There are too many coincidences and very weak character motives used to push the plot forward. Weirdly the plot moves quickly, while at the same time, not much happens. By the end, I felt like I had finished reading a prologue... This should not take almost 400 pages to do.

The worst aspect for me was the poorly written romance. It's a pet peeve of mine when romance is done badly, and when one character kidnaps another and abandons them at a camp they can't escape from with so much as a goodbye... Only for the book to then tell me they both have fallen madly in love with each other??? I don't get it.

There are some redeeming parts. The writing isn't bad and I do like some of the characters. As for the Magic system, there are interesting aspects (magical stones) and then moments of magic being powerful with no explanation (yay plot armour!).

I don't think that this book was for me. I found it pretty slow and I struggled reading it a lot. I thought that the premise of this book was really interesting and I was definitely intrigued by it. But I didn't enjoy it. The book seemed to focus more on the world building than the characters.

I had difficulties to continue reading as I found this book to be quite slow. The premises was really intriguing but I felt the author concentrate more on building the world around the story than on the story itself. I love when at the beginning there is worldbuilding but just to introduce the new world. Even though, other 2 books are part of the serie, I don't think I will continue reading it.

I found this book to be quite slow but not uninteresting enough to not finish it. The characters as well were a bit dull as well the majority of the book was spent worldbuilding - which is necessary to some degree but may have led to the dull feeling. The ending was a bit surprising so it gives hope to the second and third installments; however I don't think that I will continue reading on.

DNF @56%

This book was a bit boring, I sadly didn't liked that much the main characters and the plot felt a bit bland. The plot was inconsistent? I stopped reading because I still couldn't get the purpose of my reading, the plot was just too transparent. It was vague, just like the characters, they had no backstory. No world building, no depth.

The story was kind of hard to connect to for me personally. I did not enjoy the worldbuilding and the characters did not connect with me. The concepts felt likable but the execution was off putting.

This one was a bit disappointing. I honestly just didn’t enjoy how slow it was and I couldn’t relate to Naomi. The writing style was overly-simplistic for my taste and I do wish we could have had some more twists and turns to really get the story going and get it to its maximum potential.

That being said, the book did wrap up nicely and the concept/ premise was so good. Unfortunately I feel like it just didn’t take advantage of all that potential.

This novel is a good one that I’ve read this year! The characters are so dynamic yet relatable. I loved the flow of the story. It held my attention the whole time.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review this title. I will review this title at a different date.

I liked this book and it was easy for me to enjoy it. I wish the book went further into the lore and general world building. It didn't stop me from enjoying it though.

This young adult book bubbled along quite happily and it was an easy read for me to enjoy. I wish the book went further into the lore and general world building. However, I have seen that this is only the start of a series, so I'm sure that this is built upon in following releases. This didn't stop me from enjoying the book and I will be sure to check out the next book in the series.

I received an advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion & review

Between the characters, magic and just the book overall, it was hard to make a connection. The idea was there, but the undertaking of it was just poor.

I’ve found this book exhausting to read, fighting every page to understand the connection between every scenario. Usually, I would just DNF this kind of novel, but the concept and ideas of this book were just too interesting to stop reading. Can you imagine that it took me exactly 3 months to read!  But now that I’ve made it all the way to the end, I kind of regret it. There is no joy, only confusion for this story. 

Simple writing but chaotic ideas not intertwining or just overall not well explained. There were no true back-stories from the characters; we just needed to guess.  

The main character Naomi, I just don’t care about her. She’s annoying and irrelevant in any scenario she found herself in. She is an anchor to the development of the story.

Description
A tight-paced adventure with magic for young adult audiences.

The mark on Naomi's neck, the one she was carefully instructed to keep covered with a scarf, is the secret key to a world of dangerous magic beyond her imagination. The elemental balance of Parbraven has shifted and is haunted by Stains, spirits who once were touched my elemental magic, now tethering them restlessly to the world. Their salvation lies dormant within this simple girl, kept secret away from the powers controlling the elemental harmony.

The only one who knows her secret is the mysterious rogue, Reynolds; and their instant attraction weaves deeper than either expect. Reynolds recognizes the magical connection between them and must act quickly before unraveling everything he has tried to keep hidden--and safe.

My Review
Vivatera is not quite what I expected, and it took me a while to get into the story. The characters are interesting and I was hoping to fall in love with this novel as i truly enjoy most writings that are about magic. I believe the story itself has potential.

This was a struggle. I had a hard time understanding the magic and the world building just didn’t work for me. This kept me at a distance from the story and I was unable to connect with the characters and thus the story. There needs to be more exposition or backstory. The beginning is awkward and just kinda throws you into the world without any build up to make sure you truly understand what is happening. This book had so much potential but fell flat.

Omg omg I am in love with this book.  The author delivers a rapid-paced, suspenseful, gripping, well-written and perfectly executed fantasy. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time that I ended up staying awake until 2am to finish it!

I can’t highly recommend this book enough!

The world building isn't the best. I would like to know more about the situation, the setting, and the characters. I'm not very invested into the characters because of these lacking factors.

Beautiful settings and great unique storyline! Really interesting characters and plot that will keep you hooked! I highly recommend it!

An interesting concept. I enjoyed the magic system and the world building. The writing style was a little of a struggle to begin with but it went on, it became easier.

Okay this was hard to get through to be honest. The world building and the magic was confusing and I just couldn’t get into it. I tried so hard but I just couldn’t connect with the characters. There needs to be more backstory. The beginning is just so weird and throws you in there and they never explain anything. It was just too slow. This book had so much potential but just fell flat from  poor execution.

The cover conveys the magic it is supposed to convey. The medallion is every bit mystic and magical it is said to be.
The plot was one thing which made me go on in the book. It was delightful, fresh and I loved the magical elements in it. It was intriguing and fascinating from start to end.
I had some difficulty to understand the world-building and its different mechanisms. There were many characters and remembering the names and roles was a hell of a task. It took some time to warm up and be able to grasp some of the terms and history of this world. So, if you can be patient enough to read on when you can’t understand more than half of the things, this one is for you.  
I liked Teren more than the actual hero. He makes up a complex villain and he has so much potential to be more. Teren is the only character who truly shined from the dozens of other characters in this book. 
The romance element could be removed all together and I don’t think it would have brought an iota of change. There was nothing, I repeat, NOTHING between Zander and Naomi as much as the writer tries to convey otherwise. They could have gone through the whole book as friends and it would have been a lot better.
Overall, the plot is what makes this book worth the time. And if you have a thing for complex villains, this is your thing!
I received a free copy fom Netgalley in exchange of an honest reniew.