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_camk_'s review
3.0
The story and the concept was interesting but the book fell flat a little bit with mediocre writing and somewhat bland characters.
brii_brii's review
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
micolreads's review
4.0
Ebook provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
https://www.sylviamercedesbooks.com/
It took me a while to come up with right words for this review. The book was completely different from what I thought, in a better way.
I loved the main character Ayleth, I really felt like reading about an ordinary girl with flaws. I didn’t particularly liked Terryn, which was actually a disappointment, nor Hollis, in which I only saw a bitter woman with a lot of regrets. I didn’t read the prequel, so maybe I’m going to understand her better in her book.
I loved the world building, even if it was a bit hard to dive into. It took me around 100 pages to really enter in the book, but I am happy I kept reading.
I do suggest everyone reading it because it’s a lot different from other books we are used to read.
Main character--> Ayleth: 4/5, Terryn: 3/5
Supporting chacacter-->Hollis: 3/5
World building: 4/5
Writing style: 4/5
Plot and plot twists: 4/5
Final vote: 3.75/5
https://www.sylviamercedesbooks.com/
It took me a while to come up with right words for this review. The book was completely different from what I thought, in a better way.
I loved the main character Ayleth, I really felt like reading about an ordinary girl with flaws. I didn’t particularly liked Terryn, which was actually a disappointment, nor Hollis, in which I only saw a bitter woman with a lot of regrets. I didn’t read the prequel, so maybe I’m going to understand her better in her book.
I loved the world building, even if it was a bit hard to dive into. It took me around 100 pages to really enter in the book, but I am happy I kept reading.
I do suggest everyone reading it because it’s a lot different from other books we are used to read.
Main character--> Ayleth: 4/5, Terryn: 3/5
Supporting chacacter-->Hollis: 3/5
World building: 4/5
Writing style: 4/5
Plot and plot twists: 4/5
Final vote: 3.75/5
musgrovej's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
amenalf53's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting but unbalanced length
I found this story interesting, full of original and unique descriptions about magic, souls, and curses. I enjoyed the heroine’s competence and drive to prove herself, as well as her conflict with her training. At the same time, though, I found the plot... unsettled. Until about 70% through, I had the impression that the story would be a lot longer and would cover her whole time in Wodechran. Then I realized that the story was focused on a specific adventure... that honestly wasn’t well set up. The muddle of mismatched expectations is why I give this book 3 stars.
I will certainly read the next one.
I found this story interesting, full of original and unique descriptions about magic, souls, and curses. I enjoyed the heroine’s competence and drive to prove herself, as well as her conflict with her training. At the same time, though, I found the plot... unsettled. Until about 70% through, I had the impression that the story would be a lot longer and would cover her whole time in Wodechran. Then I realized that the story was focused on a specific adventure... that honestly wasn’t well set up. The muddle of mismatched expectations is why I give this book 3 stars.
I will certainly read the next one.
smilelarke's review against another edition
4.0
Quick read. Lots of potential with this world building. No spice.
tellie's review against another edition
4.0
For me, this was totally a 'judge a book by the cover' moment. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to read it. Surely something with cover art this awesome had to be a fantastic read right? For me, book one did not disappoint. The world that had been created for this series is like none I have seen before, and the entire concept of 'shades' is fascinating. I love some of the characters and I am keen to see how they grow in future books.
tanacef's review against another edition
2.0
I had trouble getting into this story and struggled to finish. I thought the plot was a little uninteresting and I also had trouble connecting with the characters. Ayleth was alright. But was I supposed to like Terryn by the end? Unfortunately, I didn’t. I was waiting for the hints or beginnings of the slow-burn romance mentioned in the book summary, but I wasn’t quite getting it. Between Ayleth and Terryn? I hoped not... Terryn is not all that likable and they had no chemistry, but there wasn’t much character development for either of them. I liked Gerard though.
katharine2k's review
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
tinydonats's review against another edition
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