3.5 stars
Overall I enjoyed this book, but the audiobook quality was awful. It kind of sounded like she was sitting in her kitchen speaking into an earbud mic. That's really the only qualm I have with it, though!

This makes for a fun read. It was very sweet and I enjoyed it! It's very good for middle-grade readers. It was a little darker and tackles loneliness and survival.

Idk why I own this, but I wanted a fast and easy read with images as a break from all my reading.

A good book! Felt a little like Avatar The Last Airbender meets Harry Potter. Defs felt slow at the beginning, but I loved watching the kids grow and become friends.

P.s., listen to the audiobook! Full cast. Amazing. Narrated by the author herself.

This book was very good! I was engaged and sped through it very quickly. My only issue is the cover art. It's not really a romantic mom erotica that you buy at the corner pharmacy for 5 bucks, which is what the cover art makes it look like. It's more like a thriller/action/urban fantasy with some romance added in. If we were to change the cover art I would be more than happy to get a physical copy.

Overall, an enjoyable and harmless read. Felt a lot like a typical YA novel about a girl who's unique and special, but a very refreshingly different one.

(Minor spoilers below! No major plot points ot anything)

It had elements I enjoyed, like monster hunting, romance (Larkin and Opal!!) and knights. I didn't expect the true villain (!!!) and it genuinely made me go "Oh! Interesting."

However, the story felt rushed in some parts (the entire plot gets kicked off in the first chapter, it's a lot to take in for one chapter) and the whole story is kind of wrapped up in the last chapter, which is, again, a lot for one chapter. The middle was a good pacing.

Now for the characters! Kianda felt a little bit like your average, YA novel, "I'm a different girl" kind of girl, but not in an annoying way. Ander was rumored to be a womanizing, bar fighting rebel, but we only saw him as a prince doing diplomacy in a nearby kingdom and fighting monsters, so that wasn't really confirmed or denied (kinda denied at the end??). Larkin was fun, I liked him, but there wasn't much talk of his ambitions at the beginning and dropped the "He wanted to be a doctor his whole life" bomb towards the middle-end of the book. Opal was the YA royal/noble born girl who wanted freedom, but the negatives of being a princess were actually shown, which was rather refreshing.

Anyways, read this book. It's pretty good.

RATING: 4.75

My only complaint is of how short this was. This was an absolutely phenomenal read! The twist was utterly delightful and I couldn't put this down.