The Endless Skies by Shannon Price is a YA standalone fantasy novel about a brave warrior named Rowan who is a winged-lion shapeshifter and wants to become one of the Leonodai warriors. Filled with action and great world building, Endless Skies is an enjoyable read.

I loved this novel! It was riveting, thought-provoking and I couldnt put it down! The author's writing style is beautiful and kept me hooked until the very end.

This novel tells the story about shapeshifters. This novel seems really promising. However, I could not relate to Rowan. I was also confused by the world-building. Still, I recommend this fans of Mercedes Lackey, Laura Sebastian, and Sarah J. Maas!

An action packed standalone fantasy with winged-lion shapeshifters, The Endless Skies sucks you in from the start and doesn't let you go until the final page. It's the choices we make that show who we really are.
Rowan is a headstrong, feisty warrior-elect whose goal in life is to serve her King as one of his warriors. She has some difficult choices to make, but is able to forge her own path both as a warrior and a Leondai.

Loved it! Such a well written story that fits well into ciriculuum (I can never spell that word and I am tired of googling it but you know what I mean). I love when a book is interesting and fits into class lessons. It feels like such a score as a high school librarian. High rec!

A charming and utterly refreshing young adult fantasy novel, The Endless Skies takes you on a coming-of-age journey as warrior-elect Rowan grapples with love, sacrifice, and finding her place in a world desperately in need of change.


We are first introduced to Rowan on the eve of her warrior ceremony, where she will take the oath to officially join the warrior ranks of the Leonadai. As a crisis unfolds, Rowan begins to uncover small omissions of truth that expose the faults of long-held traditions. She finds herself struggling with what the Leonadai motto, “loyalty above all,” truly means: is it following with blind faith or questioning the status quo? Her decision to act sets in motion a chain of events that reveal both the worst and most endearing aspects of the creatures that inhabit her world. Rowan’s physical journey runs parallel to her emotional and personal journey as she discovers who she is and where she wants to be.


The story manages to smoothly navigate thought-provoking themes around survival, humanity, hope, and forgiveness that resonate strongly in the present day. I absolutely adored this story and am slightly disappointed it’s a stand-alone work.

Unbelievable debut novel - cannot WAIT to read what comes next..

Never read a magical lion shifter type novel before. This book had one of my favorite features in literature, an exciting political and Regal hint of corruption with with a quest to find the truth.

She pumped her legs faster as she sped across the rooftop. When she came to its edge, she leaped. The magic burned through her body and her wings emerged as she soared across the skies. The night sky cloaked her as she stealthily landed on another rooftop on the outskirts of the city. She could sense danger coming; the humans restless and wanting to destroy her people. But she wouldn’t allow that to happen.

The Endless Skies tells the story of a country of shapeshifters whose children are dying from a human disease that has come upon their land. They must find a cure before the prince gets sick and dies or it could spell the end of their civilization.

The premise of this book sounded so good, but it just wasn’t executed well. I didn’t connect with any of the characters and I wish they would have been developed stronger. I also wish their power would have been explained in greater detail and more magic elements would have been used. The love triangle was also weak and I wish that would have been substantial.

Overall it was an okay read, but not my favorite.

Thank you netgalley for a digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

High above the sea, floats the pristine city of the Heliana. Home to winged-lion shapeshifters―the Leonodai―and protected from the world of humans by an elite group of warriors, the Heliana has only known peace.

After years of brutal training, seventeen-year-old Rowan is ready to prove her loyalty to the city and her people to become one of the Leonodai warriors. But before Rowan can take the oath, a deadly disease strikes the city’s children. Soon the warriors―including two of Rowan’s closest friends―are sent on a dangerous mission to find a fabled panacea deep within enemy lands.

Left behind, Rowan learns a devastating truth that could compromise the mission and the fate of the Heliana itself. She must make a decision: stay with the city and become a warrior like she always dreamed, or risk her future in an attempt to save everyone she loves. Whatever Rowan decides, she has to do it fast, because time is running out, and peace can only last so long...

I really wanted to like this book. The premise intrigued me and while it had the potential, I just didn't connect with the story and ended up unable to finish it. The characters and their conflicts fell flat for me and I just did not connect with them enough to care what happened to them.

The Endless Skies was such a fun adventure that I couldn’t put down. It was everything I wanted out of a quest, compete with a fierce heroine and a fantastic love triangle. If you like shifters (winged, lion shifters specifically) than this is the book for you!

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. The views expressed are my own.

The discord between the races and the willingness of the characters to do what they felt was right made this a really interesting read. I did find there was a lot of focus on the shape shifting and it was a little hard to read some parts when they were shifted, but all in all a good read.

Okay so this book was just not for me. I'm a type of person who needs a happy ending and it just wasn't there. Now don't get me wrong there was a great plot, good world building, amazing characters. It's just for me I don't like when characters die left and right I guess.

I was not expecting to like this book so much but I did !

The story was so captivated, I couldn’t put it down. I needed to know !

World building was great. I usually struggle to get into books because of that, but had no problem with this

Characters were 😍😍

Let's go to Heliana! When they aren't dealing with a dangerous pandemic, LOL. Price's emotional deft pulls you into Rowan's plight immediately and you're ready to follow her wherever she goes. I doubt she knew when she wrote this, but this fantasy despite being otherworldly is very timely in this era and will be a great fictional escape for teens.

There was so much going on with this one! The plot felt unique and the char@caters were very intriguing, but there were bits that were confusing and some questions I feel went unanswered. Overall a solid standalone!

*eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I also purchased a finished copy*

Let's start with the brutal truth: I regret purchasing this book. Since it was already released before I read my ARC, I just bought a copy. It was not great.

It may just be me though. (slight spoiler) The writing and the plot were good, for the most part, but I dislike unhappy endings. Books like Red Rising, An Ember in the Ashes, SoulSwift- all great books, but I don't like the constant deaths and disaster and things going wrong. I want the hero to save the day in the nick of time. That's not what happens here. (end spoiler)

Outside of that, I enjoyed the world-building. The animal-aspect countries were unlike anything I've really read before, and the reasons behind the true animosity between those countries and the humans were refreshing.

After finishing reading 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐞𝐬 by Shannon Price, I knew that I just found a new gem. This stand-alone YA fantasy has such a fascinating world-building and made me end up having a book hangover!

𝟝 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕤𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕥𝕠 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐞𝐬
- Magical race who could shape-shift into a lion and FLY! Do I need more reason? I don't think so.
- The world-building and magic systems are the main stars of this book! It like nothing I've read before
- Multi POV is the BFF for a fantasy story especially being a stand-alone, it really helps us to understand the world and characters thoroughly and easier.
- It has such an interesting and endearing cast of characters. You'll find someone that you'll root for.
- The sprinkles of romance are just like the perfect icing for the story.

DNF

I'm sorry but this just wasn't for me. What little I read I found to be underwhelming and plain disappointing. I was really looking forward to this one, too.

I'm not a fan of the writing, I dislike the love triangle (which I was not expecting) and the whole time I was reading I just wanted it to end. I had to DNF for my sanity.

THE ENDLESS SKIES was an entertaining and engaging YA Fantasy standalone with interesting world-building, an intriguing magic system, and compelling characters. I loved the premise at the very start of the book — how cool are shapeshifting winged lions — and the beginning pull of the book carried me along for a fun ride with our three main characters.
I love books with multiple points of view, so that was an aspect I really enjoyed in THE ENDLESS SKIES. I liked how the different perspectives showed different experiences and interactions in the same world, but I found Rowan’s POV the most engaging and I was always excited for her chapters. I thought Rowan had an interesting story to tell, and though I was most invested in her, I think the other characters did add to the story at times.
While there is a romance (if you’re looking for a love triangle you’ll find one!), I found myself more invested in the world-building and action of the story — which was totally enough to carry the book for me. I think anyone who’s a YA Fantasy fan and is looking for unique world should pick this one up! THE ENDLESS SKIES was a great filled with memorable world-building, a few great twists, and a beautiful story about what values drive us and belief in hope.

I think this story would have done better as a series. Or at least two books as it felt that a lot of the story was being left out. I did still enjoy it but overall it just felt like it was missing some information that should have been there. If you are looking for a simple fantasy stand alone check this one out.