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bookfever's review against another edition
4.0
Sigil in Shadow was a surprisingly great read. I had definitely hoped to like this book but it was even better than I expected. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it was different than other books in the same genre. And trust me, this is a good thing!
This book is about Ellary Dane, a poor girl who more often than not, together with her father, is starving, which is why she recently had shaved off her hair for money. One day she saves the life of a highborn officer by accident and before she knows it is whisked away to court to study, like the synopsis already says, under a renowned healer. Life at court is obviously not easy, especially when secrets about herself that are brought to light.
I really like books that are set in royal courts. I just love the political intrigue and how basically everyone can unexpectedly betray anyone. This book is no different. It also had a lot of twists that I hadn't seen coming.
I definitely was a fan of Ellary Dane. She knows how to survive in a world that can be brutal and although she hasn't been totally honest about everything, there's something endearing about Ellary that makes you just root for her.
There was also a bunch on secondary characters that I really liked like princess Corrin, Ellary's tutor Treya and Denzil who was just super adorable. Of course there were the less likable characters also that cause a lot of trouble for Ellary but make the book all the more intense. There's definitely not a lack of suspense with this story.
Overall, the book mostly reminded me of Red Queen, except that I actually liked Sigil in Shadow more. The writing was also fantastic, which made me not want to put my Kindle down because I just wanted to know what would happen next. It was just a really great book!
This book is about Ellary Dane, a poor girl who more often than not, together with her father, is starving, which is why she recently had shaved off her hair for money. One day she saves the life of a highborn officer by accident and before she knows it is whisked away to court to study, like the synopsis already says, under a renowned healer. Life at court is obviously not easy, especially when secrets about herself that are brought to light.
I really like books that are set in royal courts. I just love the political intrigue and how basically everyone can unexpectedly betray anyone. This book is no different. It also had a lot of twists that I hadn't seen coming.
I definitely was a fan of Ellary Dane. She knows how to survive in a world that can be brutal and although she hasn't been totally honest about everything, there's something endearing about Ellary that makes you just root for her.
There was also a bunch on secondary characters that I really liked like princess Corrin, Ellary's tutor Treya and Denzil who was just super adorable. Of course there were the less likable characters also that cause a lot of trouble for Ellary but make the book all the more intense. There's definitely not a lack of suspense with this story.
Overall, the book mostly reminded me of Red Queen, except that I actually liked Sigil in Shadow more. The writing was also fantastic, which made me not want to put my Kindle down because I just wanted to know what would happen next. It was just a really great book!
bookbriefs's review against another edition
5.0
**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**
4.5/5
Sigil in Shadow by Constance Roberts is a historical mystery in a royal court setting. Not a historical in the sense that it is modeled after events in history, but the book takes place in the past. I love a good royal court setting in a book, especially a book that has a mystery element to it because I feel like politics and high society and people trying to climb the court ranks all lend themselves really well to deception, betrayal and mind games galore. I adored Sigil in Shadow. I think this is a book that deserves to be put out in the spotlight of the young adult world. I have not heard too much hype surrounding this book, and I am shocked! This is a book worth reading, and then some.
Sigil in Shadow follows Ellary, a young girl with an aptitude for healing. Ellary's talent with healing and making potions for healing reminded me of the Maria V. Snyder's Healer series. I think this book would be perfect for fans of the Healer series. Ultimately it is Ellary's healing powers that land her in the castle court, and this is where her real adventure begins. I loved meeting the cast of secondary characters, including the princess Corrin, who actually surprised the heck out of me in a good way. Constance Roberts does an excellent job of creating solid friendships among the characters, which I really appreciated. There are enough bad guys running around that you don't need friends to also be a bad guy. My only complaint is with the romance in the book. It felt lacking in some way. I wanted to see more development between the couple. I felt like they started out great and then just kind of stagnated. However, there is so much else going on in the story that the romance felt secondary to me.
I'm not sure if there is a planned sequel to Sigil in Shadow or not, but I really hope there is. This is such a fantastically developed world that it would be a shame to not visit it again. Not to mention there are so many characters that I want to read more about. Please Constance, please write another book! I really loved Sigil in Shadow. It has wonderful fantasy elements, a fantastically detailed world, great characters, and a twisty-turny adventure. Bottom line: Sigil in Shadow is a really great book.
This review was originally posted on Book Briefs
4.5/5
Sigil in Shadow by Constance Roberts is a historical mystery in a royal court setting. Not a historical in the sense that it is modeled after events in history, but the book takes place in the past. I love a good royal court setting in a book, especially a book that has a mystery element to it because I feel like politics and high society and people trying to climb the court ranks all lend themselves really well to deception, betrayal and mind games galore. I adored Sigil in Shadow. I think this is a book that deserves to be put out in the spotlight of the young adult world. I have not heard too much hype surrounding this book, and I am shocked! This is a book worth reading, and then some.
Sigil in Shadow follows Ellary, a young girl with an aptitude for healing. Ellary's talent with healing and making potions for healing reminded me of the Maria V. Snyder's Healer series. I think this book would be perfect for fans of the Healer series. Ultimately it is Ellary's healing powers that land her in the castle court, and this is where her real adventure begins. I loved meeting the cast of secondary characters, including the princess Corrin, who actually surprised the heck out of me in a good way. Constance Roberts does an excellent job of creating solid friendships among the characters, which I really appreciated. There are enough bad guys running around that you don't need friends to also be a bad guy. My only complaint is with the romance in the book. It felt lacking in some way. I wanted to see more development between the couple. I felt like they started out great and then just kind of stagnated. However, there is so much else going on in the story that the romance felt secondary to me.
I'm not sure if there is a planned sequel to Sigil in Shadow or not, but I really hope there is. This is such a fantastically developed world that it would be a shame to not visit it again. Not to mention there are so many characters that I want to read more about. Please Constance, please write another book! I really loved Sigil in Shadow. It has wonderful fantasy elements, a fantastically detailed world, great characters, and a twisty-turny adventure. Bottom line: Sigil in Shadow is a really great book.
This review was originally posted on Book Briefs
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