Book Review: The Shadow of what was Lost by James Islington

Picked this up because a review in Goodreads mentioned that Brandon Sanderson had recommended it.

It read like a book whose plot had been decided beforehand and the middle filled in afterwards. There are so many cryptic references to things that have happened long before the events in the book or are yet to happen that I ended up using notes to keep track. Characters pop in - say mysterious things- and disappear for the rest of the book.

The main perspectives were also a bit inconsistent and slightly jarring. Perspectives switch between people without warning.

There are snippets that are very well written. particularly dialogue. But as a whole I wished more than once the editing could have been better.

All that said, the characters are interesting. And the twists and turns in the plot kept me guessing. Will definitely read the second book in the series.