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A review by serahlunareads
A Realm of Ash and Shadow by Lara Buckheit
medium-paced
3.25
I wanted to like this one so badly. The writing pulled me in immediately with its beautifully immersive descriptions of setting and entreatingly relatable dialogue. Within the first 30 pages or so I was certain I was on my way to a 5-star read. But that 5-star train derailed so quickly and I’m honestly not over it yet.
The main character, Valeria, is supposed to be this badass princess with immense power. She knows that she will one day take over her father’s throne once she finally returns back to her realm after being exiled by her father as a child. She was raised with all of this in mind and has become a young woman eager to return and rule the way she believes her realm should be ruled. Unfortunately, things aren’t the way she imagined it when she returns home. Poor people are running out of food and starving, and Valeria is heartbroken about what she’s seeing. She confronts her father and his council about the issue, and there’s so much lead-up to this, presumably, big moment when she finally gets a chance to prove herself as the realm’s future ruler, and do you know what she says?? “We can harness magic and ensure that our food supply doesn’t run out, like ever, so that no one starves again.”
Did you catch it? Like. Ever. When I tell you that all hope for this book went out the window at those two words… It threw me out of my immersion immediately. It didn’t fit with the tone of the rest of the book. Well, except for the author’s peculiar use of the term “guys” all. the. time. “Suddenly, a guy leapt out”… “The guy wasted no time”… “Both of the guys flanked my sides”… It was so grating. The rest of the writing was actually quite good and I think it was ruined for me by these random immature terms that I didn’t see any reason to include.
I think this could have been an amazing book if some of the plot and characters were fleshed out a bit more. The pacing felt random, some of the plot concepts felt weak, unexplained, or unnecessary, and there was a bit too much convenience for my liking (things happening at just the right moment, etc.)
I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.
The main character, Valeria, is supposed to be this badass princess with immense power. She knows that she will one day take over her father’s throne once she finally returns back to her realm after being exiled by her father as a child. She was raised with all of this in mind and has become a young woman eager to return and rule the way she believes her realm should be ruled. Unfortunately, things aren’t the way she imagined it when she returns home. Poor people are running out of food and starving, and Valeria is heartbroken about what she’s seeing. She confronts her father and his council about the issue, and there’s so much lead-up to this, presumably, big moment when she finally gets a chance to prove herself as the realm’s future ruler, and do you know what she says?? “We can harness magic and ensure that our food supply doesn’t run out, like ever, so that no one starves again.”
Did you catch it? Like. Ever. When I tell you that all hope for this book went out the window at those two words… It threw me out of my immersion immediately. It didn’t fit with the tone of the rest of the book. Well, except for the author’s peculiar use of the term “guys” all. the. time. “Suddenly, a guy leapt out”… “The guy wasted no time”… “Both of the guys flanked my sides”… It was so grating. The rest of the writing was actually quite good and I think it was ruined for me by these random immature terms that I didn’t see any reason to include.
I think this could have been an amazing book if some of the plot and characters were fleshed out a bit more. The pacing felt random, some of the plot concepts felt weak, unexplained, or unnecessary, and there was a bit too much convenience for my liking (things happening at just the right moment, etc.)
I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.