Read #2: February 2021
Just as enjoyable the second time around! I picked this up again fully intending to skim through it to reacquaint myself with the characters and plot before the sequel is published…and ended up reading the whole thing in a day. Again. 

Read #1: April 2020
Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for sending me a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Shielded is a fast-paced, action-packed fantasy with strong world building and engaging characters. It also is set up well to kick of a series: Shielded ties up enough of the main questions in the first book to leave you feeling satisfied while still hinting at the potential to come. I am quite looking forward to the next book in this series.

As other reviewers have pointed out, reading Shielded is kind of a whirlwind. While I enjoyed the fast pacing, I will probably have to read this book a second time to fully grasp everything that happened and pick up the pieces I missed. In fact, even though this book is over 400 pages, I read it in a day and my mind is still reeling from how quickly this book flew by.

While reading, there were moments I was reminded of The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede and Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith. Whether they were intentional or not, I appreciated how these short moments reminded me of the joy I experienced reading these titles growing up. If you also enjoyed those books, you might also enjoy Shielded.

I do wish, however, that more time had been spent in each setting. Even though the world building is strong, each time I was starting to enjoy a setting the story would move onto the next one. There is literally a world of possibilities in Shielded and I’m excited to see what places it goes next.

Thank you again to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the privilege of reviewing an ARC.