Jennesara is truly a heroine akin to that of Celaena Sardothien. We follow Jennesara through her endeavors to save her kingdom, through which she displays her ability to remain strong in the face of danger, using her physical and emotional strength to battle physical and mental demons.

This book was truly one of the easiest five stars I've ever had the pleasure of awarding. I was gripped from the first chapter on, and there were definitely moments that had my heart racing. There were moments that I thought would be easily predictable, but every single instance where I doubted her prose, Flanders came and threw something deliciously unexpected my way.

Standouts:
1) Jennesara's journey. Gripping, edge of my seat, fan-freaking-tastic. There were so many 0-100 moments that were truly a visceral experience.
2) The love interest- an insta-love trope done oh so well. Almost kisses. Longing looks. Everything you could want in a ship. I am so incredibly excited to see where Flanders takes them.
3) The action scenes were top-notch, so descriptive that I felt I was experiencing them first-hand.
4) Flanders' experience as an editor truly shows through her writing. It had everything I wanted, and lacked everything I didn't. Her control of language was magnificent, so much so to where the content of the book could have been a wilderness guide and I still would have enjoyed it.

Overall Shielded was a first-class level fantasy debut that will leave you wanting more. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys YA Fantasy, as it will not disappoint.
* I received an eARC of Shielded in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte press for the opportunity to review*
*A full, in-depth review can be found on my blog https://diligentreads.wordpress.com on July 7th, 2020*

**Disclaimer: I was given a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.**

Title Shielded

Author KayLynn Flanders

Description from Amazon

The kingdom of Hálendi is in trouble. It’s losing the war at its borders, and rumors of a new, deadlier threat on the horizon have surfaced. Princess Jennesara knows her skills on the battlefield would make her an asset and wants to help, but her father has other plans.

As the second-born heir to the throne, Jenna lacks the firstborn’s–her brother’s–magical abilities, so the king promises her hand in marriage to the prince of neighboring Turia in exchange for resources Hálendi needs. Jenna must leave behind everything she has ever known if she is to give her people a chance at peace.

Only, on the journey to reach her betrothed and new home, the royal caravan is ambushed, and Jenna realizes the rumors were wrong–the new threat is worse than anyone imagined. Now Jenna must decide if revealing a dangerous secret is worth the cost before it’s too late–for her and for her entire kingdom.

Release Date July 21, 2020

Initial Thoughts

I was excited to be approved for this book in NetGalley. I loved viking-inspired stories and had heard really good things from my friends on bookstagram.

Some Things I Liked

Viking inspiration. I really loved the world KayLynn Flanders created and I loved the inspiration. I thought the cultures were unique and interesting and I want to know more.
Side characters. I also enjoyed the side characters. I think they have a lot of sequel / spin-off potential. I hope to see a lot more of Enzo’s sisters and grandmother in the next book(s).

Some Things I Wasn’t Crazy About

Slow build. I started this book in March and finished in May. I just couldn’t get into this book and it really didn’t pick up until around 55% of the book. I wish the story had hooked me more.
The romance. I felt like it lacked depth. It was kind of insta-love but not really since the main characters were hardly around each other but then they “realized” they were in love near the end. I just didn’t buy it.
The names of the villains. I thought they lacked originality. Greymere, the Grey Mage? I would have preferred one or the other, using both name and title felt redundant.

Series Value

I would definitely continue with this series. As mentioned above, the story was slow to start but did ramp up toward the end. I would like to see how this plays out.

Final Thoughts

I liked this book. I didn’t love it but I think it has good bones. I can see myself revising this rating depending on how the rest of the series continues. Right now, I’m struggling to see the whole vision but, I do see potential.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommendations for Further Reading

Winter by Winter by Jordan Stratford – if you liked the viking themes in this book and the idea of a strong female lead, try this new series.
Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young – again, if you liked the viking vibes, a pinch of magic, and the politics of warring nations, try this book by Adrienne Young.
The Star Touched Queen by Roshni Choshki – if you enjoyed the arranged marriage aspect as well as the warring nations, definitely check out this series.

Shielded, was what I would call a classical fantasy novel. Now I say this because of the fact that it gave me the feeling of the books that I loved to read when I was younger. Now I basically read this book in 24hrs, I did have to sleep for a bit but I was hooked on this story. The plot was one I kinda knew but was different from all it's one. I will say that this book reminded me of goose girl, warrior, or the wild and sorcery of thorns.

4.5 out of 5 for this book.

Shielded is YA fantasy done right. I am so happy that the beautiful cover (which I definitely need in my bookshelf) matches the FANTASTIC story inside the pages. I love the characters, their relationships and development, the dialogue, the steady pace, the plot, the romance, and the world building. That's is 5 stars right there!

The heroine, Jenna, is both strong yet vulnerable. She is an eccentric princess who uses her brain in tough situations and doesn't take the easy way out. After a lot of bad things happen to her, one right after the other, she still manages to find her strength within to keep her going. She is also a bookworm, in fact a lot of these characters are and I AM DOWN WITH THIS. We spend the entirety of the first half of the book with basically only Jenna for company so she needs to be a pretty good character in order to shoulder the novel. We don't even get to meet the love interest until about 43% into the novel, and then when we do it is full steam ahead! I loved not only Jenna, but the side characters too like the prince of Turia and his entire family.

Some things were a bit convenient and made things a little more painless--the author could have made us suffer a lot more than she did (and she did make us suffer) but I am just grateful she made the decisions she did cause I don't think my heart could have taken much more hardship.

The romance is...JUST UGH SO GREAT. The characters work well as a team and support each other's endevours--a team that works well together is bound to make me happy. There is also a case of mistaken identity (well, a couple of cases of that) and it just makes the tension even better cause...

I love those. They just have this connection that is undeniable, but does not feel forced in the least. Feels completely organic and meant to be <3

The magic system is interesting. We have magical weapons and artifacts, a lost/hidden library full of treasures and knowledge, the race to uncover magical secrets...It is all very thrilling. The heroine is not well versed in the magic, and this is not a case in which she is totally OP (over powered). She has a decent magic source that she slowly learns how to use to her advantage. The "rules" aren't many yet, for example I don't know the limits to the heroine's ability (what can she do, what can't she do) but I think, and hope, this is something that will be further explored in the sequel.

WHICH I CAN'T WAIT FOR if you haven't noticed.

I went into this thinking that Jenna would be a Viking girl. Spoiler- she isn't. But, I ended up liking her as a kick-ass protagonist even more as I realized that this was an epic fantasy story. Finding out that it is book one in a series only made it better for me. I loved the traveling at the start (reminiscent of LOTR) and learning about the Magic in this universe. I'm looking forward to the next book already.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the early review copy!

3.5/5 stars
I had to think about this review a bit and let it set in before I gave it a number rating. Sorry in advance this review will likely be a little spoilery.

While I loved the idea of the story, it was a really quick read, and had a good amount of action there were a couple things that bugged me.

In this book Jennesara is the princess of Halendi and they need more resources from a neighboring nation, Turia. Her father sets a betrothal of her to Turia's prince and doesn't tell her until right before she is to leave. Of course there are betrayals and lies and nothing goes as planned. This was expected. She runs away into the Wild where nobody makes it out alive from. Naturally, she makes it out alive and the Wild seems to aid her. I'd like to read more about the Wild and the magic of it. I feel like the Wild was the most intriguing part of the story.

She gets out and makes her way to Turia and ends up in Turia's castle. And not only does she end up in the castle she ends up saving the lives of several royals in the family while she pretends to be someone else. And with absolutely zero proof that she isn't someone out to harm the royal family she is suddenly GUARDING ONE OF THEM as their personal guard. Okay, yea no this needed to be expanded upon more because it made me roll my eyes. A royal family is not going to choose a guard for the Princess that is from the country that just declared war on them. No.

The other part that drove me nuts? The romance. It was unnecessary the way it was done. If it were expanded upon more I would like it a lot more. But it basically goes from him saving her to them making eyes at each other to OMG WE ARE IN LOVE.

All in all I enjoyed this book and will continue the series, but I really hope everything is expanded upon. Especially the Wild and the magic system.

I feel entirely nothing about this book. I don't care. At 10% I could tell the writing was absolutely not doing it for me, but there was a tiny spark of interest. By 15% that spark had faded entirely.

Everything is told to the reader; nothing is shown. The writing is flat and sort of juvenile and the worst sort of first-person. It just lacks anything to set it apart. The mc reveals something she's kept secret for her entire life and her father's reaction consists entirely of his jaw dropping then snapping shut, and huffing out a laugh. I feel like I've read this one before, and not in a good way. Setting this one aside.

Thank you Netgalley for early access to this arc! I was immediately sucked in, and read the whole thing in about a day. I immediately loved our MC and cared about the things she cared about. This book is a whirlwind from beginning to end, and my heart was racing throughout. I will definitely be getting my hands on a physical copy once it comes out. It’s officially on my favorites list.

I was really impressed with the story and it’s world building. KayLynn Flanders did an incredible job at keeping the story entertaining! There was a lot of traveling in the first part of this book, but it was never dull. It got even better once Jenna got to Turin and got to the castle.

I really enjoyed the magical aspect of the story and the idea of the mages. It was so fascinating and explained well. It just makes me want to learn even more about them!

Jenna is a good protagonist and I liked how she could defend and protect herself on her own. I loved the non-traditional princess she was. She was more a tomboy and would rather wear trousers than dresses. Now that’s my kind of princess! She didn’t depend on others for protection, but welcomed it when given or needed. She was an outgoing person and not a princess to just sit around in pretty dresses. She was ready at any moment to run into battle to protect her family.

Enzo, Chiara, and Mari are all lovely characters and I loved reading about them. They added a lot to the story and definitely fit together well with Jenna.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was immediately drawn to this book by the beautiful cover art and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is exactly the kind of book that I wanted to read when I was a teenager but that was before there was really a market for YA fantasy. The book , admittedly, does not rewrite the genre and is not without its faults, namely the pacing. I was so interested in these characters that I wanted to really see them build their relationships with each other. Instead, It felt like everyone just immediately loved Jennesara when she is supposed to be a foreigner in a country that her homeland has just declared war on. Every character she met was kind and trusting, openly welcoming her into their home, which did not feel realistic.

Overall, though, this was an entertaining and straightforward fantasy novel. There's magic, combat, romance, world building. Everything came together into a pleasant read and I can't wait for the sequel. Highly recommend for fans of Gail Carson Levine's novels.

The book follows Jenna, a tomboy princess who'd much rather practice fighting than go to balls or do things princesses are traditionally expected to do. She also happens to possess magic but must hide it from everyone else, including her own father, for complicated family reasons. The adventure starts when Jenna's father (the King) decides to marry her off to a neighboring prince in order to prevent a war. Although she is not happy about that, Jenna takes it upon herself to investigate matters after learning someone is out to undermine her family.

Overall, the book wasn't bad. While the premise isn't exactly unique (I actually recently read another YA fantasy novel with a very similar plot), it has all the classic tropes that might satisfy a reader of the genre. That includes a kickass princess, hidden identities, and a romance that starts off on the wrong foot. There is also of course a mystery that needed to be solved and the ending sets up the book for a sequel.

I did find myself wishing there was more conflict between Jenna and her family and the people in her palace, since I'm drawn to black-sheep princesses, which is why I picked up this book in the first place. Jenna seems to be a little too competent however. The almost-love triangle was also not really delved into and there were many scenes in the book where I wondered if it will be explored further in the sequel. I hope the sequel will explain the world and magic could be in greater detail. I received an arc of this book so I hope the published copy will have a map!

E-Advanced Reader's copy provided by Netgalley (thank you!).

So I have to say that I really enjoyed this book despite it being somewhat predictable and tropey at times. Our main protagonist, Jennesara, is the daughter of the king of Halendi. She fits the typical YA female protag trope of the girl who would rather wear trousers than skirts. In the royal line of Halendi, only the heir is supposed to inherit magic and that should've fallen only to her brother, Ren. Turns out Jenna also has magic in the form of "tethers" that allow her to feel the emotions of her loved ones. She has to hide her magic, however, as it could discredit Ren's claim and suggests that she may try to usurp the throne. Of course, the girl character has to live the more sheltered life and Jenna was not allowed to learn about magic since it's so very taboo.

I'm not going to go more in depth into the story but I have to say I really like the magic system and the world building. The main antagonists are super cool but I didn't really like the secret traitors (we don't have that much insight into their reasoning) and I found the "reveal" to be super predictable.

I'm in the middle with the romance. The shared bed and sparring tropes are some of my faves but I just felt like it happened all too quickly. Jenna was engaged (against her will and without her consent) to be married to the prince of Turia, Enzo, in order to secure more troops for Halendi. They meet under stressful circumstances that led to Jenna hiding her true identity from him. But it does not stay hidden for long and they are instantly kissy kissy. I would've like to have seen the situation be a little more drawn out. I wanted more development between the two as it seemed like they knew of each other for about a week? I could not really tell how much time passed but it seemed super short. This development while Jenna was in disguise would've led to more angst with Enzo having to pursue other connections (which did not last long either). I wanted more pining!!! More angst!!! More forbidden love vibes! But they are super cute together and I love Jenna's relationship with Enzo's sisters.

I hope to see more development of Jenna's magic and more explanation of Enzo's abilities to "see" magic. The magic system is kind of yin and yang, for one thing there is an equal opposite etc and with Jenna learning more about her own abilities, I'd love to see how that might possibly affect Enzo.

The ancient mages are super cool and badass. They remind me of evil versions of the Tolkien wizards with their color scheme naming. I would love more exploration into their perspectives, as the little subchapters that were dedicated to their shenanigans made them seem super mysterious.

The writing style was all right and easy to get through. I did love the action scenes and Ms. Flanders knows how to make you sit on the edge of your seat in suspense.

Overall, it was really enjoyable albeit predictable. I can't wait until the future installments! I'm hoping for there to be more at stake and more character development.

There was a thread to this story that kept me wanting to read more. It was a bold color. Bright and unyielding, lacing the fabric of the story together. It held each tightly interwoven seam snug and secure in the overarching narrative. That thread was Jennesara getting to her betrothed. It was my only thought as I flipped each page.

While Kalynn Flanders novel uses an excessive amount of fantasy troupes, there was one major opportunity she missed. Fully capturing the dynamic between Jennesara and her betrothed in a way that most YA fans have come to adore.

That feisty, back-and-forth. The sultry sass and banter that builds between two characters. Like a slow burn, to the point readers are screaming “Kiss already!”

Jennesara and her prince seemed more of a diluted version of the YA norm. Where everything is hand-picked, easily attained, with no major struggles or losses, delivered neatly for a nice happily ever after. And the romance between the two was more of the young teen variety.

Believe me, I want those happy endings, but I want them earned. That goal is always something the main character fights for. And there is plenty of fighting in Shielded. Jennesara is a warrior. But along the way her journey is too easy. Everyone is too willing to go out of their way to make it all work out for her.

Jennesara doesn’t have those moments where she’s mentally and physically buried up to her waist in muck and grime, no good option, and worse outcomes. Where she uses clever wit and has cleverer company to get out of a less than ideal situation all the while looking exceptionally good doing it.

Although there are sections in the novel that have an overflow of lengthy exposition, Shielded has qualities a younger audience would enjoy. Amiable characters, magical lore, political intrigue, and a stead-fast heroine who readers will cheer for until the very end.

Happy Reading ̴ Cece

This book was a wonderful escape in a time when I needed it most! The characters were lush and their development made my little writer's heart soar. I love that Princess Jen was a three-dimensional character without being unnecessarily cruel or violent. There are so many ways to show strong, beautiful women, and I feel like this will make a great addition to anyone who is a fan of SJM.

Title: Shielded
Author: KayLynn Flanders
Pub. Date:
Rating: 4.5

I read this book in one day.
I couldn’t put it down.
It wasn’t what I expected…in the best way possible.
I honestly thought this was a Nordic/Viking retelling of some sort, and while there are clear influences, it’s really just this epic fantasy book, with amazing characters, a vivid world, so much conflict, survival, bad assery, and romance.
As I was reading, I had so many thoughts and suspicions. Thank goodness, I had a friend who’d already finished the book to talk to about it. A lot of my suspicions ended up being wrong, but in the best plot twisty way possible. The ending shocked me. I wasn’t expecting it at all.
Ugh, I can’t even talk about what I want to talk about because they’re all spoilery things, but this book starts off with one seemingly potential love interest, and then KayLynn presents another potential love interest AND HONESTLY BOTH SCENARIOS, I’M COMPLETELY TRASH FOR. If you’ve read the book, you know, and if you haven’t, you have so much to look forward to. Oh my god, it’s so good.
I loved the cast of characters, their relationships and all the emotions that come with them.

Shielded has everything you could want in a fantasy book. It’s full of twists and magic and romance and friendships and familial bonds. And the story isn’t over yet. So much has happened, Jenna has survived so much, and her journey isn’t over yet. This is very much a sit down, read in one sitting kind of book, that will leave you wanting more. So, when it comes out July 21, 2020, make sure you have it preordered. You want this book as soon as possible.

A full review will be posted to my blog on May 18, 2020 at 8 AM EST.

OH MY GOODNESS!!! This book was fantastic! Its everything I could ask for! Magic, romance, and a kick ass protagonists? Yes please. I loved the pacing and the characters of the story. Jenny is smart, strong, and brave. She definitely reminded me of Arya from Game of Thrones. Enzo was also a great love interest, he was kind and compassionate and darw I say, a real knight of a guy haha. The story was great and I loved every moment of this book. I can’t wait to read the sequel!!! I am dying for it!

The kingdom of Hálendi is in trouble. It's losing the war at its borders, and rumors of a new, deadlier threat on the horizon have surfaced. Princess Jennesara knows her skills on the battlefield would make her an asset and wants to help, but her father has other plans.

As the second-born heir to the throne, Jenna lacks the firstborn's--her brother's--magical abilities, so the king promises her hand in marriage to the prince of neighboring Turia in exchange for resources Hálendi needs. Jenna must leave behind everything she has ever known if she is to give her people a chance at peace.

The prose was fine. I don't have conflicting feelings. Although the inclusion of italian in the fantasy lingo pissed me a bit. And also every name was exhausting and ridiculous

I had such a fun time reading this. The world and characters were so very intricate and fun to discover, and while the beginning PoVs from a certain group of characters were a bit confusing, I was enamored with this world and the story, I cannot wait to see where this series goes, and I will be eagerly awaiting the second book!

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC. Loved it! I loved the journey. And just when you thought this book wouldn’t have romance... BOOM! And it’s a sweet romance. The magic system is unique and intriguing. At one point I was on the edge of my seat. Literally, I was just laying back in my chair and this big thing happens and sat upright immediately, like OMG! Eeeeee!!! Great book!

I have received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Wow, this book was great! I loved all of the characters and the world-building. So much happened in this book! I loved seeing the bonds between all of the characters and I love to see how they all interacted with each other. Jenna was such an amazing main character, and I loved her character development. I also LOVE Enzo. There were so many great characters, and I liked how they all contributed to the plot and that they had a purpose. I loved how there were so many different ways the plot changed the flow of the story and how everything fell into place towards the end. I saw that there is going to be a second book and I cannot wait to get my hands on it!