*This book was provided as a digital galley by Blink and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Goodreads Summary:
Once upon a time, there was something called the sun … In a kingdom ruled by an evil witch, the sun is just part of a legend about light-filled days of old. Luckily for everybody in the kingdom, Siria Nightingale is headed to the heart of the darkness to try and restore the light–or she will lose everything trying.
Sixteen year-old Siria Nightingale has never seen the sun. The light is dangerous, according to Queen Iyzabel, an evil witch who has shrouded the kingdom in shadow.
Siria has always hated the darkness and revels in the stories of the light-filled old days that she hears from her best friend and his grandfather. Besides them, nobody else understands her fascination with the sun, especially not her strict and demanding parents. Siria’s need to please them is greater even than her fear of the dark. So she heads to the royal city–the very center of the darkness–for a chance at a place in Queen Iyzabel’s court.
But what Siria discovers at the Choosing Ball sends her on a quest toward the last vestiges of the sun with a ragtag group of rebels who could help her bring back the Light … or doom the kingdom to shadow forever.
My Review:
I thought this book was pretty good. My main issue was that it was so stereotypical. Girl finds out about her magical powers, somehow her childhood best friend (who coincidentally got hot in the past few years) is involved, and they have to overthrow a monarchy prejudiced against the protagonist’s powers. However, I did think it was good. There was a lot of character development and a great fantasy world built up throughout the story. I don’t love books that use this same trope over and over, but overall good execution. I wouldn’t buy this book, but I think I would get it from the library and recommend it to a friend or peer.
I would say to read this book if you liked Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo. Hanna Howard’s book to me was a different version of the same story. They have a lot of differences, but I do think that they’re similar enough that fans of one would enjoy the other. This is very much a classic(ish) fantasy tale that I think pleases readers of many types who enjoy the genre.
Overall, I would give this book…
⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
The Fiction Feature 