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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
Thank you to the publisher and Shina Reynolds for an eARC of this book.
Aluma Banks has always dreamed of becoming an Empyrean Rider even though her father has never allowed her to join. After a public accident her dad whispers to her that she must join the calvary and that she needs to find a specific commander to help her understand why it is so important for her to join.
Another YA book where the protagonist is supposed to be saving the world but instead spends too much time trying to figure out her love triangle...This book felt really nostalgic dystopian and had a lot of the common young adult tropes. Love Triangle: Friends to Lovers and the mysterious dark hard stranger. Not resolved in this book
Reynolds is really bold with all of her names. The characters names, cities, nationalities all of it had really big clunky names that were confusing and also somehow too similar that it was hard to figure out where exactly they were talking about or the significance of why it mattered what nationality somebody was. It was complex but not really easily explained. Maybe in the printed version there is an explanation page that helps the reader connect the names with areas. The pacing in this book was not bad I found the beginning to be really exciting and fast paced. Everything was making sense and the need for urgency in the book was felt. At about the halfway part through the end the pacing felt off and everything just seemed to slug through. There were some places near the end where you felt that urgency again but it would not last long and then again it would drag from there.
Aluma Banks has always dreamed of becoming an Empyrean Rider even though her father has never allowed her to join. After a public accident her dad whispers to her that she must join the calvary and that she needs to find a specific commander to help her understand why it is so important for her to join.
Another YA book where the protagonist is supposed to be saving the world but instead spends too much time trying to figure out her love triangle...This book felt really nostalgic dystopian and had a lot of the common young adult tropes. Love Triangle: Friends to Lovers and the mysterious dark hard stranger. Not resolved in this book
Reynolds is really bold with all of her names. The characters names, cities, nationalities all of it had really big clunky names that were confusing and also somehow too similar that it was hard to figure out where exactly they were talking about or the significance of why it mattered what nationality somebody was. It was complex but not really easily explained. Maybe in the printed version there is an explanation page that helps the reader connect the names with areas. The pacing in this book was not bad I found the beginning to be really exciting and fast paced. Everything was making sense and the need for urgency in the book was felt. At about the halfway part through the end the pacing felt off and everything just seemed to slug through. There were some places near the end where you felt that urgency again but it would not last long and then again it would drag from there.
This was such a great read! It was everything that could be hoped for in a YA fantasy.
Aluma Banks dreams of becoming an Empyrean (flying horse) rider like her father. She longs for the day when she can freely ride her steed high above the clouds. Unfortunately, her dreams are cut short by her fathers refusal to let her attempt the trials where riders are chosen. At the very last minute, following a tragic fall, Aluma finds herself ready to ride moments before the trials begin. Making the team becomes much more than riding above the clouds, it becomes the start of a journey that will change the way Aluma looks at her family, friends and country.
A Light in the Sky starts strong from the very beginning. From the moment the reader sees Aluma soaring above the clouds on a winged horse, they want to know more. Those first moments of attention grabbing action, speed the reader through a well written story where they have the chance to fall in love with the setting, characters, and horses.
One of this book’s greatest strengths was solid world building. Both of the regions in the novel, Eirelannia and Laithlann, were beautifully written and thoughtfully described. Laithlann was especially compelling and I found that the description was most beneficial to this area. I appreciated how much thought was put into the landscape, people, and history of the area. It made the world much more immersive and gave the reader a chance to feel emotionally attached.
The characters were all likable, despite not yet being fully fleshed out. Given that this is the beginning of a series, it is understandable that the characters were immature and rash when the world around them got more complicated. However, the characters could feel one dimensional and incomplete. I cannot wait to see how much more they can develop. It was nice to see that Aluma had prior knowledge of horses, riding, and flying, rather than have her jump on the horse and be immediately perfect as this was part of what made her feel real. The love triangle felt unnecessary and was the only part of the novel that did not progress the story or help any of the characters. The closeness between Aluma and her suitors was told, rather than shown, making it less believable.
After the beautiful descriptions of the cities, the most enjoyable part of the story was, of course, the horses. They were more than animal sidekicks, they were fully fleshed out characters. Darwith and Cashel were fun to read about and imagine flying on.
4/5 Extra marks for the interesting world.
Thank you to Netgalley and Shina Reynolds for the eArc of this novel!
Aluma Banks dreams of becoming an Empyrean (flying horse) rider like her father. She longs for the day when she can freely ride her steed high above the clouds. Unfortunately, her dreams are cut short by her fathers refusal to let her attempt the trials where riders are chosen. At the very last minute, following a tragic fall, Aluma finds herself ready to ride moments before the trials begin. Making the team becomes much more than riding above the clouds, it becomes the start of a journey that will change the way Aluma looks at her family, friends and country.
A Light in the Sky starts strong from the very beginning. From the moment the reader sees Aluma soaring above the clouds on a winged horse, they want to know more. Those first moments of attention grabbing action, speed the reader through a well written story where they have the chance to fall in love with the setting, characters, and horses.
One of this book’s greatest strengths was solid world building. Both of the regions in the novel, Eirelannia and Laithlann, were beautifully written and thoughtfully described. Laithlann was especially compelling and I found that the description was most beneficial to this area. I appreciated how much thought was put into the landscape, people, and history of the area. It made the world much more immersive and gave the reader a chance to feel emotionally attached.
The characters were all likable, despite not yet being fully fleshed out. Given that this is the beginning of a series, it is understandable that the characters were immature and rash when the world around them got more complicated. However, the characters could feel one dimensional and incomplete. I cannot wait to see how much more they can develop. It was nice to see that Aluma had prior knowledge of horses, riding, and flying, rather than have her jump on the horse and be immediately perfect as this was part of what made her feel real. The love triangle felt unnecessary and was the only part of the novel that did not progress the story or help any of the characters. The closeness between Aluma and her suitors was told, rather than shown, making it less believable.
After the beautiful descriptions of the cities, the most enjoyable part of the story was, of course, the horses. They were more than animal sidekicks, they were fully fleshed out characters. Darwith and Cashel were fun to read about and imagine flying on.
4/5 Extra marks for the interesting world.
Thank you to Netgalley and Shina Reynolds for the eArc of this novel!
Thank you to both author and publisher for my free e-arc of ‘A Light in the Sky’ in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis.
This is a YA fantasy novel about a girl named Aluma who dreams of becoming an Elyrian Rider (a fierce and elite warrior for the king with the the right to fly on a winged horse, as chosen during a thrilling competition). Although Aluma never expected her dream to become a reality, her father- a previously well respected Elyrian Rider- is gravely injured during a demonstration and she is forced to enter as a last minute competitor in the annual competitions. It seems that her father was keeping secrets and conspiracies lead her to believe that what happened to her father was no accident. Aluma needs to fight her way to the top to uncover the truth.
Let me begin by saying that this book definitely falls in to the younger side of the YA genre, as the author’s writing style is engaging, but incredibly easy to follow. It gave me serious Hunger Games vibes which I was not mad at all about because I love those books. There is enough description that I was able to visualise effectively and yet not too much that the writing was woolly and boring. The plot was well executed within the number of pages and didn’t drag at all, which is a big plus from me. I didn’t find myself getting bored with certain scenes within the book. One slight negative is that there were a few obvious plot points that were quite convenient and maybe predictable but I understood the point of these plot points as they created drama, which some younger readers will really like.
Ok now on to the characters. I really enjoyed the characters. I felt as though Aluma was relatable and I didn’t get that irritating sense that she knew exactly what she was doing at all times. She’s young, it’s expected that she doesn’t have a clue sometimes! That’s realistic! Now I can’t lie, I wasn’t too impressed with the whole love triangle thing. I’m not sure it added much to the story and honestly I really enjoyed the budding romance with the best friend from the beginning.
Overall I feel as though this was a solid introduction into the world with some great world building and just enough intrigue at the end to keep me wanting to read the next one.
Synopsis.
This is a YA fantasy novel about a girl named Aluma who dreams of becoming an Elyrian Rider (a fierce and elite warrior for the king with the the right to fly on a winged horse, as chosen during a thrilling competition). Although Aluma never expected her dream to become a reality, her father- a previously well respected Elyrian Rider- is gravely injured during a demonstration and she is forced to enter as a last minute competitor in the annual competitions. It seems that her father was keeping secrets and conspiracies lead her to believe that what happened to her father was no accident. Aluma needs to fight her way to the top to uncover the truth.
Let me begin by saying that this book definitely falls in to the younger side of the YA genre, as the author’s writing style is engaging, but incredibly easy to follow. It gave me serious Hunger Games vibes which I was not mad at all about because I love those books. There is enough description that I was able to visualise effectively and yet not too much that the writing was woolly and boring. The plot was well executed within the number of pages and didn’t drag at all, which is a big plus from me. I didn’t find myself getting bored with certain scenes within the book. One slight negative is that there were a few obvious plot points that were quite convenient and maybe predictable but I understood the point of these plot points as they created drama, which some younger readers will really like.
Ok now on to the characters. I really enjoyed the characters. I felt as though Aluma was relatable and I didn’t get that irritating sense that she knew exactly what she was doing at all times. She’s young, it’s expected that she doesn’t have a clue sometimes! That’s realistic! Now I can’t lie, I wasn’t too impressed with the whole love triangle thing. I’m not sure it added much to the story and honestly I really enjoyed the budding romance with the best friend from the beginning.
Overall I feel as though this was a solid introduction into the world with some great world building and just enough intrigue at the end to keep me wanting to read the next one.
I went into reading this book with no real idea of what it was actually about, I just really loved the cover and that it was going to be about flying horses! This is definitely a dream come true for all of us who were obsessed with horses and especially if you love a Pegasus!
This book has a wonderful amount of action and just enough fantasy to lure you in and hold you. The world building was great and like most first books in a series there is a bit of an info dump but that must be done in order to set the world for the rest of the books that will follow. The characters were relatable and the action seems very plausible in terms of not only do side characters get injured but the main ones as well. Being that it is a fantasy series there is also magic involved but not in the sense of witches/wizards, I mean there has to be some magic with the whole flying horses!
I loved how any horse can become a "Pegasus" but not all are worthy of becoming one. I honestly really want to get my hands on one of those horses, they all seem so majestic and it is so upsetting when one of them dies in battle! I really can't wait until the next book comes out!
It does have the typical Love Triangle as many Young Adult books have had a few years ago but I really did not mind it, at least it doesn't seem to have the enemies to lovers trope which I would be really upset if it happened with the awful person they are going against!
I received an ARC from the author and Book of Matches Media in exchange for an honest review.
This book has a wonderful amount of action and just enough fantasy to lure you in and hold you. The world building was great and like most first books in a series there is a bit of an info dump but that must be done in order to set the world for the rest of the books that will follow. The characters were relatable and the action seems very plausible in terms of not only do side characters get injured but the main ones as well. Being that it is a fantasy series there is also magic involved but not in the sense of witches/wizards, I mean there has to be some magic with the whole flying horses!
I loved how any horse can become a "Pegasus" but not all are worthy of becoming one. I honestly really want to get my hands on one of those horses, they all seem so majestic and it is so upsetting when one of them dies in battle! I really can't wait until the next book comes out!
It does have the typical Love Triangle as many Young Adult books have had a few years ago but I really did not mind it, at least it doesn't seem to have the enemies to lovers trope which I would be really upset if it happened with the awful person they are going against!
I received an ARC from the author and Book of Matches Media in exchange for an honest review.
A Light in the Sky is a story about Aluma, a 17-year-old who has dreamed of being part of the Empryean cavalry and riding her own winged horse. We follow Aluma through betrayals, successes, and going on a quest to save her world.
Once I saw the cover I knew I had to read this book as I've always been interested in winged horses and I loved the idea of a flying horse cavalry. This book has both regular and flying horses and I really liked the lore of how they both fit into the world, with flying horses being given wings later in life. I could tell that the author has experience with horses and was glad that I didn't have to read, "she squeezed with her knees" 500 times like I have in all other adventure books. I felt like the horses were grounded in reality, although as the book went on they became less grounded with the the horses understanding full sentences. That certainly would make riding easier! The rest of the world building is really nothing new and I found myself picturing areas from other fantasy books to picture the locations instead of actually feeling like I was anywhere new.
This book had a lot of YA tropes that I have seen in many other books. We have a "not like other girls" protagonist who is from a not special area with her hot friend from childhood but gets thrown into being special and meets another equally hot but much more mysterious new guy and love triangles/shenanigans ensue. I was especially reminded of Shadow and Bone, Divergent, and the Hunger Games. I know that books borrow from each other, especially YA fantasy books, but I really feel like the author could have played more with audience expectation as I felt like many of the main plot points were very predictable.
I thought that the writing in this book was very basic, even for a YA book. I could predict the end of many sentences because they were so cliched. I felt this the most with the villain writing, there were a lot of, "silly girl, you think you're so clever," "you must do more to defeat me," "you will never fulfill your destiny," etc. Some of the character premises were interesting, but the dialogue was so cliched that I had trouble thinking of them as actual characters and not one-dimensional fantasy archetypes. I really hope that any following books flesh these characters out more!
If you were excited as I was about flying horses, I'd give this book a read. If not, I wouldn't recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley and Wink Road Press for the advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Once I saw the cover I knew I had to read this book as I've always been interested in winged horses and I loved the idea of a flying horse cavalry. This book has both regular and flying horses and I really liked the lore of how they both fit into the world, with flying horses being given wings later in life. I could tell that the author has experience with horses and was glad that I didn't have to read, "she squeezed with her knees" 500 times like I have in all other adventure books. I felt like the horses were grounded in reality, although as the book went on they became less grounded with the the horses understanding full sentences. That certainly would make riding easier! The rest of the world building is really nothing new and I found myself picturing areas from other fantasy books to picture the locations instead of actually feeling like I was anywhere new.
This book had a lot of YA tropes that I have seen in many other books. We have a "not like other girls" protagonist who is from a not special area with her hot friend from childhood but gets thrown into being special and meets another equally hot but much more mysterious new guy and love triangles/shenanigans ensue. I was especially reminded of Shadow and Bone, Divergent, and the Hunger Games. I know that books borrow from each other, especially YA fantasy books, but I really feel like the author could have played more with audience expectation as I felt like many of the main plot points were very predictable.
I thought that the writing in this book was very basic, even for a YA book. I could predict the end of many sentences because they were so cliched. I felt this the most with the villain writing, there were a lot of, "silly girl, you think you're so clever," "you must do more to defeat me," "you will never fulfill your destiny," etc. Some of the character premises were interesting, but the dialogue was so cliched that I had trouble thinking of them as actual characters and not one-dimensional fantasy archetypes. I really hope that any following books flesh these characters out more!
If you were excited as I was about flying horses, I'd give this book a read. If not, I wouldn't recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley and Wink Road Press for the advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I won a copy of this book in a giveaway.
The premise for the book was really solid and it was the exact sort of book I would have absolutely loved when I was a teen. Flying horses, kickass heroine who has to save her kingdom, sneaking out and breaking the rules, ride or die friendships, and a healthy dose of betrayal.
The book had a slow start and it wasn’t until the last third that I was fully invested and couldn’t put it down. Within the first few pages you have nearly a dozen names of places thrown at you, the ones that are important you’ll get context for later, so don’t let this big you down.
Love triangles aren’t an automatic turn-off for me, but I could have done without this one. Mostly because Aluma’s interest in Gattacan and Thayer didn’t feel authentic. Other than being told that she was attracted to them and her occasional moments of jealousy, I didn’t really feel there was any chemistry between her and either of the men. However Wolkenna and Cloveman are adorable and I am rooting for them.
I would have loved to see the characters be more morally well-rounded throughout. The good guys are the good guys and the bad guys are bad. There was a hint that this could be coming in the next book now that Gattacan has been consumed with the powers of the dark relic, so I’m hopeful!
The premise for the book was really solid and it was the exact sort of book I would have absolutely loved when I was a teen. Flying horses, kickass heroine who has to save her kingdom, sneaking out and breaking the rules, ride or die friendships, and a healthy dose of betrayal.
The book had a slow start and it wasn’t until the last third that I was fully invested and couldn’t put it down. Within the first few pages you have nearly a dozen names of places thrown at you, the ones that are important you’ll get context for later, so don’t let this big you down.
Love triangles aren’t an automatic turn-off for me, but I could have done without this one. Mostly because Aluma’s interest in Gattacan and Thayer didn’t feel authentic. Other than being told that she was attracted to them and her occasional moments of jealousy, I didn’t really feel there was any chemistry between her and either of the men. However Wolkenna and Cloveman are adorable and I am rooting for them.
I would have loved to see the characters be more morally well-rounded throughout. The good guys are the good guys and the bad guys are bad. There was a hint that this could be coming in the next book now that Gattacan has been consumed with the powers of the dark relic, so I’m hopeful!
I really enjoyed this book. It felt like a mix of fantasy and adventure, similar to The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins), but also similar to Eragon (Christopher Paolini). Thayer especially gave me Peeta Mellark vibes. Speaking of Thayer, a love triangle? Really? I wasn't a fan. It reminded me of The Hunger Games again, except the love triangle was less well executed. Gattacan had no personality for Aluma to like. I think my favourite character was either Wolkenna or Xander. Wolkenna was sweet, but at the same time really badass. Xander had the potential to be really bratty and spoiled but was a genuinely nice person. Something I couldn't understand was how the horses could understand full sentences of instruction. Horses are smart creatures, but they're not that smart. If it's a magic Empyrean Steed thing, it's never explained. Overall though, I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend if you enjoyed The Hunger Games or Eragon.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This is definitely a first in a series where you need the sequel immediately, and those were my afterthoughts right as I finished it. The book has a very interesting set-up, though somewhere it lacks in execution.
The story starts off as any middle-of-the-road chosen-one fantasy. We get our protagonist who is chosen (with a few other people) to join an organization, and then we get the training montage. We actually will get another training montage closer to the end of the book! Our heroine has a love interest, her childhood best friend, with whom we get to spend absolutely no time to excuse their attraction. We know they are attracted to each other, but they don't have any means to prove that on the page. I wasn't a big fan of Thayer. The story slowly builds in this dynamic until about the halfway point, where we get our first expansion to the world, which thrusts you right back into the story were you not paying attention.
I really liked the revelation we see at that point, it added a new well-needed element to the plot. So if you want to give this book a shot, at least get to the plot twist before deciding whether to DNF it or not. Here we meet our second love interest. A, in my opinion, a lost more interesting and well-rounded character, and we have immediate attraction and chemistry between the two. At this point I was hoping Aluma just gives up Thayer for the second love interest, but instead, we get a love triangle. Now... a love triangle has no place in a book written after 2014, they are overdone and almost never well executed. That is one part of the book I actually hated.
But the plot was solid, and since I am mainly a plot reader over a character reader I was able to stick with it. Our heroine Aluma has a lot of people learning to do though, as signs of considerable behaviour in characters that were consistently obvious to me throughout the book were oblivious to her until it was finally revealed, and it was supposed to be a plot twist too.
I hold out hope the sequel takes the interesting plot dynamics and executes them much better!
This is definitely a first in a series where you need the sequel immediately, and those were my afterthoughts right as I finished it. The book has a very interesting set-up, though somewhere it lacks in execution.
The story starts off as any middle-of-the-road chosen-one fantasy. We get our protagonist who is chosen (with a few other people) to join an organization, and then we get the training montage. We actually will get another training montage closer to the end of the book! Our heroine has a love interest, her childhood best friend, with whom we get to spend absolutely no time to excuse their attraction. We know they are attracted to each other, but they don't have any means to prove that on the page. I wasn't a big fan of Thayer. The story slowly builds in this dynamic until about the halfway point, where we get our first expansion to the world, which thrusts you right back into the story were you not paying attention.
I really liked the revelation we see at that point, it added a new well-needed element to the plot. So if you want to give this book a shot, at least get to the plot twist before deciding whether to DNF it or not. Here we meet our second love interest. A, in my opinion, a lost more interesting and well-rounded character, and we have immediate attraction and chemistry between the two. At this point I was hoping Aluma just gives up Thayer for the second love interest, but instead, we get a love triangle. Now... a love triangle has no place in a book written after 2014, they are overdone and almost never well executed. That is one part of the book I actually hated.
But the plot was solid, and since I am mainly a plot reader over a character reader I was able to stick with it. Our heroine Aluma has a lot of people learning to do though, as signs of considerable behaviour in characters that were consistently obvious to me throughout the book were oblivious to her until it was finally revealed, and it was supposed to be a plot twist too.
I hold out hope the sequel takes the interesting plot dynamics and executes them much better!
adventurous
medium-paced
This is a perfect YA fantasy for the lovers of the genre. After her dad was badly injured in was she believes to be a royal conspiracy, Aluma, the main character, sets on a quest to discover what is really happening there. Also, did I mention she has a flying horse? Well now I did.
Overall, the plot is pretty basic, but it's well executed. I liked that even though it's clearly a fantasy novel, we have huge hints in the book that show it's actually a dystopian wolrd, with mentions of boats, and cars which have become rare, and available only to the riches. This little detail made me enjoy the book more than I initally was. I would have loved to know more about this. Or maybe I'm totally wrong and she only took inspiration of cars and boat for the transportation of the rich!
Second, the conspiracy is a little cliché and predictable, but I still enjoyed following Aluma and her allies in the search of a way to free her father, and make sure the king can't set his evil plan in motion. Add some flying horses to this, and a bit of competition in the beginning, and it makes for a pretty cool adventurous read. There is a lot of action, and it was nice to be kept moving throughout the novel.
Thayer, Aluma's love interest, and the Scalers, who live across the border, and are depicted as villains by the kingdom were my favorite characters. They have interesting backstories, and make a good contrast with Aluma, whom I could absolutely not stand. Maybe it's because she's so reckless, or too vindictive for my liking, but I had trouble not rolling my eyes at many of her reactions. She kind of fell victim to the cliché side of the story. Still, she had awesome sidekicks, including her horse, and following her adventures was fantastic!
It is a great fantasy, that may be a bit cliché, but still well written, and the ability to captivate the reader until the very end!
Overall, the plot is pretty basic, but it's well executed. I liked that even though it's clearly a fantasy novel, we have huge hints in the book that show it's actually a dystopian wolrd, with mentions of boats, and cars which have become rare, and available only to the riches. This little detail made me enjoy the book more than I initally was. I would have loved to know more about this. Or maybe I'm totally wrong and she only took inspiration of cars and boat for the transportation of the rich!
Second, the conspiracy is a little cliché and predictable, but I still enjoyed following Aluma and her allies in the search of a way to free her father, and make sure the king can't set his evil plan in motion. Add some flying horses to this, and a bit of competition in the beginning, and it makes for a pretty cool adventurous read. There is a lot of action, and it was nice to be kept moving throughout the novel.
Thayer, Aluma's love interest, and the Scalers, who live across the border, and are depicted as villains by the kingdom were my favorite characters. They have interesting backstories, and make a good contrast with Aluma, whom I could absolutely not stand. Maybe it's because she's so reckless, or too vindictive for my liking, but I had trouble not rolling my eyes at many of her reactions. She kind of fell victim to the cliché side of the story. Still, she had awesome sidekicks, including her horse, and following her adventures was fantastic!
It is a great fantasy, that may be a bit cliché, but still well written, and the ability to captivate the reader until the very end!