Started off as a fairly standard YA fantasy, but I couldn't connect with this one. The pacing is all over the place, so slow in areas before picking up and then abruptly slowing down again. There's no characters to connect with, they're all rather boring and lacking depth, and the world building is too incomplete. Really nothing for me to get into to make me want to keep going with the series.

“They were the keys.”
“Ugh...the guy was just plain frustrating.”

I hope this author writes fast and is working on the next book in this series because I loved this one and am already chomping at the bit to find out what happens next for Ryleigh, Jackson, Dakota and Mia!

Plot: Jackson Maynard is the son of the King. He has trained for years to be ordained as a Death Dealer, but must pass one final test – his first solo retrieval. He is assigned to assassinate a teenage human named Ryleigh, but fails inexplicably. Jackson is then banished from the kingdom of Cymmera to live in the human world for 3 months. He decides to track down his target to see if there is any other way to bring her to the King besides murder.

Meanwhile, Ryleigh is a senior in highschool and the current guardian for her younger sister Mia. Their parents died, and then their grandmother died, leaving them orphaned. Scared of losing custody of Mia, Ryleigh is desperate to find work. But during an interview, disaster strikes. An earthquake shakes the 12 story building and Ryleigh's entire world.

Review: I was given an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This novel has a very interesting premise, and I expected to get sucked into a rich fantasy. Instead, I found myself struggling to trudge through the chapters. It is extremely rare for me to abandon a book, but Realm of Ice and Shadow was sadly a book I did not finish.

The main reason I abandoned this novel was because of the lack of world building. I know there is a human Earth realm, and then another "realm" called Cymmera. This second realm includes a race of people who apparently live for centuries, yet their race, species, or identity is not revealed in the first quarter of the book, (which is how far I got). My assumption is elves… but because the author does not state what Jackson is outright, I felt weird. Ryleigh even asks Jackson if he's human, and he dodges answering. I found this incredibly frustrating.

The portal magic was very sudden, and not explained. There is an Earthquake in the human realm and then a shadow appears in the collapsing building… We as the reader are again forced to make assumptions about the shadow's identity – Jackson. Then abruptly, Jackson is back in Cymmera and being accused of treason. This entire segment felt rushed, shallow, and immature. Kia, the King's second in command, has trained Jackson. Groomed him and spent countless years with him as if he were family, yet he turns on Jackson in a blink of an eye. He interrupts the King and is unprofessional. I know this is YA, but the poor quality in every character is easily seen, especially in Kia who I guess is the villain? They are flat, shallow, and I could not suspend my disbelief enough to care about them. The stakes didn't feel high enough, or deep enough. When Jackson was banished, I wasn't sad for him because the author did make it clear what all he was losing. Or explain why I should care.

When it came to Ryleigh and Jackson, their connection also felt weak. She's drawn to him immediately, which is one of my least favorite tropes. He also keeps trying to explain what he is, where he's from, and the situation he's been banished for, but he NEVER gets to the point. He just keeps talking about talking. She asks direct things and he doesn't answer. It was infuriating. Then Mia is there, and she's like 12 so not much going on there either.

Every character felt younger than they were written as. And every situation failed to feel realistic. As a minor with a unique custody issue regarding her younger sister, I doubt they could just wheel out of the hospital unnoticed. The obstacles were overcome too quickly and lacked emotional depth. At one point Ryleigh is streaming tears while Jackson talks about the Queen, and I had to roll my eyes. She's known him for two seconds. Streaming tears? Seriously? I don't think so.

I devour fantasy, any, all for different age groups. I love YA and I even was a Teacher's Assistant for an adolescent literature course when I was in college. This novel needs revisions if it wants to reach a wider audience because right now it feels basic, and unnecessarily long. The chapters drag, history dumps in dialogue clog up the barely existent plot, and overly emotional descriptions make it tedious and irritating. If Mia is always crying, then I am unfortunately not going to care when the author actually needs me to.

I don't mean to sound mean, but this book just simply was not for me.

This was horrendous. It started with promise but was shallow and showed no development. It was a DNF at 42%

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐲 𝐋𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐨𝐧
Raleigh Donnovan is certain her life is cursed. Nothing ever goes smoothly. Her first job interview is nightmare, an earthquake rocks the building and she’s sent on a frantic search tp find her sister. A search that lands her in the hospital. Terrified they’ll push for answers she can’t afford to give, she flees with a mysterious stranger.

Jackson Maynard is about to be ordained as a Death Dealer. He is a warrior for the Kingdom of Cymmera but first he must pass one more test. When he fails to acquire the human girl the prophet has chosen, he is forced to stand trial for treason. Banished from his realm, he seeks out the girl from the vision, and together they embark on a journey to save his dying kingdom.

A fast paced and fairly entertaining read. There was detailed descriptions of of the magical world and the creatures that reside within them. I do wish there had been a little more world building but that doesn’t take away from the plot. There is action, there is adventure and their is romance. A perfect book for someone who wants high stakes, tension and an enjoyable fantasy read.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘉𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘺 𝘓𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘯

Realm of Ice and Shadow by Leigh Stratton was a read of a remarkable world of danger and adventure.
The characters were well written and the world building was unique.
I really enjoyed this book, the characters where quite nice, the worldbuilding was well done, the story was entertaining.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Level Best Books for the opportunity to read this ahead of its publication date in return for my honest review.

Incredibly hard to get into, I had to force myself to keep reading and to push through to the end. Some parts were slow but then would quickly pick up pace.. the constant shift of pace gets old and annoying very quickly. There is no depth, extremely hard to connect to the characters because they are very one dimensional. World building is non-existent, and honestly this book is boring.
In conclusion, this is not a book I would personally recommend and I will not be continuing the series.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for access to this eARC for my review.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an arc of this book.

This is kind of like every other YA fantasy novel and it fell flat for me. I liked the premise of the book but it didn't really stick out to me. The twists and turns were pretty predictable and I wasn't overly surprised or impressed. I would say this book is for you if you don't mind the similarities to other YA series and the easy predictions. I believe the MMC was supposed to be 19 but when reading his POV it felt way less mature and to me, it didn't quite fit. The chapters were also longer than a typical book I feel like and it made trudging through the chapter a lot more difficult.

Some things that I did like about this book were that it was pretty fast paced and easy to understand. That is typically one of the things I look for in a book. If I'm not interested in it by the first 25% I probably will not move on with it but the pacing of this book helped me push through it even though I wasn't super impressed.

I appreciate the opportunity to read this but unfortunately this an DNF for me. It started off good but then kind of just kept moving along without any depth to the characters, world building, or plot.

Little bit predictable but other than that it was a really fun and action-packed read with characters I really enjoyed. Thanks for the ARC!

2.0 / 3.0

This started off in the same vein as Throne of Glass by SJ Maas, with young characters behaving as boisterous masters of their professions and hidden orphans struggling to survive. And then it moved quickly but with no depth. There is no development of anything. The plot is stagnant, the characters lack interest, and the world-building is nonexistent. And there is so much stalling… they keep talking about talking about it all, and explaining how they need more time to explain, but come on already just DO SOMETHING! Anything!

So, not a fun read. The chapters are obnoxiously long and the difference in POV for the two main characters is almost indistinguishable. I would say maybe it written for a younger audience, like the 15 to 17 range but then the author makes the female main character 17 and “innocent” but the male main character is 19 and from chapter one is considering her to be his bond mate, so definitely not a pre-YA genre. It’s all very hectic and not planned well for what it is trying to convey.

Overall, this is not one I’d recommend and I won’t be continuing the series. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for access to this eARC for my review.

Until Next Time,
MC

Ryleigh always must deal with the troubles in the world herself. When her last adult relative dies she needs to get a job to keep her and her little sister together. After an earthquake at her job interview, she ends up in a hospital. Her and her sister and forced to flee with the mysterious Jackson to keep her secrets that will split her family apart and because people are trying to kill them.

Jackson aspires to become a death dealer, a revered warrior in the Kingdom of Cymmera. His failed mission results in banishment to the human realm. Determined to rectify the situation and restore his world. They join to save the kingdom and their lives.

“Realm of Ice and Shadow” by Leigh Stratton was fast paced and pretty entertaining. My favorite thing is the lore which is unique from other books coming out lately. It wasn’t a super slow book and there’s a lot of action happening. I liked the imagery of the magic world and the creatures. It is a bit predictable, but it wasn’t that big of a deal. I wish there was a little bit more romance and tension between Ryleigh and Jackson. 4 out of 5 stars.

I really enjoyed this book, it could be a tad predictable at times, but even then I found it hard to put down and very easy to read quickly. I was concerned the plot wouldn't be resolved within the last 25 pages or so and I think it has been left so it could be a stand alone book or potentially the start of a series? I'd definitely read the second book if that was the case, I found myself very attached to the characters and found semblances of myself in different characters so I could relate to them all.

I really enjoyed the characters. The book was relatively fast peace and action packed. I really enjoyed the siblings bond, and I wish I had such in my life. Some twists, I say, I did not expect at all. And left me like a fish with its mouth open. Can’t wait for the second book.

Writing this review was a struggle for me. Don’t ask me why, I don’t know. I enjoyed the book. Clearly. I gave it four ✨𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔✨ stars right up there, you passed it on your way to this part. But like, I don’t know, something about the book left me feeling whelmed. 𝐷𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝑢𝑠𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒. Maybe it’s better to say I didn’t get emotionally attached to the story, so while it was a solid read, it just kind of existed in my life until it didn’t.

Is this a 𝑚𝑒 thing? Maybe. I do have commitment issues. But not usually with books, I mean, that’s why we’re here right? And, well, this book was missing a bit of oomph, that personal deep dive into the characters to make them into real people. The plot. Fantastic. The world building. Imaginative. The pace. A little hectic and fast, but not too much to have trouble following along. The characters were a bit one-dimensional at times, maybe lacking a bit of insight into their brains. In the words of every neurotic photographer depicted in movies “𝐼 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠. 𝑀𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝐹𝐸𝐸𝐿𝐼𝑁𝐺𝑆.” Still, it was good.

It was action packed and fast paced so you won't get bored. It has a very sweet romance and siblings relationship that you will love. There were several twists and turns which kind mind boggled me. One minute one is traitor another minute some else..I could predict few things, I don't know why characters could buy i would love to read the second book. I loved Ryleigh and Mia.

I loved the characters in this book, I was hooked and whizz though it.The chapters did feel a tad long at points but the storyline kept me interested. This is an author I would read more of ...loved the writing style!

I like fantasy books and princes and curses and traitors and giddy crushes so I figured I would at least love The Realm of Ice and Shadows; however, I didn't exactly love it. I mean, I liked it, but I actually didn't think I would finish the book in the beginning. I almost stopped reading it. I will say that I'm glad I gave it a chance  This book had its ups and downs. The storyline was interesting and all, but I had a hard time staying interested...If you know what I mean. Some of the chapters were soooooooo looonnnnggg. Like seriously. It wouldn't have bothered me, but I felt like they were never going to end. Though the nonstop action and the thrill defying moments kept me inching forward. And the war and fighting amd finding out about the prophecy, it all added to something I would read again. And on a more happier note, I liked the characters. Well, some of them(guessed the traitor from the beginning). Jackson seemed like your average fantasy character, and the storyline with Ryleigh and Jackson added to the book. (Destined to be together, king and queen, saviors of the realm)