ARC from NetGalley

I found this cover kind of misleading. It makes it seem like a traditional paranormal romance, but it's really more proper fantasy with castles and kings and then there's also a wolf shifter.

I didn't dislike this book, but eh. It was a bit hard to get into. I found myself really disappointed by the ending. For starters, I'm not the biggest fan of the true mate trope, particularly when there isn't any build-up. It's like oh hey were are destined, and that is the entire reason we are attracted to each other. It's kind of hard to get on board with that. There's nothing/no one to root for. You don't really get to know the characters before they are immediately in love with each other so I have no investment in their relationship. I found myself rooting for the other guy, and I thought things were going in a particular direction only to have it torn away at the very end, and maybe some people were stoked about that, but I found it very meh.

thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review! all thoughts and opinions are my own.

i enjoyed this book, because it had all the elements i like: royalty, romance, and magic.

i never really liked the main character, ava's romantic relationship with callan. the romance never felt real, i felt that it was insta-love and forced. there was no reason for them to be together except for the bond that they shared, and they instantly fell in love after ava learned about it.

the worldbuilding wasn't that great either, because all i know of ava's country is that she's the princess, and she's at war with another kingdom. i can't tell you anything of aldin's country either, because they're just described at the country that ava is fighting against. personally, i did like aldin and the banter he and ava shared. i felt that their romance and connection was much more natural, and i had hoped that ava would end up with aldin.

the ending was odd and very deus ex machina with the entire castle falling, as well as her best friend, bridger, surviving the battle.

some things that i did enjoy was her relationship with her younger brother, which i thought was really sweet. i also liked how her best friend that was a boy wasn't in love with her, which was refreshing. i liked how ava was strong and did things for her younger brother and her country. she wasn't perfect, and i liked how she wasn't just one-dimensional. the whole story flowed smoothly and was an easy read altogether.

nevertheless, i really did enjoy the read despite its flaws and predictability. it was an interesting fantasy to read, and i would recommend!

I loved the book and can’t wait to find out what happens next in the story. It is a fast read and the characters have their own personalities and it comes across well.

"Kingdom of Shadows and Dust" is a YA fantasy about Ava; a princess who does not want to conform to her role as a woman. After freeing a Turnskin (werewolf) child who was wrongfully and cruelly sentenced, Ava runs away to the warfront, disguised as a soldier. She manages to escape death with the help of Callan, another Turnskin who has a strange mental connection to her. Sadly, her time with him is cut short as she is forced to give herself up to her kingdom's enemy in order to save his tribe.

I am typically not the biggest fan of the 'werewolf's mate' trope, because the man involved is often overly obnoxious and protective. Callan broke that stereotype; he was sweet and quiet, if a bit aggressive at times. I enjoyed his dynamic with Ava, and the fact that he respected her choices even if they broke his heart. Their relationship was a bit rushed in my opinion, but I think that the fast pace was the result of the 'soulmates' trope, which I can understand even though it's not my personal preference. I actually liked Aldin more as a match for Ava, because I thought their development was more complete. I also liked how little drama was involved in the love triangle: how every person involved in it had respect for the others. It was a nice refresher after all the angsty possessive love triangles you typically see in YA.

I did have a few issues with this book. The plot was kind of all over the place, and there wasn't really a clear line guiding the story. It seemed more like a journal than a novel, with no particular direction. Everything played out exactly the way I thought it would. Additionally, the writing itself was almost movie script-like when it came to the dialogue, infused with no real emotion or substance. The descriptions were good, but the dialogue was very matter-of-fact. I struggled to see the individual voice of each character, they all sounded very similar. As for the world building, it was not very engaging or original and the magic that existed only seemed to appear when it was convenient for the plot.

To me, this novel was just a very standard YA fantasy with good characters but little else to offer. I might recommend it to my audience if I get asked for recommendations with the werewolf trope or the soulmate trope, but I will not be including it in my typical book recommendation videos.

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 and, even though I already know this is going to be a series, it just feels like even the first book was not explored enough. Some of the scenes, the love stories, it just felt rushed to me.
I think the characters are nice, but almost everyone is good except for the couple of evil characters and it would have been amazing to see some morally grey characters around, maybe some development in them.
I also think the world building could be explored some more, the world sounds amazing and with great opportunity to explore the Magus areas, Sandoval, Aldin's kingdom, etc!
There are a few grammar errors and the writing (in my humble opinion) could be improved in some sections.

Despite all of this, I'd still struggle to give it less than 3/3.5 stars because I actually did enjoy the story A LOT, and I read this in two days! I am already looking forward to the next book tbh.

I really enjoyed this book. I found it to be interesting, albeit a little predictable. I loved that she had a best friend of the opposite sex that was not a love interest... that was refreshing.

This story did have some twists and turns that were unexpected. There was a good flow to the story with lots of different types of people (species, etc...) lots of action and and a sweet romance. (Although I have some mixed feelings on how that all resolved)

I am definitely interested in how this story progresses.

Rather than bury the lede I'm going to say it right up front: this was really not a very good book.

First, the writing was frequently clunky. Consider the following passage from early in Chapter 3:

"I don't want to live in a world where women--noble or otherwise--are subjugated to men. I want to be free to choose my own path, like you."
She turns to face me. "You are so like your mother."
I prop my head on my arm. "Tell me about her again."

Let's be clear here, the protagonist, Ava, is not a child. I don't recall her age being specified, but while she may be young, she's definitely an adult. She's old enough to disguise herself and go to war, get married, plot to subvert the king's will, and serve as regent after her father's death. That's not a child, but coming from an adult that's an absurd conversation.

Second, for someone as "rah rah girl power" as the passage above exemplifies, Ava largely lacks agency throughout this book. Aside from a pair of decisions made in quick succession early in the book, most of the story does not involve her doing things but rather things happening to her. Even at the end of the book she's saved from having to go through with a difficult choice by a fairly ridiculous <deus ex machina (there's an earthquake and the castle collapses).

Finally, there's an absurdly forced love interest (iterally forced: they're somehow magically bonded telepathically for no clear reason), and other than the way it's forced, the writing doesn't make it feel like there's much of a connection. I honestly was disappointed when Ava went off to live with Callan and the Turnskins, because not only did I never really buy in to that relationship but she completely gave up on her brother and on her duty to her nation and people, which had been repeatedly emphasized as the two most important things to her.

Two stars might be a bit generous, but it wasn't enough of a disaster to merit just one star, so here we are; in a more granular system it might be 1-1/2 stars (or perhaps 3 out of 10).

I enjoyed this book a lot. The writing was a bit basic; the descriptions and dialogue were short and often felt forced, especially in the beginning, and yet this was a very relaxing read. Each scene of the story was quick and to the point and while I found Ava annoying in the beginning, I quickly grew immersed in her story. Ava’s love for her family, friends and people was truly her best quality. I liked how the author chose to deal with the love triangle, but I admit I was expecting a different ending. I guess the way it ended was more romantic overall. I just thought the highlight of this story was Ava’s commitment to her kingdom and brother, and not the romantic sub-plot. A few more years of angst and duty would have made this story more meaningful, in my opinion.

I cannot even begin to tell you how much I loved this book!! I don’t read a lot of fantasy but I’m really glad I gave this a try. The whole book played like a movie in my mind while I was reading. The writing was smooth. There were a lot of characters but I never had any trouble keeping up with the story or the plot.

Princess Ava is such a strong and amazing character. She is also very funny and will not back down to anyone. This is a character that any female can look up to and also identify with. I love strong female characters. Ava wasn’t ever a victim or a damsel in distress. Ava is a fighter and knows what she is going after.

I really enjoyed how all the characters interacted with each other. The bickering and the batter was really enjoyable to read. At no time was I ever bored with a conversation or an interaction.

Now, I do get tired of reading story’s that have love triangles in them. However, at no time did this book cause me to roll my eyes. The story line never felt tired or played out. I can’t say that about a lot of books that have love triangles in them. This story was felt fresh and fun. I’m actually a little sad I finished the story. I can’t wait to read it again!

I received a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review
This is not what I was expecting at all. I was pretty disappointed.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Kingdom of Shadows and Dust by Sherry D. Ficklin is an amazing YA fantasy debut. It reminded me a lot of From Blood and Ash by Jennifer Armentrout, and I'm sure fans of that series will enjoy reading this book. The story revolves around Ava, the royal princess of Ankara. Although her father the King wants to marry her off to secure a political alliance, Ava does not want to conform to gender roles. She fights in battles and rescues children who are falsely imprisoned. She is the definition of Girl Power.

A large part of the plot involves a love triangle. Although some readers may be turned off by that cliche, I thought it was well done. There is no "insta-love" here. Ava falls gradually in love with Callan, a Turnskin, the author's term for werewolf. Soon afterward, she is "imprisoned" by the Shadow King, Aldrin, the King of a neighboring country. However, Aldrin turns out to be a decent fellow, and I enjoyed the witty banter between him and Ava. Ava will be forced to choose between the two young men. While one match will help her country and secure an alliance, she's formed a close bond with the other one. Overall, this story is part love story, part fantasy, part action adventure, and part court intrigue. Fans of From Blood and Ash and similar YA Fantasy books should definitely check out Kingdom of Shadows and Dust when it comes out.

This book had so much potential, and I was super excited to read it. Unfortunately it didn’t quite live up to the cover and blurb, and the plot sort of dragged a bit, but nonetheless it was an okay read to just pass time with.

A sheltered princess goes to war and discovers that all is not as it seems in her kingdom, finding her heart and her strength in the process.

There were a few -- a very few -- things I liked about this book. I thought the elf-analogue people were interesting, although the name Magus fooled me into thinking they were a type of advisor to the king for a while. And I thought the tension between Ava and Aldin was engaging.

However, the book had multiple problems with pacing, character development, and craft that I found impossible to overlook. (In fact, this was a DNF for me -- I made it about halfway though, and then read the ending.) The pacing and character flaws are linked. It feels as if each character is one of those talking dolls equipped with five sentences each -- "I'm brave!", "I don't like being isolated!" etc. The author has put all these dolls on the Plot Train and sent it off at top speed, allowing each doll to say one or two of its five Themes at each of the many stops along the line. At the end of the journey, we disembark, befuddled and with windswept hair, only to discover that we are once again at the place we began, and the dolls have not changed at all.

In the first chapter, we learn that Ava is "isolated" and has to stay shut up in the Terem. She also spars with her friend, goes out to help peasants, talks to her Magus friends, attends court. Her time in the Terem spans maybe five pages of the book total. The book is full of contradictions like these -- as an example, Ava thinks her father is terrible, but she's shocked to discover that he's the cause of the war; later, he's quick to acquiesce to the treaty. The characters' thoughts and feelings shift to accommodate the plot, rather than the other way around.

A good amount of character building occurs in the form of contrived conversations that the characters in question would, realistically, have had long ago, or in less direct forms. For example, when Ava asks her stepmother, "What if I don't want to be someone else's reason for living? Is it so terrible to want to live and fight for myself?" Given who Ava is, this would have come up in their relationship long ago, and it feels expository in an unpleasant way to hear it so directly.

I will say also that the theme of isolation is one that runs through the book, although I don't think this is intentional. She's isolated in the Terem. Bridger isolates her while she's traveling with the army, under the guise of "if you spend time with the men, they'll know who you are". (She later refers to the soldiers as "her friends" when the book needs her to see the soldiers as individuals whose loss is personally affective, although she never said a single word to any of them.) Callan and his family plan to ransom her back to the king. Aldin imprisons her. At every point in her journey, she is more isolated than she was at the beginning of it. This never appears in any of her introspection.

As far as craft goes, I will keep it short -- there is not really space to cover all of the sentences I highlighted as Bad Sentences, so I'll just cover the two instances that stuck out to me the most.

The book's first sentence is "If you sit still long enough, at the edge of the sea, you get the feeling that all of time itself is marching past you." This is an interesting and evocative image. However, it's immediately undermined by the beginning of the next sentence: "Today it is not time marching past...". Like, great? I've imagined something and now I have to immediately throw that nice image away for something else? Similarly, the sentences later on -- "A gust of wind blows, sending the fallen leaves into the air. But they don't fall, they dance in perfect circles around us." Fallen leaves that don't fall. All right. I understand what the author is going for, but the repetition of "fall" makes the language awkward to understand.

And partway through, as Ava spends time with the Turnskins (werewolves), her love interest's sister explains (doesn't explain) the werewolf marriage bond: "Something about the wolf magic binds us in a way that you couldn't possibly understand...". This just feels condescending to the reader.

I think there are the bones of a good story here (although, crucially, I think Ava should've chosen Aldin, not Callan...) but as-is, this book feels like something I would read on FictionPress dot com in 2005.

This was an okay read but one I will probably not read again. The plot was fun but predictable and I kinda lost interest in it.

I wanted so much to like this one. It had everything I look for in YA fantasy: strong female characters, wars, and dark and swoony devils.

Unfortunately, about halfway through I began to realize that I just was not connecting to Ava or any of the characters. I wanted so much to like and fall for the Shadow King but I came to really just not like any character in this, they all just made me angry.

Overall, I did not enjoy this, but there is an audience out there for this.