I really wanted to like this book, but for now it just wasn't for me.
I'm not sure if it's because of the characters or the way it was written, but it felt very immature and I was bored. I wasn't connecting with any of the characters, so I didn't care what would happen to them.
I might try again at another time, but for now I'm giving this book a two star.

This book was phenomenal. I am obsessed with the entire world that Lara created. I could not get enough of it and cant wait to get my hands on a physical copy. This quickly become one of my favorite books that I have ever read. I loved the drama, the suspense, the love triangles. Everything about this book was amazing. I loved how sassy and funny Val is. Also I have got to say I have been #teamgideon since the beginning. Lastly the writing was incredible. The way Lara writes had me captivated the entire time! Overall an amazing read and I can see it becoming a very popular fan favorite.

[Warning: This review contains spoilers] First, thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an e-Arc! I initially picked it up because of its really interesting premise. I thought that the realms the author chose was very creative, using worlds that most of us are already familiar with — Realm of the Mortals, Realm of the Divine, Realm of the Forsaken (trust me, you will know immediately what each of these represent once you start the book) — enhancing each of them, and adding on Empyrean as its own fantastical realm. By doing so, it helps a lot with simplifying the world building, as all of us come in with our unique perceptions of what each of the realms may look like. One thing I would’ve liked is a bit more clarity on how they travelled between realms. In the story, it looked like there weren’t many restrictions or danger, and anyone could travel between realms whenever they pleased. If that was so, why did going from one realm to another seem like such a tough decision? And why did it happen so rarely?

Another creative point I really liked was the fact that the main character, despite being the lost princess, was raised in the human world, which explains why she feels out of touch and fearless against a lot of supposedly feared characters in the story. On one side, I really enjoyed reading her sarcastic and nonchalant attitude, but other times it could get a little bit annoying how, despite knowing the consequences of her impulsiveness, she continues to repeat the same mistakes. And I LOVED the chemistry and spice between her and Gideon at first, but after realizing that she crushes on basically every male character she spends time with, I started doubting her feelings. And even though she returned to Gideon in the end, at that point I’ve gotten a little too annoyed with her just wanting to make out with everyone.

I also believed that the main character’s relationship with her brother, Cayden, could have been something that was explored more deeply, and was one of the relationships I was looking most forward to. But after months of not communicating in the Realm of the Forsaken, and they suddenly have one proper conversation and Valeria completely forgoes all the resentment she has for him, seemed a little out of the blue and underdeveloped. One more thing I still couldn’t really grapple with is: why should the main character care? Having grown up her entire life in the modern world with no knowledge or memory whatsoever of Empyrean, why does she care about taking up the throne? Even if her blood dad basically means that the throne belongs to her, she has never really experienced or witnessed the struggles of the empire. Right now, it doesn’t seem like her main motivator comes from herself and her own desire to help address the problems of the realm and its people, but more from just wanting to remove the Ward from power because of how he treated her. So as of now, I feel like there still isn't enough stakes for her to want to do everything that she is for a realm she is so detached with. Thus, I hope that her main motivating driver could be established more concretely in the next installment.

Still, I loved the quick pacing of the story, and the unexpected plot twists at the end. Seriously, if you were expecting certain types of plot twists, this story’s plot twists will make you go OH MY GOD. Overall, for all fantasy lovers who like some ~spice~ in their stories, this is definitely a very promising read! Excited to see what happens in the next book!

I read this on NetGalley and absolutely loved it! I could not put this down. Maybe it was being a bit of an outsider at school, maybe it is because I am a bit of an outsider still but I loved the story within this story and the FMC with her flaws, still being loved. Highly recommend

I ended up dnfing this at 50%, as it just wasn't for me, but I think it was a pretty decent fantasy romance. I enjoyed the main character, and I thought she was a good narrator of the story. The author did a good job with world-building without info-dumping, but at times it did get a bit convoluted. The world was overall pretty easy to understand, and the writing flowed well for the most part. Overall, while this wasn't for me, I would recommend it for people who like fantasy romance :)

Valeria Breault has to leave the Realm of the Mortals and return home after her eighteenth birthday, There's only six days left before graduation, but everything goes wrong and a horde of demons crashes prom. She's taken to Empyrean before she was supposed to.
Once arrived, she saw what her Realm looked like, how people lived and how critic the situation was.
After discovering the truth, she understands that she's the one who can fix everything.
.
.
I have to say this book wasn't it for me. It wasn't bad but it didn't give what it was supposed to be giving. I didn't get the "from blood and ash-kingdom of the feared-sarah j. mass" vibes. Mostly, it felt flat.
I think the development of the story was a bit rushed, it was hard for me to get involved. I believe that if there were 100 pages more, we could have got a better explanation of the world the book is set in, the MC's feelings, and how the characters develope an interest in each other.

If it weren’t for school and work I would have read this book in one sitting! We start this book off with a strong female lead trying to navigate though life as a princess of one realm being raised in a mortal realm. She has many turns along the way that will have you reading so fast you won’t want to put the book down! I have not in a while felt so alive reading a book then I did with this one. I don’t want to give any spoilers away so I’ll leave you with this… if you love an amazing fantasy that involves magic and many worlds that collide with many love interests and a book that will keep you wanting more, then this book is 100% for you!

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗥𝗖, 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄.

This book gripped me from the very beginning. The book has a naturally gripping plot and good characters. It is also filled with mini revelations and plot twists, so, the book was just magnetic and I could not put it down, the moment I started reading it.

Valeria is a badass, and deserving of all things good. She lost a lot and suffered for reasons she shouldn't have, and I felt as though I connected with her, to the point that the pain she felt was reflected onto me.

Gideon is such a cutie, and although the romance does get a bit blurry as there is also Mason (technically not a possible love interest) and Vemdour. And the storytelling was amazing, that at some point I was confused as to who she would end up with.

All the characters are utilised well in the story and everyone had a role to fulfill. The storytelling was top notch and I’m definitely hoping for a book 2!

I really wanted to like this book. From the blurb to the cover, it all sounded very beautiful. I am so disappointed that this feel so flat to me.

Valeria is long-lost princess of magical realm called Empyrean who had taken refuge in the mortal world and attends high school. We follow her story and she returns to Empyrean and the kingdom/family she has left behind. Val is unbearable to read at times. She's coded a fiery, headstrong, violent character but she came off far more two dimensional, spoiled and frustrating. Her actions are never explained, despite the book being in first person. Her relationship with Gideon also felt two dimensional, his interactions with Val are completely reliant to the soul-mate bond they share. Any conflict, any conversation, felt like they were just going on and on about their bond. This book does not pass the Bechdel test.

There was very little world building/reference to the magic system. The only time we ever get info on the world is when the 4 different realms are explained. The magic is also is really fuzzy, specifically the magic that Val is involved in. She trains, but the way that her mentor instructs her and the way that she practices feels so vague and awkwardly omnipotent. There is no mention of limits or rules to the magic system.

Overall, this story felt disjointed and disconnected. We're being thrown through several different realms with very little information on why or what is going on. Val felt overly self-indulgent and self-insert. Several lines felt like blatant reflections of other popular fantasy novels. We do meet a few other interesting character around 50 percent into the book, however I personally did not find it worth it to get there.

"A Realm of Ash and Shadow. Thank you to NetGallery for the ARC!
Where do I begin? I read the synopsis of this story and thought I would enjoy it. I absolutely devoured it, dreamt about it, and am itching for a second book! This story is written in the first person from the perspective of Valeria, our FMC. The story features gods, shapeshifting, mortals, demons, witches, seers, and specters. I really enjoyed the endless twists this book had, and each one took me for a spin! I didn’t really look into any of the tropes of this book — and honestly, doing so, everything shocked me in the best way possible. I was caught off guard by Valeria, who's freshly 18 and a little bit of a troublemaker (we love her anyways!). There is a lovely LGBTQ couple, and some other mentions for good representation. The fight scenes in this series were so vivid and easy to follow; I felt like I was watching them in front of me. This story is face-paced and gives you no time to get bored — and I promise you will not want to put it down! I also enjoyed that the author didn’t make Valeria prudish; she’s confident in her sexuality and with her own beauty! Valeria is a gorgeous example of feminine rage and how difficult forgiveness can really be. Each character was beautifully written, and Vemdour has such complexity to him that it’s hard not to fall for his charm. Gideon is beautiful in his selflessness and his passion for Empyrean.
I will include tropes, but I’m warning you: it’s more of a surprise without these!
Tropes: daddy issues, enemies to lovers, soulmates, love triangle, morally grey characters

Valeria is an exiled princess who lives in the World of Mortals and she's graduating from High school. She has six days left before she has to return to a very distant King for a father. While she will be leaving behind the only world she knows, she thinks she's returning to a fairytale sanctuary filled with happiness. This isn't the case though, she returns sooner than expected to find that her father has abused his power and his subjects including her. The world that's suppose to be carefree and happy is rotting from the ground up.

First, I'd like to thank NetGalley and Sword and Silk Books for this ARC read. I requested this novel because the cover was drop dead gorgeous and it had my favorite genres being fantasy and romance. The biggest thing I really liked about the book was the world building. It kind of gave me The Mortal Instruments vibes because there's different realms and one of them focuses on protecting Mortals. I liked that instead of that specific realm being all peaches and cream there were problems that needed to be fixed.

There were also some egh moments too. I didn't really like the main character too much. I felt that she made some pretty interesting impulsive decisions when it comes to her romantic interests. I also didn't feel very invested in the characters especially Mason. I think the one character I wish I got more out of was Malachi. What I am hoping is that when the next book comes out we get more out of these characters and the stakes are higher.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley (thank you Sword & Silk books). All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Realm of Ash and Shadow was such an easy fantasy book to get into (we have all been traumatized by a 100-page welcome to this world book) and I was captivated by the idea of the four different realms. The way that the story unravels is done thoughtfully and the foreshadowing and clues that the author leaves kept me hooked and constantly thinking I knew where the story was headed. I finished this book in just three days as I needed to know where the story was headed.

I would say that although there are some slightly steamy scenes this book is probably best suited for the 16-25 age range.

....I will admit I did struggle with the main character being only 18 considering what is expected of her.

thank you to netgalley, the author and the publisher for this arc!

3 stars

this book was not bad. i liked the concept, the worldbuilding was okay (though i would've loved to see more than one city in each realm) and the characters were pretty good. i just didn't entirely enjoy the execution, and i think the writing style mostly attributed to this. and i'm not saying the writing was bad -because it wasn't!- it just wasn't for me, i think. i guess.

this book also reminded me of other books, which took away some of the originality i would've loved to see more of. i mean, it was already being compared to kingdom of the feared in the description so i should've seen it coming, and yet. i'm also not the biggest fan of love triangles, usually, and there was some of that too.

overall, an okay read. i'm sure someone out there will be able to love this more than i did.

I received a free ARC, but this review is my honest opinion of the book
Rating: 5 Stars
A Realm of Ash and Shadow was an enjoyable and fun adventure. At first, the premise seemed like it might be generic with the idea of a lost princess and evil monarchs. However, as I continued reading, this book only got better and there were many elements that made it unique. Without spoiling anything, I’ll say that the story had some interesting, awesome twists that defied my expectations and put this book on another level.
The writing in this book was solid and executed well. The world-building was good. Here is an example of a detail that I liked:
“his entire face was hidden behind an iron mask, where silver tears seeped from his eyes and down his cheeks as if frozen by time. It was a permanent display of weeping- a symbol of power and mercy, worn only by the highest in command”
Character Building: I loved that Valeria was fierce, sassy, and a bit morally grey. She does her best to fight for what she believes in, and she’s not afraid of failure. Valeria is not a perfect person, but her imperfections don’t detract from her character and instead add a level of authenticity and rawness. The supporting characters- Mistress Marjorie, Mason, Gideon, Malachi, and everyone else, were well-developed and had compelling backstories that I was invested in.
I look forward to reading future books in this series!

The first half of this book was a bit hard to get through. Our Heroine seemed a little immature and she didn't fit the tone of the rest of the book. While that was probably intentional, it didn't quite work for me.

Once we really delved into the fantasy aspect, I was more intrigued. While I'm not a fan of instalove, the "heart" twist at the end genuinely surprised me, and I'm curious to see where that goes.

The world building and lore were a little all over the place and I had a hard time following which gods or goddess belonged to or created which realm. I'm hoping the author hones in on that a bit more.

With that said, I think fans of From Blood and Ash, Kingdom of the Wicked and the like would enjoy this book.

Thank you to netgalley for this ARC.

I’m not sure where to start. There are several twist and turns that had me gasping for air. Val isn’t the most likable character, but I think she’s a better example of a gritty, real, imperfect character who is manipulated and lied to and makes choices based on imperfect information. I had and still have no idea what to make of the love interest/interests(?).

All in all, I really did enjoy this read and will recommend it to others who want the fantasy romance:)

SPOILERS:

I did not like the whole her falling in love with the god. I hated that whole part BUT I can see how, given the ending… it made sense. Still don’t like it. I’m very eager to see the resolution of this !

Imagine growing up knowing you’re the “lost” princess of another world, and still having to go to high school? For Valeria, this is her reality. She must return to Empyrean upon graduation - just a few days after she turns 18. While trying to experience all of what mortal high school has left to offer she goes to prom where all hell, literally, breaks loose. After a brutal battle where she has to defeat demons and her lifelong bully Valeria is taken back to Empyrean a few days early by a handsome, frustrating stranger. She returns home to find everything not as it should be. A darkness has claimed the home she never knew, and she needs to figure out how and why this came to be. This captivating, exciting, sexy, tale will keep you enthralled around every turn. I cannot wait to buy a physical copy of this book, let every other book this author may write in this series. I highly recommend this series to my fellow Romantasy lovers, this story keeps you on your toes and leaves you wanting more in the best way.

I found the story engaging and most of the characters were likable enough. The world building wasn't amazing but it wasn't terrible either. The scene in the gym, at the beginning, was a little ridiculous. I am trying not to leave any spoilers, so I'll leave it at that. Once they arrive in Empyrean the plot starts to pick up a little. It's fairly obvious what is going on, but the author did manage to throw in a few twists that I didn't see coming. Once I committed myself to actually reading the book it was a fast read. That can be a good thing and it can be a bad thing. In this case it leaned more towards the bad. There were plot lines that needed more depth. Many of the characters could have used some more dimensionality. I really didn't understand how Ward became King. The timeline for everything that happened was pretty fuzzy. The fight scenes were lacking. Then before you knew it, the ending was happening and it was over.

I liked the overall story. It had some interesting ideas that seemed a little fresher than a lot of fantasy romance novels. There were a lot of similarities to Christian ideas, but it was done tastefully. In other words the author didn't crap all over Christians and their religion. It actually isn't even mentioned, but it's fairly obvious "The Realm of the Forsaken" is based on Dante's "Inferno". Not to be confused with how the Bible actually describes Hell. The "Realm of the Divine" is directly compared to Heaven. That's about where the similarities end though.

I liked the too perfect Gideon. Most of the time characters like him annoy me, but Valeria was so obnoxious he was a good balance. I appreciate that the author made him a blonde as well. Anything other than black hair. I have black hair, so it's not that I dislike it. It does feel like every novel with a male love interest, written in the last ten years, describes him as having black hair though. It gets old. It's nice to throw in a few blondes or even a red head. I actually kept picturing Valeria with black hair and it stuck in my head, go figure.

I really didn't like Valeria for a good portion of the book. She is very childish and naive. It's hard to believe that anyone would take her seriously. Anybody that likes trashy "reality" TV is an idiot in my personal experience. Then she actually has some character growth and she isn't as bad. She definitely can not be called a Mary Sue. The remaining characters are a mixed bag of actual personality and cardboard cutouts. This is another place that the story really could have been fleshed out a little more. The entire rebel part was severely lacking. It felt tacked on even though it was an important plot point.

I really wish the rating system was 1-10. This would be a solid 7 stars for me. Instead I'll have to settle for 3.5. It feels a little low, but 3 stars and above from me, means I liked the book. I will read the next book in the series. I would also recommend this book to anyone that likes fantasy romance novels.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author Lara Buckheit, for giving me a chance to read this ARC. All of the opinions expressed in my review are solely my own.

Thank you netgalley for sending me an ARC copy of this book!

I went back and forth on the rating of this book for a little bit because well, it's kind of giving Wattpad. That's not necessarily a bad thing though!

Plot
The plot of this book is partially what makes it feel so Wattpad like. At the surface, it's not that much like Wattpad. However reading it through, some of the choices the characters make that push the plot forward has that sort of...vibe.

I read a LOT of fanfiction. So at least for me when I say something is Wattpad or fanfic like, that's not necessarily a bad thing. There are just specific tropes, writing styles, sentences, etc. that fall into that category. For example, in the first few chapters a sentence that sounds like it's ripped straight from fanfics comes up, and that set the tone for the entire book going forward.

Overall, the plot was good, it wasn't the most solid thing ever, but it wasn't unstable either. There weren't any blatant potholes. I don't think it was anything to rave about, but it certainly wasn't bad. It was a solid 3/5 for plot.

Characters
Admittedly, the characters within the book were not my favorite. You can tell that they're attempted to be made three dimensional, but it does fall short of that a bit. Some of the choices that are made feel a little odd, but that could also be lack of time with them, since it is quite a short book.

With the characters comes the relationship development, and there isn't too much within the story. Most of the development is spent on the main character, with the relationships around her falling short.

Overall the characters, for me at least, were also a 3/5.

Worldbuilding
One of the things I really did like within the book was the setting and the world building. I liked the concepts presented, while I do with there was more show not tell with parts of it, I understand why there's so much "tell". The character is new to all of this, its to be expected that a lot of it is explained and not told.

Overall the world building was a 4/5 for me.

Overall
I did enjoy this book, I'm not sure if i would read it again. I enjoyed the ending enough that when book two comes out, I will very very likely be picking that up as well. Overall it's a solid book, while not exceptional by my standards, it was solid, well written, and good. So I'd give it a 3.25/5 if i could.

A Realm of Ash and Shadow is an addictive romantic fantasy full of lovable characters and all my favourite tropes. It's by no means a unique fantasy, however I was thoroughly entertained throughout and thought it was an excellent debut. The writing style was beautiful and ensnared me from the very first line. Fans of Sarah J Maas will really love this book!