The author of this YA fantasy does a beautiful job of building a world with unique magic. I could envision all the powers and the frosty locations so vividly.

The story follows two strong female leads: Solyana, who was born without a Gift, and Pallah, who is struggling to figure out what her Gift is.

Both girls are dealing with complicated family relationships and explorations of identity, which is something I'm always looking for in YA novels! As someone who loves seeing family and sister relationships more than romance, I was hooked on these dynamics.

I especially loved Pallah's journey as she makes reckless decisions and discovers that her Gift is forbidden (Tinloh the smilodon is one of my favorite characters

Goodreads Summary:
Since a mission gone wrong CIA-Agent and former Navy SEAL Nate Sheppard is suffering from nightmares, anxiety and PTSD. In the last ten years nobody could ever help him, leaving him to experience the terror of his past over and over again.

But when Lynn Summers starts as the new doctor at the CIA headquarters there is new hope. The brunette female radiates a warmth, that melts the ice around Nate's heart and let him see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Can she help him fight the demons in his mind?
Will she be able to finally heal him or break him even further?

Potential trigger topics:
- Anxiety & panic attacks
- Blood, Violence and Injuries
- Suicidal thoughts

Review:
The author has referred to this book as her therapy after going through really challenging hardships in life, and I can completely see why this book was restorative to write. This book is a journey of recovery, healing, and learning to trust again.

Jessica did a great job representing PTSD and mental health well in this military romance. I was rooting for the budding relationship and loved watching them fall for each other. There were also really tense scenes during the missions, and you could tell that the author did an amazing job researching various topics!

A great book on how to be a supportive and humble leader. Love Brene Brown!

Beautiful and powerful memoir!

This whole year has been tough reading-wise as I've only had a few books that I really LOVED.

Its nice to have another book to add to that list with Sundered by Linda Ling. Five stars!!!

There's a good amount of worldbuilding upfront that took a bit to get into and internalize. But once I met Princess Faelyn and Khare, I was hooked.

I loved Faelyn's strength, impulsivity, and passionate personality - as I am writing a similar FMC for my second book, I found myself feeling inspired by how well Linda brought her character to life!

I think one reason fantasy can be hit-or-miss for me is because I always want my fantasy to be grounded in real problems that I can relate to. Even though there are kingdoms and magic and cool creatures (I loved the Sarpentii), there also are struggles of finding your identity, unpacking family trauma, and fighting for your voice as a female in a world of male leaders.

There were several POV changes and while sometimes I struggle with keeping up, the shifts were seamless. Each new voice brought a new perspective to the story within this vast world.

I loved the resourcefulness yet imperfections of the characters, the careful reveal of mysteries, and the beautifully engrained magic and worldbuilding

Well done Linda and I can't wait to read Forged!!!