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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
I loved Nieve and Manseray. There were many similarities in how they both felt about their places in their respective villages and the world. Nieve had tried for so long to help those around her despite her lack of magic, but her grandmother seemed to be the only one who knew there was something very special about her deep down. The first meeting between both of our main characters was cute, I loved how inquisitive Nieve is and the fact that even though traditions in her village taught the women to keep away from men, she somehow felt comfortable enough to ask him questions about many things she was curious about. While Nieve has not had an easy life, I am glad she found someone who believed in her and always encouraged her to be herself. There are so many beautiful moments in this story, despite all the characters' tragedy, and I find Elder Wright fascinating. A very beautiful story that keeps you wanting more!
Thanks to Entangled Teen and Brittany for the e-arc!!
Thanks to Entangled Teen and Brittany for the e-arc!!
Thank you to Entangled and Net galley for the e-arc of this book!
Flat three stars for this one. I did enjoy it, but I’m not sure if I would recommend it or not. I don’t dislike it. I don’t not recommend it. It’s left me a little torn. That is probably partly because the pacing of the book felt very slow at times. While there’s always something
happening, the action is almost muted by the world building and character nuances. In the end the book just felt slow. And I was also expecting more pirate vibes, and while the MMC is a pirate (sorry mutineer) it really is more of a story of magic than pirates.
Flat three stars for this one. I did enjoy it, but I’m not sure if I would recommend it or not. I don’t dislike it. I don’t not recommend it. It’s left me a little torn. That is probably partly because the pacing of the book felt very slow at times. While there’s always something
happening, the action is almost muted by the world building and character nuances. In the end the book just felt slow. And I was also expecting more pirate vibes, and while the MMC is a pirate (sorry mutineer) it really is more of a story of magic than pirates.
4.25/5 stars
This book was exciting, romantic and adventurous with the heroine Nieve definitely one to root for.
The story revolves around Nieve, a member of the Talin race who are hidden mages who harness the power of their Ocean deity. She is an outcast as she is the only member of her village without powers. As the Ocean's powers begin to wane, the Talin's struggle with a dying environment (food shortages, etc.), and Nieve, in order to prove herself worthy as a contributing member of a magical race, vows to find the answers and set things straight. She meets a swaggering and mysterious pirate, Keir, who provides support and assistance along her heroic quest.
What I loved most about this story was Nieve's determination, loyalty and strength. While starting out as a way to save her village from starvation and proving her worth as a non-magical member, she becomes so much more. Her self-image begins to change, her confidence grows, and she finds self-worth as she is exposed to a greater world outside her own. And with Keir by her side (as well as other wonderfully crafted side characters), her potential is limitless.
Very nicely done, and I'm hoping there might be more from Nieve as she's the kind of endearing and cheer-worthy heroine that I'd like to see more of.
My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for providing the free early arc of Starling's Weave for review. The opinions are strictly my own.
This book was exciting, romantic and adventurous with the heroine Nieve definitely one to root for.
The story revolves around Nieve, a member of the Talin race who are hidden mages who harness the power of their Ocean deity. She is an outcast as she is the only member of her village without powers. As the Ocean's powers begin to wane, the Talin's struggle with a dying environment (food shortages, etc.), and Nieve, in order to prove herself worthy as a contributing member of a magical race, vows to find the answers and set things straight. She meets a swaggering and mysterious pirate, Keir, who provides support and assistance along her heroic quest.
What I loved most about this story was Nieve's determination, loyalty and strength. While starting out as a way to save her village from starvation and proving her worth as a non-magical member, she becomes so much more. Her self-image begins to change, her confidence grows, and she finds self-worth as she is exposed to a greater world outside her own. And with Keir by her side (as well as other wonderfully crafted side characters), her potential is limitless.
Very nicely done, and I'm hoping there might be more from Nieve as she's the kind of endearing and cheer-worthy heroine that I'd like to see more of.
My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for providing the free early arc of Starling's Weave for review. The opinions are strictly my own.
ARC Review
Starling's Weave by L.E. Sterling was not quite the pirate adventure I expected, but it blew me away with its magic and mystery
Starling's Weave by L.E. Sterling was not quite the pirate adventure I expected, but it blew me away with its magic and mystery
adventurous
medium-paced
Nieve is an outsider in her village, always trying to help but never fitting in since she doesn’t have the water magic that has been passed down to all her people by the gods. But what is worse is that the magic is disappearing causing sickness and food shortages. Nieve believes that she can save her village and bring back magic, so she teams up with Kier a moody pirate to find the magics source and restore it to her people. Together they will try to save everyone.
The beginning was a little slow but the story itself was interesting. It also gave me Moana vibes. I really enjoyed the dual POVs between Nieve and Kier. I’m interested to see how the rest of the story unfolds for our characters.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was original and very engaging. I found myself falling into this story within the first chapter with a lot of questions and wonderment, a good mark for the world building of any story because the drive to know more means I am engaged and care about the characters. However, this did slow the base of the book quite drastically for what I was expecting in a YA novel. I found Nieve to be young woman that I rooted for, she defines herself by her actions and responses to the challenges she has to face and does not let her status as a non magical limit her in the way that others expect her to.
This book was a slow burn romance and slow starting book and up until about 1/3 of the way in did the action really begin. I know this Book One of a series, so in total this may be a smaller part of the series, but I would have liked more action sooner to reflect the last two thirds of the book. The romance was a surprise and so was the ending! I will be back for the next book to see were the romance, action, and world building take me.
Thank you L E Sterling, Entangled Teen, and NetGalley for the ARC of the novel that I read
This book was a slow burn romance and slow starting book and up until about 1/3 of the way in did the action really begin. I know this Book One of a series, so in total this may be a smaller part of the series, but I would have liked more action sooner to reflect the last two thirds of the book. The romance was a surprise and so was the ending! I will be back for the next book to see were the romance, action, and world building take me.
Thank you L E Sterling, Entangled Teen, and NetGalley for the ARC of the novel that I read
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
First of all, a huge thank you to Entangled Teen for providing me with this ARC!
I recently devoured Starling's Weave, a captivating upper YA fantasy novel that held me spellbound from start to finish. Filled with unexpected plot twists, it challenged my usual talent for predicting storylines. In a world where magic is fading and sickness looms, Nieve, an outcast due to her lack of powers, refuses to let others define her. Instead, she embarks on a quest to save her people—and perhaps her world.
This gripping tale kept me on the edge of my seat, with surprises at every turn. I especially loved seeing Nieve forge friendships and discover love along the way.
I recently devoured Starling's Weave, a captivating upper YA fantasy novel that held me spellbound from start to finish. Filled with unexpected plot twists, it challenged my usual talent for predicting storylines. In a world where magic is fading and sickness looms, Nieve, an outcast due to her lack of powers, refuses to let others define her. Instead, she embarks on a quest to save her people—and perhaps her world.
This gripping tale kept me on the edge of my seat, with surprises at every turn. I especially loved seeing Nieve forge friendships and discover love along the way.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Nieve has always had a fascination with stories about the Old Ones, especially the lost stories. She learns there’s a story about a reservoir of magic that could possibly restore their dying land and the magic in it, and wants to find it to hopefully restore respect towards her being the only one of her people without magic.
Well, one day, for the first time ever, a ship filled with strangers arrives, and Nieve is directed to greet and take care of their guest, Keir Manseray.
Keir Manseray is on a mission to retrieve a man by the name of Edsel Bo from the most notorious prison in the world, but is having difficulties coming up with the right person for their plan, until he meets Nieve and realizes she could be the key to the execution of their plan. And now has to figure out how he could ask her to sail away with him.
This book had such potential. The world sounds unique, but was not explained in detail. The magic system sounds interesting, but again, not explained in detail. The romance is swoony, and although took awhile for them to finally kiss, it was still too insta-love and fast to be believable. The characters seem wonderful, but are not well rounded and not fully likable since we did not really get to know them that well.
It seemed the story and plot was rushed, but was the primary focus in this book rather than building on the world and building on the history of the world and its magic system. The character building could have been expounded on as well since I never felt connected with either of them. They had a history, but I was just thrown into the now of their lives, rather than learn how they got to where they are now. I felt like I entered into the middle of the book and its story, rather than the start of a book and the start of the story.
Now, I didn’t hate it, but I did not love this story. It wasn’t horrible, I just wish there was more detail to allow me to connect to the story and the characters more. I did for the most part enjoy the romance and the plot, but everything else just fell flat. The overall picture was just lacking the depth to feel immersed in the story and in the characters’ lives.
There were also small details that drove me nuts, like the travel time from one place to another. In one page, they’re going back to a town, and by the next page, they’re there, but how? Like, is everything two steps from each other?? And small details, like one time Nieve started eating a snack, and on the next page, on the same day mind you, she’s complaining about when did she eat last. It must have been 24 hours ago, when she literally was eating two seconds ago. It was silly details like that, that just kind of drove me nuts 😅
Definitely a solid 3 ⭐️ read for me. If you enjoy books with pirates, and a swoony romance, then give it a chance. This one just wasn’t quite for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the gifted e-ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Well, one day, for the first time ever, a ship filled with strangers arrives, and Nieve is directed to greet and take care of their guest, Keir Manseray.
Keir Manseray is on a mission to retrieve a man by the name of Edsel Bo from the most notorious prison in the world, but is having difficulties coming up with the right person for their plan, until he meets Nieve and realizes she could be the key to the execution of their plan. And now has to figure out how he could ask her to sail away with him.
This book had such potential. The world sounds unique, but was not explained in detail. The magic system sounds interesting, but again, not explained in detail. The romance is swoony, and although took awhile for them to finally kiss, it was still too insta-love and fast to be believable. The characters seem wonderful, but are not well rounded and not fully likable since we did not really get to know them that well.
It seemed the story and plot was rushed, but was the primary focus in this book rather than building on the world and building on the history of the world and its magic system. The character building could have been expounded on as well since I never felt connected with either of them. They had a history, but I was just thrown into the now of their lives, rather than learn how they got to where they are now. I felt like I entered into the middle of the book and its story, rather than the start of a book and the start of the story.
Now, I didn’t hate it, but I did not love this story. It wasn’t horrible, I just wish there was more detail to allow me to connect to the story and the characters more. I did for the most part enjoy the romance and the plot, but everything else just fell flat. The overall picture was just lacking the depth to feel immersed in the story and in the characters’ lives.
There were also small details that drove me nuts, like the travel time from one place to another. In one page, they’re going back to a town, and by the next page, they’re there, but how? Like, is everything two steps from each other?? And small details, like one time Nieve started eating a snack, and on the next page, on the same day mind you, she’s complaining about when did she eat last. It must have been 24 hours ago, when she literally was eating two seconds ago. It was silly details like that, that just kind of drove me nuts 😅
Definitely a solid 3 ⭐️ read for me. If you enjoy books with pirates, and a swoony romance, then give it a chance. This one just wasn’t quite for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the gifted e-ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Nieve has lived her life as an outcast from her own people. She’s the only one in her village that doesn’t have water power, and as time goes on, she finds herself more and more on the outside. When a handsome stranger comes to their harbor, Nieve is suddenly given the chance to explore the world and try to save her people. Faced with adventure, tragedy, and unexpected love, Nieve stars becoming who she was always meant to be.
This is a magical YA fantasy that kept me captivated the entire time I was reading. The plot was unique and full of action, twists, and turns. I thought it was paced pretty well and the lyrical writing style fit the magical world perfectly. I loved how strong Nieve’s character was and felt that she was really able to grow and trust herself more by the end of the book. The romance was pretty much insta-lust, but it was sweet and heartfelt. Overall, this was a really enjoyable read!
Thank you to Entangled Teen for the ARC!