𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠:

I don’t know what to say about it. It wasn’t my type of book. No, it could possibly be a book for me but I feel like I wasn’t in the head space to read such a detailed book and ended up forcing myself to finish it. There was a lot of information being given along with the world building. I did like the POVs though.
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As for the author’s diction of the FMC, Yenas internal and external dialogue shows she has the mindset of a modern day 20 something year old even though she’s 12 (at the beginning). She doesn’t stay 12 for much of the story though and it evens out. Character development is there and done well.
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Overall, the author world building, use of characters and their different povs stood out but it was a little heavy for. I may come back and really get through it

Enjoyable. World building was a bit much at times for me but overall good. Cute banter between fmc and the mmc.

Definitely check the trigger warnings.

I really enjoyed the first book in this exciting new fantasy series! Carved Amidst the Shadows might start off seemingly intimidating with complex character names and places, but once you get a few chapters in.. it’s easy to discern the different POVs. The three main characters are all very different but I enjoyed each POV! Kaianne was a great character who I loved dearly! She starts out at 12, but the second half of the book takes place when she is an adult. I loved her character growth and how she became who she was truly meant to be. Andreiyes was also a character I really grew to love as the book when on! He starts out as kind of an arrogant teen prince, but he grows to be a good hearted and likable man! I thought the world building was fantastic in this book and I really enjoyed the storyline overall! I can’t wait to read the next book and see what is to come for these characters!

( Also there was a glossary and pronunciation guide the author provided which was great and it really helpful!)

Thank you NetGalley for this e-arc.

This book could have been something spectacular, but unfortunately fell short. I love a fantasy with great world building, but I feel it was a bi5 too much in this book. Almost seemed like they were fillers more than plot. Definitely check trigger warnings because there’s a few parts that are rough to get through. Did I like this book? Overall yes, although sometimes it was hard to push through. Do I hope for improvement in the future? Definitely.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me an ARC of Carved Amidst the Shadows in exchange for my honest review.

It was difficult at first to read all the intricate names, but I really appreciate a pronunciation guide at the front of the book!

Right from the start I was hooked with the arranged marriage storyline, especially since she is only 12 years old. This made me already root for her to break out of the life she was about to be forced in and made me excited to see what was next.

The world created is so fantastical and dark. Early on in the book a horrible tragedy has already happened. I really like how M.T. was not afraid to write such intense scenes from the beginning. I was worried with all the world building and characters being introduced that I would lose interest, but the first 25% of the book had so many good scenes and character interactions.

I wish each chapter said whose POV it was. I was very confused the first time it switched which character we were following.

*Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this novel* I want to say that I struggled to get through this book. There was just so much information to process in the first few chapters that I never got the chance to experience the foundation of the world-building. The writing was great and I can definitely tell how interesting the premise of this book is but I felt myself rushing to finish it so I could start something new and because I dislike not finishing books. Overall not my favorite book, but definitely worth the read if you can handle a load of information right at the beginning and stick with the story.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this eARC. I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.

I originally picked up this book because of two things: 1. That cover art though. 2. The description of the book had me hooked.

This book has many characters but a good chunk focuses on Kaianne, who believes this world to be back and front understood and expected. However, when her brother is born without a mark her world changes in a flash. The book follows her path to find what’s right and to protect the family she has and lost.

I’ve read a lot of spicy books lately and it was nice to get caught up in a world building fantasy book instead. I like that the book begins with not only the world that’s being built in map form, but also the spellings and pronunciation of the characters names. I’m here for it when I can right off the bat know what my brain is reading and how.

The downfalls is that the book is wordy. Lots and lots of background information, big words, story building, all of the above. It is really rough to push through that but it’s a pretty decent story if you can handle it.

**I received a copy of this book from Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op in exchange for a voluntary and honest review. My opinions are my own and not solicited in any way. **

An epic fantasy, with coming of age, slow burn romance and well developed plot.

Pros:
World Building 9/10
Protagonists 9/10
Romance 9/10
Plot 8/10
Side Characters 9/10
There are also some triggers that are mentioned in the beginning of the book, and is one in a series of three. The Author gives us as much information as possible, with the Map and Pronunciation Guide. Thank you to the author !!

Cons:
The major fault, that annoyed me, was the age of the main character, in the beginning of the book (view spoiler)
The initial quarter of this book has the narrative of three people. After reading the whole book, I realized that it was necessary and required, but initially, the problem was, before I could connect with Kaianne, the narrative changed. But, on reading more the storyline came into focus and I enjoyed it more, as I understood the actions of the others.

I enjoyed this book, and I would be looking for the sequels.

I really tried for several days to get into this book but I found that I couldn’t. I can tell that the world building and characters are there but everything felt too sudden and kind of information heavy in the first few chapters that I really could not get into it. It’s unfortunate because this story seemed really interesting!

***Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this novel***

Unfortunately I DNF. I did not care for this book at all. I thought the premise sounded interesting and unique but the writing was dull and the characters fell flat. The first few chapters I couldn’t tell who was who and couldn’t follow the plot at all. There was also an almost immature/ridiculous hatred towards women/female characters in this book that I literally couldn’t get past to see if the plot got better. The male characters were verbally berating women or making lewd comments towards them and it seemed so unnecessary I just couldn’t keep reading. Also check TW because there is also a scene early on with the murder of an infant immediately after birth.