This had to be a DNF finish for me. I was interested in the beginning with the "transforming" aspects thinking that it would be something new and unique. However the more I read the more I found the book dragging and getting into the annoying bits of YA cliques.

This book was a really fun and enjoyable read. The characters were relatable and had great depth. I definitely recommend it and will be ordering copies for my library.

I think this was a pretty average read for me. I really liked the sense of adventure/seriousness of their journey. I think the beginning was a little slow, but it eventually picked up. It was interesting to read about the sickness that was spreading only through the children, but I was sad to hear about children dying. My only critique was that I feel like the character's wings are not mentioned enough in the middle of the book. I completely forgot about them until the end of the book.

I enjoyed reading this book! The storyline is unique and the characters are adorable. I love the shapeshifting abilities of the characters, the vivid action-packed scenes, and the surprising plot twist on the last third of the book. The first few chapters are for character introductions and story setting. The world-building was very compelling with a splendid description of a floating city, the Heliana, their traditions, and festivities, and the other kingdoms of Vyrinterra and its people. The story was narrated from multiple perspectives and was very engaging to read until the end.

I love the main character, Rowan, a warrior elect who will do anything to save her kingdom from a deadly disease and the attacks of humans. She is loyal, undaunted, formidable, and would break any rules if it means saving the lives of many.

The love triangle was okay and predictable. Not much of a surprise as to who the main character will end up with. Loved how the author described how empowered Leonodai women are and how they were given equal rights and opportunity compared to humans. A kingdom where women can be who they want to be and their voices heard.

The ending was heartbreaking for me. I won't get into details and would recommend you guys to read this book and find out!

I love that it's a standalone book but this story has a lot of potentials and can be expanded into a series. How lovely would it be if the author would create another wonderful story of a particular ambassador from another kingdom or a spinoff about Isla?

If you love shapeshifters, magic, action-packed adventures, romance, and friendship, I would recommend this book to you.

I'm so grateful to the author, to Macmillan-Tor/Forge, and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review the arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

What an amazing story. Shannon's writing really pulls you into the story. Characters are dynamic, realistic, and amazing. Their plot will keep you entertained. I highly recommend it!

I'm always wary of fantasy novels that brand themselves as standalones. So you're telling me that if the book is a hit and you're offered millions to write a sequel, you'll gracefully say "no I'm sorry it's a standalone.." I don't think so! But with that being said I very much felt like this was designed as a stand alone, and a very good one at that! The story centers on a woman named Rowan. With secrets and the weight of the empire on her shoulders Rowan quickly finds herself in over her head and is forced to turn to someone she'd rather not see again for help. What follows is a story filled with action and adventure as well as a love triangle and some twists you wouldn't see coming. One twist in particular happens within the last few pages and literally had me screaming at my kindle. But like, in a good way. I could of done with less of the love triangle, but I understand the appeal. Some people didn't like the multiple viewpoint characters but for me it worked. More to come as it gets closer to publication.

First off, I LOVE the cover! I am also obsessed with this book! I gave it five starts. I can’t wait to get a physical copy and I will be recommending this to everybody!

I wish I could visit Heliana ! What a beautiful world the author has created. I had no idea what this book was going to be like, I certainly didn’t expect shape shifting warriors! But in all my naivety, I am really happy to say I was sucked in by a gorgeous book cover.

Rowan is a powerful, female, warrior and she has been training for years to become a warrior. When disaster strikes the city, in the form of a disease attacking the children, Heliana begins to fall. It’s up to Rowan and the Leonodai warriors to find the cure in the land of men.

I would definitely recommend this to my students and I loved the pace and urgency of the plot. It was exciting and I read it all in three days. I’m so disappointed to learn it won’t be a trilogy as although it’s a lovely stand alone book, I would have really liked to have learnt more about the other mythical worlds. If you want escapism, this book is perfect.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Teen for providing a free digital ARC for an honest review.

The second I saw this cover, I knew I wanted to read this book. The synopsis intrigued me and I was excited to delve into this story and learn about this world. Rowan seemed like a character I could love and relate to. I think this is a decent book, but may not have been for me. I can see other readers liking this one though.

I usually like multiple perspectives in books but I didn't really see the point of them in this one. I felt like the other perspectives took away from Rowan's story and led me to not be able to connect to any of the characters. I felt like we could have gone deeper into who the characters were, but we barely scratched the surface. I am a reader who likes more character based stories so not being able to connect to the characters really hindered the story for me.

I also felt like this book could have been longer. Since this was so short, there was a lot of world building in the beginning that was hard to follow. I was confused on the different beings and how they fit and we weren't able to see more about them later in the story due to the plot that was being followed. I would have liked to stay in some of the scenes longer, I felt like as soon as something started, it ended quickly afterwards. I had a hard time picturing the scenes in my head, I think I needed more details to help set the scene.

I wanted to like this story more and I feel like it had so much potential. I do think if we were able to go deeper into the characters and the plot I would have been captivated. I didn't hate the book, but I wasn't really into it, which is unfortunate.

**SPOILER**

The last death also really irritated me. I understand some characters have to die and I accept that. This death felt so unnecessary as it didn't really have a purpose. The book ended a few pages later and the death really changed nothing in the story so I really didn't understand the purpose of it.

Perfect for fans of Sara Larson’s SISTERS OF SHADOW AND LIGHT.

This epic fantasy is told from multiple POVs in first person. A mysterious disease is killing the Leonodai children (magical shape-shifters). The humans have the cure but refuse to make a treaty. The warriors are sent to obtain the cure at all costs, but they don’t know the full story. Rowan, warrior-elect does and is willing to risk everything.

Excellent world-building, a love-triangle, and surprising twists make this fantasy a delightful adventure read.

If you take out the magic system the book itself is a solid one off story.

“The Endless Skies” finds the city suffering a plague that is only affecting the children and when a team of warriors sets out to find the cure they must face off against the humans ho have long forgotten their dream of peace.

Let’s begin with what didn’t work for me with that mainly being the magic system. I had no idea what they were supposed to be magic wise and based on the early parts of the novel I’m not quite sure the author did either? There’s a lot of different species thrown in here with humankind being the antagonist, a plot point I really loved, however the main cast stays in their “human” form for a majority of the novel making me question the point of it all?

The story is split into three POVs and I think it was a waste to one character as she was only used as an info dump and then quickly, if not randomly, discarded the second she was no longer of any use to give the reader inside knowledge into the workings of past relations as the other two main characters had caught up. That being said I liked the dynamic between both Rowan and Callan and though I don’t really have a strong ship per se it was sweet.

I feel like this book comes off as a spin off to something better and maybe it is and I’m just behind but either way it works just not a stand out.

**special thanks the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

A wonderful, golden book. It has a lion at it’s heart and the fierceness of the rest of the book completely encompasses that.

I gave this book 4 stars as I really enjoyed it, I think the characters were all likable, it had a good plot, and the world building was done perfectly. Shannon Price builds a beautiful and vivid world, she includes just the right amount of detail that you don’t get bored, yet you feel like you’ve seen the places these characters live. Not to mention they are warriors that can shapeshift into winged lions, living on a floating island.
My only issue with this book, and one I think could result in other people giving a rating lower than 4 stars, is the lack of character building. I felt like the story was rushed a bit, which I kind of get as the characters are on a time limit, but I think we needed to get to know all the characters, not just Rowan, on a deeper level. There was a love triangle and I found I didn’t really care who the girl was going to choose because I just didn’t care that much about either guy. When characters sacrificed themselves, I did not miss them, it did not break my heart or rip out my soul and the reason that bothers me is because it had the potential to as when these characters first got introduced, I was intrigued and looking forward to getting to know them, it just never happened. Also, the battle scenes, they could have been improved if they included more detail and lasted longer. It felt like a battle would start, one thing would happen and then it was over, and I needed more.
This book has the potential to be on many people’s bookshelves as a top fantasy read but due to poor character building, I don’t think it will be. None the less, I was still so invested in the story and the characters purpose. I hope this is going to be a series as I really do want more from this world. I am a big fan of Rowan and don’t think her story is over yet. I just think it needed to be longer to fit in character building and to allow certain scenes to not feel rushed. Safe to say this is a fast-paced book though and I would recommend reading it as the main problems I have with this book could be fixed in the next one, assuming there will be a sequel. And I do think the good outweigh the bad.
Oh, and another thing I don’t like that much is the cover, the world created in this book is so beautiful the cover has the potential to be the same but that’s not really anything to do with the story just my own personal preference for how I like books to look on my bookshelf. Which is why it’s not affected my rating. I do hope this book gets enough attention that someone does a special edition with a beautiful cover.

I really enjoyed this book! It was a super refreshing read, and I almost wish it had been a bit longer.

I loved the magic system in this. It wasn't like anything I'd read before, which was super fun. I also really liked how it was explored throughout the book. There were never any info dumps, but our knowledge of the magic grew the entire time.

Now, I already know people are going to complain about the love triangle. I get it, I don't like them either. The one in this didn't bother me though. I think that was because it was never obvious who Rowan would end up with, so the triangle didn't feel completely unnecessary.

I also really liked the little pieces of worldbuilding we were given. Tiny things, like the way our warriors wore their hair, and how their armor was forged. No matter how small, these details drew me in to the book, and had me captivated.

My one problem with this would have to be the amount of perspectives. I enjoyed all of them, but I feel like one of them could've been cut. Especially at the beginning when Rowan and Shirene were in the same city. To me, the amount of perspectives distracted from the story.

This book was a super fun read, with a world I'd love to live in. In almost hoping thay Price returns to the world, because there's so much left unexplored. I'd definitely recommend this!

Thanks to Netgalley and Shannon Price for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

Given the beautiful cover, this was a book I found myself excited to read. However, I found myself a bit let down. First off, I wasn't a fan of the different perspectives. When done right it is something I like, but in this book, I never saw the need for it. Rowan was the clear star of this book and an amazing heroine, so while Callen and Shirene were good side characters, nothing all that significant happened that Rowan didn’t experience or find out on her own a chapter or two later which made it feel kind of excessive and pointless.

I am also someone that loves a good romance, but it fell a bit flat for me in this book. I never saw any true chemistry, which was a bit weird given that there was a love triangle in this book. It just felt forced and for once this was a book I think could have shined without all of that. I also didn’t like that it seemed like another love interest was added by Vera liking Callen, but then it was never addressed again later in the story.

The final thing I didn’t love was the overload on world-building at the beginning of the book. It took a bit for me to figure out what was going on and who was who. It also made the story feel very slow and didn’t get the book off to the best start. However, once we got past all that, especially in the second half , it finally got interesting and had me wanting to keep reading.

Where I do give this book praise is with the main character Rowen. I love books that have strong female leads and she was a perfect example of that. She was a great character to root for, which is why I think this book could have benefited from being from her perspective the entire time.

I really wanted to enjoy this book more than I ended up enjoying it. The premise and overall concept of the book is good and I just think some of the execution fell flat.

Cons:
- Info-dumping. The beginning of this book was a slog to get through because there was just so much information being thrown at the reader in a way that didn't naturally fit in with the narrative. It felt like a "here's all the important things you need to know about the world so we're just going to throw it all in at the beginning" kind of thing and it really threw the pacing off.
- Multiple POVs: this isn't always a bad thing in books, but in the case of The Endless Skies, the extra POV chapters felt a little on the unnecessary side and added very little the story, again messing with the overall pacing of the book.
-The Love triangle: Ugh. Again, this just felt unnecessary and like it was added in to check a YA trope box or something. It wasn't really well developed or interesting and I think the story could have done better without it.

Pros
-The world building was interesting. It wasn't a lot, so if you're used to the depth of world building in high fantasy and such then this might be underwhelming, but for younger readers there's enough of the world established to be interesting without being too much.
-The writing was solid and I think that if there weren't so many things interfering with the pacing, the writing would have held my interest more easily.
-There is a good amount of action that would hold younger reader's attention as well.

Rowan, warrior-elect, is disappointed when she is not sent out with other warriors to find a very rare flower that could cure a spreading illness affecting children in her Kingdom. When it is discovered that children are being affected at a rate faster than initially believed, Rowan deserts her post to inform the warriors and help search for the cure.

From the description of the book provided on NetGalley, I thought the story was only about one individual, Rowan. I was kind of surprised the story is told from two additional character perspectives, Rowan’s sister and her best friend who also has a crush on her, and both of which felt unnecessary.

The beginning of the book was very much information overload, regarding the setting, the history of the world, the politics and the various characters. It was a lot for me to absorb and I was overwhelmed. I think this might have been why I found it difficult to connect to the story or the characters.

I was definitely intrigued by the concept of the story but if I hadn’t requested an ARC of the book, I probably wouldn’t have finished it.

I never really understood the lioness form the characters take. What does that look like? Why does a lion have wings? Maybe information was provided at the beginning of the book but there was so much of it I didn’t absorb it. Then I was genuinely puzzled when after fighting a duo of bears in an arena they were made to fight a lion. Was it a member of their world held captive or an actual lion with a mane and four paws? I was confused for a while. Maybe I missed this too, but why would the world collapse into the sea if the prince died?

Most of the book was very much telling instead of showing. We were told of one duo’s romantic relationship but if that fact had never been stated I would never have known from their actions.

SPOILER: I don’t understand the death at the end of the book. She literally died on the last page of the book and for what? Her death didn’t bring about any change or resolution.

My thank to #Netgalley and #TorTeen for an ARC in exchange for my very honest review.

I had really high hopes for The Endless Skies, but unfortunately I didn't enjoy this book very much. I thought that a lot of things in terms of the plot were just unnecessary. Even though I like who Rowan ended up with, the love triangle between Rowan, Ox, and Callen was completely unnecessary, not to mention predictable.
Another unnecessary element was everyone's shapeshifting abilities, which I actually didn't know about prior to reading. People in Rowan's city can transform into winged lions, and people from other lands can transform into bears, merpeople, and foxes. Especially since a lot of the plot happens in the human lands, where Rowan and her friends can't access their magic to transform, there was really no point in them being shapeshifters, other than maybe some interesting fighting scenes in the Heliana. The only thing that separates the humans and the Leonodai is that the Leonodai can shapeshift.
There was very little worldbuilding, even for a standalone that would need less worldbuilding than a series.
The Heliana is presented as a sort of utopia; everyone is happy and extremely devoted to their monarchy and city, and the only problem that seems to be present is the mysterious illness infecting the children. This just made everything more predictable; I could guess at everything that would happen as I was reading.
My final problem was that the death at the end was also unnecessary. It felt like the author thought that she needed someone to die so that the book wouldn't have a perfect happy ending, so she just picked someone at random.

I will definitely be recommending this book to my friends! It was a unique plot, and very well written and executed! I definitely felt the Wonder Woman vibe!

Rowan is about to become a warrior and reach her ultimate goal, but not before she is tested on her loyalty for her people. With her two loves by her side, she must race the clock to save the sick children from a deadly disease. The only place they can find the cure is amongst their enemies, the humans. Everything they’ve ever known is in jeopardy. This is a story that examines what it means to be loyal and how learning can lead to progress and change.
I found this book to be fast paced after the initial setup of the story. It can pull the readers into the story of trying to save the children and the magic of the people. Readers who enjoy experiencing a new fantasy realm will enjoy entering the world of the Leonodai. The alternating viewpoints allow you to see everything that is happening within the story. It is well written and a good story.