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nhdk's review against another edition
5.0
Oak and mist is a delightful young adult novel portraying the decisions and choices Emelia goes through in a battle of good and evil. The description in Oak and Mist is stunning, the imagery rich and the world building complex and vivid. I love the author's metaphors and similes and the images she created in my mind. the book although fantasy almost has a fairytale-like nature to it, which makes it all the more magical and enthralling. This book is on the younger end of YA with a fifteen-year-old protagonist but as the series progresses so too does Emelia's age and I can't wait to follow her on her journey to adulthood.
wheninapril's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting characters and unique world building.. The idea of dark and light really was intriguing to me.. It also had me thinking, if one is born dark, could he not decide to be a good person? Thats what really did bother me through out the book. Also it might feel a little dragged on the beginning.
Other than that really enjoyable read.
Other than that really enjoyable read.
darquedreamer's review against another edition
4.0
Oak and Mist was full of beauty and mystery. I loved how vivid and vivacious it was! It drew me in from the beginning and kept me turning pages until the end!
I loved how unique the world felt. It had a lot of details and was very nicely developed. I really loved the idea of entering this world of Light and Dark by accidentally finding a gate in the human world and entering it. It had a faerie tale/faerie world feel, as the story told that sometimes humans happened upon these gates, entered the world, and when they returned to the human world, decades had passed during their absence. It was all kind of centered around mysticism and lore, and was quite beautiful.
I enjoyed the dynamic characters. Though, I do wish they had had a little more time to develop, they felt realistic and fascinating. I enjoyed Alma's curiosity and boldness. I loved Caleb's kindness. I fell in love with King Thorian and his emotions, and I was dangerously drawn to Deryck and his dark seduction.
The story was quite fast paced. I do wish it had been slowed down a little bit to really allow some more development and details to be added, but it definitely did not drag anywhere. It felt like a typical YA plot, but it did have a few unpredictable moments that shocked and surprised me, and it still had enough originality to keep me reading.
What I found the most interesting about the story was the fact that it wasn't just another battle between Light and Dark. It was also about the gray area, about choices, and about emotions and impulses. There was a richness to it, and it was quite magical. I'd rate it 3.5 stars and I would definitely want to read the next one!
I loved how unique the world felt. It had a lot of details and was very nicely developed. I really loved the idea of entering this world of Light and Dark by accidentally finding a gate in the human world and entering it. It had a faerie tale/faerie world feel, as the story told that sometimes humans happened upon these gates, entered the world, and when they returned to the human world, decades had passed during their absence. It was all kind of centered around mysticism and lore, and was quite beautiful.
I enjoyed the dynamic characters. Though, I do wish they had had a little more time to develop, they felt realistic and fascinating. I enjoyed Alma's curiosity and boldness. I loved Caleb's kindness. I fell in love with King Thorian and his emotions, and I was dangerously drawn to Deryck and his dark seduction.
The story was quite fast paced. I do wish it had been slowed down a little bit to really allow some more development and details to be added, but it definitely did not drag anywhere. It felt like a typical YA plot, but it did have a few unpredictable moments that shocked and surprised me, and it still had enough originality to keep me reading.
What I found the most interesting about the story was the fact that it wasn't just another battle between Light and Dark. It was also about the gray area, about choices, and about emotions and impulses. There was a richness to it, and it was quite magical. I'd rate it 3.5 stars and I would definitely want to read the next one!
I had the opportunity to read this e-book for free, in exchange for my honest review, after connecting with the author through The Book Robin Hoods site. If you are an author looking for more reviews, or a reviewer looking to help out Indie/Self Published and Lesser Known Authors, make sure to click the link below and join us!
marjma2014's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed Oak and Mist. My rating 4 stars. This would appeal to younger YA readers who enjoy a well described fantasy realm, coupled with sizzling romance and a hint of darkness. I felt that the cliff hanger and revelation at the end of the book could have been a bit more enthralling to draw the reader into reading more. I was left with a bit of a .... is that it moment at the end.... having said that I do think this series will develop and I'm interested to see where Book 2 goes. Particularly as there are many similarities between my writing and Helen's - we both write about light/darkness. I hope that the darkness aspects are developed more in the second book.....ha ha !! Hopefully we'll see Deryck being a real dark lord...Full review to follow of Oak and Mist, soon.
sachablack's review
5.0
Oak and mist is a delightful young adult novel portraying the decisions and choices Emelia goes through in a battle of good and evil. The description in Oak and Mist is stunning, the imagery rich and the world building complex and vivid. I love the author's metaphors and similes and the images she created in my mind. the book although fantasy almost has a fairytale-like nature to it, which makes it all the more magical and enthralling. This book is on the younger end of YA with a fifteen-year-old protagonist but as the series progresses so too does Emelia's age and I can't wait to follow her on her journey to adulthood.
captainbookamir's review
3.0
(In the interest of transparancy, I received a free copy for review via The Book Robin Hoods. This review is my honest opinion however.)
Although this book still struggles a bit under the inexperience that comes from being a debut novel, it's an enjoyable and engaging story, or really Act 1 in a story. Even in the midst of reading slump, it kept me reading instead of putting it to the side, like I did with 3 or 4 other perfectly good books. It's got hook, it's got unanswered questions and potential for themes and moral questions and it has some great side characters.
Speaking of characters, our protagonist Alma is a fairly likeable girl, although occasionally she borders on annoying. But mostly those moments are the ones where she acts without much though, as one who is being a bit blind to implications or consequences. Considering she's fifteen though, I think that's fair. Most fifteen year olds do have that quality and Alma's got a heart full of kindness to make up for it. I do have strong suspicions that easy-going, kind nature is going to get her into a world of trouble in later books. In this book, Alma's reaction to the whole Regalia quest is something I could really get. It's not some solemn acceptance although it is something that matters very much to the residents of Ambeth. Rather it's an: oh, OK, I guess I should. WHICH IS GREAT. Alma's a teenager who mainly wants to go to Ambeth because it's beautiful and it feels like home and because of her friendship with Caleb. The Regalia issue pretty much got dumped on her as part-and-parcel of coming there. A reluctance to spend time studying in a library (however beautiful) when she's got plenty of homework on Earth for something she doesn't really understand or fully realise the significance of is perfectly understandable (because teenager and also I as a reader thought, well it doesn't seem THAT urgent considering how long they've managed without them). I mean, it can occasionally feel like "Alma, stop slacking off now that you've said yes. No doubt it is actually important" but I did sympathise a little.
Which brings me to the idea of Light and Dark and the balance. This is where I see the most thematic potential for this series. Although it wasn't, a little disappointingly I will admit, much explored in this book, the idea of Light and Dark being dependent on one another but also being outwardly the same is one I like. There's a lot that can be explored there: how definite or extreme are Light and Dark? Is that the same for everyone? Can you change a born/innate nature? Does each contain a seed of the other? If you can't change it, if you are simply assigned Light or Dark at birth by your nature, how does that impact free will? Is that fair? Are the Light characters really all that brilliant? Light and Dark in this book seem to be the equivalent of good and evil, but is that true? Alma's bracelet that burns in the vicinity of Dark, is that really a warning or just an antagonism of something made by the Light? Deryck, the Dark boy that Alma gets a serious crush on (more on that in a second) seems to be the main character where these conflicts and questions will play out. But I have to say, I do hope that they do get played out, rather than Deryck just being vaguely conflicted because of his attraction to Alma, the way he in this book.
Admittedly, pacing in general is probably this book's weakest point. After the initial opening event, we are about two-thirds of the way through before things start picking up again. In between, it's really just a lot Alma going back-and-forth between Ambeth and Earth with some brief signals of how people on Earth are reacting to Alma's new strange behaviour, conversations and bonding with Caleb and sitting around in the library or the gardens. Nothing much happens to be honest. I also couldn't get a feel for how much time had passed since she first came to Ambeth. Two weeks, a month, maybe more? I really had no idea, although at some point there was a mention of Christmas. If it was more than a month, then I assume there were multiple days where she was just on Earth but almost every scene of her being back at home was just making herself something to eat, saying something evasive to her mother and going to sleep. Did really nothing else, apart from two conversations with her (ex?)best friend Sara, happen during that time?
In the last third of the book, the pace picks up again though and there's a satisfying short adventure, a lot more interaction with Deryck and storm clouds on the horizon for the future books. That brings me to Deryck and Alma. First off, let me say that in general I am sick and tired of love triangles, mainly because I've never much liked them anyway. However, as love triangles go this one is reasonably well done. It helps that Alma really doesn't view Caleb romantically (at least for now), making it not a choice of "which boy shall I love?" but more "how do I not hurt my friend?". Caleb is interested in her, but frankly, that's his problem imo. What I do like about Alma and Deryck is that although she's instantly all head over heels for him and Deryck has more interest in her than he ought to according to his side, this is not remotely insta-love. This is two teenagers, and especially Alma, having a huge crush. And she acts as incautiously as only a teenager with a crush on a very good-looking person will. And I really really like that, because that's so much easier to believe. And it doesn't leave me wanting to strangle Alma. So she gets a massive crush on what (at least for now) seems to the wrong guy. So what? Who hasn't at some point tbh? And yes, this is definitely going to cause her so many problems and she should have been more careful, but this is a believable mistake (which are characters are 100% allowed and supposed to make) and I am so appreciative of that.
Overall, I liked this book. I think a lot more could have been done with it, I certainly hope the following books will do those things and amp up the complexity and pacing a bit. But still, it's YA and it's quite light and that's not wrong. I enjoyed spending time with the characters. On a side note, occasionally I can see a bit of Fionavar peeping through the ride back with Thorion in the head after the sword was found, I dunno it just really had the vibe . I really hope the following books live up to the potential in this one. Oh and this is not a spoiler because I don't know yet if it's true, but: calling it right now, Caleb is related to the High King Thorion.
Although this book still struggles a bit under the inexperience that comes from being a debut novel, it's an enjoyable and engaging story, or really Act 1 in a story. Even in the midst of reading slump, it kept me reading instead of putting it to the side, like I did with 3 or 4 other perfectly good books. It's got hook, it's got unanswered questions and potential for themes and moral questions and it has some great side characters.
Speaking of characters, our protagonist Alma is a fairly likeable girl, although occasionally she borders on annoying. But mostly those moments are the ones where she acts without much though, as one who is being a bit blind to implications or consequences. Considering she's fifteen though, I think that's fair. Most fifteen year olds do have that quality and Alma's got a heart full of kindness to make up for it. I do have strong suspicions that easy-going, kind nature is going to get her into a world of trouble in later books. In this book, Alma's reaction to the whole Regalia quest is something I could really get. It's not some solemn acceptance although it is something that matters very much to the residents of Ambeth. Rather it's an: oh, OK, I guess I should. WHICH IS GREAT. Alma's a teenager who mainly wants to go to Ambeth because it's beautiful and it feels like home and because of her friendship with Caleb. The Regalia issue pretty much got dumped on her as part-and-parcel of coming there. A reluctance to spend time studying in a library (however beautiful) when she's got plenty of homework on Earth for something she doesn't really understand or fully realise the significance of is perfectly understandable (because teenager and also I as a reader thought, well it doesn't seem THAT urgent considering how long they've managed without them). I mean, it can occasionally feel like "Alma, stop slacking off now that you've said yes. No doubt it is actually important" but I did sympathise a little.
Which brings me to the idea of Light and Dark and the balance. This is where I see the most thematic potential for this series. Although it wasn't, a little disappointingly I will admit, much explored in this book, the idea of Light and Dark being dependent on one another but also being outwardly the same is one I like. There's a lot that can be explored there: how definite or extreme are Light and Dark? Is that the same for everyone? Can you change a born/innate nature? Does each contain a seed of the other? If you can't change it, if you are simply assigned Light or Dark at birth by your nature, how does that impact free will? Is that fair? Are the Light characters really all that brilliant? Light and Dark in this book seem to be the equivalent of good and evil, but is that true? Alma's bracelet that burns in the vicinity of Dark, is that really a warning or just an antagonism of something made by the Light? Deryck, the Dark boy that Alma gets a serious crush on (more on that in a second) seems to be the main character where these conflicts and questions will play out. But I have to say, I do hope that they do get played out, rather than Deryck just being vaguely conflicted because of his attraction to Alma, the way he in this book.
Admittedly, pacing in general is probably this book's weakest point. After the initial opening event, we are about two-thirds of the way through before things start picking up again. In between, it's really just a lot Alma going back-and-forth between Ambeth and Earth with some brief signals of how people on Earth are reacting to Alma's new strange behaviour, conversations and bonding with Caleb and sitting around in the library or the gardens. Nothing much happens to be honest. I also couldn't get a feel for how much time had passed since she first came to Ambeth. Two weeks, a month, maybe more? I really had no idea, although at some point there was a mention of Christmas. If it was more than a month, then I assume there were multiple days where she was just on Earth but almost every scene of her being back at home was just making herself something to eat, saying something evasive to her mother and going to sleep. Did really nothing else, apart from two conversations with her (ex?)best friend Sara, happen during that time?
In the last third of the book, the pace picks up again though and there's a satisfying short adventure, a lot more interaction with Deryck and storm clouds on the horizon for the future books. That brings me to Deryck and Alma. First off, let me say that in general I am sick and tired of love triangles, mainly because I've never much liked them anyway. However, as love triangles go this one is reasonably well done. It helps that Alma really doesn't view Caleb romantically (at least for now), making it not a choice of "which boy shall I love?" but more "how do I not hurt my friend?". Caleb is interested in her, but frankly, that's his problem imo. What I do like about Alma and Deryck is that although she's instantly all head over heels for him and Deryck has more interest in her than he ought to according to his side, this is not remotely insta-love. This is two teenagers, and especially Alma, having a huge crush. And she acts as incautiously as only a teenager with a crush on a very good-looking person will. And I really really like that, because that's so much easier to believe. And it doesn't leave me wanting to strangle Alma. So she gets a massive crush on what (at least for now) seems to the wrong guy. So what? Who hasn't at some point tbh? And yes, this is definitely going to cause her so many problems and she should have been more careful, but this is a believable mistake (which are characters are 100% allowed and supposed to make) and I am so appreciative of that.
Overall, I liked this book. I think a lot more could have been done with it, I certainly hope the following books will do those things and amp up the complexity and pacing a bit. But still, it's YA and it's quite light and that's not wrong. I enjoyed spending time with the characters. On a side note, occasionally I can see a bit of Fionavar peeping through
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