Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Age of Legends #1
Publisher: HarperCollins
Genre: YA Fantasy
Format: ebook
Release Date: April 8, 2014
Source: eARC received from publisher via Edelweiss
Rating: 2.5 Stars
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***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This
has in no way changed my opinion of the book. The review below is my
open and honest opinion.***
Synopsis
from Goodreads:
In the Forest of the
Dead, where the empire’s worst criminals are exiled, twin sisters Moria and
Ashyn are charged with a dangerous task. For they are the Keeper and the
Seeker, and each year they must quiet the enraged souls of the damned.
Only this year, the souls will not be quieted.
Ambushed and separated by an ancient evil, the sisters’ journey to find each other sends them far from the only home they’ve ever known. Accompanied by a stubborn imperial guard and a dashing condemned thief, the girls cross a once-empty wasteland, now filled with reawakened monsters of legend, as they travel to warn the emperor. But a terrible secret awaits them at court—one that will alter the balance of their world forever.
My
Review:
Sea of Shadows sounded so good when
I first read the synopsis. A story about two sisters?? I’ve been asking for more
sister relationships! So I was quite excited when I started. Then it started
off really slowly. It is high fantasy and a lot of times books in this genre
start slowly for world-building purposes so I just shrugged it off and kept
reading. The world was interesting, but the thing is, the story never picked
up. It felt slow the whole time reading. We would get brief stints of action
followed by like 25-50 pages of them walking. The pacing just wasn’t working
for me.
I did enjoy the sisters’ relationship.
The twins, Moria and Ashyn, were very close which reminded me of how my sisters
and I are. It was refreshing to read about their relationship and I loved
seeing how much they loved each other, but also how each girl was insecure and
competitive with the other. It was extremely realistic. I remember so many
times when I was younger and even now that I was/am jealous of my sisters for
one thing or another. But I also love them unconditionally and consider both of
them my best friends.
I also really enjoyed the girls’
pets, a giant hound, Tova, and a wildcat, Daigo. I loved their personalities
and how they communicated with the girls through body language and subtle clues
they know about because of how close they were.
Oh, and the boys. I know you want to
hear about them. They have high swoon potential. That being said, I didn’t
actually swoon. But I wanted to and I think I might swoon once I get to know
them a bit better. Especially over Gavril. He’s got tattoos. He’s a badass
warrior. He’s brooding and mysterious. Just my kind of book boyfriend. I hope
that he does some swoon-worthy things in the future because he definitely has
the potential. Ronan also has potential to be a book boyfriend, but he’s more
of the nice guy. Although he does have his moments where it almost felt like he
was trying to be the bad boy. I liked the nice side of Ronan though. He was
supportive of Ashyn, helpful and kind.
But the rest of the story,
unfortunately, lacked. Like I said, the world was interesting, but it just kind
of felt like nothing happened during the whole book. I think that this world
has a lot of potential which may entice me to continue on with the series and
the sister relationship definitely has me hooked. But I do hope that the plot
moves along a lot faster in the next books. Happy reading all!
Have you read this one yet? What did you think of the pacing? The sister relationship? The boys?
Hmmm...some of the things you write make me want to read it (sister story, the pets, swoony boys) but I'm kind of sick of series where the first book reads more like an introduction, which it sounds like this book does. I may wait and see what people say about the second book before I start yet another series. Thanks for the honest review! ~Pam
ReplyDeleteYes, that's kind of how I felt. I think I will continue on with the series to see where it goes, but I'm really wishing that more had happened in this book.
DeleteThis one has been teetering on my maybe pile for a bit. K. Armstrong is doing a signing near me next week and I've been debating starting it soon. But I am also getting burnt out on series and rereading. le sigh.... I might skip it for now. ;)
ReplyDeleteThat's honestly what I would recommend. Skip it and see how the sequel is. Then maybe pick it up.
Delete