Info:Title: Sea of Shadows
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Age of Legends #1
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication Date: April 8, 2014
Source: I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis:
In the Forest of the Dead, where the empire’s worst criminals are exiled, twin sisters Moria and Ashyn are charged with a dangerous task. For they are the Keeper and the Seeker, and each year they must quiet the enraged souls of the damned.
Only this year, the souls will not be quieted.
Ambushed and separated by an ancient evil, the sisters’ journey to find each other sends them far from the only home they’ve ever known. Accompanied by a stubborn imperial guard and a dashing condemned thief, the girls cross a once-empty wasteland, now filled with reawakened monsters of legend, as they travel to warn the emperor. But a terrible secret awaits them at court—one that will alter the balance of their world forever.
Review:
After years of seeing (and owning) her books, I finally managed to read a Kelley Armstrong book. And it was good! I'm not head-over-heels with this book, but I did enjoy it and definitely plan to continue with this series.
Our story centers on twin sisters Moira and Ashyn. These girls are as different as night and day. I think many readers will connect with Moira, who is a fiesty, headstrong girl, like many of my favourite YA heroines. I think by comparison, Ashyn can fade into the background. She's a much quieter, gentler person and even bordered on boring for me. However, at the same time, she seems like the kind of person I'd be friends with.
I was intrigued by the world Kelley Armstrong described, but I really wanted more details. Especially about Moira and Ashyn's roles as Keeper and Seeker. I actually don't really know what a Keeper does and have only a bit of an idea about one aspect of being the Seeker. In fact, I actually forgot a few times about Moira and Ashyn's identities. I really feel like that aspect of the story should have been emphasized more.
Another aspect I'm not sure about is the romance. It was pretty light in general, which is great for me, since I'm much more of a plot girl than a romance girl. However, it just felt a little convenient that two boys their own age happened to be available to accompany the girls on their journey.
I also felt like the plot got a little lost for a while. There was a lot of travelling and plenty of travelling adventures, but a couple times I had to rack my brain for where they were going and why. However, I feel like this is going to be less of a problem in the next book, which might be a bit more political.
I feel like this review might be coming across kind of negative, but I actually did enjoy this book, despite the few flaws I've mentioned. The characters are likeable, there are animal characters (which is always a huge plus for me) and it was overall entertaining. The ending really threw me for a loop, which I like, although I'm fairly mad at a certain someone. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book in this series!
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Well, I'm glad someone has finally liked this book. I've had mixed experiences with Armstong's YA books, so I'm probably going to wait to see how the whole series plays out before I jump on it, but reallly--glad you liked it ;)
ReplyDeleteJessica @ Rabid Reads
I am so glad you enjoyed this one, it was different and a little out there but original too and I liked that about it.
ReplyDeleteNice review!
The world building sounds pretty good, even if you wanted more details and just more of it in general. This one never caught my attention for whatever reason, but I should reconsider
ReplyDeleteIf you liked this, you should definitely try her Darkest Powers series! It was SO GOOD. I felt the same way about the Keeper/Seeker roles - I didn't quite grasp them. I'm hoping there will be some more world building in the next book!
ReplyDeleteA book about twin sisters, that is cool :D I really like reading about sister relationships.
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