As the first instalment of a duo-logy, Sommerlot offers a enchanting and well composed novel which contains great characters, and dramatically composed plot-lines. By offering MC's that are not infallible, the reader is able to question the content they're reading and therefore engages a lot better with the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Nine Star Press for providing me with a copy for review. I apologise for such a late review.

The Life Siphon is the first part of a duology about a magical kingdom in which a magical force is draining life from the land and leaving everything a wasteland. The main character, Tatsu, is arrested and tasked with discovering the source of this drain on a dangerous quest.

This is a very typical fantasy story with all the usual magical elements and mystery. It is very plot-driven and it does a great job of building up the unique magical world and introducing its characters to the reader. 

I would have liked to have continued the story as the prologue set it out, rather than switching to a different main character for the rest of the story, but it was still well written and interesting. I especially appreciated the LGBT+ elements of the story and how they were easily slotted in right from the beginning.

DNF at 25%
Things I liked: The pleasant and fairly likable main character. His complicated history with the other main character and her mysterious background. Good writing skills as far as technical correctness.
Other things: I could barely get through the first chapter/prologue. Ug. The MC was so unlikeable and it was just such a trope of every dissatisfied/misunderstood teenaged royal ever. I almost gave up on the book then and there. After reading some reviews I realized that this character wasn't the MC so I kept reading.
Unfortunately, it's a pretty shallow story. The main characters are very lightly developed, lacking in interesting traits or unique perspectives. They're not quite deep enough to seem real. The world-building is the same. Very surface-level development, everything exactly as you would expect it. The result is that it all seemed so predictable, hum-drum, and ultimately boring. A major side character dies around the 25% point and it really didn't matter at all, and that made me realize how little I cared to keep reading.

I enjoyed this story a lot. It was fantasy, action and adventure, magic and royalty. I found the plot exciting and smart. I'm looking forward to continue with the Life Siphon!

Many, many thanks to the publisher who kindly provided a free copy for an honest and impartial review.

I have been on such a good run with my Netgalley requests this month. The Life Siphon was a brilliant read, I really enjoyed the character development and the magic system. I did think there were parts of the story that were definitely underplayed and seemed to have a lot of potential that wasn’t really tapped into. I would have really liked to have given this story 5 stars but this really hindered the way the story flowed. I think the way the plot ends up playing out was definitely different from what I was expecting. The ending was a little cliche but extremely satisfying, I think I’ll definitely be picking up the second in the series. Fingers crossed it holds up against this one.

I think the range of characters within The Life Siphon is my favourite part of the book. My only wish was that there had been more about each of them. I would have loved an in-depth back story for each of them especially as they are spending so much time travelling with each of them. I do think that the way the sexuality of the characters was handled was forced, I would have liked for things to have progressed naturally without the explanations. My favourite character was definitely Ral, I loved her involvement in the story and I’m so intrigued to see where her storyline ends up.

Watching the group walking through the Weeping Forest was one of my best bits. I loved the description about the absence of life and the trees hunger. It was really cleverly done and I would have loved for there to have been more based around that. My other best bits are any that involve Tatsu and Ral, I loved their relationship, especially the amount of patience he has for her and the time he takes to teach her about day-to-day things. It was not only heartwarming to see but also a realistic depiction of life. I don’t want to spoil The Life Siphon for anyone but the big battle was one of my favourites.

These are the reasons why The Life Siphon did not get a 5-star rating… the first one being that I had sussed the twist from the prologue. There was a moment where I thought I had it wrong but alas no. I also mentioned sexuality in this book and how I thought it was a little forced, it was almost like a disclaimer and kinda ruined the rest of the book, I feel like there was no need for the conversation to happen and it didn’t really fit in with the rest of the book. I wanted it to be natural and occur because of chemistry.

I would recommend The Life Siphon, definitely. The story held my attention and the characters were interesting and well rounded. I really want to pick up the next one to find out where they all end up and how everything works itself out. I have my theories but we will have to wait and see.

While I generally enjoyed the story, I felt there were some pacing issues. Some parts skipped too fast and some lingered a bit too long. The relationship between the characters is completely undeveloped by the end. I understand it's the first in a series but a little bit more reason to care about each other or some such might have been nice, I suppose.

I found the storyline unique and enjoyable. The characters were engaging, they felt well thought out and not just two dimensional. At just under 300 pages I was engaged enough that I had no problem reading it in one sitting. All in all a very enjoyable read and a great addition to the fantasy genre.

This book had an unusual storyline that caught my attention. Unfortunately it left a lot to be desired. It was very drawn out and laborious. I was actually bored getting to the end. It had a lot of description and for the characters to travel anywhere it took 2 or 3 chapters. It was also very flat in the writing. There wasn't a whole lot of excitement in a book about an epic quest.

The Life Siphon is a good book with a interesting storyline. The characters are well developed.I would read more by this author.

I found that this was quite interesting, I liked the depth of the characters that were in the book.
I found that at times the narrative seemed to skip too fast, this was especially at the start of the book with the prologue that I found this, to skip to a new scene in the story.