azrah786's review
4.0
**I received a proof copy from Harper360YA in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, injury, blood, death of parent, war, kidnapping, neglect
--
While the beginning was a little slow, Silver In The Mist was a really enjoyable YA fantasy story.
It follows a young spy who infiltrates the neighbouring kingdom as a means to save her own. The magical defences of Aris are weakening and in order to strengthen them as well as prevent any kind of siege, Devlin is tasked with befriending and kidnapping Cerena’s renowned magical caster and bringing her home to help.
The overall story worked wonderfully as a standalone and I feel like its one of those books that has just slipped under a lot of people’s radars. In all honesty I picked this up a lot later than I had planned to but I’m glad I gave it a chance!
All the ideas behind the magic though not fully explained and explored were still really interesting, especially with how it was tied into the history of the world which was slowly uncovered as the plot progressed. The spy side of things and the action scenes were all written really well and keep you entertained.
But the standout has got to be the relationships and how they developed. It is always so refreshing when the central relationships in a book are platonic. These were all brilliantly written both the already established and newly founded and with the leading character being aromantic, it’s just great having that representation there too.
If Emily Victoria ever decides to return to this world and explore it more I would definitely be down to checking it out!
Final Rating - 4/5 Stars
CW: violence, injury, blood, death of parent, war, kidnapping, neglect
--
While the beginning was a little slow, Silver In The Mist was a really enjoyable YA fantasy story.
It follows a young spy who infiltrates the neighbouring kingdom as a means to save her own. The magical defences of Aris are weakening and in order to strengthen them as well as prevent any kind of siege, Devlin is tasked with befriending and kidnapping Cerena’s renowned magical caster and bringing her home to help.
The overall story worked wonderfully as a standalone and I feel like its one of those books that has just slipped under a lot of people’s radars. In all honesty I picked this up a lot later than I had planned to but I’m glad I gave it a chance!
All the ideas behind the magic though not fully explained and explored were still really interesting, especially with how it was tied into the history of the world which was slowly uncovered as the plot progressed. The spy side of things and the action scenes were all written really well and keep you entertained.
But the standout has got to be the relationships and how they developed. It is always so refreshing when the central relationships in a book are platonic. These were all brilliantly written both the already established and newly founded and with the leading character being aromantic, it’s just great having that representation there too.
If Emily Victoria ever decides to return to this world and explore it more I would definitely be down to checking it out!
Final Rating - 4/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Violence, and War
Minor: Death of parent
djinnia's review
4.0
Thank you NetGalley and Inkyard Press for allowing me to read this arc copy.
Devlin, a spy for Aris, is sent on an undercover mission to Cerena. There she learns not everything is as it seems in either country.
I enjoyed this book. Devlin was a great character. She was flawed in many ways. She strived for perfection, but fails, which I liked. I also liked Lachlan, her spy partner. They were snarky and fun. There were complications in all the relationships between characters. Some were more fleshed out than others.
The world building was interesting as well. The stark differences between the two countries was striking. Each country is the polar opposite of the other. Where one was opulent the other was barren. Where one was As was the attitudes of the peoples. For me, I could feel that there was history between the two countries as well as bad blood.
The magic system was okay. It wasn't groundbreaking, but it was interesting.
All in all, the book was very good. I enjoyed it a lot.
Thank you again, NetGalley and Inkyard Press for the opportunity to read this book.
Devlin, a spy for Aris, is sent on an undercover mission to Cerena. There she learns not everything is as it seems in either country.
I enjoyed this book. Devlin was a great character. She was flawed in many ways. She strived for perfection, but fails, which I liked. I also liked Lachlan, her spy partner. They were snarky and fun. There were complications in all the relationships between characters. Some were more fleshed out than others.
The world building was interesting as well. The stark differences between the two countries was striking. Each country is the polar opposite of the other. Where one was opulent the other was barren. Where one was As was the attitudes of the peoples. For me, I could feel that there was history between the two countries as well as bad blood.
The magic system was okay. It wasn't groundbreaking, but it was interesting.
All in all, the book was very good. I enjoyed it a lot.
Thank you again, NetGalley and Inkyard Press for the opportunity to read this book.
marashaws_'s review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
wayward_kat's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
hckilgour's review
adventurous
medium-paced
3.0
So… the beginning of this book was a tad slow and hard to get into. But once I did it was a breeze.
So, I absolutely loved that there was no romance whatsoever. I’ve never seen that in a ya fantasy book. And it was impressive.
The other thing was the lack of character descriptions for Devlin and Lachlan. It let the reader create their own image and let the characters be extremely fluid. Especially Lachlan who was gender neutral.
So, I absolutely loved that there was no romance whatsoever. I’ve never seen that in a ya fantasy book. And it was impressive.
The other thing was the lack of character descriptions for Devlin and Lachlan. It let the reader create their own image and let the characters be extremely fluid. Especially Lachlan who was gender neutral.
jay_mack9712's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
What an absolutely stunning book. From the very beginning, you're pulled into this magical world! It's so beautifully created that it feels as if you are truly there! The words chosen to describe it paint a picture that just captures your attention!
Even though this is a fantasy novel, our main character is Devlin, a spy!!! That was such a unqiue way to tell a story about magic! Especially since Devlin doesn't have the ability to use it. Instead, she is a bad ass spy sent undercover!! I love this plot point!! Because while pretending to be someone she's not, she becomes truer to herself!! Devlin's character growth is beautiful to experience!
As much as Devlin is the star of her own book, truly I don't think that would be possible without the absolute ray of sunshine, pure cinnanmon roll, Alyse!! She may be my favourite!! Just such a good heart while also trying to deal with the weight of her responsibilities!! I just.... yeah she delighted me !!
But their friendship was amazing!! And how much it grew and the depth of understanding between both them was something that was done so amazingly well!!! I really loved this verse that was created and the characters in!! Also to have such a beautiful magic system was just a bonus!!! Truly one of the best books I've read in 2023!!!
Even though this is a fantasy novel, our main character is Devlin, a spy!!! That was such a unqiue way to tell a story about magic! Especially since Devlin doesn't have the ability to use it. Instead, she is a bad ass spy sent undercover!! I love this plot point!! Because while pretending to be someone she's not, she becomes truer to herself!! Devlin's character growth is beautiful to experience!
As much as Devlin is the star of her own book, truly I don't think that would be possible without the absolute ray of sunshine, pure cinnanmon roll, Alyse!! She may be my favourite!! Just such a good heart while also trying to deal with the weight of her responsibilities!! I just.... yeah she delighted me !!
But their friendship was amazing!! And how much it grew and the depth of understanding between both them was something that was done so amazingly well!!! I really loved this verse that was created and the characters in!! Also to have such a beautiful magic system was just a bonus!!! Truly one of the best books I've read in 2023!!!
ohmage_resistance's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
scifimagpie's review
4.0
This was a brisk read, with some great moments of inclusion. I think Milla was my favourite character, but I also liked the non-gendered court titles. The queer characters are mentioned casually, a natural part of the narrative.
What really powers this book is friendship and the struggles of familial relationships. There's some good nuances between Dev and her mother, but Dev's friendships with Lachlan and Alyse really shine.
I also liked the magic system - I personally have a thing for silver filigree, and the idea of magic made of one of my favourite jewelry materials is pretty darn cool.
If you're looking for something that feels a bit like modern Disney in really good ways - say Tangled mixed with Encanto - I would definitely recommend this.
I'm kind of hoping for a sequel!
What really powers this book is friendship and the struggles of familial relationships. There's some good nuances between Dev and her mother, but Dev's friendships with Lachlan and Alyse really shine.
I also liked the magic system - I personally have a thing for silver filigree, and the idea of magic made of one of my favourite jewelry materials is pretty darn cool.
If you're looking for something that feels a bit like modern Disney in really good ways - say Tangled mixed with Encanto - I would definitely recommend this.
I'm kind of hoping for a sequel!
bloomingtea's review
3.0
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free audiobook in exchange for an honest review! this has not affected my review in any way, all opinions are mine.
i really enjoyed the worldbuilding in this story and i do love a spy story, especially an undercover mission one! i think that the magic could've been explored a little bit more, but that may just be because i thought it was pretty different and wanted to understand it better. weirdly, i kept getting thrown off by the word 'layde'? abought halfway through i was like oh that just means lady doesn't it (i'm still not sure)
parts of this felt very slow and i'm having this weird Moment in reading where a lot of these standalone fantasy books have endings that feel very abrupt or unearned and this one sort of felt that way? i couldn't put my finger on it but the book ended and i was like oh well. hm.
also i saw that a bunch of reviews were commenting on the fact that devlin is ace (or aroace?) and while i totally get the struggle of not using that specific term in high fantasy, i genuinely don't know if that came through super strong? and that's ok since i didn't like see the marketing of this as an ace main character, but i think it could definitely be disappointing if people are going into this book specifically for that representation. i just read it as a fantasy with no romance which...doesn't necessarily make the main character ace? i know she is in this instance and i'm not taking that away, i just wonder if it could've been written in a way to make devlin's sexuality more clear because i think it's a really easy miss
3/5
i really enjoyed the worldbuilding in this story and i do love a spy story, especially an undercover mission one! i think that the magic could've been explored a little bit more, but that may just be because i thought it was pretty different and wanted to understand it better. weirdly, i kept getting thrown off by the word 'layde'? abought halfway through i was like oh that just means lady doesn't it (i'm still not sure)
parts of this felt very slow and i'm having this weird Moment in reading where a lot of these standalone fantasy books have endings that feel very abrupt or unearned and this one sort of felt that way? i couldn't put my finger on it but the book ended and i was like oh well. hm.
also i saw that a bunch of reviews were commenting on the fact that devlin is ace (or aroace?) and while i totally get the struggle of not using that specific term in high fantasy, i genuinely don't know if that came through super strong? and that's ok since i didn't like see the marketing of this as an ace main character, but i think it could definitely be disappointing if people are going into this book specifically for that representation. i just read it as a fantasy with no romance which...doesn't necessarily make the main character ace? i know she is in this instance and i'm not taking that away, i just wonder if it could've been written in a way to make devlin's sexuality more clear because i think it's a really easy miss
rubylovesbooks13's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0