THE ENDLESS SKIES is a wonderful standalone fantasy about loyalty, duty, and friendship. I will say that I find it incredibly unnerving to read pandemic storylines in the age of COVID, but I do recognize that this book was probably in the works long before COVID and that literature often reflects realities in real life, even in fantasy. Other than that, I thought TES was a really enjoyable and unique book with intricate world-building, fascinating magic, and a kick-butt heroine who does what she believes is right for her people. I really liked the concept of these shapeshifting lionness warriors and how feminism is weaved in Price's world-building. As far as the main romance goes, there's a triangle, but it isn't a bad one to read about. I liked the friends to lovers dynamics in this even though it isn't a trope that usually has me jumping up and down, but this one was well-done. I also liked how the multiple POVs here was used to portray a bird's eye view of the happenings both in Heliana and in the human lands. Our characters all have their flaws but at the end of the day I really enjoyed watching Rowan, Callen and Shirene navigate illness and potential war as they try to save their home. At the end of the day, it is community and loyalty that win the day, which is a pretty poignant and relevant theme. THE ENDLESS SKIES is about summoning up the courage to do the right thing even if it costs you everything.

This book was a literary treat! The plot is original, and the characters are endearing. I adore the characters' shapeshifting abilities, the vivid action-packed scenes, and the stunning storyline twist in the final third of the novel. The first few chapters are for character intros and story settings. The world-building was excellent, with a wonderful description of a floating city, the Heliana, their traditions, and festivals, as well as the other kingdoms of Vyrinterra and their people. The story was narrated from multiple perspectives and was very intriguing to read until the end. Rowan, the main character, is a warrior elect who will go to any length to save her kingdom from a deadly disease.

This is a book you could totally get lost in and forget you're reading.

This is a really interesting concept and the setting was so well done. You really got a sense of the history and how long the kingdoms have been fighting. The plot was great with lots of twists, and really kept you on the edge of your seat. The problem I had was with the characters, I got a good sense of their motivations and why they were so loyal to each other and their kingdom but I didn't feel they were as well rounded beyond that. It made it hard to feel as connected to them and made their personal lives seem trivial compared to their mission. That said I did still enjoy the story overall.

WOW I could not put this book down in the last 25%. I couldn't read it fast enough. I love the imagery and the worldbuilding. The concept was so interesting. The sister dynamic was fantastic, the love interests and romance building (friends!) was out of this world. I truly enjoyed this book and I can't wait to see what Shannon Price puts out next.

CW: pandemic that impacts children.

I'll admit, I was first drawn into this book by the title (it sounds so cool) and the cover (yes, yes, "don't judge a book by its cover" but I'm sure we're all a little guilty!), it gave me warrior vibes and I was not disappointed! I really enjoyed this book! The world-building was absolutely amazing, I loved the concept of magic, the shapeshifting, the loyalty, the strong female characters, it all came together very nicely.

I will admit that I was not a major fan of the love triangle (square?), it's definitely my least favourite trope. There were also times where I felt a little more explanation was needed in some areas for a standalone, but it does leave room to expand the story into additional books in the future.

Overall, I give it 3.5 stars!

(Netgalley ARC received from Macmillan-Tor/Forge)

The characters all turn into Winged Lions, they are looking for a cure because a disease is killing all the young children. The humans have the cure but they don't want to share.
The world is interesting, the story too unfortunately I did not get hooked on the main character, Rowan. The story is told from three points of view, Shirene's, Rowan's, her sister's and Callen's, her best friend (who by the way is also in love with her).
As much as I enjoyed reading Shirene's and Callen's passages, it wasn't always the case for Rowan. I find that at times she acts in spite of all common sense and she puts lives in danger unnecessarily. She is very brave, there is no doubt about it, but I really didn't care for her character and she is the one who tells the main story.
The author's style is good, I had no problem with the story or the world it's really just a character problem.
Quick Word : If you like adventures in a well constructed world this book may appeal to you.

The Endless Skies is a YA fantasy novel with a fascinating and unique plot. It is told from the perspective of three Leondoni people, Rowan, Rowan's sister, Shirene, and Rowan's childhood best friend, Callen. The Leondoni people are shifters that can shift into the form of winged lions. In the novel, a group of the Leondoni are searching for a cure to save their people from the fatal disease that is going around and infecting everyone. They run into a problem when they realize they must search for the cure amongst their enemies, the humans.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book, as I found the concept to be super unique. I think the author did an excellent job with the world building and helping us to understand the magic system. I did find that the idea of this book was a bit better than the execution for me. As I mentioned, the concept is really interesting, but I felt like I didn't really have any connection to the characters by the end of the book. I think that the characters could have had more depth to them because even when you got to the different perspectives I didn't notice much of a difference. I also found at points that there was just a bunch of information being shared, which made it a bit slow. I am aware that this information was important to the story and needed to be shared, but I believe it could have been done in a smoother way, and more spread out to keep the story moving.

I did really enjoy the tropes present in this book, and once the plot picked up I found it to be more interesting with all the action going on. I also appreciated that it was relatively easy to understand. The author didn't jump too much from scene to scene, even when the perspective changed. The author was great at not changing the perspective in the middle of an important or complicated scene, which made it a lot smoother and better to read.

Overall, I enjoyed this read enough. I don't know if I'd read it again, but I certainly don't regret reading it, and I'd recommend it if you want an easy fantasy read. A big thanks to NetGalley, Tor Teen, and the author Shannon Price for an E-Arc of this book.

The Endless Skies is the latest novel to come from Shannon Price, so you better believe I snatched it up as quickly as I could manage!

The people of Heliana have always lived a healthy and peaceful life high above the sea. These people, known as the Leonodai, are winged-lion shapeshifters, and Rowan grew up proud to be one. She's trained her whole life for a chance to prove her worth and find a place for herself.

Only, disaster is about to strike her people. With disaster will come a terrifying revelation, and it will force Rowan to make a choice. Help her people, but risk all that she's worked for, or stay silent and watch as those around her suffer.

The Endless Skies is such a creative take on shifters and magic, and for that reason alone, I think I will always cherish this book. The characters and plot were strong and intriguing, though I'll confess that I'm desperate to know more about the world around them.

I'll admit that it did take me some time to get really invested in the story at hand. I'm not sure why I struggled. Maybe it was the way it was all introduced? Maybe because I got distracted looking for more details of the Leonodai and the rest of their world? I couldn't say.

By the time Rowan had to make her impossible decision, I was more invested in what was happening. Thankfully. I love the debate that rose up from her plight and sympathized with the internal struggle she faced here.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Endless Skies and consider it to have been a novel worth reading. While I won't say that it was my favorite, it was still very solid, and I would come back if there was a sequel.

In the floating city of Heliana the Leonodai, people who can shape-shift into Lions, roam free. After years of training Rowan is ready to prove herself and become one of the elite warriors that protect the city from the humans below, but before she can take the oath a plague hits the city affecting only the young. When warriors are sent to the human world to look for a cure, Rowan is left behind and non too happy about it. She soon discovers that not everything the warriors were told was true, and she receives some vital information that they need to know, but telling the warriors means going against her orders and travelling to the human lands alone. Rowan needs to decide whether she is willing to pay the price for her desertion, especially when the fate of Heliana lies in the balance.

I so wanted to love this book, and there was quite a bit to like about it. Unfortunately, the characters seriously let it down and made for a read I had to push myself to finish. The Endless Skies is told from three alternating POV's: Rowan, a trainee warrior who comes to learn a truth that could save her kingdom. Callen, her lifelong friend and the boy shes's unsure of her feelings for and Shirene, Rowans sister and a member of the Kings Sentinels, the council of Heliana. At times I really struggled to tell which POV I was reading from, there was no obvious differences in tone and they all ended up bleeding into one. I also really struggled to bond with Rowan as a character, she made some crazy decisions, and spent far too much of her time thinking about the two boys she was torn between. Instead my favourite character ended up being her sister. Shirene was much more well rounded out as a character and I really enjoyed her arc in the story.

The whole idea of shape-shifting was really well thought out and brought to life in the book, as well as the Leonodai there are creatures who shape-shift into the likes of horses, bears and mer-people. I would have liked a little more backstory on these other races, as they are only really mentioned in passing. The idea of having these beings pitted against the humans was great, just not that well thought out. I'm not sure if the author was attempting to show how humans treat people they see as lesser/other, but she just didn't really give us enough backstory/history for it to make much of an impact onto the story.

There was a love triangle in this that was just so badly written & took up far too much page time in the book. A good 50% of the MC's, as well as Callen's inner thoughts were about the romance arc and by the first 25% of the book I was already over it. Because there was little to no character growth, I just really struggled to get invested in any of the characters outcomes, and really think the author could have spent a little less time on Rowan's inner turmoil over which boy she should pick and spent more time creating characters with a little depth to them.

I genuinely think this book would have been better as a duology. We could have got more world-building, a better understanding of the other races that inhabit this world as well as a history as to the issues between the humans and the shifters. It all just felt a little rushed, and there were a few story lines that played a large part of the book that just came to nothing. I just really struggled to get myself invested in the story, and found myself powering through to the end because I was interested in how it would all turn out and boy did I feel like it was a wasted journey, the ending was incredibly rushed and some events happened that just seemed to be put in for shock value than to actually add anything to the story.

Overall, this was a pretty underwhelming book for me & I would rate it 2.5 stars. The magic system and little world building we got really saved the story, but the characters were the biggest disappointment for me.

Shape-shifting flying lions in YA fantasy books. Sounds intriguing, right? And to me it was. I was curious as to how something like this could be done well in a YA storyline. Was I completely impressed with how this book was executed? Not really, sadly.

So we have three main characters in The Endless Skies, all with their own point-of-view chapters. First is Rowan, a headstrong Leonodai warrior-in-training; Callen, the boy who loves her; and Shirene, Rowan's older sister who works for the King. Because there were three POV characters, and none of their voices were particularly unique, it was very easy to get them mixed up and forget who we were following in each chapter. At least one POV should've been cut, maybe two. We got way too much information out of Shirene's chapters, due to her political role, that would have been better off coming as surprises to the primary character, Rowan. Then, plot elements could've been surprising to the reader as well. As for Callen, having a POV from a boy who has been rejected romantically by the main character is quite interesting, but since Rowan and Callen are in the same locations a lot of the time, theirs were the easier chapters to mix up.

Rowan herself isn't all that interesting or unique from other YA female fantasy characters, either. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but if you've read a lot of fantasy, this may not be the book for you. Because of the lack of difference in characters' inner voices and the lack of individuality of characters, this book read really young. I would recommend it for 12-14 year-olds, not upper YA readers.

The world building, while completely unique in the shapeshifting abilities, is just okay. There's not enough description to really connect readers with the locations, other magical shapeshifting creatures, or even the catastrophic things that are happening to the children of the land. Oh, and a major warning here for a disease that kills off kids. If you're at all tired of diseases or even triggered by diseases because of the world's current circumstances, do not read this book. I know that's one reason I just couldn't get into it, in combination with the stuff I mentioned earlier.

Despite the disease, the book is fast-paced, so readers can devour it pretty quickly if they're so inclined. And because it's not a complex magic system, and the characters have a rather modern dialect for a fantasy world, it's an easy book to give to new readers and not bog them down in complexity. Oh, but speaking of world-building, I was super confused as to why an entire magic system rests on the shoulders of a small child when the father is still alive and should have had magic as well. Maybe I missed something about this in the story, but I found it extremely odd that rescuing a baby was key to the entire Leonodai existence.

All in all, The Endless Skies is simply an okay read for those who have devoured fantasy books for many years. While, to a newbie, it may be something super enjoyable. I think if I handed this book to a sixth grader, they'd have a pretty good time.

3/5 stars

*Note: I received a NetGalley ARC of this book to review from the publisher. This in no way affected my opinion/review.

Shannon Price's The Endless Skies is the authors sophomore follow up to A Thousand Fires. This book revolves around three key players: Shirene, Rowan, and Callen. Shirene begins the story as the Ninth Sentinel, but soon becomes the King's Voice replacing an alleged traitor who left Heliana for the human realm of Balmora. Rowan is Shirene's younger sister, a warrior-elect who is just finishing 4 years of brutal training, and someone whose character growth turns the pages of this story. Callen is Rowan's best friend, a warrior, who believes that Rowan is his fated mate but she may have already fallen for another.

All three characters are Leonodai; a race of shifters who can transform into winged lions. They are one of four remaining Kingdoms; 2 on Vyrinterra, 1 in the seas, and one in the skies. There is a dire situation for all Leonodai. In the floating city of Heliana, children under 12 are dying of a mysterious illness, and it continues to spread quickly. The only cure just happens to be in the human lands where the Humans are refusing to accept peace talks after the King refused to help them feed their people. When Callen is chosen to be among those who are given orders to bring back the healing flower, Rowan does the unthinkable.

After learning from the alleged traitor that the scholars and those in charge are lying about the situation, she goes absent without permission and flies to Balmora hoping she can help find the healing flower before the prince heir dies in a few days. She knows she risks being branded a traitor but Rowan makes her decision to leave home and follow the warriors already searching for a cure. She gets more than she expected. The only place that this flower is likely to be found is in the human city of Ramsgate.

But Ramsgate doesn't care for the Leonodai after they refused to help provide food for the humans living here. Plus, the General in charge is just itching for a war between races. In this world, humans are basically destroying their own planet. They have infected the waters, and the air, and were responsible for killing off one of the original races. Sadly, there is a minor love triangle for one of the characters. You can guess who. This ends up resolving itself when one of the character realizes that her heart belongs to the one person who has been their since they were kids.

This isn't by any means a spoiler, but I will say this. I don't appreciate characters being killed off for absolutely no reasons whatsoever. I am not going to say who falls, and who lives. I am going to say that the ending makes absolutely no sense with one of these characters missing. In fact, the death takes place literally pages from the ending itself! I appreciate the fact that this is a standalone and not part of a series. I appreciated that the book revolved around 3 characters so that we could see what was happening elsewhere, but Rowan is still my favorite.

The Endless Skies by Shannon Price is a YA fantasy romance with a lot of potential to be a truly great standalone novel. It came pretty close to great too and it mostly worked for me. I loved the vivid world-building. The floating cities just sound so fantastic, don't they? I also really liked the idea of the inhabitants which are winged-lion shapeshifters. I wasn't as particularly sold with our lead characters, but it's still worth following their journey. In the end, this is a unique YA fantasy that is well worth your time. I know this is a standalone novel, but I wouldn't mind revisiting this world again.

This is an average book. I found it easy and quick to read. It was fun and the premise was interesting. However, it just didn't have that WOW factor for me. I like Price's writing style, though, and will read the rest of the books she publishes.

I really enjoyed this book and it has made me want to pick up more of the author's books in the future. I can't wait to read them.

I found The Endless Skies to be a thrilling read. Our heroine, Rowan was such a strong character to follow. She had to go through quite a lot while she grew as a hopeful protector of her world. She is just a great main character that I think women of all ages can look up to. The cover is stunning as well, which is always a plus in my opinion especially for Young Adult literature. Definitely putting Shannon Price on my look out list for her next books.

Happy Tuesday y'all! I cannot believe that we're almost in September! This summer just flew by- did I do much besides all the different avenues of work I'm doing these days? Not really, which honestly is probably why it flew by so fast. (Haha speaking of work, I'm taking a break from my main job to write this review for my unpaid side hustle and I got distracted by work for another side job while writing this- ahhhh marketing, it never turns off)
Thank you so much to Tor Teen and and Netgalley for letting me read an eARC of The Endless Skies! This book came out on August 17th, so y'all can definitely go grab it after reading my review!

The Endless Skies 3.5/5 Stars

Summary from Goodreads:
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...
This book suffered terribly from pacing issues and that's why it got 3.5 stars as opposed to anything higher. The general concept was really interesting and it had really great characters and flawed leaders and a terrible problem that needed to be solved, but I was so bored during so much of the middle section. The end seemed really rushed too (even though part of it crushed me), so I would have loved for part of the journey to have gone a little faster and for the ending to have been expanded on. Now that I've gotten over that part, in general, this was a really cool take on shifters and humans and shifter on shifter relations- I really loved all of the world building! The illness itself was a little confusing- I didn't really understand what was going on besides the fact that kids were getting sick, so I wish I had known just a little bit more about the symptoms etc, but that's just me (I'm an infectious disease nerd- I think they're fascinating). I really liked how the book had three points of view- Shirene was my favorite, with Rowan coming in second, and Callen coming in a very close third. They all provided really important and different viewpoints as to everything that was going on and they were all super necessary in order to really understand the story. Secondary characters wise, I didn't really care for anyone who was left in Heliana after the warriors left, so I wasn't tied to anyone besides Shirene in her chapters. I did love all of the warriors though- I have no idea how Shannon Price made them all so funny and compelling and any time anything happened to any of them, it was definitely a blow (but a necessary one for furthering the story). Overall, pacing issues aside, I am glad I read The Endless Skies.

And another for the DNF pile. Made it 50% into this one, but find myself increasingly bored with it. The concept is an interesting one. In this fantasy the main character and her companions are creature who can transform themselves into lions and people. A disease is killing off young children and has now infected the Crown Prince. The creatures have been at the brink of war with the humans across the sea and the only potential cure lies in the humans land. So a band of warriors go off to locate the cure. Problem was the story was just flat and didn't seem to hold my interest for long periods of time. I'd read a couple of chapters and then stop and go back another time waiting for things to pick up. They never did. The characters were dull and felt rather juvenile compared to some of the other YA fantasy available. Not for me.

This standalone epic fantasy was a FANTASTIC read! The characters were dynamic and well developed, the world building was superb, and the plot was engaging and riveting.

Highly recommend for fans of YA standalone fantasy!

The Endless Skies was such a refreshing and delightful read! The world-building is thoughtful and intricately detailed, and the characters are dynamic.

A vicious sickness has swept through the kingdom of Leonodai killing their young in a matter of days. Desperate in their attempts to find a cure, they ask the human capital city, Ramsgate, for aid however they are rejected. When all hope is lost, the Leonodai send search parties to find the cure within Ramsgate.

The Endless Skies is a tale of the price a Kingdom must pay because of the pride of its king. I appreciated that this book was messy and things didn't necessarily always go a certain way but instead had me guessing until the very end.

Read if you like books with:
Standalone YA Fantasy
Shapeshifting warriors (Lions aka Leonidas)
Book with multiple POV's
Potential love Triangle
Plot twists that will make your head spin!
Thank you to NetGalley, TOR Teen and the author for providing me with a copy in exchange for a review.

A big thanks to Macmillan- Tor/ Forge, NetGalley, and of course Shannon Price for having sent me an eARC of this book. I am voluntarily leaving a review, all opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book even more than I thought I would. There's something satisfying with a standalone fantasy where things actually get wrapped up at the end and you aren't left with a cliffhanger.

I wanted more detail though, a little more here and there would've helped flesh it out more in a few parts, I feel like there's still more we could have learned.

Rowan was a great MC, though at times I had a hard time connecting with her, but I know a lot of that was just who she was- she's determined, stubborn, and a warrior at heart. She's spent a big chunk of her life training to be a warrior to protect the city.

The worldbuilding was great and I did like seeing this world get fleshed out, though because of the nature of the world, it definitely leaves some room to do more in this world, even if it's not these same characters.

Overall, this was a great YA fantasy that managed to wrap things up quite nicely.