Reviews

Written in Starlight by Isabel Ibañez

nerdmuffin's review

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

briannegk's review against another edition

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5.0

I do not normally gravitate to YA or fantasy, but I am so thankful I did. This book was like nothing I've read before, and kept my attention from day one. It had been a while since I read Woven in Moonlight, but as soon as I opened up Written in Starlight it was as if no time had passed! The setting was so unique and provided for such adventure! While the main character is royalty, she is so relatable! The descriptions are so vivid, I felt like I was in the jungle (and I have zero experience to draw from)! I cannot wait to read more from this author, we need this kind of diversity in stories!

lizacollins27's review against another edition

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4.0

This book was fun and light and I loved the adventure! My only gripe is that it seems like the second book in a trilogy. It felt incomplete even though I thoroughly enjoyed it!

always_reading's review against another edition

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No

3.25

kmark's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

ohforfoxssake's review

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

moanleu's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective

4.25

sperez's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

gggina13's review against another edition

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5.0

Thank you af to the publisher and netgalley for early access to this one!!

This was one of my most anticipated books of Winter 2020/21 and I am so thrilled to say it didn't disappoint.

This book follows a different main character than book 1, Woven in Moonlight, but it's hard to say much about that at all without spoiling book 1. I highly recommend you NOT read the synopsis to this story if you plan on reading book 1 and haven't yet!

However, it's obvious, at least, from the cover that this story takes place in the jungle. It's part survival story, part characters' development, part romance, and it was all so fun. The storyline in this one is pretty simple compared to book one - it's almost a quest book, with a journey to one place, spending time in that place, and then the resolution. The simplicity, though, definitely did not hurt the story in any way. It's so different from book 1 in that way, but there's still common themes and styles between the two books and it is a great continuation of the story.

The writing in this book is absolutely stunning. The imagery is so thorough and detailed, without being too fancy. It's incredibly easy to picture this story scene by scene, even for someone like me who typically has TV static in the brain. I said this about Woven in Moonlight, but this one, too, would make a fantastic movie. The way these books' rising and falling action scenes go are really just cinematic.

The characters in this book are really easy to get attached to, regardless of the way you were introduced to them at one point or another. They have emotional walls up, are hyper-focused on goals that might not be right for them, and are quick to say things they don't mean, or mean things they don't say. They are flawed and lovable in the best ways. The way people change and grow throughout this story is very in line with the way Ximena grew over the course of Woven in Moonlight, and it was one of the things I loved most about that book.

Full and complete transparency, I read Woven in Moonlight solely because the cover was beautiful. I truly could not make a lick of sense out of the synopsis, but I tried it for the aesthetic. I am not a fantasy person, normally, so I was trying something out of my comfort zone. But the magic system in these books is pretty interesting - they are just people who happen to have powers. The books aren't really about finding magic, losing it, discovering new magic... it's just kind of part of who they are. It makes it easy to grasp that way, and I completely fell into both stories even with magic playing the part it did.

Sorry that this review couldn't be more in depth, but just know that I love these books and I think they're both wonderfully executed, fun, and moving. I love the characters and the world and the writing and I would wholeheartedly recommend both books to almost anyone.

mcdevimm's review against another edition

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3.0

The author is masterful in creating a vibrant world for her characters. I again enjoyed the touch of magic and fantasy, carried over from the first book. This feels like a classic second-book-in-a-series situation where it was rushed to meet deadlines and perhaps did not go through enough rounds of editing and revision (but I always think everything could use an editor). The amount of time Catalina and Manuel spend traipsing through the jungle could have been condensed to allow for more development later in the book. (Specifically Catalina's sudden ability to use the full capacity of her powers needed to be fleshed out more to be believable.) All in all, this series is a relatively enjoyable escape without being fluff. I look forward to reading more from Isabel Ibañez and watching her grow in her craft.