Scan barcode
nishagujaran28's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
zondo22's review
5.0
Great world building, interesting characters, and plenty of room to develop back stories. I can’t wait for the next instalment.
koops333's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this one!
In this story we have our h, Ayleth, a young shade bound apprentice working for a government entity called the Holy Order. Being shade bound basically means you have a conscious spirit inside of you that can give you strength and power if you learn to harness it, or can complete take over and destroy your body if you let it free. (But it really depends on what kind of shade you get though. Some are content to just experience a life outside of their realm)
The book starts with Ayleth trying to impress upon her mentor that she is ready to take on the responsibility of going on her own hunts, and starting a new chapter in her life. While Ayleth and those in her Order are Shade bound- it is their duty to eliminate other people infested with shades, and return freed Shades back to their realm.
When Ayleth realizes that her mentor might be keeping things from her- as well as holding her back- she strikes out on her own to meet the famed Golden Prince to get her new assignment and start an adventure of her own.
I really liked the characters, world building, and magic systems. Oh, and the banter/competition between Terryn and Ayleth was pretty hilarious.
In this story we have our h, Ayleth, a young shade bound apprentice working for a government entity called the Holy Order. Being shade bound basically means you have a conscious spirit inside of you that can give you strength and power if you learn to harness it, or can complete take over and destroy your body if you let it free. (But it really depends on what kind of shade you get though. Some are content to just experience a life outside of their realm)
The book starts with Ayleth trying to impress upon her mentor that she is ready to take on the responsibility of going on her own hunts, and starting a new chapter in her life. While Ayleth and those in her Order are Shade bound- it is their duty to eliminate other people infested with shades, and return freed Shades back to their realm.
When Ayleth realizes that her mentor might be keeping things from her- as well as holding her back- she strikes out on her own to meet the famed Golden Prince to get her new assignment and start an adventure of her own.
I really liked the characters, world building, and magic systems. Oh, and the banter/competition between Terryn and Ayleth was pretty hilarious.
Spoiler
heres hoping for an enemy to lovers arc
rdimeo2021's review
1.0
This books sounds interesting but is definitely written for a young audience. The plot was easy to predict and there was little to no character development.
g8girl's review
5.0
Daughter of Shades by Sylvia Mercedes
*****5*****
I thoroughly enjoyed Daughter just as much as its predecessor Song of Shadows. Ms. Mercedes expands on her amazing magic-building and world-building all while introducing us to great new characters. I love Ayleth, she's fierce and smart but also timid and ignorant all at the same time. She's really brought to life on the pages of this book. I love the complexities of the magic and the ease with which Ms. Mercedes weaves it into the fabric of the world and the story. The author managed to weave suspense, awe, excitement and humor all into one book. Watching Ayleth and Larantha hunt the shade taken was a wild ride and I didn't want to put the book down. I truly love the writing and I can't wait to delve further into Ayleth's past and see where her journey takes her. Ayleth makes the list as a Kick-butt-heroine.
The prequel book was SO good I can't wait for this one!!
*****5*****
I thoroughly enjoyed Daughter just as much as its predecessor Song of Shadows. Ms. Mercedes expands on her amazing magic-building and world-building all while introducing us to great new characters. I love Ayleth, she's fierce and smart but also timid and ignorant all at the same time. She's really brought to life on the pages of this book. I love the complexities of the magic and the ease with which Ms. Mercedes weaves it into the fabric of the world and the story. The author managed to weave suspense, awe, excitement and humor all into one book. Watching Ayleth and Larantha hunt the shade taken was a wild ride and I didn't want to put the book down. I truly love the writing and I can't wait to delve further into Ayleth's past and see where her journey takes her. Ayleth makes the list as a Kick-butt-heroine.
The prequel book was SO good I can't wait for this one!!
caradniehoff's review
3.0
Overall, I thought this book had a very unique concept that I enjoyed. The beginning was very drawn out I felt and then the last half of the book was constant action without any answers. I think there needed to be a little more explanation of who the main character really is. We got some clues but it seems like the next book will hold all of the answers hopefully.
natater's review
2.0
Hm, this one has me a bit torn. I almost dropped it after chapter 9 because I felt slow. We were 9 chapters in and hadn’t even gotten to anything in the summary of the book on Goodreads. The plot hadn’t started yet. However, the next chapter after that was fast paced and flowed quickly so I ended up finishing the book easily enough.
The characters don’t have strong personalities in this book. I’m inclined to believe that they will perhaps in the next book because this whole book felt a prologue. It answered no questions and basically only introduced characters and the premise. I don’t know what the purpose of this book is and that’s not a good thing.
Also, because I don’t know the personality of MC, I didn’t feel like her reasons for leaving home for this contest were justified. We don’t know how she was raised or what kind of person she is, we can infer that she was raised strictly, but her tendency to go against the rules and do things without permission would go against that notion of strictness. So she’s rebellious? But why? What in her life happened to make her distrust the one who raised her? Yes we readers know Hollis is lying, but MC shouldn’t know since her memory is being tampered with. In her mind, Hollis is the only person who cares about her. It just doesn’t convince me of her motives and I don’t like having to work so hard to justify a character’s actions. That’s the job of the writer IMO.
Idk it wasn’t a strong first book for me. Again, we didn’t answer any questions at all in this book so I am curious. However, there’s 7 books in this series and that is a commitment I’m not sure I can give at this point :/ I might be risking a reading block if I continue
The characters don’t have strong personalities in this book. I’m inclined to believe that they will perhaps in the next book because this whole book felt a prologue. It answered no questions and basically only introduced characters and the premise. I don’t know what the purpose of this book is and that’s not a good thing.
Also, because I don’t know the personality of MC, I didn’t feel like her reasons for leaving home for this contest were justified. We don’t know how she was raised or what kind of person she is, we can infer that she was raised strictly, but her tendency to go against the rules and do things without permission would go against that notion of strictness. So she’s rebellious? But why? What in her life happened to make her distrust the one who raised her? Yes we readers know Hollis is lying, but MC shouldn’t know since her memory is being tampered with. In her mind, Hollis is the only person who cares about her. It just doesn’t convince me of her motives and I don’t like having to work so hard to justify a character’s actions. That’s the job of the writer IMO.
Idk it wasn’t a strong first book for me. Again, we didn’t answer any questions at all in this book so I am curious. However, there’s 7 books in this series and that is a commitment I’m not sure I can give at this point :/ I might be risking a reading block if I continue
itskoo's review
3.0
Quickie:
ReRead? I tried. It's been hard to do it.
Summary: An venatrix-in-training sets out on her own to try to prove that she has what it takes to be a venatrix.
I ended up reading it because my to-read list had gone dry and it was something I could immediately get my hands on. Also, that Kindle pricing! It gets me (almost) every time. It was a fast read and interesting from the beginning. I thought the premise was quite interesting--another soul (a shade) lives inside individuals and a venatrix helps save the souls of people who have these shades.
I found myself rooting for the shades.
ReRead? I tried. It's been hard to do it.
Summary: An venatrix-in-training sets out on her own to try to prove that she has what it takes to be a venatrix.
I ended up reading it because my to-read list had gone dry and it was something I could immediately get my hands on. Also, that Kindle pricing! It gets me (almost) every time. It was a fast read and interesting from the beginning. I thought the premise was quite interesting--another soul (a shade) lives inside individuals and a venatrix helps save the souls of people who have these shades.
I found myself rooting for the shades.
awildmaggo's review against another edition
5.0
I can't say why I thought Hollis would be more present but here we are