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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
The writing was young, story was unbelievably short and I didn’t like how the ending was written at all.
Yet, with all that, I’m still already addicted to the series. The world building, especially in such a short book, was so full and amazing. Genuinely done better than some books that are hundreds of pages long.
Even the characters are so fleshed out and wholly THERE, the mc annoyed me at times but given the circumstances shes in I’ll let it slide.
A fun, short read that really intrigued me into what will happen next for these characters so I’m definitely going to start the next book soon.
Yet, with all that, I’m still already addicted to the series. The world building, especially in such a short book, was so full and amazing. Genuinely done better than some books that are hundreds of pages long.
Even the characters are so fleshed out and wholly THERE, the mc annoyed me at times but given the circumstances shes in I’ll let it slide.
A fun, short read that really intrigued me into what will happen next for these characters so I’m definitely going to start the next book soon.
If you read YA dystopians/urban fantasy, you will recognize many of the elements in this book: the stratified society, the outsider with one chance to make it out and the potential to pull it off, the vicious twist threatening to ruin it all. However, a story is much more than a sum of its parts and this one has real heart. The characters are real and flawed, the settings are vivid and the action is compelling. My biggest complaint is it felt like this book ended in the middle of the story and now I am anxiously awaiting the net installment.
Fun concept, but very dull. The writing felt juvenile, like it should have been middle school rather than young adult. Glad it was so short and won't be reading the rest of the series.
First, thank you to booksirens.com and the author for my e-copy. All opinions are my own.
So- I love the premise of the book, and it has the makings of a great series. It was proofread well, but could have benefitted from a more thorough editing.
Being a novella, it’s difficult to connect with any of the characters, and all the scenes were rushed, vague, and confusing. Random facts pop up occasionally, crucial to the story but with no foreshadowing, making the plot feel unrealistic.
The MC acts way too grown up when she’s 7 and incredibly immature when she’s 17 - but other than that, she’s just a poor (oh so poor! I’m so poor! Poor me, I’m poor!) but yet perfect, with skills no one else has.
Really, if it wasn’t for the premise, I’d only give 2.5 stars.
So- I love the premise of the book, and it has the makings of a great series. It was proofread well, but could have benefitted from a more thorough editing.
Being a novella, it’s difficult to connect with any of the characters, and all the scenes were rushed, vague, and confusing. Random facts pop up occasionally, crucial to the story but with no foreshadowing, making the plot feel unrealistic.
The MC acts way too grown up when she’s 7 and incredibly immature when she’s 17 - but other than that, she’s just a poor (oh so poor! I’m so poor! Poor me, I’m poor!) but yet perfect, with skills no one else has.
Really, if it wasn’t for the premise, I’d only give 2.5 stars.
I struggled to put this down as the story kept me wanting to find out what was going to happen. The main character, Talise, is put in a heart-wrenching situation and I felt for her so much. My one disappointment with this book was that it didn't include the contest for Master Shaper as it stopped when they were on the way there. But on the other hand I really want to read the next one!
ARC received from the author.
I must confess that this was the first book I read from Kay Moody. And I loved it.
I liked the first part with young Talise and almost cried at the thought of she would not be able to prove what she can.
The process of shaping was well described and you can almost see cherry blossom tress, the fire ribbons or the ice crown.
After finishing the book my only thought is that both the teacher and Aaden want her to win. I think they manipulated her about Marnie's funeral for some reason and I can't wait to find out the reason why
I must confess that this was the first book I read from Kay Moody. And I loved it.
I liked the first part with young Talise and almost cried at the thought of she would not be able to prove what she can.
The process of shaping was well described and you can almost see cherry blossom tress, the fire ribbons or the ice crown.
After finishing the book my only thought is that both the teacher and Aaden want her to win. I think they manipulated her about Marnie's funeral for some reason and I can't wait to find out the reason why
*Thanks to Book Sirens and the publisher for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*
**3.5 out 5 stars!
This novella started out really slow for me which oftentimes isn't a great sign when the whole book is only 100-something pages. However, this story became very intriguing somewhere in the middle and kept on getting more entertaining until the last page! The concept of this story is really cool; the ability to shape elements and an academy where you can learn how to shape these elements. The concept is a lot of fun and I thoroughly enjoyed it. My biggest complaint is that I didn't really feel connected to the characters. I mean, what can you expect. It's a novella, the author doesn't really have time for major character back stories and development. With the time she did have, I feel that the author did a good job of helping us get to know Talise, the main character, the best she could. I am sure we will get more character development (maybe even romance??) in the next books, so that's why I didn't dock off major stars for the lack of character connection. Overall, this was a fun read! I will definitely be reading the next story in this series!!
**3.5 out 5 stars!
This novella started out really slow for me which oftentimes isn't a great sign when the whole book is only 100-something pages. However, this story became very intriguing somewhere in the middle and kept on getting more entertaining until the last page! The concept of this story is really cool; the ability to shape elements and an academy where you can learn how to shape these elements. The concept is a lot of fun and I thoroughly enjoyed it. My biggest complaint is that I didn't really feel connected to the characters. I mean, what can you expect. It's a novella, the author doesn't really have time for major character back stories and development. With the time she did have, I feel that the author did a good job of helping us get to know Talise, the main character, the best she could. I am sure we will get more character development (maybe even romance??) in the next books, so that's why I didn't dock off major stars for the lack of character connection. Overall, this was a fun read! I will definitely be reading the next story in this series!!