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booksandlemonsquash's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this! The world building in particular is very well done. And I always enjoy superpowers.
I found the way the powers were set up and the kind of powers included to be fantastic. I found Vesper’s power and the implications of that to be fascinating and the good and bad were incredibly well shown through the book.
Vesper is quite close of which made getting to know the secondary characters quite hard, but I did really like Vesper herself. I didn’t much connect with any of the others, and didn’t necessarily care too much about the romance.
I did love the politics of the ring and the society, they were fascinating. I could see a couple of the “reveals” but not all which is always good!
A really good and easy read :)
I found the way the powers were set up and the kind of powers included to be fantastic. I found Vesper’s power and the implications of that to be fascinating and the good and bad were incredibly well shown through the book.
Vesper is quite close of which made getting to know the secondary characters quite hard, but I did really like Vesper herself. I didn’t much connect with any of the others, and didn’t necessarily care too much about the romance.
I did love the politics of the ring and the society, they were fascinating. I could see a couple of the “reveals” but not all which is always good!
A really good and easy read :)
wdonnie3's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
_carmen01_'s review against another edition
3.0
3.5 ⭐'s....... It was good but it could have been better.
malikam's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful coming of age story, as well as a raw and realistic depiction of dealing with guilt, trauma, and self-forgiveness. Of course, dashes of romance, action-packed power battle sequences were also present! Loved it.
amarylissw's review against another edition
4.0
While this book offers nothing particularly new, I still really enjoyed it. The characters were all pretty fleshed out, and despite some slow pacing, the overall story is interesting. I wasn’t sure if this was a series or not, since it can very much read as a stand-alone, but Goodreads has a sequel listed. It makes me wonder if it’ll be the same characters or different ones?
katmystery's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars.
I appreciate that this book was not another X-Men ripoff, like so many teens-with-superpowers novels nowadays!
An interesting concept that was not quite pulled off. While I enjoyed the story, characters, and world and laughed and cheered for the heroes, I did not find anything particularly extraordinary about this book. A highly predictable plot-line disguised as something more, including a magic system that was both too complex and too simple to be believable, supported by a cast of sufficiently good characters. The character motivations felt unrealistic to me. The "dark past" hinted at on the back cover didn't seem dark enough to merit the main character's story-driving regret. I feel that the story could have been told in half the number of pages.
But if you like superpower stories and Rocky, I do recommend this! It's a solid book- I just didn't find it fantastic.
I appreciate that this book was not another X-Men ripoff, like so many teens-with-superpowers novels nowadays!
An interesting concept that was not quite pulled off. While I enjoyed the story, characters, and world and laughed and cheered for the heroes, I did not find anything particularly extraordinary about this book. A highly predictable plot-line disguised as something more, including a magic system that was both too complex and too simple to be believable, supported by a cast of sufficiently good characters. The character motivations felt unrealistic to me. The "dark past" hinted at on the back cover didn't seem dark enough to merit the main character's story-driving regret. I feel that the story could have been told in half the number of pages.
But if you like superpower stories and Rocky, I do recommend this! It's a solid book- I just didn't find it fantastic.
chroniclesofabookreader's review against another edition
5.0
**4.5 Stars**
The Beckoning Shadow was an intriguing fantasy that sucked me in from the first page. With its character-focused storyline, Blair crafted a hero's journey with a paranormal flair that, when paired with the entire cast of characters and their elements, held me under its spell until I finished. And somehow, through all of that, it held its structure and pace and kept me coming back for more.
Though the worldbuilding wasn't the greatest, what made up for it in spades was Vesper's individual transformation within the story. I loved her tenacity and how she felt down-to-earth in a world that held pieces that weren't natural. She kept her personality among her trials and she was all too easy to root for; the self-sacrificing with the wounded soul who still managed to maintain her drive. But of course she was flawed, too, and I could forgive the worldbuilding simply because of how well she was crafted. And the subtle sweetness to hers and Sam's connection was wonderfully done—a true feat to pair it so well where it never negated her own journey. Sam's presence was essential and I adored everything he brought to the table.
I cannot wait to continue in this world and see where else Blair plans to take these characters—both main and secondary. The storytelling was impressive and, as such, I know there's so much more goodness to come. I cannot wait to read more.
**Received an early copy via Edelweiss; this had no bearing on my opinions**
The Beckoning Shadow was an intriguing fantasy that sucked me in from the first page. With its character-focused storyline, Blair crafted a hero's journey with a paranormal flair that, when paired with the entire cast of characters and their elements, held me under its spell until I finished. And somehow, through all of that, it held its structure and pace and kept me coming back for more.
Though the worldbuilding wasn't the greatest, what made up for it in spades was Vesper's individual transformation within the story. I loved her tenacity and how she felt down-to-earth in a world that held pieces that weren't natural. She kept her personality among her trials and she was all too easy to root for; the self-sacrificing with the wounded soul who still managed to maintain her drive. But of course she was flawed, too, and I could forgive the worldbuilding simply because of how well she was crafted. And the subtle sweetness to hers and Sam's connection was wonderfully done—a true feat to pair it so well where it never negated her own journey. Sam's presence was essential and I adored everything he brought to the table.
I cannot wait to continue in this world and see where else Blair plans to take these characters—both main and secondary. The storytelling was impressive and, as such, I know there's so much more goodness to come. I cannot wait to read more.
**Received an early copy via Edelweiss; this had no bearing on my opinions**
bethrb's review against another edition
5.0
I'll write a full public review closer to the release date but let me just say this blew me away. I've never read anything quite like it before and I can't wait for everyone else to read it!!
Edit 26.05.19: Full Review
Pre-Order it here!
Review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss. I wrote this review on the 11th of November 2018, quite a long time ago. Any events or quotes referenced in this ARC may be revised or removed by the final publication.
Oddities live among us - a group of beings born with the ability to destroy with a single touch, draw out someone's nightmares, teleport or unravel time itself. Strict laws enforced by the Wardens mean never revealing yourself to a Baseline, and keeping your powers in check. Vesper (yes, Vesper) Montgomery, a teenage Oddity, finds herself on the run after losing control of her abilities. Fearing discovery from the Wardens, Vesper lives on the fringe of society, getting by on the streets and drifting from city to city. That is until she encounters a community of Oddities in San Franciso hoping to compete in the Tournament of the Unwinding; an underground fighting tournament where Oddities can unleash their full potential against one another in the caged ring. The prize? One million dollars. Oh, and the chance to Unwind one event from your past. Now with something (and someone) to fight for, Vesper must learn to harness her powers or else risk losing it all.
The Beckoning Shadow was an unexpected surprise! I've never really been a fan of action-heavy reads, and it all sounded a bit too much. Weirdly, I wasn't too keen on the premise, to begin with. MMA/UFC/Fake-o wrestling have been interests of mine over the years, rubbed off onto me by my overzealous MMA fighting brother. Magic and cage matches should have been a match made in heaven but something about it didn't grab me, and neither did the first few chapters which were heavy with world building and exposition, as Fantasy books tend to be. It wasn't until I was a few chapters in that I really got into it, and when I did, I couldn't put it down.
Vesper (again: yes, Vesper*) had a refreshing and humorous inner dialogue that I found annoying to start with. It wasn't until I realised how similar her stream of consciousness ran to my own that I really understood her. After this revelation, I began to enjoy Vesper's voice, bad jokes and all, and enjoyed Vesper as a character. She was a bit of a mess - what magically inclined runaway isn't? - but she has a lot of love and humour in her, as well as some justifiable anger and hurt. Besides the whole magic wielding thing, Vesper, and most of Blair's characters felt so real and were east to love. I have a special love for Anabelle who was such a lovely character and I hope to see more of her in the future.
The romance was very sweet, but as with Shade Me** I felt that I had to knock off a star for the relationship once again being between a teenager and a 20-something. This seems to be popular at the moment and I just can't get behind it. Probably something about me being a 20-something myself and working with teenagers. Otherwise, I loved the slow and steady build-up and the compatibility of the characters. They joked and mucked around, hurt and had real discussions about their relationship that I found really refreshing in a YA novel. That isn't to say this doesn't happen, but I felt that Blair did it very well.
I haven't read many contemporary fantasy novels recently (or at all this year, apparently) but there really is something enjoyable about the potential for magical throw downs happening just down the block. Some of Blair's world building felt clumsy at times and I just didn't understand some aspects, but Blair has woven together a compelling universe that has a lot of scope for the series, whether it is following Vesper and co. or some new Oddities. Overall The Beckoning Shadow is fun and exciting, with plenty of heart thrown in. Blair has crafted a wonderful debut novel and I'm excited to see where she, and her Oddities, go next.
*I recently had a discussion with some of the students in the book club we run at work about terrible character names. While America Singer still tops my charts as an all-time bad character name, Vesper must be up there. I will forgive Blair for it though because she handles it well.
** Yes, I'm still bitter about Shade Me but these two books are incomparable. Though I remember thinking as I read The Beckoning Shadow that Vesper was an often tortured and sometimes brutal character done right.
Edit 26.05.19: Full Review
Pre-Order it here!
You've done worse. You'll do worse. I think.
Review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss. I wrote this review on the 11th of November 2018, quite a long time ago. Any events or quotes referenced in this ARC may be revised or removed by the final publication.
Oddities live among us - a group of beings born with the ability to destroy with a single touch, draw out someone's nightmares, teleport or unravel time itself. Strict laws enforced by the Wardens mean never revealing yourself to a Baseline, and keeping your powers in check. Vesper (yes, Vesper) Montgomery, a teenage Oddity, finds herself on the run after losing control of her abilities. Fearing discovery from the Wardens, Vesper lives on the fringe of society, getting by on the streets and drifting from city to city. That is until she encounters a community of Oddities in San Franciso hoping to compete in the Tournament of the Unwinding; an underground fighting tournament where Oddities can unleash their full potential against one another in the caged ring. The prize? One million dollars. Oh, and the chance to Unwind one event from your past. Now with something (and someone) to fight for, Vesper must learn to harness her powers or else risk losing it all.
The Beckoning Shadow was an unexpected surprise! I've never really been a fan of action-heavy reads, and it all sounded a bit too much. Weirdly, I wasn't too keen on the premise, to begin with. MMA/UFC/Fake-o wrestling have been interests of mine over the years, rubbed off onto me by my overzealous MMA fighting brother. Magic and cage matches should have been a match made in heaven but something about it didn't grab me, and neither did the first few chapters which were heavy with world building and exposition, as Fantasy books tend to be. It wasn't until I was a few chapters in that I really got into it, and when I did, I couldn't put it down.
Vesper (again: yes, Vesper*) had a refreshing and humorous inner dialogue that I found annoying to start with. It wasn't until I realised how similar her stream of consciousness ran to my own that I really understood her. After this revelation, I began to enjoy Vesper's voice, bad jokes and all, and enjoyed Vesper as a character. She was a bit of a mess - what magically inclined runaway isn't? - but she has a lot of love and humour in her, as well as some justifiable anger and hurt. Besides the whole magic wielding thing, Vesper, and most of Blair's characters felt so real and were east to love. I have a special love for Anabelle who was such a lovely character and I hope to see more of her in the future.
The romance was very sweet, but as with Shade Me** I felt that I had to knock off a star for the relationship once again being between a teenager and a 20-something. This seems to be popular at the moment and I just can't get behind it. Probably something about me being a 20-something myself and working with teenagers. Otherwise, I loved the slow and steady build-up and the compatibility of the characters. They joked and mucked around, hurt and had real discussions about their relationship that I found really refreshing in a YA novel. That isn't to say this doesn't happen, but I felt that Blair did it very well.
I haven't read many contemporary fantasy novels recently (or at all this year, apparently) but there really is something enjoyable about the potential for magical throw downs happening just down the block. Some of Blair's world building felt clumsy at times and I just didn't understand some aspects, but Blair has woven together a compelling universe that has a lot of scope for the series, whether it is following Vesper and co. or some new Oddities. Overall The Beckoning Shadow is fun and exciting, with plenty of heart thrown in. Blair has crafted a wonderful debut novel and I'm excited to see where she, and her Oddities, go next.
*I recently had a discussion with some of the students in the book club we run at work about terrible character names. While America Singer still tops my charts as an all-time bad character name, Vesper must be up there. I will forgive Blair for it though because she handles it well.
** Yes, I'm still bitter about Shade Me but these two books are incomparable. Though I remember thinking as I read The Beckoning Shadow that Vesper was an often tortured and sometimes brutal character done right.