A review by krys_and_books
Children of Icarus by Caighlan Smith
4.0
So overall my rating is 3.5.
I liked this book, I would definitely suggest it when it comes out... but the MC was frustrating for me which drove the rating down, as did the fact that for every question that was added to the mystery very few if any answers were given.
Netgalley was kind enough to allow me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
The book:
It is Clara who is desperate to enter the labyrinth and it is Clara who is bright, strong, and fearless enough to take on any challenge. It is no surprise when she is chosen. But so is the girl who has always lived in her shadow. Together they enter. Within minutes, they are torn apart forever. Now the girl who has never left the city walls must fight to survive in a living nightmare, where one false turn with who to trust means a certain dead end.
My Summary:
The book moves fairly fast. It starts with a myth about an angel, Icarus, that basically is this cities religious basis.
From there the story starts with Clara and her Nameless shadow who is our MC. Because you never get a name for her Nameless is what I nicknamed the MC in my head. From the get go it is made very clear that Clara is a tough no-nonsense girl who is carelessly brave and our Nameless MC looks up to her and seriously lacks a backbone or anything defining real character. (She was a particularly frustrating MC to be honest, but I did feel for her throughout the book. But seriously this girl needs to grow a backbone.)
With both girls being 16 this is this last year to have their names drawn to enter the labyrinth that surrounds the city they live in to become "angels". (Because that doesn't sound potentially really bad?)
Clara really wants to have her name drawn so that she can be with the brother that entered the labyrinth years ago and of course wants her Nameless best friend to be with her so they don't have to be separated. Nameless really doesn't want either of their names picked... but of course this would have been a very boring book if they weren't.
Fast forward to the girls entering the labyrinth with several other children they've never met and they start to quickly realize that things aren't as they've been told they should be and then the attacks happen and Nameless loses Clara almost immediately.
The story quickly then becomes a story of survival... with the most hopeless MC ever. The girl makes the worst decisions ever, seriously. I became frustrated with her quite often, but again I still felt sympathy for her so there was that.
There was very little world building, lots of questions and not many answers. The ending a flurry of action and things quickly happening, which in my opinion did a lot to save this book from dropping in rating, also drove me nuts because the story is not done and I definitely have to read the sequel to see how this is going to be resolved (can it even be?).
I liked this book, I would definitely suggest it when it comes out... but the MC was frustrating for me which drove the rating down, as did the fact that for every question that was added to the mystery very few if any answers were given.
Netgalley was kind enough to allow me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
The book:
It is Clara who is desperate to enter the labyrinth and it is Clara who is bright, strong, and fearless enough to take on any challenge. It is no surprise when she is chosen. But so is the girl who has always lived in her shadow. Together they enter. Within minutes, they are torn apart forever. Now the girl who has never left the city walls must fight to survive in a living nightmare, where one false turn with who to trust means a certain dead end.
My Summary:
The book moves fairly fast. It starts with a myth about an angel, Icarus, that basically is this cities religious basis.
From there the story starts with Clara and her Nameless shadow who is our MC. Because you never get a name for her Nameless is what I nicknamed the MC in my head. From the get go it is made very clear that Clara is a tough no-nonsense girl who is carelessly brave and our Nameless MC looks up to her and seriously lacks a backbone or anything defining real character. (She was a particularly frustrating MC to be honest, but I did feel for her throughout the book. But seriously this girl needs to grow a backbone.)
With both girls being 16 this is this last year to have their names drawn to enter the labyrinth that surrounds the city they live in to become "angels". (Because that doesn't sound potentially really bad?)
Clara really wants to have her name drawn so that she can be with the brother that entered the labyrinth years ago and of course wants her Nameless best friend to be with her so they don't have to be separated. Nameless really doesn't want either of their names picked... but of course this would have been a very boring book if they weren't.
Fast forward to the girls entering the labyrinth with several other children they've never met and they start to quickly realize that things aren't as they've been told they should be and then the attacks happen and Nameless loses Clara almost immediately.
The story quickly then becomes a story of survival... with the most hopeless MC ever. The girl makes the worst decisions ever, seriously. I became frustrated with her quite often, but again I still felt sympathy for her so there was that.
There was very little world building, lots of questions and not many answers. The ending a flurry of action and things quickly happening, which in my opinion did a lot to save this book from dropping in rating, also drove me nuts because the story is not done and I definitely have to read the sequel to see how this is going to be resolved (can it even be?).