qhuinnblay's review
5.0
This is a review of an ARC I was given days ago. My opinons are not in any way biased for or against the book. This is an imparcial review for a fantasy book that I happened to like.
I went to a beautiful place thanks to a very talented author, Luke Maynard. I met wonderful and especial characters whom I wanted to spend hours reading about, especially the mysterious Aewyn, her "friend" Poe, and the many Havenari and the author created with endless imagination.
I love everything about this magical world, the fantasy is amazing, and I want to read more about this world and its characters. I was hooked in the first page, and it never let me go. I feel so thankful for having been given the chance to meet Aewyn, Grim, Alec or Robyn, all well defined and lovable. Chapter after chapter, I discovered more about the life of Aewyn, an adorable girl who found a way into my heart as soon as Luke Maynard introduced her to the readers.
I Will be there to read the second book, becuase the first one was incredible and had everything I look for in a book, including well-defined characters, and a writer that managed to create a new world with ease, which is very difficult.
I strongly recommend you to buy and read this beautiful and charming book. It won´t disappoint, and Will take you to a place where you Will want to stay forever.
Great debut novel. Fantasy is not an easy genre to master, and Luke Maynard did it. Congratulations.
I went to a beautiful place thanks to a very talented author, Luke Maynard. I met wonderful and especial characters whom I wanted to spend hours reading about, especially the mysterious Aewyn, her "friend" Poe, and the many Havenari and the author created with endless imagination.
I love everything about this magical world, the fantasy is amazing, and I want to read more about this world and its characters. I was hooked in the first page, and it never let me go. I feel so thankful for having been given the chance to meet Aewyn, Grim, Alec or Robyn, all well defined and lovable. Chapter after chapter, I discovered more about the life of Aewyn, an adorable girl who found a way into my heart as soon as Luke Maynard introduced her to the readers.
I Will be there to read the second book, becuase the first one was incredible and had everything I look for in a book, including well-defined characters, and a writer that managed to create a new world with ease, which is very difficult.
I strongly recommend you to buy and read this beautiful and charming book. It won´t disappoint, and Will take you to a place where you Will want to stay forever.
Great debut novel. Fantasy is not an easy genre to master, and Luke Maynard did it. Congratulations.
raven_acres's review against another edition
4.0
Received from the author via Voracious Readers Only in exchange for a review.
Longer book, with detailed world-building, especially around the village. Slow burn type of read, but enjoyable to get into. I'm looking forward to the next book, and seeing what the next step is, along with, hopefully, some more depth on the secondary characters.
Crossposted to GoodReads and Amazon.
Longer book, with detailed world-building, especially around the village. Slow burn type of read, but enjoyable to get into. I'm looking forward to the next book, and seeing what the next step is, along with, hopefully, some more depth on the secondary characters.
Crossposted to GoodReads and Amazon.
klieber's review against another edition
3.0
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
So, first, the good: the prose in this is beautiful. Elegantly written, well-crafted and overall just a pleasure to read. The author has a true talent for beautiful writing.
That said, I dropped this book at the 43% mark because it didn’t really seem to be going anywhere. Other reviews have noted this book seems focused on world building and character development and I found that to be true as well. But it became tedious after a while as, at least speaking personally, I like a * little* more action sprinkled in to the character development.
Normally, I give any book I don’t finish one star. Giving this one three stars because the prose is just that good and also because maybe others will enjoy the character development more than I do.
It’s worth a read...as long as you understand what the book is and isn’t. This is not, by any measure, an action-packed thriller.
So, first, the good: the prose in this is beautiful. Elegantly written, well-crafted and overall just a pleasure to read. The author has a true talent for beautiful writing.
That said, I dropped this book at the 43% mark because it didn’t really seem to be going anywhere. Other reviews have noted this book seems focused on world building and character development and I found that to be true as well. But it became tedious after a while as, at least speaking personally, I like a * little* more action sprinkled in to the character development.
Normally, I give any book I don’t finish one star. Giving this one three stars because the prose is just that good and also because maybe others will enjoy the character development more than I do.
It’s worth a read...as long as you understand what the book is and isn’t. This is not, by any measure, an action-packed thriller.
annarella's review
5.0
An excellent epic fantasy that I thoroughly enjoyed. It's well written, the characters are fleshed out and the world building is excellent.
Gripping and highly entertaining.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Gripping and highly entertaining.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
catsy2022's review against another edition
3.0
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review, from Voracious Readers.
I think this was a nice book to read. I enjoyed the lore, the the character descriptions and the subtle magic in the story. It was interesting to learn about this new world, the way time is measured and read the character interactions. However, I think it can hardly be called epic fantasy. There are few magical elements, there is no adventure, there is no significant conflict. In fact, all 300 some pages of this book are worldbuilding and setup for the adventure I hope would take place in book 2.
This wasn't hard to read at all, the writing actually really good. I think the songs in the book would contribute more if this was turned into an audio production someday, but they read really awkwardly as I couldn't figure how they would fit into a line that was sung. I really enjoyed Aewyn's character arc and her relationship with Grim and his family. Grim was one of my favourite characters, along with Robin and Bram. They had some really strong development.
I think the monster descriptions were really great and they were gross and terrifying. I liked the character reactions to the monsters. It would be realistic to what would happen in that situation. The way the author describes common knowledge related to the world and monsters to characters who wouldn't know those facts was one of my favourite things - like the acidic blood the monster has, the way Celithrand interacts with the world in his druidic magic.
Unfortunately with so much set in the town and so little actual adventuring, I don't think I would want to continue this series and I can't give this book more than 3.5/5.
I think this was a nice book to read. I enjoyed the lore, the the character descriptions and the subtle magic in the story. It was interesting to learn about this new world, the way time is measured and read the character interactions. However, I think it can hardly be called epic fantasy. There are few magical elements, there is no adventure, there is no significant conflict. In fact, all 300 some pages of this book are worldbuilding and setup for the adventure I hope would take place in book 2.
This wasn't hard to read at all, the writing actually really good. I think the songs in the book would contribute more if this was turned into an audio production someday, but they read really awkwardly as I couldn't figure how they would fit into a line that was sung. I really enjoyed Aewyn's character arc and her relationship with Grim and his family. Grim was one of my favourite characters, along with Robin and Bram. They had some really strong development.
I think the monster descriptions were really great and they were gross and terrifying. I liked the character reactions to the monsters. It would be realistic to what would happen in that situation. The way the author describes common knowledge related to the world and monsters to characters who wouldn't know those facts was one of my favourite things - like the acidic blood the monster has, the way Celithrand interacts with the world in his druidic magic.
Unfortunately with so much set in the town and so little actual adventuring, I don't think I would want to continue this series and I can't give this book more than 3.5/5.
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