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catsandb00ks's review against another edition
2.0
ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for a review. All of my opinions are my own, and are in no way affected by the exchange.
This was really rather boring. I found the main character irritating and the writing was very juvenile.
This was really rather boring. I found the main character irritating and the writing was very juvenile.
1siobhan's review against another edition
2.0
*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book!*
I am sorry to say that I didn't really like "Descent of Shadows" by Ryanne Glenn. First of all, it is not written for my age group (but usually that isn't a problem) but for older children or young teens. The protagonist, Anna, is 13 at the beginning of the novel when her parents are brutally murdered, she has to flee and then joins the army.
I like strong female leads but Anna was a flat character. She didn't really mourn her parents, she behaved either extremely childish or extremely mature with nothing in between. Her joining the army and then receiving a command just seems unrealistic and weird. All her friends are also flat characters.
The world-building is interesting but it lacks details, background and 'colour'. It's more 'sketched' than 'drawn' so to speak.
Most of all I was annoyed by how flat and unrealistic characters and plot are respectively.
2 Stars. Maybe young teens like it better, but when I think back to what I liked to read at that age, I'm not too sure.
I am sorry to say that I didn't really like "Descent of Shadows" by Ryanne Glenn. First of all, it is not written for my age group (but usually that isn't a problem) but for older children or young teens. The protagonist, Anna, is 13 at the beginning of the novel when her parents are brutally murdered, she has to flee and then joins the army.
I like strong female leads but Anna was a flat character. She didn't really mourn her parents, she behaved either extremely childish or extremely mature with nothing in between. Her joining the army and then receiving a command just seems unrealistic and weird. All her friends are also flat characters.
The world-building is interesting but it lacks details, background and 'colour'. It's more 'sketched' than 'drawn' so to speak.
Most of all I was annoyed by how flat and unrealistic characters and plot are respectively.
2 Stars. Maybe young teens like it better, but when I think back to what I liked to read at that age, I'm not too sure.
nietzschesghost's review
3.0
Descent of Shadows, Ryanne Glenn's debut middle-grade fantasy novel, is a bit of a mixed bag in terms of success in satisfying the reader. There is very little descriptive prose which meant it was nigh on impossible to imagine the setting and the characters, and there were times that new individuals were introduced without so much of a word as to who they were or why they were relevant to the story.
I liked protagonist Anna as she was a strong and feisty female role model, and it's clear the author intended her to be inspirational, however, this was not as successful as the author likely hoped. Anna had much adversity to overcome, but this was not reflected in the way she acted and so was rather lacking in believability. I would've appreciated it more had she struggled to come to terms with the events in her life and then slowly evolved and grew over time. I feel it's important to portray the genuine struggle we all go through and not to make it seem as though it's normal to "just get on with it" without it affecting our thoughts and behaviours.
There was a lot of action, perhaps too much, and the events that happened occurred serendipitously and therefore lacked realism. Things wrap a little too conveniently for my liking. When you enter a world that works differently to our own the author really must explain the way it works, but there was no such explanation here leading to confusion and frustration. I hope the next instalment is better as the story certainly has potential. A fun, fast read that may appeal more to middle-graders than older readers such as myself.
Many thanks to Atthis Arts for an ARC.
I liked protagonist Anna as she was a strong and feisty female role model, and it's clear the author intended her to be inspirational, however, this was not as successful as the author likely hoped. Anna had much adversity to overcome, but this was not reflected in the way she acted and so was rather lacking in believability. I would've appreciated it more had she struggled to come to terms with the events in her life and then slowly evolved and grew over time. I feel it's important to portray the genuine struggle we all go through and not to make it seem as though it's normal to "just get on with it" without it affecting our thoughts and behaviours.
There was a lot of action, perhaps too much, and the events that happened occurred serendipitously and therefore lacked realism. Things wrap a little too conveniently for my liking. When you enter a world that works differently to our own the author really must explain the way it works, but there was no such explanation here leading to confusion and frustration. I hope the next instalment is better as the story certainly has potential. A fun, fast read that may appeal more to middle-graders than older readers such as myself.
Many thanks to Atthis Arts for an ARC.
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