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A review by kistireads
Omen of Ice by Jus Accardo
5.0
Thank you so much to Entangled Publishing and Netgalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Honestly, 5 stars, and what a ride.
I had seen this title floating around and had been intrigued by both the synopsis & title. I don't think I thought I'd enjoy it or fly through it as much as I did. I finished this book in 3 days and that includes travel that I had.
This novel just gripped my from the start, the worldbuilding was done really nicely. There wasn't the feeling of an info dump and important points in the world were revealed at a great pace throughout the novel. Of course, much more was revealed towards the 60-65% mark towards the end but until then, the pace was held nicely. Generally, in first novels, I always feel that we are learning about the world up front, but that it doesn't open up as much. In Omen of Ice we kept uncovering small parts of the world that kept it very interesting for me.
The plot was very fun, there was so much uncovered and many twists that I didn’t see coming. I was fully immersed the entire time and the pace moved along evenly, but also to the point where I flew through the novel. I will say, the end may leave some disheartened, but there is hope! And I hope we find that in the next novels of this series!
The atmosphere of the novel was great too. It changed depending on where our characters were or what/who they were dealing with, but it was there and it was appropriate with each scene. It helped keep me immersed in the novel.
The novel was in first person, dual POV of our two MCs, and even though I’m not usually a fan of novels written in first person, I really enjoyed this writing.
I enjoyed both our characters, they were both well done/created and different from each other but you could also understand how they meshed and got along. I appreciated that each character was unique in this world, but also flawed and extreme at some times. For me, this makes them more relatable and easier to believe. Tania was strong, stubborn, reliable, wanted to play by the rules and was pretty much a great student. Whereas Valen is dealing with difficult on the inside but charming, handsome, quirky/flirtatious and generally considered a lazy party-goer, but he does have depth which comes out as the novel moves along.
Between these two characters, I enjoyed some of their banter, but at the same time some of it didn’t land for me though. They had great tension and moments of collaboration, so it was an even rollercoaster from the start - they had tough moments and really beautiful moments which lended itself well to the story and the relatability of the relationship. Through the novel, I really enjoyed our two MCs, how they uncovered the world, its secrets and each other.
Overall, I really enjoyed my time in Derriga with Valen & Tania and all the other characters we met along the way. I enjoyed all the twists & turns and am very intrigued to see how the story plays out in future novels of this world! I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys YA fantasy with romance filled with Fae, Druids, magic & secrets that are uncovered along the way!
Honestly, 5 stars, and what a ride.
I had seen this title floating around and had been intrigued by both the synopsis & title. I don't think I thought I'd enjoy it or fly through it as much as I did. I finished this book in 3 days and that includes travel that I had.
This novel just gripped my from the start, the worldbuilding was done really nicely. There wasn't the feeling of an info dump and important points in the world were revealed at a great pace throughout the novel. Of course, much more was revealed towards the 60-65% mark towards the end but until then, the pace was held nicely. Generally, in first novels, I always feel that we are learning about the world up front, but that it doesn't open up as much. In Omen of Ice we kept uncovering small parts of the world that kept it very interesting for me.
The plot was very fun, there was so much uncovered and many twists that I didn’t see coming. I was fully immersed the entire time and the pace moved along evenly, but also to the point where I flew through the novel. I will say, the end may leave some disheartened, but there is hope! And I hope we find that in the next novels of this series!
The atmosphere of the novel was great too. It changed depending on where our characters were or what/who they were dealing with, but it was there and it was appropriate with each scene. It helped keep me immersed in the novel.
The novel was in first person, dual POV of our two MCs, and even though I’m not usually a fan of novels written in first person, I really enjoyed this writing.
I enjoyed both our characters, they were both well done/created and different from each other but you could also understand how they meshed and got along. I appreciated that each character was unique in this world, but also flawed and extreme at some times. For me, this makes them more relatable and easier to believe. Tania was strong, stubborn, reliable, wanted to play by the rules and was pretty much a great student. Whereas Valen is dealing with difficult on the inside but charming, handsome, quirky/flirtatious and generally considered a lazy party-goer, but he does have depth which comes out as the novel moves along.
Between these two characters, I enjoyed some of their banter, but at the same time some of it didn’t land for me though. They had great tension and moments of collaboration, so it was an even rollercoaster from the start - they had tough moments and really beautiful moments which lended itself well to the story and the relatability of the relationship. Through the novel, I really enjoyed our two MCs, how they uncovered the world, its secrets and each other.
Overall, I really enjoyed my time in Derriga with Valen & Tania and all the other characters we met along the way. I enjoyed all the twists & turns and am very intrigued to see how the story plays out in future novels of this world! I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys YA fantasy with romance filled with Fae, Druids, magic & secrets that are uncovered along the way!