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carina_shephard's review
5.0
Although short, with sibling dynamics and strong writing, Shadowkeeper is a great read. The way the rifts and starlight worked were really fascinating, as well as the concept of Death and the Shadowkeeper.
My rating’s now 5 stars instead of 4 because some of the bits I was confused by when I first read it have been changed.
My rating’s now 5 stars instead of 4 because some of the bits I was confused by when I first read it have been changed.
bilbo_maggins96's review
4.0
4 Stars.
Can we just take a second and drool over how beautiful that cover is? It's stunning! I love the creativity in it and the design, and I love how blue and dark and dreary it is!
Okay, now on to the review!
Shadowkeeper was a very interesting novella. I thought the world was creative and the characters were well developed even though the story was so short. The relationship between the sisters was really refreshing and very sweet, but also normal (as in the normal "if you do this thing I'm going to kill you" that goes on between siblings). I think a lot of authors make their sibling characters too much alike, but Hope Ann did a great job of keeping them similar but also different.
The world was dreary, dark, and mysterious, as a world about death and the rift ought to be. I found myself intrigued more and more as I continued through the story's pages. The starlight, healing, moss weaving, and stone weaving abilities were fascinating and so cool. Though I must say I was disappointed I didn't see more of the powers and what the characters were really capable of with them. Hope Ann kept hinting at what each of the sisters could do, but she didn't really show much of the extent of their powers. I mean a stone weaver sounds so cool! I'd like to see how those powers can really work and what Cedra could do with them.
I understand that this little book is a novella and isn't meant to be a full-length novel. However, I did find myself a little disappointed with how short it was, and I was a little confused toward the beginning as well. Almost like I jumped right in the middle of something instead of beginning a whole new story. I kept checking to see if I'd accidentally skipped something, or if there had been another book previous to this one. On page one you see Cedra sitting with the Shadowkeeper and conversing with him, but Hope Ann doesn't really go into great detail as to why Cedra was sitting with him. It almost seemed random as though Cedra had spotted him and plopped herself down in the chair opposite of him for no reason whatsoever. It was a little confusing, and slightly disappointing because I did really enjoy the story and would have liked to see more of this scene. It could have had some great potential!
Overall, though, the story was great, creative, interesting and eerie in a way that made me want to finish it all in one sitting. I loved the spooky atmosphere, and I loved the rift's voice and how it talked to certain people. It was a really great story and I hope to see more great things from Hope Ann in the future!
I think this book could be appropriate for anyone, though I would recommend it more to teens and young adults more than children just because of the complexity of the plot and the darkness within the pages.
I hope you give Shadowkeeper a chance, and I hope you enjoy it!
Happy reading!
Can we just take a second and drool over how beautiful that cover is? It's stunning! I love the creativity in it and the design, and I love how blue and dark and dreary it is!
Okay, now on to the review!
Shadowkeeper was a very interesting novella. I thought the world was creative and the characters were well developed even though the story was so short. The relationship between the sisters was really refreshing and very sweet, but also normal (as in the normal "if you do this thing I'm going to kill you" that goes on between siblings). I think a lot of authors make their sibling characters too much alike, but Hope Ann did a great job of keeping them similar but also different.
The world was dreary, dark, and mysterious, as a world about death and the rift ought to be. I found myself intrigued more and more as I continued through the story's pages. The starlight, healing, moss weaving, and stone weaving abilities were fascinating and so cool. Though I must say I was disappointed I didn't see more of the powers and what the characters were really capable of with them. Hope Ann kept hinting at what each of the sisters could do, but she didn't really show much of the extent of their powers. I mean a stone weaver sounds so cool! I'd like to see how those powers can really work and what Cedra could do with them.
I understand that this little book is a novella and isn't meant to be a full-length novel. However, I did find myself a little disappointed with how short it was, and I was a little confused toward the beginning as well. Almost like I jumped right in the middle of something instead of beginning a whole new story. I kept checking to see if I'd accidentally skipped something, or if there had been another book previous to this one. On page one you see Cedra sitting with the Shadowkeeper and conversing with him, but Hope Ann doesn't really go into great detail as to why Cedra was sitting with him. It almost seemed random as though Cedra had spotted him and plopped herself down in the chair opposite of him for no reason whatsoever. It was a little confusing, and slightly disappointing because I did really enjoy the story and would have liked to see more of this scene. It could have had some great potential!
Overall, though, the story was great, creative, interesting and eerie in a way that made me want to finish it all in one sitting. I loved the spooky atmosphere, and I loved the rift's voice and how it talked to certain people. It was a really great story and I hope to see more great things from Hope Ann in the future!
I think this book could be appropriate for anyone, though I would recommend it more to teens and young adults more than children just because of the complexity of the plot and the darkness within the pages.
I hope you give Shadowkeeper a chance, and I hope you enjoy it!
Happy reading!
rmarcher's review
4.0
Hope Ann’s latest novella is arriving today, and I was privileged to get to read it ahead of time (which in no way affects my review). Shadowkeeper is inspired by the myth of Castor and Pollux and the story of Hades and Persephone, which is awesome in and of itself, but then you add in snarky, stubborn characters whose family means more to them than anything and it becomes even better.
The worldbuilding in this book is wonderful. It’s been good in the other two Hope Ann books I’ve read, too, but I think it most comes through and it’s most clear in Shadowkeeper. I really enjoyed learning more about the magic system she’s created.
I also enjoyed the characters. Cedra is stubborn and fiercely protective of her sister, Pethra, which I loved. It’s rare to find such strong family ties in YA (at least in my experience), so the relationship dynamics between Cedra and Pethra were encouraging to see. The relationship between Death and The Shadowkeeper were also really intriguing, and very well-written. I did have trouble telling Cedra and Pethra apart throughout the book–their names are similar and their voices aren’t especially distinct from each other–but I was able to keep enough of a mental image of each one based on Hope’s character images that I was able to remind myself which was which.
I really enjoyed the plot–it centered around all the sibling dynamics, which I already talked about–and overall the book was a really good read. :)
The worldbuilding in this book is wonderful. It’s been good in the other two Hope Ann books I’ve read, too, but I think it most comes through and it’s most clear in Shadowkeeper. I really enjoyed learning more about the magic system she’s created.
I also enjoyed the characters. Cedra is stubborn and fiercely protective of her sister, Pethra, which I loved. It’s rare to find such strong family ties in YA (at least in my experience), so the relationship dynamics between Cedra and Pethra were encouraging to see. The relationship between Death and The Shadowkeeper were also really intriguing, and very well-written. I did have trouble telling Cedra and Pethra apart throughout the book–their names are similar and their voices aren’t especially distinct from each other–but I was able to keep enough of a mental image of each one based on Hope’s character images that I was able to remind myself which was which.
I really enjoyed the plot–it centered around all the sibling dynamics, which I already talked about–and overall the book was a really good read. :)
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