Tag: Evelyn Skye

REVIEW: Damsel by Evelyn Skye

REVIEW: Damsel by Evelyn Skye

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Random House in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Lady Elodie Bayford, eldest daughter of the Duke of Inophe, loves her home. Yes, the country is poor and barren. Their people must rely on trade with one another and the generosity of the duke to get by. But Elodie is devoted to the people and the land. She would do a lot for her people. But the arranged marriage still took her by surprise.

Elodie would be marrying Prince Henry of Aurea, and her marriage in turn would save her country. But while excited about the match – and her future on the gorgeous and lush Isle of Aurea with the handsome and charming Henry – she is puzzled by what the prosperous country is getting in return for this arrangement.

And then she finds out about the dragon.

Review

This is a novel based on a screenplay which will be a Netflix movie this fall (October 13, 2023). And it is AMAZING!

I loved Elodie from the beginning. I was rivetted from the first few pages as I was watching for Elodie to discover the dragon and role she is to play in Aurea in exchange for resources to save her people. And once she knew the whole arrangement, I couldn’t put the book down until the end. This is going to make an amazing movie!

When I first picked this up and realized I had read this author before (Circle of Shadows was fantastic!), I was even more excited to read this. And Evelyn Skye did not disappoint. I was concerned that because Elodie was going to be alone, trying to survive the dragon, for a large portion of the book, that there would be a lot of long, dry sections of description. The sorts of things I usually skip over to get to the dialogue. But that wasn’t the case at all. This is super engaging, and I felt like I couldn’t skip past anything because I had to know it all. This is simply excellent.

Fantasy fans, there’s so much here to love – dragons, royalty, secrets, family, betrayal. I think this works for both adult readers and YA readers. And the bonus material at the end was FASCINATING – do not skip that part! I can’t recommend this highly enough – don’t miss this one! (Some language)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥♥ = Outstanding!

REVIEW: Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye

REVIEW: Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

The Kingdom of Kichona is a tiger-shaped island in the sea, ruled by Empress Aki. Aki and her twin brother, Gin, battled for the throne in what is now called the Blood Rift. Prince Gin followed a cult that inspired his bloodthirsty quest for conquest. He was defeated, but only after great loss of life, including all of the younger children set apart to be the future magical guardians of Kichona, the Taiga.

Sora lost her little sister, Hana, in the Blood Rift. And it haunted her. But her mother encouraged her to channel those feelings to help her be the best Taiga she could be. Together with her partner Daemon and their best friends, Sora operated under the mantra, “Work hard. Mischief harder.” But in memory of Hana, Sora would try to be more disciplined.

On their first Taiga mission, Sora and Daemon observe a strange group in a remote part of Kichona. They seem to have strange magic – and a disturbing leader. But when none of the Taiga leadership believes them, Sora and Daemon sneak off on their own to track the strangers and protect Kichona.

Review

This was spectacular! I immediately clicked with Sora. She’s smart, clever and determined, but also irreverent. Her peers love her. Her teachers grow weary of her antics. And that leads to some of the mistrust Sora receives when she tries to alert them to danger. It’s a little like the boy who cried wolf.

The fantasy world is fantastic! The magic was intriguing, and the strangers are quite formidable. It all made for an engrossing story. The short chapters helped build even more urgency to the story. And some great twists – both some I figured out on my own and others that were total surprises – tied this up beautifully into an unpredictable story.

I can’t recommend this highly enough to fans of fantasy novels. The storytelling is top notch, as is the world the author has developed. I’m sure I’ll have to wait a year for the sequel, but it is already on my 2020 Must Read list. Don’t miss this one! (Language, violence, attempted assault)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥