Review: Veil of Shadows by Krista Street

Veil of Shadows by Krista Street
Series: Fae of Woodlands & Wild #2
Published by Self Publish on 2025-02-07
Length: 338 pages
Reviewing Kindle from Kindle Unlimited
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2025 New Release Challenge

Elowen’s fate now lies in the hands of her captor, and she must decide if she’ll fight him at every turn or accept that life as she knew it has irrevocably changed.

All my life I’ve been dutiful. Subservient. Accommodating. But I refuse to let that trend continue. Locked away by the notorious Dark Raider, I vow to fight for my freedom . . . no matter the stakes.

But the Dark Raider has a secret I never imagined. He bares his soul to me, and overnight everything changes.

My singular goal now aligns with my captor's, and we band together on a hunt throughout the kingdoms. Both of our fates hang in the balance, and when the Raider reveals his biggest secret of them all, my heart is suddenly on the line.

Yet our hunt proves far more deadly than either of us could have imagined. Now, it’s up to us to stop the malicious darkness weaving through the continent, and we must succeed. Because if we don’t, the kingdoms will fall in ruin and the love I’ve craved will be shattered before it’s begun.
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Veil of Shadows is book two in Fae of Woodlands & Wild, a fae fantasy romance trilogy that takes place in Krista Street's Supernatural World. This series contains slow-burn spicy romance, epic world-building, a female fae who's determined to wield her own fate, a ruthless Dark Raider who will stop at nothing to get what he wants, and a mysterious ploy circulating throughout the kingdoms.

Veil of Shadows by Krista Street is the second book in her series Fae of Woodlands & Wild which follows Elowen as she adjusts to her new life in Stonewild. If you have not read book one of this series, there may be minor spoilers to it in this review. Read at your own risk. Elowen may be free of her guardian now, but after she witnesses Jax and his friends without their masks she can no longer leave. While Jax doesn’t own her, in Elowen’s mind he might as well be her new guardian. The freedom she longed for in book one is now out of reach. Jax trusts her to keep their secret, but he cannot risk his friends’ lives or break the promise he made them. Since she is stuck with Jax, Elowen asks to go with him on his quest to find the male they kidnapped her to find. Together they make their way back to Faewood and the tournament that is about to take place.

Elowen is understandably hurt and angry at the start of this book. Jax and his friends hid their identities from her, not even giving her their real names. As the Dark Raider’s captive, she was initially scared of them, but had grown to trust them. Now, she’s angry that her freedom has been stripped from her before she really got a chance to taste it. But Jax wants to keep his promise to free her magic even if there is no way to remove her collar. He makes her guardian loosen its hold as much as possible, freeing her magic. Elowen is amazed and frightened of her magic, unsure if she can control it, but Jax has faith that she can.

The story follows Elowen and the Dark Raider’s crew back to where the story started. Jax’s brother, Bastian, is the male Elowen was kidnapped to find, and the semelees showed her that he was at the Matches. Going back is risky. Elowen was a favorite of the king, but she convinces Jax to take her with them. Together they find a dark magic controlling the half-breeds, and the race to find Bastian becomes life or death. Street continues to build a fantastic world with a full complement of characters. I loved getting to know Jax and his crew better through Elowen as well as learning more about the limits of her own magic. The romance ramps up in this one. It was a slow, tension filled build, but SO worth it.

Overall, I really enjoyed Veil of Shadows. The plot slows down some in this one to build the characters and their relationships, but I personally didn’t mind that. I enjoyed this aspect. I’m looking forward to what’s next after the cliffhanger. If you are a fan of romantasy or fae, I highly recommend it.

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