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anisiaguerrero's review
4.0
Finished in one day!!
All I can say is WOW! I was feeling all the emotions with this one!
The beginning starts off with quite a bit of world building and goes pretty in depth with introducing you to the characters. I feel this is important though to get a good understanding of the FMC and why she is the way she is. The ending. HOLY SH*+!!! Let’s just I wasn’t expecting that! And then when I was like wow! That was shocking. BAM! Another shock. And then another. And another.
The only reason I took a star off is because I felt the dialogue was a little confusing when trying to decipher *who* said it.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I can’t wait for #2 in this series!
All I can say is WOW! I was feeling all the emotions with this one!
The beginning starts off with quite a bit of world building and goes pretty in depth with introducing you to the characters. I feel this is important though to get a good understanding of the FMC and why she is the way she is. The ending. HOLY SH*+!!! Let’s just I wasn’t expecting that! And then when I was like wow! That was shocking. BAM! Another shock. And then another. And another.
The only reason I took a star off is because I felt the dialogue was a little confusing when trying to decipher *who* said it.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I can’t wait for #2 in this series!
amysbookshelff's review
4.0
✨ARC Review✨
(Thank you to the author and The Nerd Fam for giving me this ARC for an honest review! All thoughts and opinions are wholly my own)
“Only you can decide your future, you just have to be strong enough to take control of it.”
What a great debut novel! This book gave me the same feelings that ACOTAR did when I read it for the first time. I will say that it didn’t pick up until about 25% though. There was a lot of world building and a bit of info dump. I think much of it was important to build up Amiras character, however, I do think it could have been condensed a little. The actual conflict to the story wasn’t really shown until you hit that 25-30% mark. Once you hit that point though, it was fast paced the rest of the way through. And that plot twist?!? *chefs kiss*
With all of that being said, Lunaria really was a great book. I found my self falling in love the characters and I actually loved that the book wasn’t that predictable. I didn’t really have any idea which way it was going to go. I had some theories somewhat early on. But, none had anything to do with the direction the book went. I 100% would recommend Lunaria to any Fantasy reader. I was trying to think of a book to compare it to and I couldn’t. It’s unique in its own way. I’m reeling after the plot twist and ending of this one. I can’t wait for the next book to come!
(Thank you to the author and The Nerd Fam for giving me this ARC for an honest review! All thoughts and opinions are wholly my own)
“Only you can decide your future, you just have to be strong enough to take control of it.”
What a great debut novel! This book gave me the same feelings that ACOTAR did when I read it for the first time. I will say that it didn’t pick up until about 25% though. There was a lot of world building and a bit of info dump. I think much of it was important to build up Amiras character, however, I do think it could have been condensed a little. The actual conflict to the story wasn’t really shown until you hit that 25-30% mark. Once you hit that point though, it was fast paced the rest of the way through. And that plot twist?!? *chefs kiss*
With all of that being said, Lunaria really was a great book. I found my self falling in love the characters and I actually loved that the book wasn’t that predictable. I didn’t really have any idea which way it was going to go. I had some theories somewhat early on. But, none had anything to do with the direction the book went. I 100% would recommend Lunaria to any Fantasy reader. I was trying to think of a book to compare it to and I couldn’t. It’s unique in its own way. I’m reeling after the plot twist and ending of this one. I can’t wait for the next book to come!
bookmarkedbyterese's review
4.0
This was a good first book in a series and a great debut! It definitely leaves me wanting more and hinting at what’s to come! It was a little slower in the first half of the book but did pick up and the last ~20% had a lot going on. I loved Amira and can’t wait to see more of her character’s growth.
Graylen is our morally grey, tattoo’d, dark haired boy and we love him. After the ending of this book I can’t wait to see more of him.
Found family is a big part of this story, which is one of my favorite tropes, and I think it’ll be even more prevalent in books going forward in the series which I’m excited to see!
Graylen is our morally grey, tattoo’d, dark haired boy and we love him. After the ending of this book I can’t wait to see more of him.
Found family is a big part of this story, which is one of my favorite tropes, and I think it’ll be even more prevalent in books going forward in the series which I’m excited to see!
cicismama1019's review
5.0
This was a fantastic start to this new series!
Amira is the daughter of the Royal Merchant, who is a total ass and constantly demeans her.
She is determined from the beginning to become a better fighter and get away from her father and his controlling ways.
Her best friend is Opal- the only other girl in training. I absolutely adored their friendship. Her other friend is a much older man named Linnick who is a seller at the market who looks out for Amira, even accompanying her on a very integral journey to the plot.
She meets a man her age named Adrian who pretends to be a farm worker but has bigggg secrets she will later find out. His royal advisor is Graylen who steps up for her in a BIG way. I absolutely freaking loved him but don’t we always love the morally grey ones?!
Big things are revealed for Amira at the end and I’m so excited for book 2! Thank you so much Kara and The Nerd Fam for this ARC opportunity!
Amira is the daughter of the Royal Merchant, who is a total ass and constantly demeans her.
She is determined from the beginning to become a better fighter and get away from her father and his controlling ways.
Her best friend is Opal- the only other girl in training. I absolutely adored their friendship. Her other friend is a much older man named Linnick who is a seller at the market who looks out for Amira, even accompanying her on a very integral journey to the plot.
She meets a man her age named Adrian who pretends to be a farm worker but has bigggg secrets she will later find out. His royal advisor is Graylen who steps up for her in a BIG way. I absolutely freaking loved him but don’t we always love the morally grey ones?!
Big things are revealed for Amira at the end and I’m so excited for book 2! Thank you so much Kara and The Nerd Fam for this ARC opportunity!
jwinning221's review
4.0
This book surprised me in the best way possible. What started off deliberately slow, to allow for character development and world building, turned into action, adventure, mystery and so much intrigue as the book progressed. The revelations at the end were topped only by a cliffhanger that had me dying for book 2 ASAP!
The tropes of betrayals and secrets, fake dating, love triangles, found family, and morally grey main characters are wonderfully done.
Excited to see where we go from here as more secrets are revealed, questions are answered, and Amira and Graylen grow closer (hopefully)!
The tropes of betrayals and secrets, fake dating, love triangles, found family, and morally grey main characters are wonderfully done.
Excited to see where we go from here as more secrets are revealed, questions are answered, and Amira and Graylen grow closer (hopefully)!
bananapie's review
3.0
BLURB: Amira has always yearned to break free from her monotonous life in the army camp, where her father's whims and the mockery of the recruits keep her dreams confined. She seeks solace in visiting her merchant friend Linnick on market days, sharing her woes with lifelong companion Opal, and running alongside her loyal canine companion, Dog.
But fate takes a sharp turn when a chance encounter with the enigmatic Adrian in the bustling marketplace thrusts her into a whirlwind of intrigue. Swept into the intricate game of high-borns vying for a royal spouse, Amira finds herself entangled between her friendship with the prince and an undeniable attraction to his mysterious advisor.
As the world of court politics and a complex love triangle unfurls before her, Amira grapples with her own destiny. Can she transcend the constraints of her reality or will she merely become a pawn in father’s plans? Amidst the walls of the castle, Amira's internal struggles mirror the external challenges she faces.
In this tale of aspirations and conflicting desires, Amira must chart her own course through a realm of hidden agendas and whispered secrets. As courtly ambitions collide with her longing for something more, Amira discovers that the path to self-discovery is fraught with choices that will shape not only her destiny but the fate of the realm itself.
—
REVIEW: This book took me a second to get through because (1) I am an audio book girly and reading a physical/digital book does not always fit with my schedule and (2) the hook in this book was much later than I was expecting. For me, I think the book really picked up around chapter 30. Which means it is a bit of commitment to get there. However, the ending really sets up the story for a captivating sequel!
Initially, I struggled to empathize with Amira's situation. Her father sent a lot of mixed messages throughout the book (e.g. not wanting her to train, but expecting her to fight well). I wanted the friendship between her and Addie to be deeper and more fully formed in this book, but hoping we see more of this later! The relationship with Adrian from random boy in market to friend felt like a stretch. There were relationship building moments I felt were occurring behind the scenes that I wish I was privy too. Their interactions felt like they kept introducing themselves, but never taking the next step to be vulnerable until much later. I did enjoy the funny banter between her and Graylen and I hope we continue to see that.
The marriage matching game felt like a combo of the Selection series and Love Island, but was still entirely its own vibe. I think the focus was less on the game and more on the relationship building that was occurring. The magic elements usually found in fantasy novels was not as prevalent in this book (due to it being banned in Crea).
If you do pick up a copy of this book, I highly recommend looking up the meaning of the chapter titles as you read! I did this afterwards and it was a clever way to pull together the theme of each chapter.
♡ Thanks to the author for a free copy of this book in return for an honest review! ♡
But fate takes a sharp turn when a chance encounter with the enigmatic Adrian in the bustling marketplace thrusts her into a whirlwind of intrigue. Swept into the intricate game of high-borns vying for a royal spouse, Amira finds herself entangled between her friendship with the prince and an undeniable attraction to his mysterious advisor.
As the world of court politics and a complex love triangle unfurls before her, Amira grapples with her own destiny. Can she transcend the constraints of her reality or will she merely become a pawn in father’s plans? Amidst the walls of the castle, Amira's internal struggles mirror the external challenges she faces.
In this tale of aspirations and conflicting desires, Amira must chart her own course through a realm of hidden agendas and whispered secrets. As courtly ambitions collide with her longing for something more, Amira discovers that the path to self-discovery is fraught with choices that will shape not only her destiny but the fate of the realm itself.
—
REVIEW: This book took me a second to get through because (1) I am an audio book girly and reading a physical/digital book does not always fit with my schedule and (2) the hook in this book was much later than I was expecting. For me, I think the book really picked up around chapter 30. Which means it is a bit of commitment to get there. However, the ending really sets up the story for a captivating sequel!
Initially, I struggled to empathize with Amira's situation. Her father sent a lot of mixed messages throughout the book (e.g. not wanting her to train, but expecting her to fight well). I wanted the friendship between her and Addie to be deeper and more fully formed in this book, but hoping we see more of this later! The relationship with Adrian from random boy in market to friend felt like a stretch. There were relationship building moments I felt were occurring behind the scenes that I wish I was privy too. Their interactions felt like they kept introducing themselves, but never taking the next step to be vulnerable until much later. I did enjoy the funny banter between her and Graylen and I hope we continue to see that.
The marriage matching game felt like a combo of the Selection series and Love Island, but was still entirely its own vibe. I think the focus was less on the game and more on the relationship building that was occurring. The magic elements usually found in fantasy novels was not as prevalent in this book (due to it being banned in Crea).
If you do pick up a copy of this book, I highly recommend looking up the meaning of the chapter titles as you read! I did this afterwards and it was a clever way to pull together the theme of each chapter.
♡ Thanks to the author for a free copy of this book in return for an honest review! ♡
jessi_readss's review
4.0
ARC review
3.5/5
-found family
-slow burn
-friends to lovers
-love triangle
-magical world
-royal setting
I received this ARC back in August but I completely forgot as I had requested too many arcs around that time (I learned my lesson lol). So I finally got to read it now.
Idk if it was because I had just finished IF prior to reading this, but this book dragged for me until near the end. It was especially slow at the beginning with setting the scene and world building. The middle picked up a bit but I still had to push through. And then the end hits you like a baseball to your face, it just all happens so fast lol. I get it though, sometimes the first books in fantasy series can tend to be slow due to the world and story building. So while this book was not a 5 star for me, I still cannot wait for the next book and have high hopes that it will be so much better than the first.
Thank you NerdFam for the ARC. <3
3.5/5
-found family
-slow burn
-friends to lovers
-love triangle
-magical world
-royal setting
I received this ARC back in August but I completely forgot as I had requested too many arcs around that time (I learned my lesson lol). So I finally got to read it now.
Idk if it was because I had just finished IF prior to reading this, but this book dragged for me until near the end. It was especially slow at the beginning with setting the scene and world building. The middle picked up a bit but I still had to push through. And then the end hits you like a baseball to your face, it just all happens so fast lol. I get it though, sometimes the first books in fantasy series can tend to be slow due to the world and story building. So while this book was not a 5 star for me, I still cannot wait for the next book and have high hopes that it will be so much better than the first.
Thank you NerdFam for the ARC. <3
booksy_tx_ana's review
4.0
Lunaria was so much more than I expected! Amira was a strong female main character. She stands up for herself and her friends. She is also ultimately a prisoner in her life, trapped. Amira finds herself in a reluctant love triangle. While trying to figure out her best plans.
This story definitely lead somewhere unexpected. (No spoilers!) The author did an amazing job laying out the scenery without it feeling like it was going on forever. Some characters went places I was stunned at.
I ultimately gave a 4.5 star rating because I was pulled in and still want to know how certain things work out in the next book. I liked it more than I expected.
I got this arc for my honest opinion
Come read with me
@booksy.tx.ana on Instagram
This story definitely lead somewhere unexpected. (No spoilers!) The author did an amazing job laying out the scenery without it feeling like it was going on forever. Some characters went places I was stunned at.
I ultimately gave a 4.5 star rating because I was pulled in and still want to know how certain things work out in the next book. I liked it more than I expected.
I got this arc for my honest opinion
Come read with me
@booksy.tx.ana on Instagram
xndyna's review
5.0
I read this book after being recommended it by a friend and can I just say I was not disappointed!! The first couple of chapters were tricky because of the world building but it was definitely necessary. As soon as I had fallen head first into the plot I did not resurface until I hit the acknowledgments page. This book really was amazing and the characters were so charming too, (Graylen, anyone??