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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
For the six months that I have now been blogging I have never found a book that I have actively hated and found not positive attributes. My reviews at the beginning were probably more favourable than ones I would write now, but ultimately I always had something good to say about the book I was rating. I guess my streak has come to an end.
Ice Crown is a short 100 page novella about a girl who leaves the “Storm”, a place of poverty, to join a school for “shapers”, people who can manipulate elements. She has to win a position as Master Shaper in a shaping contest in order to finally be free of the Storm.
Honestly I wish I hadn’t read the official synopsis because it reveals way more about the story than I just did. One of the major events of the story that happens about 75% in was in the synopsis, which just screams “this is just a introductory book” to me, which to be fair it completely is.
Because of the short format every single moment in this book felt rushed and confusing, which wasn’t helped by the simplistic writing style and the weird dialogue. There were entire conversations that occurred between the MC and her best friend where her friend just told her things she already knew, just so the reader could understand the story. There was also a stranger who stopped everything and told 7 year old MC that she was going to save the world.
There was one moment in particular where the MC narrates that most people were lucky to be able to shape one element and the best could shape two. Then she proceeded ten minutes later to wield all four. This moment set the scene for the rest of the book where she is clearly the best at everything and no-one else can compare. At one point she solves a problem that no-one else has ever solved in all of time, in three days including all the time it took to perfect it to preform in front of the king.
Finally the ending summed up everything I was feeling about the book. IT. JUST. ENDED. No climax, no build-up, no anything! Two people were arguing on the bus and it just ended. Then it told me to purchase the next book to find out what happens next. I actually had to go onto Goodreads to see if maybe my version was not complete, but everyone else was commenting on the same ending, so it really did end there. I really struggled with myself whether it was worth buying the next one to find out the end of the story, but I’ve decided that I value my time more than this book. There are so many other books that I am excited to read and this one doesn’t qualify.
I sort of went into rant-mode there for a second, so if you’ve gotten this far thank you for reading my ramblings. This review is my opinion and my intention is not to offend anyone, so if you liked this book, you can go on liking it. Leave a comment down below if you read this book and any of the sequel books, because I really need to know if they get better. Thanks again and Happy Reading.
1 star
Ice Crown is a short 100 page novella about a girl who leaves the “Storm”, a place of poverty, to join a school for “shapers”, people who can manipulate elements. She has to win a position as Master Shaper in a shaping contest in order to finally be free of the Storm.
Honestly I wish I hadn’t read the official synopsis because it reveals way more about the story than I just did. One of the major events of the story that happens about 75% in was in the synopsis, which just screams “this is just a introductory book” to me, which to be fair it completely is.
Because of the short format every single moment in this book felt rushed and confusing, which wasn’t helped by the simplistic writing style and the weird dialogue. There were entire conversations that occurred between the MC and her best friend where her friend just told her things she already knew, just so the reader could understand the story. There was also a stranger who stopped everything and told 7 year old MC that she was going to save the world.
There was one moment in particular where the MC narrates that most people were lucky to be able to shape one element and the best could shape two. Then she proceeded ten minutes later to wield all four. This moment set the scene for the rest of the book where she is clearly the best at everything and no-one else can compare. At one point she solves a problem that no-one else has ever solved in all of time, in three days including all the time it took to perfect it to preform in front of the king.
Finally the ending summed up everything I was feeling about the book. IT. JUST. ENDED. No climax, no build-up, no anything! Two people were arguing on the bus and it just ended. Then it told me to purchase the next book to find out what happens next. I actually had to go onto Goodreads to see if maybe my version was not complete, but everyone else was commenting on the same ending, so it really did end there. I really struggled with myself whether it was worth buying the next one to find out the end of the story, but I’ve decided that I value my time more than this book. There are so many other books that I am excited to read and this one doesn’t qualify.
I sort of went into rant-mode there for a second, so if you’ve gotten this far thank you for reading my ramblings. This review is my opinion and my intention is not to offend anyone, so if you liked this book, you can go on liking it. Leave a comment down below if you read this book and any of the sequel books, because I really need to know if they get better. Thanks again and Happy Reading.
1 star
I was going to review these books individually despite being given the set together to review, but they do seem to be more parts of one book, so I’ll review at the end.
I loved this story! It had me riveted from the beginning! I didn’t even realize that I was at the end of the book until...it happened! This is a short story but man it packs a punch! I loved the idea of shaping the elements. Very cool!
This is told from Talise’s POV. So we get to see her thoughts and designs when she enters this new city. She is from the lowest of the low cities and if she can become a Master Shaper she can finally leave her poverty ridden home.
This is not my first book by this author. Although I like this one the best so far! This story drew me and and before i knew it I couldn’t believe I was at the end of the book. I want more!
My only sadness is that it didn’t end with the competition. That would be a good break then the next story could have moved on from there. I feel kind of incomplete with the ending. Wind Crown....hurry up and get here.
P.S. Beautiful Cover!
This is told from Talise’s POV. So we get to see her thoughts and designs when she enters this new city. She is from the lowest of the low cities and if she can become a Master Shaper she can finally leave her poverty ridden home.
This is not my first book by this author. Although I like this one the best so far! This story drew me and and before i knew it I couldn’t believe I was at the end of the book. I want more!
My only sadness is that it didn’t end with the competition. That would be a good break then the next story could have moved on from there. I feel kind of incomplete with the ending. Wind Crown....hurry up and get here.
P.S. Beautiful Cover!
Ice Crown (The Elements of Kamdaria Book 1) is written by Kay L Moody. This is a series to get your YA fantasy going. It is a novella which means to me that there is a bit of the story that is still out there but Ms. Moody let my imagination run with the story. The story has a feel like the Avatar, The Last Air Bender like feel to it. It has magic, action, adventure, and mystery all in the story line. This book kept my interest and at the edge of my seat. This story is about Talise. She is a shapeshifter who is about to enter in a competition to show off her talent. The main problem is if you do not win you will die. The other problem for Talise is that her loved one lives in the Crown. So now she is torn. Does she compete or does she stay in Storm for her loved one? I cannot wait to see what book 2 has in store.
This is a short story that I enjoyed from the beginning and kept me engaged to the end. It is a creative, fast paced story about Talise. She wants a better life, in order to do that she needs to win a competition first. Problem is she is not the only one out to win plus she may have a reason to leave the competition. What will she do? She is a strong character, I enjoyed watching her grow throughout. A well written story with a great world building plot, I highly recommend this book.
I really enjoyed this book. I read many different fantasy and paranormal novels, so I am always looking for something new and different. This book hit the spot. It had not only magic, but it also dealt with the life struggles of an individual Talise. I look forward to following Talise on her journey as I really liked the journey’s beginning.
4 Stars
Ice Crown is the first book in The Elements of Kamdaria Series by Kay L Moody. It is a YA Fantasy- with magic, mystery, action, and adventure. It has a bit of an Avatar The Last Airbender feel to the story- but definitely has its own unique identity.
I found the story to be well written and thought Ms. Moody got this new series off to a great start! I Loved her Truth Seer Trilogy, so I was intrigued by what I would find inside the cover of this book. I think this series holds great promise, and if this book is anything to go by the rest of the series looks set to be fantastic.
My only issue is with the novella length to the book- as I felt that it suffered a little from a lack of more ‘meat’ to the story. Trying to keep within certain page ‘constraints’ seemed to me to result in skipping over a lot of ‘time’ and other details- which if they’d been included would have beefed-up the story and made it something I could have really sunk my teeth into. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, because I did. I just thought it would have been a more ‘epic’ adventure- if it had been fleshed out more. I am hoping that the rest of the books are a little longer and more ‘meaty’.
Talise is a wonderful MC- she’s strong, talented, clever, and interesting. She’s one determined young lady. It was easy to like her and invest in her and the outcome of her story.
I am intrigued to see where the series goes- and can’t wait for book #2.
Thank You, Kay L. Moody!
Ice Crown is the first book in The Elements of Kamdaria Series by Kay L Moody. It is a YA Fantasy- with magic, mystery, action, and adventure. It has a bit of an Avatar The Last Airbender feel to the story- but definitely has its own unique identity.
I found the story to be well written and thought Ms. Moody got this new series off to a great start! I Loved her Truth Seer Trilogy, so I was intrigued by what I would find inside the cover of this book. I think this series holds great promise, and if this book is anything to go by the rest of the series looks set to be fantastic.
My only issue is with the novella length to the book- as I felt that it suffered a little from a lack of more ‘meat’ to the story. Trying to keep within certain page ‘constraints’ seemed to me to result in skipping over a lot of ‘time’ and other details- which if they’d been included would have beefed-up the story and made it something I could have really sunk my teeth into. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, because I did. I just thought it would have been a more ‘epic’ adventure- if it had been fleshed out more. I am hoping that the rest of the books are a little longer and more ‘meaty’.
Talise is a wonderful MC- she’s strong, talented, clever, and interesting. She’s one determined young lady. It was easy to like her and invest in her and the outcome of her story.
I am intrigued to see where the series goes- and can’t wait for book #2.
Thank You, Kay L. Moody!
Ice Crown (The Elements of Kamdaria #1) by Kay L Moody is a YA fantasy story and is a good start to the series. My only problem was that it was very short, I felt there could have been so much more fleshing out the ten years the story jumped and perhaps more background on a seven year old Talise and the world in which they live. Having said that though Kay has given us an exciting new world to enjoy and takes us on the journey of ups and downs with our main character. It is a little emotional and caused a bit of heartache but I loved Talises strength.
Talise is only seven years old when she is to perform before strangers. Her mother wants her to have a good life and the only way to do that is to prove her worth at the Academy. Coming from the Storm, a place where no one wants to live, a place where you waste away and die in the wasteland where nothing grows.
My favourite line in the book is - Nobody liked people from the Storm. Even people in the Storm didn't like people from the Storm.
I did enjoy the story and am looking forward to reading the rest of this series.
Talise is only seven years old when she is to perform before strangers. Her mother wants her to have a good life and the only way to do that is to prove her worth at the Academy. Coming from the Storm, a place where no one wants to live, a place where you waste away and die in the wasteland where nothing grows.
My favourite line in the book is - Nobody liked people from the Storm. Even people in the Storm didn't like people from the Storm.
I did enjoy the story and am looking forward to reading the rest of this series.
I. Loved. This. Book!!!
I found this book to be just what I needed. It was action packed and just the right combination of fantasy and fairy tale and strong heroine and dystopian-esque flavor... I simply found the page count not to be reflective of how much content I found. I was glued to my seat from beginning to end. Cannot wait to continue reading this series!
I found this book to be just what I needed. It was action packed and just the right combination of fantasy and fairy tale and strong heroine and dystopian-esque flavor... I simply found the page count not to be reflective of how much content I found. I was glued to my seat from beginning to end. Cannot wait to continue reading this series!
I hate leaving lukewarm reviews. And this book had some cool things going for it! The universe including The Storm was fairly cool, the shaping magic was interesting (although not particularly fleshed out), and Talise was an interesting character. But honestly, the entire thing was just so... flat. The internal conflict regarding Marmie was initially easy to empathize with, but after it occupied the entire last half of the book, it got deeply frustrating. And the story lacked depth, in the sense that there is literally one focal point: the entire thing is about Talise's shaping and the competition. There are no subplots, no sidebars, no external characters with a purpose other than helping her compete... nada. It was okay, but I don't think I'll be picking up any sequels.
I received an ARC from BookSirens in exchange for honest feedback.
I received an ARC from BookSirens in exchange for honest feedback.