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4.0 

Ombria in Shadow

By Patricia A. McKillip
Ombria in Shadow by Patricia A. McKillip digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

When Ombria’s prince, Royce Greve, breathes his last—in palace rooms high above the city—he leaves his young son and mistress at the mercy of his ancient and powerful great-aunt, Domina Pearl. Meanwhile, in a dreamlike underworld peopled by Ombria’s ghosts, a sorceress weaves her spells and brews her potions, never revealing her real face—or true heart. And somewhere in between, the struggle to rule the whole of Ombria—both its light and shadows—will rest in the hands of those whose fractured lives align like the lost pieces of a magical puzzle….

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91 Reviews

4.0
“3.5 rounded up this is written like a fairytale and i think it’s best enjoyed if treated as one. i enjoyed this overall, the writing is entrancing, mckillip’s beautiful prose creates a mesmerizing atmosphere for the city of ombria (and its underground magical shadow city). this, however, also works against the plot itself: i found the writing at times dream-like but very confusing, i had no sense of how a character got from one place to another, and had to go back and reread quite a few times to figure out what was happening. again, normally i would’ve probably wanted more from this, both plot-wise and world-building wise, but treating it as a fairytale-like story somewhat absolves it of this. i enjoyed the magical aspects of it, despite there never really being much explanation for it. overall, i had a good time reading this at the end of a very long and exhausting year; it was light, imaginative, had a somewhat engaging plot & beautiful prose. the political machinations were fun to read about if only a bit predictable, but that’s fine. ALSO: gorgeous gorgeous cover!!!”
“A precious little fantasy… set in a shadowy Gormenghast-ish village kingdom, full of sorcery and portals and ghosts. Romantic love takes a backseat to chosen family & caregivers in a very cute way”

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