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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
Thank you NetGalley, Entangled Publishing and LE Sterling for the opportunity to review this book. All opinions are my own.
I struggled a bit with this book. There were portions where I was ready to give it a higher rating, and then others where I was really frustrated. We start with Nieve, a young woman that is an outcast in her village due to her not having magic. This community is very reclusive and not much is known or taught about the outside world. Their world is now starting to have death and decay and the loss of the gods that brought magic to the world is thought to be its cause.
I enjoyed the characters themselves and their relationships amongst each other. There is a found family component to the pirates/mutineers, which seems to be a common theme in books with pirates. I really liked the intent and the plotlines, I just was lost in some of the execution. I typically enjoy POV switches, but I did struggle a bit with the construction of those switches. Nieve has a fairly typical hero’s journey so you can expect the leaving of her homeland, tragedy, a mentorish type person, etc. There is also a lot of the plot that isn’t explained. You are told that the Elder Wrights brought magic to the world, but nothing more than the Talin have water magic. There is mention of threads and weavers, but not who they are or what they do. The evil king is present, but no backstory on why he nor his ancestors are trying to rid the world of magic. The back quarter of the book seemed to be a bit rushed with a lot going on in order to get us to the end. I also didn’t feel like the end really tidied up a lot of the plot points.
I enjoyed the book and I wouldn’t tell someone not to read it. And it had a lot of high points, but was missing just enough to keep it from getting a higher rating from me.
1* - DNF
2* - finished the book but disliked it and won’t read again
3* - fine, likely won’t read again but no major issues, may check out sequels
4* - really enjoyed, will definitely read any sequels and will likely put on my shelf and will look into author’s other work
5* - outstanding, definitely will own and re-read, will read all sequels and put author on automatic check-out of new books
I struggled a bit with this book. There were portions where I was ready to give it a higher rating, and then others where I was really frustrated. We start with Nieve, a young woman that is an outcast in her village due to her not having magic. This community is very reclusive and not much is known or taught about the outside world. Their world is now starting to have death and decay and the loss of the gods that brought magic to the world is thought to be its cause.
I enjoyed the characters themselves and their relationships amongst each other. There is a found family component to the pirates/mutineers, which seems to be a common theme in books with pirates. I really liked the intent and the plotlines, I just was lost in some of the execution. I typically enjoy POV switches, but I did struggle a bit with the construction of those switches. Nieve has a fairly typical hero’s journey so you can expect the leaving of her homeland, tragedy, a mentorish type person, etc. There is also a lot of the plot that isn’t explained. You are told that the Elder Wrights brought magic to the world, but nothing more than the Talin have water magic. There is mention of threads and weavers, but not who they are or what they do. The evil king is present, but no backstory on why he nor his ancestors are trying to rid the world of magic. The back quarter of the book seemed to be a bit rushed with a lot going on in order to get us to the end. I also didn’t feel like the end really tidied up a lot of the plot points.
I enjoyed the book and I wouldn’t tell someone not to read it. And it had a lot of high points, but was missing just enough to keep it from getting a higher rating from me.
1* - DNF
2* - finished the book but disliked it and won’t read again
3* - fine, likely won’t read again but no major issues, may check out sequels
4* - really enjoyed, will definitely read any sequels and will likely put on my shelf and will look into author’s other work
5* - outstanding, definitely will own and re-read, will read all sequels and put author on automatic check-out of new books
I was instantly drawn in by the gorgeous cover for Starling’s Weave. The colors and artistry are so eye catching. After seeing it, I couldn’t wait to read this book. The overall plot is interesting and very different from many fantasy books I’ve read. I also thought the magic system was captivating and wholly unique. Nieve and Manseray were both interesting characters to learn about. I do believe they had great energy and chemistry, but I’m not a huge fan of the instalove that occurred. I did find this book to be enjoyable overall. However, I feel like there were pacing issues and that this book may have been better executed as a duology. There’s so much great world building and stage setting for the first 2/3 of the book, that the last 1/3 felt rushed and didn’t hold up to the same level of detail and execution as the rest. The final resolution didn’t feel as satisfying as it could have. I’m still glad that I read it and believe others will enjoy it as well.
✨
✨
eARC courtesy of Netgalley and Entangled Teen
Overall Rating: 3.5⭐️
As always, thanks to Entangled Teen for providing me with ARCs! I have yet to read a book published by Entangled that I haven't rated 4 or 5 stars, they know a good story!
This book has EVERYTHING you would want in a YA romantasy!
Full of action - CHECK
Unique plot - CHECK
The ONE true love - CHECK
High stakes - CHECK
The end of the book finished perfectly and yet I feel like could very much leave it open to a sequel (PUHLEASE L.E. Sterling!)
There was so much backstory they gave us also through out the book that we could even get a prequel/novella talking about the history before this book (*cough cough*, L.E. Sterling are you listening!?)
This book comes out October 21st and definitely one to add to your TBR!
This book has EVERYTHING you would want in a YA romantasy!
Full of action - CHECK
Unique plot - CHECK
The ONE true love - CHECK
High stakes - CHECK
The end of the book finished perfectly and yet I feel like could very much leave it open to a sequel (PUHLEASE L.E. Sterling!)
There was so much backstory they gave us also through out the book that we could even get a prequel/novella talking about the history before this book (*cough cough*, L.E. Sterling are you listening!?)
This book comes out October 21st and definitely one to add to your TBR!
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a gifted eARC!
Rating: 4/5 stars
Nieve is the first of her race to be born without magic, but she is determined to save her people from a mysterious blight—even if it means traveling with a secretive mutineer who may have an agenda of his own.
I’ll just say it—there aren’t enough pirate books out there, and the ones out there aren’t getting enough buzz, at least on my corner of the internet. This is one that *deserves some buzz* without a doubt! I loved the characters and the universe was super original and interesting. Keir is *chef’s kiss* and I DEVOURED the romance elements of this one for sure. The book is also fast-paced with a plot that keeps moving the entire way through and a good amount of action and adventure.
I’m not sure if this is planned as a series or a standalone (the ending works well but I’d be more than happy to revisit this world and dive deeper!) but I highly recommend all YA fantasy fans dive in (see what I did there?!) the second this one releases!
CW: Death (including child death); blood/injury; grief; violence
Rating: 4/5 stars
Nieve is the first of her race to be born without magic, but she is determined to save her people from a mysterious blight—even if it means traveling with a secretive mutineer who may have an agenda of his own.
I’ll just say it—there aren’t enough pirate books out there, and the ones out there aren’t getting enough buzz, at least on my corner of the internet. This is one that *deserves some buzz* without a doubt! I loved the characters and the universe was super original and interesting. Keir is *chef’s kiss* and I DEVOURED the romance elements of this one for sure. The book is also fast-paced with a plot that keeps moving the entire way through and a good amount of action and adventure.
I’m not sure if this is planned as a series or a standalone (the ending works well but I’d be more than happy to revisit this world and dive deeper!) but I highly recommend all YA fantasy fans dive in (see what I did there?!) the second this one releases!
CW: Death (including child death); blood/injury; grief; violence
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
If you like a story full of action, stakes, an intriguing plot, a true love, and a unique plot and world, this is the book for you.
This is a book with plot twists and amazingly distinct and interesting characters. I also like the direction that this book went at the end, though of course, I don’t wanna spoiler anyone. But trust me when I say it’s really cool! It piqued my interest and made me want to know how the story continues.
The main character is courageous and strong. She’s incredibly selfless. The elder wright she meets and goes on a journey on is very cool.
These are the things I like. Now let’s get to what I didn’t enjoy. The love interest is 4 years older than the main character, and she is 18 years old. While some don’t mind this kind of age gap, I don’t like it all. It would be different if she was also an older adult, but 18 is just too young. It was also pretty insta-lovey. While it took a while for them to actually kiss and confess their love, the love interest talked about her at the beginning as if he already gained feelings for her so quickly. Many readers don’t like insta-love and I am one of them.
I also felt like the emotional scenes fell flat. I guess it’s just something about the authors writing style that made me not really feel what they felt. Not that the author is a shit writer or anything - her writing style is almost poetic and very fantasy-like - it’s just not my cup of tea, I think. Particularly the beginning of the story was something that I felt very disconnected to. We hardly really got to feel the life in that town/city/community. We only got to see the main character being hated on (lol) by the council, but we didn’t get to see her interact with anyone really except her family member and her best friend - and even then it felt very brief to me. I didn’t buy her relationship to her grandma and best friend, let’s say it like that.
Consequently to these things, I didn’t really enjoy reading the book, and my enjoyment plays into these ratings. But I believe that there will be many people who will enjoy this kind of book, and that it could go viral on BookTok because the romance later in the book is pretty decent and the story really is interesting. Just didn’t like the execution much.
If you like a story full of action, stakes, an intriguing plot, a true love, and a unique plot and world, this is the book for you.
This is a book with plot twists and amazingly distinct and interesting characters. I also like the direction that this book went at the end, though of course, I don’t wanna spoiler anyone. But trust me when I say it’s really cool! It piqued my interest and made me want to know how the story continues.
The main character is courageous and strong. She’s incredibly selfless. The elder wright she meets and goes on a journey on is very cool.
These are the things I like. Now let’s get to what I didn’t enjoy. The love interest is 4 years older than the main character, and she is 18 years old. While some don’t mind this kind of age gap, I don’t like it all. It would be different if she was also an older adult, but 18 is just too young. It was also pretty insta-lovey. While it took a while for them to actually kiss and confess their love, the love interest talked about her at the beginning as if he already gained feelings for her so quickly. Many readers don’t like insta-love and I am one of them.
I also felt like the emotional scenes fell flat. I guess it’s just something about the authors writing style that made me not really feel what they felt. Not that the author is a shit writer or anything - her writing style is almost poetic and very fantasy-like - it’s just not my cup of tea, I think. Particularly the beginning of the story was something that I felt very disconnected to. We hardly really got to feel the life in that town/city/community. We only got to see the main character being hated on (lol) by the council, but we didn’t get to see her interact with anyone really except her family member and her best friend - and even then it felt very brief to me. I didn’t buy her relationship to her grandma and best friend, let’s say it like that.
Consequently to these things, I didn’t really enjoy reading the book, and my enjoyment plays into these ratings. But I believe that there will be many people who will enjoy this kind of book, and that it could go viral on BookTok because the romance later in the book is pretty decent and the story really is interesting. Just didn’t like the execution much.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Oh my goodness where to start.
This book is action packed with twists and turns everywhere. The tension between Nieve and Manseray, amazing. There were some parts that were sad, but they definitely helped fuel the story. I loved that as the story progressed different characters were discovering themselves.
The ending, the twist at the ending. I didn't quite see it coming, I had a completely different thought.
I do hope that this story continues because I'm not quite ready to this world behind yet.
**Thank you to L.E. Sterling, Netgalley, and Entangled Teen for the chance to read this ARC**
This book is action packed with twists and turns everywhere. The tension between Nieve and Manseray, amazing. There were some parts that were sad, but they definitely helped fuel the story. I loved that as the story progressed different characters were discovering themselves.
The ending, the twist at the ending. I didn't quite see it coming, I had a completely different thought.
I do hope that this story continues because I'm not quite ready to this world behind yet.
**Thank you to L.E. Sterling, Netgalley, and Entangled Teen for the chance to read this ARC**
“Starling’s Weave,” by L. E. Sterling
I thought this was a good book. I had a hard time picturing the world though, I thought it was mostly a water world but then a few places I wondered if I was picturing it wrong. I love the two main characters, and they were both mysterious and interesting. I felt a lot of this book was world building and getting to know the characters and places, so it felt a little slow at some points. All in all, I really liked it. 4 out of 5 stars.
-Magic
-Pirates
-Kidnapped
Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.
I thought this was a good book. I had a hard time picturing the world though, I thought it was mostly a water world but then a few places I wondered if I was picturing it wrong. I love the two main characters, and they were both mysterious and interesting. I felt a lot of this book was world building and getting to know the characters and places, so it felt a little slow at some points. All in all, I really liked it. 4 out of 5 stars.
-Magic
-Pirates
-Kidnapped
Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced