Dnf @ pg 155

This had all the ingredients for a tasty pizza (cheese, flour, tomato sauce, toppings if you get down like that, etc), but it was never put into the writing oven. So, we were left with an undercooked goopy mess. I could not connect to the storytelling style. It relied heavily on “telling” things about the characters that it could’ve have shown. Dialogue/banter was unseasoned.

Circle of Shadows’ story is plot-driven. There are some big themes: a cult; two armies of ninjas (taiga and ryuu); a brother and sister estranged due to their ideologies; animal-based magical abilities; a male lead realizing his feelings for his best friend; female lead consumed with revenge; dead sister; did I mention multiple BLOOD SACRAFICES?

The dark angle with the prince and princess’ fallout was interesting. The graphic violence and the cult made a sharp, almost whiplike effect, contrast against the otherwise light story. The humor was lighthearted as well as the previously mentioned unseasoned banter.

Even the most cliché story can thrive with a cast of fun characters, but I didn’t care for this crew. Early in the story Sora decides to take her taiga training skills seriously in hopes to move up in the army/elite fighting force. She was supposed to be this goofy prankster, but it felt like she never really was. She threw one “prank” which was just overdoing a performance for the princess and a mention of making laxative brownies for a bully. Despite getting serious, you would think she would retain this supposedly goofy personality.

Daemon, which is way too close to demon lol, was dull. He was grappling with his feelings for Sora and his identity. He was abandoned as a baby and never knew his parents. With some work, this could have been a fun or compelling character. The rest of the side characters had quirky name-conventions/codenames, which I didn’t mind, but none really stood out either. There was a petite, flirty chick and a guy who basically worked in the file cabinet/administration. But they needed more to be likable.

The magic system not being more fleshed out was a huge letdown. I needed to know more of its limitations. Being a Taiga comes with animal power-ups, by chanting an animal characteristic (think: teeth of a shark!) will grant the user that ability. However, it’s not clear how long they last. At first, the abilities were shown to wear off, but in another instance the effect lasted even with the user unconscious.

Another example is that Daemon is basically Rock Lee (Naruto) here as he sucks at casting spells/using magic. Is magic innate or genetics-based? Can you be gifted it? I know the gods specifically select the taiga, but why would they select a magicless baby?

It’s very unfortunate I didn’t mesh with the story. Because I love stories about ninjas + magic abilities + a sweet first love. And a guy raised by wolves! Come on, those are some of my favorite things. Personally, I don’t need the most elaborate worldbuilding or robust magic system if I enjoy the characters or the story. I’ve liked worse, less than critically acclaimed stories before. Truly I wanted to like this story, but it’s not for me. ( )

Signed Fairy Loot exclusive edition with lilac sprayed edges ( )

The worldbuilding in this book is excellent. It was fascinating to dive into, and usually well-displayed. The characters were all well-developed and I liked them a lot (Empress Aki and Daemon were particularly awesome). The writing did seem to lean more toward the "telling" side of "show vs. tell," which was rather disappointing. :/

Also, my ship was brutally attacked and I'm not happy about it. Daemon's emotions didn't seem adequately resolved, so it left a bitter taste in my mouth even though my ship was never actually official.

Anyway, other than those couple of qualms I really enjoyed this book, and I'm excited to read the sequel once I've had some time to get over how those relationships worked out. ( )

Actual Rating: 3.5

This was okay. I read an ARC so hopefully some of the grammar/word choice aspects of it improved by the time it was published. The plot was interesting - if the book had been a cartoon I think I would have been all about it, if that makes any sense at all.

And I didn’t dock it any stars for this, but a little resentful that my OTP did not come true so. ( )

This book is the start of a series by Evelyn Skye which I think has a lot of potential. Circle of Shadows I thought was a good book but it did take me some time to become invested in the story and characters.

When I received this book in the Fairyloot January box I knew I wanted to read it. Firstly, because I loved the cover. As soon as I saw it I knew that it would the kind of fantasy book that I would want to read. Secondly, the blurb made the story sound exciting with a world full of magic, with plenty of adventure and espionage in store for the main characters.



There was a lot of adventure to be had for the main characters as they infiltrate a group that wants to change the country by putting a new emperor on the throne and bring new magic to the land. Trying to continue the fight that began with the Blood Rift ten years before.



Now, I really enjoyed the story when it got going but it took a long time to get past the set up of the magic and the world until the plot actually got going I felt. It probably wasn't until it was past 200 pages that I felt like I could sink my teeth into this book. At times I felt like was reading an anime more so that a story. With the play by play of every action and the repetition of naming the different spells and how they are cast it felt very much like an anime had been written out in book form at times in the first 200 pages. Which is why I only gave this book 4 stars instead of 5. I persevered with it because I felt that there was potential for this story, which I think will be an interest and adventurous series.




I am looking forward to how this series will continue and develop as the end of this book left on a bit of cliffhanger with many questions left unanswered and many problems left for the characters to try and solve.
( )