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novelyjaded's reviews
568 reviews
Critical Failures VI: the Good, the Bad, and the Neutral by Robert Bevan
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
4.0
Of Withering Dreams by Rowyn Adelaide
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.0
ARC Review
Of Withering Dreams by Rowyn Adelaide
For me, this book gave very sci-fi/fantasy vibes and I loved it! It is listed as dark romantasy, which is true; but I also get a real science fiction feel to it as well as a good mystery. It mixes all of that with a heavy dose of corruption and political intrigue. This makes for a unique, engaging, enchanting tale of self discovery, love, magic, and quests for the greater good.
Seryn has spent all her life in a slowly dying world. People try to do their part to compensate for dwindling resources by participating in the Dormancy each year; they are placed in stasis pods for the winter months and wake 6 months later with no recollection of their time asleep. But all that changes in Seryn’s 21st year. During the dormancy, Seryn and her friends come to realize that the ruling Elders are hiding much more from them than just their time in the Dormancy.
I found this book to be well written and captivating. Adelaide’s descriptions paint a beautiful portrait of a world of dreams.
The plot moves along quickly, told from Seryn’s POV. Adelaide also occasionally hops back and forth along the timeline while telling the story which helps with slowly unraveling the world building.
The magic system that Adelaide outlines, while similar to other fantasy novels, has definite unique aspects. And she cleverly lays out the details of this magic system in a way that has us learning alongside the main characters, who happen to be both likeable and relatable.
This book hooks you in from the very start and definitely leaves you wanting more. I can’t wait for the sequel. I have high hopes for the books to come.
“‘The dawn does not fear the night. For it knows both light and shadow are needed–the balance protected’”
And a huge bonus…chapter titles! As someone who has been a reader since childhood, it was wonderful to see chapter titles make a reappearance ♥️
There are a few spicy scenes in the book but the romantasy aspect does not overpower the storyline.
There are minimal grammatical errors that do not detract from the overall story.
Vibes this book gives: AHS Apocalypse, Crescent City series by Sarah J Maas, The Maze Runner series by James Dashner
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I received this advanced copy from Rowyn Adelaide via BookFunnel in exchange for an honest review and feedback.
Shaedes of Power by Jenny Grimes
fast-paced
3.5
ARC Review
Shaedes of Power by Jenny Grimes
Opal feels like she has no idea who she is. Her time in the human realm is coming to an end and she doesn’t have any idea what she’s learned. And on top of all that, her shaede hasn’t shown itself. As she and her companions are walking back to their NYC apartment, they witness something that should be impossible in the human realm: a shadow beast attacking a human. They quickly realize that something must be really wrong in the Seam if the shadow beasts are appearing on this side. Opal and her friends are summoned home and thus begins her journey of self-discovery all while trying to save her realm.
This is a slow burn, why choose romantasy novel that has a unique twist on a common magic system; its color driven (shaede). Grimes does a great job of introducing and explaining this twist to us without making her world building overwhelming or heavy handed. In fact, most of her world building is done by the FMC explaining her world to a human MMC. Having this magic system explained through a conversation makes it feel more casual, relatable, and easily absorbed.
The plot moves along very quickly. The whole story seems to take place in a little over a week. During that time, the main characters are by now means idle. Each embarks on their own self appointed journey to save the realm. They do meet up frequently to discuss which means that details don’t get lost or left out. And the ending very nicely tied up everything. You are not left with unanswered questions but the epilogue does leave the door open for a sequel.
The main characters are a group of diverse personalities that all compliment each other well. Despite the tumultuous way that the main characters are all brought together, they seem to get along fairly well. There is not the amount of animosity or in-fighting that you might expect from a group of young main characters.
This book contains some mild spice; there are a few open door romance scenes.
The book contains only minimal grammatical errors that do not detract from the overall story.
Vibes this book gives: Tinkerbell (origin/self-discovery stories), a little The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller, a sprinkle of From Blood and Ash by Jennifer Armentrout
I received this advanced copy from Jenny Grimes via Book Funnel in exchange for an honest review and feedback. Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel.
Overall ⭐⭐⭐💫