danihays's review
3.0
Actual rating: 3.25/5 stars.
The artwork in this book is amazing. It was the draw for me to purchase the book and it definitely was the book's strongest aspect. The art allowed the world and characters and creatures to be so much more imaginative and out-there and I loved and appreciated it. The writing in this book wasn't out of this world, but it wasn't bad either.
My main issues with this book were:
1. There wasn't any actual world-building in this. There was a lot of terminology and such a strange world and creatures thrown at the reader, but there was never any explanation for it all. It took me a significant portion of the book to really get a handle on the terminology from context, and by the end I wasn't 100% on it.
2. The ending kind of confused me? Like Barra was all ready to sacrifice herself (thanks to her convenient and not-at-all-explained vision-dreams) but then didn't? I think Red took her place, but I'm still not sure.
Overall, this was good and I'm glad I read it!
The artwork in this book is amazing. It was the draw for me to purchase the book and it definitely was the book's strongest aspect. The art allowed the world and characters and creatures to be so much more imaginative and out-there and I loved and appreciated it. The writing in this book wasn't out of this world, but it wasn't bad either.
My main issues with this book were:
1. There wasn't any actual world-building in this. There was a lot of terminology and such a strange world and creatures thrown at the reader, but there was never any explanation for it all. It took me a significant portion of the book to really get a handle on the terminology from context, and by the end I wasn't 100% on it.
2. The ending kind of confused me? Like Barra was all ready to sacrifice herself (thanks to her convenient and not-at-all-explained vision-dreams) but then didn't? I think Red took her place, but I'm still not sure.
Overall, this was good and I'm glad I read it!
unrulyheart's review
3.0
Actual rating: 3.25/5 stars.
The artwork in this book is amazing. It was the draw for me to purchase the book and it definitely was the book's strongest aspect. The art allowed the world and characters and creatures to be so much more imaginative and out-there and I loved and appreciated it. The writing in this book wasn't out of this world, but it wasn't bad either.
My main issues with this book were:
1. There wasn't any actual world-building in this. There was a lot of terminology and such a strange world and creatures thrown at the reader, but there was never any explanation for it all. It took me a significant portion of the book to really get a handle on the terminology from context, and by the end I wasn't 100% on it.
2. The ending kind of confused me? Like Barra was all ready to sacrifice herself (thanks to her convenient and not-at-all-explained vision-dreams) but then didn't? I think Red took her place, but I'm still not sure.
Overall, this was good and I'm glad I read it!
The artwork in this book is amazing. It was the draw for me to purchase the book and it definitely was the book's strongest aspect. The art allowed the world and characters and creatures to be so much more imaginative and out-there and I loved and appreciated it. The writing in this book wasn't out of this world, but it wasn't bad either.
My main issues with this book were:
1. There wasn't any actual world-building in this. There was a lot of terminology and such a strange world and creatures thrown at the reader, but there was never any explanation for it all. It took me a significant portion of the book to really get a handle on the terminology from context, and by the end I wasn't 100% on it.
2. The ending kind of confused me? Like Barra was all ready to sacrifice herself (thanks to her convenient and not-at-all-explained vision-dreams) but then didn't? I think Red took her place, but I'm still not sure.
Overall, this was good and I'm glad I read it!
bluebeewrites's review
3.0
Quite The Novel Idea ~ Words from the Clouds
I was very lucky to have received a physical review copy of this book, so first off, I want to thank the author for being so kind and generous to send it to me. I enjoyed this book a lot, but I think most of that is because of the artwork in it.
This is an original story and I greatly admire all the work that was put in this book. From what I understand there is even more to come so the readers can really dive into this world. And that's good, because the world is definitely one I wish to explore more. I also enjoyed the characters and the friendships in this novel. The writing was solid, sometimes a bit too simple, even for a middle grade, but I can look past that.
But while the writing was sometimes a bit too simple, the story itself never was. At times it was a bit more YA than middle grade and I'm not sure what the intended audience for this one is anymore. Which also brings me to the artwork. It IS gorgeous and I could show you pictures, but they won't do it justice. It adds a lot to the story and is the main reason why I can look past the sometimes simple-ish writing. It helped me dive into the world that much more. I'd even say the artwork alone is reason enough to pick it up.
I know this short review feels all over the place, but so do I. I'm a bit disappointed I didn't love this more, but I enjoyed this, and it's worth picking up, for sure. So I'll leave it at that. If you like YA/MG Fantasy, try this one out. I hope you enjoy it!
I was very lucky to have received a physical review copy of this book, so first off, I want to thank the author for being so kind and generous to send it to me. I enjoyed this book a lot, but I think most of that is because of the artwork in it.
This is an original story and I greatly admire all the work that was put in this book. From what I understand there is even more to come so the readers can really dive into this world. And that's good, because the world is definitely one I wish to explore more. I also enjoyed the characters and the friendships in this novel. The writing was solid, sometimes a bit too simple, even for a middle grade, but I can look past that.
But while the writing was sometimes a bit too simple, the story itself never was. At times it was a bit more YA than middle grade and I'm not sure what the intended audience for this one is anymore. Which also brings me to the artwork. It IS gorgeous and I could show you pictures, but they won't do it justice. It adds a lot to the story and is the main reason why I can look past the sometimes simple-ish writing. It helped me dive into the world that much more. I'd even say the artwork alone is reason enough to pick it up.
I know this short review feels all over the place, but so do I. I'm a bit disappointed I didn't love this more, but I enjoyed this, and it's worth picking up, for sure. So I'll leave it at that. If you like YA/MG Fantasy, try this one out. I hope you enjoy it!
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