perspectives and voices in this spin-off series, but dare I say I enjoy Callyn, Jax, and Tycho even more than the original trio. “Gold” starts with our characters being separated, so each POV provides perspective on the mounting conflict against magic, as well as insight into our characters’ state of mind. 

Syhl Shallow is on the brink of war, and there seems to be no way to avoid it. Queen Lia Mara’s people fear King Grey’s magic and want her to evict her husband from the castle and their country for good. Additionally, there’s the promise of battle on another front; the scravers who were originally banished to the ice forest of Iishellasa have left the forest and are attacking both Syhl Shallow and Emberfall.

All the dynamics have changed between “Silver” and “Gold”.

“I’ve never battled with my own sense of duty and honor like this before, and I hate it.”

Everyone has a role to play at court. Whether you’re a metal worker, a lady-in-waiting, a soldier, or the King’s courier. All of our characters are struggling with their place at court for one reason or another.

Kemmerer is a master at not only weaving a story between multiple perspectives, but also examining the human spirit through internal monologue. While the country of Syhl Shallow is on the brink of a two sided war, our main characters are struggling with their insecurities and personal relationships.

Callyn and Alek, find themselves partnering together, but they have a sordid history and she doesn’t trust his motivations or intentions. Further still, she harbors a secret of her own and doesn’t know what to do with it.

Jax manages to integrate into Emberfall’s day-to-day while he doesn’t speak their language and he knows people actively hate him.

Tycho is in conflict with his oldest friend and doesn’t see a way past it. He’s always been loyal to Grey, but lately their relationship is strained and they continue to find themselves at odds. I feel terrible for Tycho. He was drafted into conflict at such a young age, and has done nothing in his life but be at the will of others, fighting for others. Poor kid deserves a beautiful vacation and an easy life.

Kemmerer managing to show the characters’ personal growth along with plot development while they’re all separated is such a difficult thing to accomplish, but she does it with absolute skill. Her writing seems simple but page after page is layered with depth and detail. She takes complex connections and power moves and makes them digestible by having the characters work through them in their internal monologues on the page.

“We keep coming to this point, and I don’t know how to end up at any other.”

War is coming. That’s a fact. War with the People. War with the scravers. War with each other, if they don’t learn how to start communicating effectively and get past old hurts.

“Carving Shadows into Gold” is book two of a trilogy, so before you open the book you should know that the main plot points and conflicts aren’t going to be resolved here. This book is 100% written to set up for the final battle, and to that point if I’m being honest and speaking from my heart, I feel like series could have been a duology. There’s not a lot that happens to advance the plot except for some attacks to build the tension and drama. I don’t hate it though. I’m on the edge of my seat waiting to see how everything plays out in the finale.

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