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abby_ace_of_books 's review for:
The Shadows of Wren
by Jen Bliton
Wren and Tyran give a new definition to moving into a relationship quickly.
The Shadows of Wren is a romantasy novel about necromancers, shadow magic, and the consequences of too much power. One thing I will note before I review any further is that there are a fair amount of grammatical and spelling mistakes (at least, in my copy) so if that's something that you can't ignore like I did, this book is not for you. Also, the telepathy in this book is not differentiated form normal text, meaning it can be a bit confusing at times.
The story itself took me a little while to get into, and I think it had to do with the characters, which I'll get into in a little bit. The magic system was interesting - there are witches, mages, warlocks, and necromancers, and they're all different. The main character, Wren, is a mage (meaning she can use elemental magic from what I gained, but she seems mostly to stick with fire) who also has shadow magic. I didn't really get a clear sense of the plot from the beginning, which is something I struggle with in books, but it definitely became more direct and interesting to me around 60%. I will say that I called most of the plot twists, but that's not exactly uncommon in YA fantasy for me.
I think my biggest struggle was trying to connect with the characters. At first I was excited for Wren because I don't usually see shadow-wielder women in books, but her personality fell a bit flat for me. The same goes for Tyran, whose only personality seemed to be hitting on Wren at every chance he got...and I mean every chance. They met in the woods a few chapters in and started making out at 30%, and then they didn't stop...ever. Bergen, Viggo, Endora, and the rest of the cast were relatively two-dimensional (although I liked Viggo's backstory). I also thought that Rhonin was a cool idea for a villain, but his motives were a bit bland.
If you're in the mood for a short, dark YA romantasy, The Shadows of Wren is a fast-paced read that checks all of those boxes.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!
3.25/5
The Shadows of Wren is a romantasy novel about necromancers, shadow magic, and the consequences of too much power. One thing I will note before I review any further is that there are a fair amount of grammatical and spelling mistakes (at least, in my copy) so if that's something that you can't ignore like I did, this book is not for you. Also, the telepathy in this book is not differentiated form normal text, meaning it can be a bit confusing at times.
The story itself took me a little while to get into, and I think it had to do with the characters, which I'll get into in a little bit. The magic system was interesting - there are witches, mages, warlocks, and necromancers, and they're all different. The main character, Wren, is a mage (meaning she can use elemental magic from what I gained, but she seems mostly to stick with fire) who also has shadow magic. I didn't really get a clear sense of the plot from the beginning, which is something I struggle with in books, but it definitely became more direct and interesting to me around 60%. I will say that I called most of the plot twists, but that's not exactly uncommon in YA fantasy for me.
I think my biggest struggle was trying to connect with the characters. At first I was excited for Wren because I don't usually see shadow-wielder women in books, but her personality fell a bit flat for me. The same goes for Tyran, whose only personality seemed to be hitting on Wren at every chance he got...and I mean every chance. They met in the woods a few chapters in and started making out at 30%, and then they didn't stop...ever. Bergen, Viggo, Endora, and the rest of the cast were relatively two-dimensional (although I liked Viggo's backstory). I also thought that Rhonin was a cool idea for a villain, but his motives were a bit bland.
If you're in the mood for a short, dark YA romantasy, The Shadows of Wren is a fast-paced read that checks all of those boxes.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!
3.25/5