#Review - Shadow Reaper by Isla Frost #YA #Fantasy

Series: Firstborn Academy #3
Format: Kindle, 202 pages
Release Date: January 16, 2020
Publisher: JFP Press
Source: Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy

Life magic is abundant in Nova's world.
But it might just take death magic to save it.

Nova has sworn she will use every ounce of her wildcard power to bring down the worlds-destroying enemy that has gone undefeated for one hundred and fifty years.

The only hiccup in this otherwise solid plan is that she has no idea how.

But as she and her friends head to the war front to face this impossible task, they find themselves caught between powerful political forces, an unpopular prophecy, new and daunting revelations about their enemy, and the unstoppable might of the Malus itself.

If victory is possible, how much will it cost? 

Shadow Reaper is the third and final installment in author Isla Frost's Firstborn Academy. For the past 6 months, Nova and her friends Amelina, Bryn, Theus, and Lirielle have attended Firstborn Academy where they've had to learn to do away with their hatred and their prejudices towards those called Hollows and understand why the Firstborn Agreement was necessary. Nova, her trusty sword Gus, and friends, which now includes Fletcher, will be traveling to a military base in Europe where they are supposed to fight against the villain called Malus who is able to rip the life force from all living things within its reach. 

As the so called Reaper, aka Wildcard, it is hoped that Nova has the ability to find a way to defeat Malus. Those in charge even put together a team (Reaper Unit) around Nova to learn and utilize her capabilities. After all, prophecy has it that the first human witch will be instrumental in its destruction and therefore, the Hollows might be able to return home and leave the humans to their devices and their own survival which has been the responsibility of the Hollows since they agreed to create the Firstborn Academy. 

However, Nova has other worries to deal with. She's just now getting used to the fact that people are calling her a Reaper. She's not sure how in the heck she is going to face the Malus and win. And, she's not sure if she can keep her promise to her friends to all walk away from this when all is said and done. Also, if you read the previous novel, you know that Nova and Theus did something against all odds to tie Nova's life force to an adversary. Now, Nova's has to make good on a promise of hers. A promise which will end with Nova meeting with the entire Hollow council. Some of whom want her dead, some of whom want to leave the Earth and return home, and some who still see Nova as a means to an end. We also learn that Theus might also be part of the prophecy for abilities he is just now learning to handle. 

Nova had a lot of character growth, and with her core group, Amelia and Bryn, she overcame insurmountable odds to win freedom. Yet, I was a little disappointed with the lack of accountability for some of the other characters, like Ellbereth, who actively opposed Nova but seemed to engender no consequences for their actions.  Such is life I guess!

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