Crystal D. Grant’s debut fantasy slowly builds out a complex medieval world, populated by quickly sketched yet fully realized characters.

Shadowcast

A dark soldier on a mission of vengeance is wounded and laid up in the home of a peasant girl who mistakes him for one of the Steward knights he despises.
September 2023 · Share a reply or review

After witnessing the brutal death of his brother at the hands of the Steward Knights, Mason Grey turns to vengeance. Using his Gifts to read and control the minds of others, he climbs the ranks of the Dark Army, determined to earn the coveted Shadowstone—a powerful tool against the light-wielding Stewards. But when he is wounded in battle, he finds himself recovering in the home of a chatty peasant girl…without the use of his Gifts. Even worse, the girl mistakes him for one of the Stewards he despises.

Seria Gayle longs to be seen as more than the town washerwoman. When she finds an injured Steward in the woods, she welcomes the chance to use her healing skills and hopes it will earn her some respect. But as she nurses the sullen stranger back to health, she discovers he is nothing like the knights she has long admired.

When Mason’s true identity is revealed, Seria is devastated and humiliated. But she is offered a chance at redemption by the very prince that Mason hates. Now Mason struggles between two choices: accept the Shadowstone to avenge his brother or pursue this newfound light in the form of a peasant girl. With time running out and war looming, will Mason and Seria defy their own convictions for a chance at love or stand against one another like they’ve sworn to do?

Book 1 of the The Gateway Trilogy series.

Review of Shadowcast

· December 2025

Mason Grey can control men’s minds. He’s used this gift for his oath has sworn to bring down the Steward Knights who killed his brother. But when Mason is gravely injured in battle, he is taken in by peasant girl Seria Gayle, who believes him to be a Steward. Now to accomplish his true mission, Mason must hide his true identity. Crystal D. Grant’s debut fantasy Shadowcast slowly builds out a complex medieval world, populated by quickly sketched yet fully realized characters. Vivid descriptions cast a lush landscape that’s perfect for questing, and story strands coalesce for a fulfilling finale that readies readers for more books in the Gateway Trilogy series.

Best for: Older teen or adult fans of epic fantasy with political intrigue and a dash of romance.

Discern: Morally gray male protagonist, powers granted by a single Deity, violence in swordfights, a few kisses.

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