This trope is a fated mates story. I originally liked this book because of the cover and description. Has great potential but I had difficulty getting into it because it didn’t grab my attention. I would recommend this book for individuals who like shifter love stories. This ARC was provided by Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. I would rate this a 3 out of 5.

Kingdom of Shadows and Dust by Sherry D Ficklin brings us into a world of politcal maneuvering, betrayals, and love. Ava, the daughter of the King, wants nothing more than to fight along her father's armies. Her father and others want her to behave as a proper Princess and follow their traditions. Ava decides to sneak out and fight. Soon reality hits that war is horrible. Ava broken meets two different men while recovering and along the way discovers that maybe her righteousness is not deserved.

Forewarning I read this three months ago so everything is a little hazy. Things I liked were… an interesting world and character growth. In all honesty I am having a hard time remembering this book. It took me 30 minutes after the synopsis to remember it. I do not recall liking or disliking this book really. I disliked the instant love connection.

3 Stars because overall I do not think this was a bad read but it is forgettable. Thank you to NetGalley, Independent Book Publishers Assocation and Sherry D Ficklin for a free copy. This was an honest review.

this was a beautifully done historical fantasy novel, it had what I wanted from this type of book. I enjoyed this read and it was a lot of fun.

This one I was so excited for but sadly I felt that things were underdeveloped and choppy. I didn't care about the characters and I called it quits around 50 or so pages. I have loved Ficklin's other titles so this one really hurt that I didn't like it.

Thank you TrueType Press and NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. My review is my own and not influenced by others.

The cover and description sounds really good. Unfortunately, these were in my opinion the only good things about this book. The character development lacked and the instant love and plot were for me very annoying.

Ava is a Princess expected to stay silent and marry someone to make her kingdom safer. However when she decides to take her destiny in her own hands, her world is opened to new people and new possibilities- but is she willing to sacrifice everything for her happiness or will duty win out?

I enjoyed this and I eagerly await a sequel!

I have such mixed feelings about this book I am not sure where to start.

I definitely loved the story and I think it's got so much grasp, I was really invested and I found Ava a super relatable character, we all struggle with choices and we all doubt ourselves a lot.
But something about the writing and the pace of the book wasn't right. It felt really rushed at times.

I will begin by stating that the tropes within this book were not necessarily what I enjoy in a fantasy novel, and therefore this review may be somewhat biased in that this book is just not for me, but may well be great for others!

The main trope within this book was instalove, which made me struggle to immediately engage and be on board with the story.

While i loved the concept of this book, the world building could be a little more developed to give the reader a greater sense of the setting and to further help getting stuck into the book, which i found to be somewhat of a struggle initially.

Having said this, the book was still an easy read and I have no doubt that others may enjoy this book, if not simply as a low intensity read.

I love fantasy books, this one had good characters and an interesting plot to have me reading it. The romance is there, however, the world-building and character development could´ve been better, the story itself made up for it.

Ava is a princess who aspires to do more than be relegated to the role of political chess piece. From the moment she's introduced, you understand that she craves something different. Unfortunately, I could not understand her true motivations. Her complaints came across as the discontentment of a spoiled girl rather than passion for life or compassion for her kingdom. Nevertheless, she gets her way and goes on an adventure where she falls in love with Callan, a tunskin or shifter, a race of people she has been taught to believe are beneath her.

I really wanted to like this story, but ultimately I was underwhelmed. I never became invested in Ava's life or her relationship. I didn't see enough immediate impact of was to feel the character's desperation, and the Shadow King was never fully realized as a villain. KSD is a book with all of the right parts of display, but none of them actually function in the machine. Still, Ficklin shows a lot of potential. I would read her again.

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Arc.

I didn't finish reading this book. I liked the main character but the quick love connection that she had with the love interest was a bit unbelievable. I had trouble imagining the world that the story is set in because there were many aspects of world-building that were lacking. It was just a bit too slow paced and fast paced when it really didn't need to be.
If you like werewolf shifter stories you might actually like this but sadly this one just wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Ava is a Princess who is fed up with being left in the dark in matters of the Kingdom because she was born a female. Due to this Ava is such a strong-willed person she decides that she doesn't want to be kept at the mercy of men and chooses her path which leads her to Callan the shifter (Turnskin in this book) and King Aldin who just happens to rule the Kingdom they're at war with.

I did struggle with this to start with but I feel it was to do with the actions of the men in Ava's life except for Bridger and her brother. It was only once Ava chose to follow Bridger that it picked up.

I enjoyed the world-building and I appreciated the fact that I could pronounce the characters names without a guide that some books like this usually come with.

I wasn't a huge fan of the ending but I will certainly be looking out for sequels.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

So I will start that my opinions are my own and I hope not shared by every reader but on that note I wasn’t a huge fan of the book, the world building was quite lacking and the insta love between the main characters was so fast paced it was utterly unbelievable and made reading a little forced for me.
It felt like too much altogether and quite lacking plot as you knew chapters ahead what would happen.

I did finish the book and it was pleasant enough but I can’t say it was a favourite of the year.

I would like to thank Netgalley for providing me the eArc of this book in exchange for a honest review.

I did not finish this book. For the following reasons:
- I did not like the book
- It really seemed like a knock off of From
Blood & Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout (veiled warrior female MC , shape shifting to wolves, warring kingdoms, etc)

I just couldn’t get into the story.

I was very quickly captured by the plot of this book. It gave off From Blood And Ash vibes and I was all for it. Within the first 30% of the book or so, there had been war, death, romance, and destiny.

This book a whirlwind of emotions - in that Ava had to face some really hard choices and decisions. There were plots twists here, there and everywhere and at points my review notes are literally me typing in capitals how angry I was at some of the story points.

The last 20% of the book had me gripped as I needed to know what was going to happen. Was I disappointed in the ending? A little. Will I read the next one? HELL YES!

Although not a five star read for me, I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to being able to read the second one next year. Would recommend if you love The Prison Healer, From Blood And Ash or The Bridge Kingdom.

Duty or Desire...which one do you pick?

Wow, I absolutely loved this story. Yes, there is insta-love but it was done so well! I felt the chemistry and attraction right off between the princess, Ava and the shapeshifter and loved the how they were so attuned with each other. I laughed, teared up, and swooned over the King Aldin. I'm so excited to read more about Aldin and knowing his story is not over yet. Great character development and pacing. 5 stars!

So this didn't live up to all of my expectations but it was still an enjoyable read. I really enjoyed the characters but the worldbuilding was lacking for me . The dialogue was a little choppy and I would have like to see some more banter and more in depth discussions because some of the characters fell a little flat and they had a lot of potential.

Kingdom of Shadows and Dust, by author Sherry D. Ficklin, is the first installment in what appears to be a new series. Ava is an Ankara princess and the King's only daughter who is forced to hide behind a veil. She has suffered in isolation while dreaming about fighting with her best friend Bridger who has taught her how to fight. Her own father believes her place is with other women, including the Queen, in the Terem because women are more precious and divine than men.

This is a misogynistic society where women are paraded in front of men who make their choices as to whom they want for their bride's. AKA Bride Show. Ava has been sneaking away for years to be with her friend Yoann who is a magus. Magus unwillingness to save Ava's mother created a huge rift between people's. Ava has tried her best to smooth over the rift but old habits and hurts die hard. After Ava defies her father's orders, and sneaks away to join Bridger's army, she finds herself in harms way.

Her only chance at salvation is Callan, a mysterious black wolf called Turnskin willing to risk everything by hiding her away among his kind. Turnskin's are people who are able to shift from human to wolf. They were soldiers once until they were betrayed. Ava gradually falls for Callan which, of course, anyone would have seen coming a mile away. Soon though, she is "imprisoned" by Aldrin, the King of a neighboring country who has been at war with Ankara for years.

However, Aldrin turns out to be a decent fellow, and that's where things get really twisted for me. You can say that this book doesn't contain an instalove. It doesn't. It does however contain a twisted love triangle between Ava, Callan, and Aldrin. While one relationship with help her country stop an war that has costs lots of innocent lives while uniting countries, the other is a fated bond which can't be broken. What do you do?

One of the more interesting relationships in this entire book is between Ava and her brother Cassian who is the heir to Ankara. Unfortunately, even though it was an overall enjoyable read, the book did not leave me as satisfied or enthusiastic about reading the sequel.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This book hooked me immediately. I didn't want it to end. I am a sucker for books with "bonded" or "mated" lovers. The MC is a funny, headstrong, and relatable. Great read!

If like me, you are a fan of historical fiction/fantasy than this heart-breaking and overwhelmingly epic story is for you!

Pros:
Epic
Great YA arc
Extremely easy read


Cons:
Starts off as a 4 star and descends into a 1 or 2 star
The writing style is a little clunky and poorly executed in parts
left with more questions than answers
Love stories felt rushed