A review by hellobookbird
Beyond a Darkened Shore by Jessica Leake

2.0

The laws are clear: there are only two strong enough to defeat them. One born for it, the other through great sacrifice.

The ancient land of Éirinn is mired in war. Ciara, Princess of Mide, has never known a time when Éirinn’s kingdoms were not battling for power, or Northmen were not plundering their shores.

The people of Mide have thankfully always been safe because of Ciara’s unearthly ability to control her enemies’ minds and actions. But lately, a mysterious crow has been appearing to Ciara, whispering warnings of an even darker threat.

Then the crow leads Ciara to Leif, a young Northman leader. Leif should be Ciara’s enemy, but when Ciara discovers that he, too, shares her prophetic visions, she knows he’s something more. Leif is mounting an impressive army, and with Ciara’s strength in battle the two might have a chance to save their world.

I was drawn in by the beautiful cover and the fact that the heroine could control minds. Paired with a crow omen, because I'm a lover of mythology, I was sure it would be a winner. Unfortunately, it was not up to the task. DNF @ 45%.

Things I liked:
- Blend of Norse and Celtic mythology
- Mythology including the magical creatures!
- The Morrigan and her crows being a prominent figure
- The quest to hunt down and kill the giants
- Axes! Swords! Clans!
- Mind control that has clear limitations

Things I didn't like:
- Mythology was super info-dumpy
- The Morrigan (goddess of war and death people) doesn't seem badass at ALL
- ...and her introduction was also super info-dumpy
- Conversations and interactions were sub-par and most often felt forced
- I don't understand why Ciara is still princess and remains second-in-command if her whole clan (including her parents) distrusts and shuns her for her unique ability
- Ciara is supposed to be a seasoned warrior even at such a young age but she is constantly making bad decisions or getting her butt whooped
- ...she's also incredibly arrogant about her supposed battle prowess
- According to the description, Lief is mounting an impressive army but my impression is he has a handful of men with him
- Lief went mush way too quickly; where is the slow burn? The tension? This could hardly be called an enemies-to-lovers trope
- Ciara gets a second ability that is a complete matrix-style god-mode

The final nail that sent me over was Ciara's constant angst about her lusty thoughts regarding her murderous Northman ally, no less.

While the book isn't badly written, per say, I couldn't bring myself to care about the characters and got impatient with the plot. Maybe I'm just too old for this one.