This book was my first Terry Brooks novel and most likely my last. It was a rough read and felt like it was written by a first time author and in need of an editor. I was so hopeful, but this missed the mark for me. This should’ve been a middle grade novel.

Terry Brooks fans love his books because he lovingly builds characters and communities with a sense of realism and depth of emotion that you recognize them as more than just people on a page. CHILD OF LIGHT is a perfect example of his writing skills as he tells the story of the characters taking their lives into their own hands and travelling their own path.

This was my first Terry Brooks. I enjoyed it, and found it overall a good time. I liked the magic system.

Overall, Child of Light is an excellent read that is sure to appeal to fans of fantasy and adventure. The book is well-written, with a richly imagined world and well-developed characters. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a thrilling and engaging fantasy novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Child of Light is the first novel in a new series by an author who is definitely an auto buy for me. I usually read and love everything written. This new world is well developed and the premise is very interesting. However, it fell a bit flat for me and I was actually pretty surprised by that. It’s possible because it’s so vastly different from his other writings that my expectations were too set in stone. I feel I need to do a re-read to give this book justice and try to look at it with fresh eyes as a brand new world without comparing it to previous books. I feel it’s an excellent book and I’m sure as I continue to read the series I will grow to love it as much as the rest of the books I hold so dear.

Did not finish. This was the worst Brooks novel I think I've *ever* read, and I'm a diehard fan who has read pretty much everything else he's ever put to pen. This did not feel like an "adult' novel; it seemed like an attempt to snag the YA market but without the charm. I won't read others in this series.

I wasn't sure what to expect from an author with such a long list of books. However, this was disappointing. The characters were very surface level, the conversations were bland, repetitive, and almost childish. I was bored for the most of the book, and gained nothing in the 14 hours I listened to this. Not sure if I will continue with the series.

This is a solid start to a new series, I really enjoyed it. I've enjoyed Brooks' previous work, but got a little tired of Shannara, so I was glad to see something different. Definitely looking forward to continuing this series.

Terry Brooks does it again with a tale that is engaging in the land of the fae. This time, Human, Goblin, and Fae worlds collide with a mystery of lost childhood and missing memories. The action is fast-moving enough to hold any reader's attention while offering glimpses of the protagonist's angst about her situation and missing memories. Some of the foreshadowing is a bit transparent, but necessary in order to build the intrigue. Brooks does a fine job of world building, and the transitions between worlds is plausible and interesting. Love is present, but explicit intimacy is limited to kisses, so this is appropriate even for middle schoolers. The protagonist deals with coming of age despite the missing parts of her life while she struggles with real trauma. Thanks to netgalley for an arc in exchange for an unbiased opinion!

Child of Light is the first title in a new series by Terry Brooks. I really enjoyed meeting Auris, Harrow, and the many other Fae and human characters in this installment, and hope the world and its people continue to develop. It's hard to say what exactly makes me love reading Mr. Brooks work, but I know that if you pick it apart, you're likely to be disappointed. Most of his books work best when you consider the big picture. See the forest instead of the trees. Find yourself chuckling over the hidden gems. While his style may not be for everyone, I believe Terry has a winner in Child of Light, and I can't wait to discover more of this new world.
I was given a copy of this title by Netgally and/or the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

A big thank you to the author Terry Brooks, the Publisher Del Ray, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my candid review.

The beginning of this book was fascinating. A new world in which children are imprisoned by piggish Ghouls who use them for slave labor, food, and potentially breeding stock. No one remembers thier life before this prison. Auris and a group of friends plan an escape.....it does not go well and only Auris survives. She feels compelled to travel West and ends up being saved by a Fae, a fairy person, named Harrow. Great start to the story.

I was even liking the new world in which there are different types of fairy folk with different types of powers and magic.

Then the story becomes a teenage romance novel. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I was more interested in learning a new world with more global issues and world wide issues. It became a little saccharin and I did not like the character of Harrow's mother.

The book had a lot of potential, but the delivery was somewhat muted.

I am a huge fan of Terry Brooks so I was excited to read this book. The best thing that I can say for it is that this book is short. The characters were bland, and the world building was confusing. Overall, it was a light novel, but it lacked the magic that Terry Brooks usually creates.

This is a National Bestseller-The first novel of an all-new fantasy series. About a human girl struggling to find her place in a magical world.This was such a fun novel!
Thank you for the advance copy,
#Netgalley, # Terry Brooks, and # Random House-Ballantine 💜🐾🐾

Child of Light is about a young woman named Auris who escapes a prison where humans are kept, worked, bred, and tortured. Auris has no memory of where she came from before the prison, but she knows she needs to get out. Following her escape, Auris meets a stranger, finds herself in the world of the fae, and is faced with the dark secrets of her forgotten past.

This book was action packed and an unique blend of science fiction and fantasy, contemporary technology and magic. Overall I enjoyed the story and the interesting take on the fae. However, something about this story did not do it for me. Maybe it’s the way Auris had such a traumatic life and past but so easily moved past it to forgive those who wronged her and instead spent much of her time thinking about her love interest? Maybe it’s how she abruptly goes from being helpless to independent in such a short time? Maybe it’s the way the book phrased things like “I thought everything was ok, until the moment I realized it wasn’t”. Instead of events unfolding, the reader was given a strange narration warning about the events? I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I’m not in love with this book like I was hoping.

I’d rate this book 2/5 stars. That being said, I will absolutely be reading the second book when it comes out because I want to know what happens next.

Child of Light is a post Shanara book for author Terry Brooks. He was stepping away from that world before he passed away. Unfortunately, this isn't one of his better books. It doesn't set you up to love this new world and the characters are somewhat flat. As a fan of Shanara, I hate to say that I just didn't love this book. Thank you #NetGalley for allowing me to give my honest and voluntary opinion of #ChildOfLight.

This book didn't really make sense to me. It reads like a YA with absolutely no stakes. Things aren't explained very well, and why does the protagonist just fit in and get everything so easily?? And the YA themes continued because of course there was a boy *eye roll*

Unfortunately, I was unable to get through the first chapter of this book. Quite possibly the worst chapter in any book I've ever read. I honestly thought this book was a prank but it seems like it's real.

In this new series from Terry Brooks, he explores a new world and new characters. I loved his Shannara series and Landover books so I was looking forward to the new book. In this novel, he explores the character of Harrow who must find a way to uncover truths about herself with the help of Harrow who is Fae. The mystery is intriguing, how can Auris be Fae herself when she looks entirely Human and has none of the magic that the Fae have? Yet, with her memories absent, anything is possible. And that is the most thrilling part of the novel, the search for the truth about Auris.
I will admit to being highly curious about that truth but I also had a difficult time connecting to Auris. Emotionally, she acts as she should. She has lost her friends and any family she has ever had. Yet, that is the problem for me. She immediately latches on to Harrow and I find that behavior out of context, especially the romantic emotions. It is just so different from how I would react that I couldn’t relate. Auris is tough and independent but she also seems to lean too heavily on a new acquaintance and I find that to be odd considering how independent she otherwise appears to be. Harrow himself is hard to connect to in the beginning as well. Both characters improve as you read so if you can stick with it, I think you will be rewarded with an intriguing and interesting story but that initial beginning was far more difficult to get past than I expected.
However, if you love Terry Brooks, if you are a fan of his other works, this is a different take on the Fae than he has explored before and the mystery of Auris, her origins, and just how it all relates to the Fae will likely keep you engaged. While it wasn’t for me, I think other fans will thoroughly enjoy this new book by Terry Brooks.

This wasn’t a bad book and it had some unique ideas, but I felt like the “magic”system for lack of a better description wasn’t that developed and the book was too short to have enough time to develop the world or any concepts.
Full review to come on YouTube.