A review by ezzydesu
Stars Wake by Leda C. Muir

4.0

''Leaves may grow and fall away,
but roots forever will remain.''
-Anonymous
(Leda C. Muir; Mooncallers: Stars Wake)

★★★★✩

I have been following Leda on YouTube and Twitter since 2012 or so. When I heard she was writing a fantasy novel, I was over the Moon (Pun intended)! I was so excited to read this and the story was so much better than expected. The characters, the world building and the general lore of Amniven, the realm this story takes place, was just impressive for a debut. Leda's writing is really descriptive, which helped a lot to get a good picture of the characters. Another thing I really liked is how Leda drew chapter headers and also included dates, written in dating canon to the story, with most chapters to keep track of the timeline. The story had a nice pacing and each character had proper introduction and backstory. I felt like I really bonded with the characters, they felt so real and each and every one of them had such a unique personality, which is amazing. I felt genuine sympathy and compassion towards the bunch and with each event the display of character's emotional arc was very realistic. The story itself is amazing all the same. It has elements I recognise from other fantasy stories/tales and even games, but stitched together with a very unique and personal twist which makes it a wonderful story.

I gave it 4 stars instead of five as there were some bumps in the story. It was nothing I haven't seen in a debut before, but worth to note. I sometimes got confused who was talking as the different POV's weren't written as most authors do and once in a while there were sentences I had to reread to understand. You can easily read over these things and they won't make you enjoy the book less. Leda does have a real talent for writing, but still needs to learn. I do want to credit her for publishing this book on her own with only help from friends and without help of a big publishing company.

If you love elves, magic, dragons and fantasy in general, I would really recommend this book. It is the first book in the Mooncallers series and the second book, Mooncallers: Shadows Burn is coming soon! Leda said the story of the sequel will be better and more complex and I do not doubt that even a little bit. The cover isn't revealed yet, but she is planning on doing that later this month, probably on Twitter.


Read other reviews on my blog:
https://ezziesbookshelf.wordpress.com