Rating: 4 out of 5.

While dwarves and elves are common in fantasy, I’ve never read a book with shadowy Umbral characters. I had to look up what umbral meant so that I could get a picture in my mind what we were talking about, and trust me, they are creepy characters. Take a look at the cover and you’ll see what I mean.

Det. Bradley is a great character, and I loved his growth throughout the book. His realization that he was unwittingly biased against Umbrals and how he rectified those feelings was believable and admirable. The tension in the book was palpable, especially with Bradley torn between doing his job and protecting everyone, and his desire to just protect his son.

The civilian dwarves, elves and umbral that help Bradley with the emergency added depth and humor to an otherwise tense and life threatening situation. The book has a satisfying ending and if this turns out to be the first in a series, I will definitely read the next book.

I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from Black Phoenix Book Tours. All opinions are my own. The book is currently free on Kindle Unlimited, so check it out today! Amazon.