A Kingdom of Stars and Shadows

2.5 stars

This could have been amazing if there was just a few chapters at the start with some world building and some character description but no, we are plonked in the most non-descript world with absolutely no explanation of anyone or anywhere. I literally could not tell you a description of a single character apart from the ‘magic marks' on Adara, and even then we have no idea what they look like or how she got them.

I think the writing was good and the story compelling but because of the above, it felt totally surface level and I had very little connection to it. I really wanted to love this.

Wowza. I am genuinely surprised by this book. From the beginning I fell in love with Adara's love interest. I mean c'mon he's the embodiment of the ‘touch her and you (literally) die' troupe. Not to mention the scene in the library in chapter 11??? Flawless.

The only gripe I have is the lack of description in the action scenes. Most of the time I couldn't tell what was happening because it was all happening so quickly with very little detail. Other than that, this was a great read and I can't wait to pick up the sequel when it releases. 4.5/5 stars