Warriors: Changing Skies #3: Chasing Shadows releases in about a month and two weeks on March 31st prompting the teaser preview chapters. As the first Warriors release in 2026, fans must be eager to get their hands on the continuation of the WACA universe. The link was originally sent out in the Fan Club email for early access.
With the allegiances, prologue, and first three chapters previewed, readers get a little taste of what’s to come in the third installment of Changing Skies. While the first two books, The Elders’ Quest (review) and Hidden Moon (review), were slow-moving and unremarkable, the previews chapters have me finally excited for the storyline to ramp up. Since we’re hitting the mid-point of this arc, I’m wondering if things will finally get moving.
Read on for my thoughts.
This article contains spoilers for the Changing Skies arc, as well as spoilers for the series as a whole (including the fourth book’s name and blurb at the bottom).
First, check out the book’s blurb:
An ominous prophecy continues to unsettle the Clans while Twoleg construction disrupts their connection to the Moonpool and StarClan. Meanwhile, two cats–an elder and an apprentice–believe that only they can save the Clans from certain destruction.
Moonpaw finally confesses to her Clanmates that her dead sister has been torturing her in her mind, and the Clan rallies around her in support. But as Moonpaw grows closer to Goldenpaw, her sister’s threats become more ominous, and even turn bloody. Moonpaw worries she’s a danger to her entire Clan. Would Thunder[C]lan be better off without her?
Tawnypelt is sure that the prophecy she received from Bluestar is a dire warning–and she believes that only the Elders can see the Clans through the oncoming danger. Frustrated with his mother, Tigerstar bans her from speaking of the prophecy, so Tawnypelt takes refuge in ThunderClan. She begins to wonder if her true place is in the Clan of her birth.
Amidst all this, Starlingpaw grows bolder in his belief that he alone must save the Clans. But can an apprentice really hold the key to their salvation?
Once again, the prologue is the main event for me. I nearly let out a squeal when I saw that it was Cloudtail’s perspective. I absolutely love that we got a little snippet of a character that is so important and iconic to the series, as well as a cat we’ve never had a point of view from before.
The moment where he realizes it’s a dream and feels young and free again was so sweet. I’ve always loved the concept that they’re strong again in dreams and the afterlife. This is also more hinting towards the elders being important, of course. It appears that Cloudtail was dreaming about a potential new StarClan connection, with seeing bright moonshine. Whether it is the Moonstone, a new spot, or perhaps SkyClan’s old gorge connection, readers won’t know right away. It did what a prologue should do: tease a little mystery!
Seeing a lot more of the elders in general has been both heartwarming and wrenching. I feel a kinship to them since these are the characters I grew up with. It’s a sort of sappy and sad comfort to see them being important to the storyline again. I love how Tawnypelt is continuing to interact with them. Their personalities are as strong as ever.
Some of the inconsistencies with how their ages are portrayed while not having that big of a gap between elders and older warriors is the typical miscalculation of the WACA team, but no less exasperating. It is adorable to see them being protective over Moonpaw though.
Though I wasn’t as excited about it as the surprise prologue, Starlingpaw’s chapter is very important considering how book two ended on the Crowfeather-cliffhanger. I am baffled at how Crowfeather is alive and has no broken bones. I think myself and other fans will be angry if he comes out of this horrendous fall unscathed.
Now, they do give readers another small cliffhanger by revealing the potential of Crowfeather’s ghost. It seems he at least is hanging between the balance of life and death. I’m excited to see how Starlingpaw interacts with this since he hasn’t realized yet that he must have some residual powers passed down from Tree.
As for Moonpaw, who I keep leaving for last, I feel like this chapter is a good continuation of her story. Morningkit continues to get creepier and more insistent: plus, it seems like she’s starting to interfere even more with Moonpaw’s day-to-day. The poor cat is looking unhinged to even her closest Clanmates, like Goldenpaw and Jayfeather. From the blurb, readers know that Morningkit’s presence will be revealed, so I can’t wait to see how that plays out.
And, of course, before I end, my editor brain is pinging like crazy. I’ve had difficulty with their overabundance of semi-colons, which continues its streak here. A new one has cropped up to my horror: the ellipses. In this preview alone, it was used nine times…
Based on the blurbs, it doesn’t seem like the cats will be moving territories in Chasing Shadows. I’m hoping we’re getting closer to that inevitability.
Bonus:
The fourth book in Changing Skies was revealed to fans earlier with a cover, blurb, and title. Guiding Light will release this year in the fall on October 6th. While I decided not to do an article when this reveal happened, I’ll tell you a little of my thoughts below.
If you don’t want spoilers for Guiding Light, I suggest skipping this. It does seem to reveal things from the third book!
Here’s the blurb:
Where can hope be found when all is lost?
Moonpaw, Morningkit and Goldenpaw have made their choice, and there’s no going back. But while Morningkit is happy to be free of the cats who judged her, Goldenpaw struggles with his decision. Racked with guilt, Moonpaw is torn between pleasing her mate and placating the sister who refuses to leave her side.
Meanwhile, Tawnypelt has finally convinced the Clans to agree to look for a new connection to StarClan. Leading a team of cats to SkyClan’s old gorge, she hopes that the Whispering Cave will offer guidance. But as the quest begins to wear on the cats, she worries that the gorge may not hold the answers they seek and that their connection with their ancestors may be gone forever.
Punished for speaking out at the last gathering, Starlingpaw fears that he is the only cat in SkyClan who understands what the prophecies mean for them. With the support of his mother and a few Clanmates, he seeks out a larger role in the Clan, hoping to influence Hawkwing and Leafstar. But will he be able to alter SkyClan’s course before the cat from the prophecies appears?
To start in on the cover, while I love this blue-green-gray cave aesthetic in the background, the cats look bad. Tawnypelt as front-and-center is nice; I don’t hate her design and particularly like her eyes. Yet, what is happening to the cats in the back? Breezepelt and Frecklewish don’t make sense to me currently, other than assuming they’ll be on this journey Tawnypelt goes on. They look off in a bad way.
Visuals aside, I’m interested in the continuing story. I assume the “guiding light” might be related to Tawnypelt’s journey with other Clan cats or link somehow to Morningkit (though she seems evil, so maybe not).
I’m very uncomfortable with the use of “mate” between Moonpaw and Goldenpaw already, since they’re literal babies still. I wonder how that’ll be justified.
It is annoying that this spoils some of the direction of Chasing Shadows, though, so that dampens my mood. Sure, some of my predictions based on Chasing Shadows‘ preview chapters are nearly confirmed, like Cloudtail’s vision being of a StarClan connection, but that irritates me more than anything. I don’t want to know what’s happening months before a book comes out.
I’m reserving my full thoughts since I’m sure book three will shed some light (har-har) on the situation.
Check out this year’s book releases on pre-order so far:
Warriors: Changing Skies #3: Chasing Shadows: March 31, 2026
Warriors Graphic Novel: The New Prophecy #1: June 30, 2026
Warriors: Super Edition #19: Darktail’s Judgement: September 8, 2026
Warriors: Changing Skies #4: Guiding Light: October 6, 2026
