Book Review: Satanic Shadows

Author: Leigh Rivers

Rating: 5/5

Some books burn slow. Some books creep under your skin. And some books, like Satanic Shadows, come in swinging with claws out and teeth bared and never let you go.

Reader, be warned. This one is scalding hot.

Satanic Shadows follows Dane Dalton, an immortal prince of darkness with a personality like a razorblade, and Seraphina Winters, a human girl who didn’t ask for any of this.

Kidnapped from her life and dumped into Quarrierton Academy (a castle packed full of powerful, immortal beings) Sera is told the only way home is to graduate. Easier said than done when everyone around her thinks humans are basically cockroaches with shoes.

Dane included. Especially Dane.

The enemies-to-lovers energy here isn’t just hinted at — it’s weaponized. Dane is mean. Not broody. Not secretly nice. Mean. Every single day, this man wakes up and chooses violence, scorn, and soul-level humiliation, and somehow I was eating it up with a spoon the entire time. The obsession I have for this character though should probably be studied.

Sera, for her part, isn’t some trembling wallflower either. She’s sharp, stubborn, and willing to do whatever it takes to survive in a world that clearly doesn’t want her there. Together, they have to complete a brutal list of tasks and navigate a tangle of rules, politics, and thinly veiled threats just to stay alive, let alone graduate. Meanwhile, Dane gets arrested for a crime he almost definitely didn’t commit, timelines start unraveling, secrets start bleeding out, and Sera is forced to do some truly dangerous shit to save them both. Nothing comes easy in this world, and the consequences are always waiting.

The supernatural twist Leigh Rivers weaves into this isn’t just your typical "magic school" fare either. The worldbuilding is lighter in tone but so cleverly layered that you never feel bogged down in info dumps. Instead, you get dropped right into the fire and trusted to keep up. And when things start cracking — when Dane's perfect, cold-blooded façade starts slipping — you realize the game is so much bigger than it first looked.

Also, side note:

Shadow Daddy Dane Dalton owns me.

That’s it. That’s the post.

Some books flirt with tension. This one sets it on fire, dances in the ashes, and dares you to beg for more.

I could not do a review and leave out my favorite quote:

"You think I don't know you? I'm fucking haunted by you."

And if that line doesn’t rip your soul clean out of your chest, you might already be dead.

If I had one single complaint, it’s only that book two isn’t already in my hands!!

Because after that ending, I need answers. I need blood. I need more Dane being an emotionally constipated menace to society. Immediately.

This book doesn't just live in my head rent-free. It bought the property, torched the neighbors, and installed a throne for Dane Dalton. 5/5 — no notes, only suffering.