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marie123's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 ~ This was a freebe on Amazon, and I'll admit it: I didn't expect much. But I was pleasently surprised! This was a great entry novel into a new fantasy world and pulled me into it. I'm buying the next one on my kindle right now!!
macayhill's review against another edition
3.0
Surprisingly unpredictable considering the genre and all of its many tropes. Katson did a good job of building suspense and subverting expectations. Some of the writing was a little unclear, but overall a worthwhile and entertaining read.
joytiff's review against another edition
4.0
Loved it. Couldn't put it down and can't wait to start the next one in the series. I would highly recommend it.
bittbee's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyable, with some compelling characters. Catwin's voice is interesting enough to sustain the book, and her relationships with Miriel and Roine and Temar are well-drawn. The characters are all satisfyingly complex and interesting, but the plot is...well, thin. The book mostly describe's Catwin forming relationships and the set-up of what the main plot of the series will be. It's not until the end that things really get to happen. Still, it's decently-written and enjoyable enough to keep you reading.
gretchen3's review against another edition
3.0
This book is quite obviously the set up for the characters going forward. Not that the arcs were not interesting, but more interesting things are likely to come. The idea of having a personal assassin body gaurd was intriguing, especially as the loyalties are sometime hard to fathom, beyond fear. Catwin and Miriel's relationship is nasty and ugly because of how their lives started and how they were forced together, but as they grow and live through several attempts on their lives, that changes and shifts.
ksmarsden's review against another edition
5.0
Despite the fact that Catwin was rejected by her family as a baby, and lives in a cold castle in an inhospitable place, she has led a life of freedom and kindness. She only answers to Roine, the castle healer and her mother-figure; and spends the rest of the time causing mischief. Unfortunately, her ability to sneak into places she shouldn't, brings her to the attention of the Duke, a man keen to exploit the skills of those around him. He ties Catwin's fate to that of his niece, Lady Miriel Devere. Soon Catwin and Miriel are thrust into a world of politics and danger, all to win the hand of a sickly king.
I thought this was a fantastic little book. It's a reasonably short read at 270 pages, but Katson manages to fit so much into it, without ever letting the book get bogged down, the story just flows and carries you along.
I always love a little political intrigue (as evidenced by my absolute love of books like The Other Boleyn Girl and Tales Of The Otori) and this has plenty. A young unmarried king, with courtiers vying for his attention (some with more lethal methods than others); never knowing who to trust.
Catwin is a fun character, she is a simple peasant girl who has been lucky to escape all notice. Because of her inauspicious birth, nobody wants anything to do with her, so she is free to take whatever path she will.
But when she comes to the attention of the Duke, she has to sacrifice that freedom. She is to become the shadow to Miriel's light, to be invisible and unnoticed for the rest of her life. To be Miriel's most unobtrusive line of defence; and the Duke's spy.
At first, the lessons she must learn from Temar are simply games, challenges that she revels in. But soon, Catwin starts to realise how demanding (and painful) her role will be.
Lady Miriel Devere has been raised like a princess from the moment her uncle realised that she was useful. She has purposefully been kept away from the capital, living her whole life in seclusion, with her (somewhat disgraced) mother. Miriel is the spoilt little madam, who soon makes Catwin's life hell, when the Duke forces them to work together. As Catwin is posing as Miriel's servant; Miriel knows exactly how to apply a constant level of misery on the peasant girl.
That being said, I think Miriel was one of my favourite characters. The interactions between her and Catwin were always entertaining; and as you go on through the book, you really start to admire her strength.
The plot... gah, this is the hard part about writing reviews about this kind of book. Especially when I love the story. I don't want to share anything, because each tiny revelation builds up to make this book awesome.
So, you know what, the book is permanently free to download, so go get it and tell me what you think!
I thought this was a fantastic little book. It's a reasonably short read at 270 pages, but Katson manages to fit so much into it, without ever letting the book get bogged down, the story just flows and carries you along.
I always love a little political intrigue (as evidenced by my absolute love of books like The Other Boleyn Girl and Tales Of The Otori) and this has plenty. A young unmarried king, with courtiers vying for his attention (some with more lethal methods than others); never knowing who to trust.
Catwin is a fun character, she is a simple peasant girl who has been lucky to escape all notice. Because of her inauspicious birth, nobody wants anything to do with her, so she is free to take whatever path she will.
But when she comes to the attention of the Duke, she has to sacrifice that freedom. She is to become the shadow to Miriel's light, to be invisible and unnoticed for the rest of her life. To be Miriel's most unobtrusive line of defence; and the Duke's spy.
At first, the lessons she must learn from Temar are simply games, challenges that she revels in. But soon, Catwin starts to realise how demanding (and painful) her role will be.
Lady Miriel Devere has been raised like a princess from the moment her uncle realised that she was useful. She has purposefully been kept away from the capital, living her whole life in seclusion, with her (somewhat disgraced) mother. Miriel is the spoilt little madam, who soon makes Catwin's life hell, when the Duke forces them to work together. As Catwin is posing as Miriel's servant; Miriel knows exactly how to apply a constant level of misery on the peasant girl.
That being said, I think Miriel was one of my favourite characters. The interactions between her and Catwin were always entertaining; and as you go on through the book, you really start to admire her strength.
The plot... gah, this is the hard part about writing reviews about this kind of book. Especially when I love the story. I don't want to share anything, because each tiny revelation builds up to make this book awesome.
So, you know what, the book is permanently free to download, so go get it and tell me what you think!
lastcomment314's review against another edition
4.0
While it was a bit rambling at points, and the back-and-forth to trust or not to trust dynamic between Catwin and Miriel got a little old, as the drama started to build, I found myself getting more and more interested.
prationality's review against another edition
4.0
I picked up Shadowborn during the Smashwords Summer Sale, but I had neglected to pick up the next two books...which I bitterly regretted late the other night when I didn't have the ability to connect to Amazon to order them.
To get the bad out of the way, Shadowborn had some very obvious gaffes in editing that would send me out of the story pretty quickly. There weren't a lot, but it was the sort of things that made reading the line awkward and made you pause (wayward "to" when it should be "the" for instance). Edited 8/5: The author has re-issued a corrected version of the Trilogy on Smashwords, Amazon and Kobo. My review is from the previous version before the upload of the revised versions.
Also the book takes a long while to get to where it wants the reader to be at in terms of the relationship between Miriel and Catwin.
As for the good! Mysterious prophecy, sneaky girls, sneakier assassins and learning that you can't expect life to be fair make for an engaging fantasy.
Told from Catwin's POV, but in the past tense (its almost as if she's narrating her life story to someone), we see her go from a mischievous and curious child to a wary, young woman. She wants something more from her life, but when she's given that something more she balks at what that really means. Several times Catwin makes mention of 'If only I had known...well things could have been different.' as she talks about important turning points in her young life. Would she have taken that dare if she knew the pain she'd later endure? Would she have trusted Temar if she knew what lurked behind his questions?
Because Catwin only knows what she remembers and suspects happened, much of Miriel is a mystery at first that we puzzle out as Catwin does. Neither girl is given an easy task, though they both think the other lucky for theirs. The Duke's sledgehammer approach to getting what he wants puts the girls at odds with each other when it would have been a benefit for them to be friends. A lesson learned late and at great cost I might add.
So what's in store for these two? Well Catwin's prophecy hangs over their heads (who betrays her? or does she betray someone? what will end?) as well as Miriel's own need for independence and disillusionment with the world. So in other words FUN TIMES KIDDIES.
Also the book takes a long while to get to where it wants the reader to be at in terms of the relationship between Miriel and Catwin.
As for the good! Mysterious prophecy, sneaky girls, sneakier assassins and learning that you can't expect life to be fair make for an engaging fantasy.
Told from Catwin's POV, but in the past tense (its almost as if she's narrating her life story to someone), we see her go from a mischievous and curious child to a wary, young woman. She wants something more from her life, but when she's given that something more she balks at what that really means. Several times Catwin makes mention of 'If only I had known...well things could have been different.' as she talks about important turning points in her young life. Would she have taken that dare if she knew the pain she'd later endure? Would she have trusted Temar if she knew what lurked behind his questions?
Because Catwin only knows what she remembers and suspects happened, much of Miriel is a mystery at first that we puzzle out as Catwin does. Neither girl is given an easy task, though they both think the other lucky for theirs. The Duke's sledgehammer approach to getting what he wants puts the girls at odds with each other when it would have been a benefit for them to be friends. A lesson learned late and at great cost I might add.
So what's in store for these two? Well Catwin's prophecy hangs over their heads (who betrays her? or does she betray someone? what will end?) as well as Miriel's own need for independence and disillusionment with the world. So in other words FUN TIMES KIDDIES.