Vivatera by Candace J. Thomas intrigues me with its magic and fast pace. Naomi and Reynolds kind of have an instalove connection except Naomi does not realize it until Reyn leaves and the thing I loved the most about this book is that the love interest is separate from each other for most of the book.
I did not see half the twists coming which is impressive. However, I feel like Zander and the group he was with became forgotten in the end. I am anxiously awaiting the second book to see what happens.
For my full review check out my blog https://bookgirlreviewsbooks.blogspot.com

4.5 stars.

Both fantasy and magical elements combine to make this story a very fun YA read! Through beautiful writing and wonderful description, I found myself very involved in this compelling world as it unfolded page by page. I felt the full gambit of emotions and was spellbound (!) by the plot as I learned more about each character. The mystery that ensues has me wanting more and highly anticipating the second installment, which is sure to be a hit as well! Well done!

Vivatera is the first in a Young Adult fantasy series that focuses on Naomi, who discovers secret powers in herself and a bunch of other people. Add to this an interesting magic system, a corrupted king and something like a magic school and I was sure to take the bait.

This was a fun, quick read. The story starts quickly and I was drawn into the story from the beginning. There is just enough mystery and guessing to make you want to continue, and while I first read it as part of all the books I'm currently reading, I decided to give it some priority and after that finished it almost in one sitting.

While I liked the story and the magic seems complex, in the sense that it is eating the people from the inside out since humans are not supposed to mingle with magic, Naomi I liked less. She was the typical sort of perfect, much more special than anyone else kind of girl which is kind of cringe-worthy. It was why I liked the secondary plot arc, following Zander, more, even though Naomi was the one who was kind of in magic school.

I will probably read the second book also.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The cover and description are what got me reading this book. Vivatera had a lot of potential but the way it was executed left much to be desired and in the end, this book fell flat.

I didn't like that we are thrown into an adventure without having much backstory or worldbuilding- yes, it adds suspense because it makes me want to read to find out more but if I don't get to know the characters and understand them then what cause should I have to root for them?

Additionally, I wanted more worldbuilding. Although it's more developed at the end, I wish it was woven in rather than info-dumped in the last 30 or so pages.

Naomi wasn't a terrible protagonist- I liked that she was brave and (mostly) intelligent but I feel like she relied on Reynolds too much that it took away from her character. It feels like the romance between them is very forced and it's the typical cliche- naive girl with special powers meets a mysterious boy who can help her find the answers to her mysterious upbringing. There's very little to this that makes it stand out among other YA couples and if it were better developed I think I would've appreciated it more.

I did like Zander though. I enjoyed his narrative and how his subplot with Silexa connected to the main plot and added to the intrigue.

Moreover, I don't find it believable that a young woman who has gone out of her way to protect her identity goes running off with a total stranger because he *might* have some answers to her mysterious scar. Granted, Naomi is very trusting and comes off as very naive but still.

I almost DNFed because I wasn't very engaged in the plot. The only reason I kept reading was to figure out what the marking meant. The ending was the high point of the novel when things kind of picked up and I was actually interested for the last 50 pages or so.

This book had a lot of potential to be a great book but it didn't have that effect on me. I might wind up reading the sequel on a whim but for now I'm putting the series aside.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Shadesilk Press for providing a free ARC*

LGBTQ: None
People of Color: People with non-white skin are included, but many of these are humanoid people with deep ties to the earth or magic
Bechdel Test: A hesitant pass. There are women who do things other than support men but love interests reign supreme. The dominant female character trope is "damsel in distress."
Trigger Warning: Naomi does have a stalker for part of the book.

The reader follows a number of young characters, but the dominant characters are Naomi, Zander, and Reynolds. Naomi is an orphan who has more than the average charm. Zander is Naomi's friend who suffers dearly when the king's men fail to capture Naomi. He ends up as an attendant to the prince. Naomi has a hidden protector, a rogue magic-wielder named Reynolds, who steps out of the shadows when the king's men realize she may have magic. Naomi and Reynolds have an instant connection and Reynolds decides he must leave Naomi before her charm overcomes his iron will. She is left at a magic encampment to learn about her gifts and to meet other wielders. Magic is not born in a person but usually is the result of an accident where natural elemental magic is involved. Naomi decides she must go in search of Reynolds after she has a distressing vision about him, Several other campers decide to accompany her. The book records her, Reynolds, and Zander's adventures (with other minor characters stepping in with their point of view from time to time). They meet interesting people, we learn more about the magic system and how it is threatened, and we meet the king who has been driven mad by the desire for magic.

The basic premise was interesting and I think there is a lot of potential for the series. I particularly liked Zander as well as Ferra and her spunky attitude.

I did not feel much of a connection with either Reynolds or Naomi. I also was not invested in their love story. The reasons why certain characters do things (especially Naomi) was very flimsy. Zander, the sisters, etc. felt like they had much more compelling reasons to move their stories as well as the narrative itself along. I think if the book had one more good edit, it would be in great shape.

The violence was not overly gruesome, there is some bad language but not much, and there are no sexual episodes. For these reasons, I would recommend it as suitable for middle school and up.

This story has a lot of potential. The characters a decently developed and the idea really excited me. Unfortunately, I didn't really connect while I was reading it. From the beginning, it somewhat felt like I was forcing myself to read the story. I definitely did not hate the story and I see a lot of positives for this story plot wise. Even if it wasn't for me, I know there will be plenty of people that enjoy this story.

I know for sure I'm going to have to give this a re-read just to make sure it isn't just me, because I have been doing a lot of reading lately. I mostly glossed over a lot of the book during slow portions. I really do want to give this another shot later on, but right now the story just didn't give me what I was expecting.

Unfortunately, this book just didn't work for me. I thought I would like it, but something just wasn't clicking.

I requested this arc thinking it was a new book not just a reprint/release. That is my fault for not doing research on the book before requesting it. Though I can say the new cover is better then the last one.
As for the story I am not sure if it is better or not as I didn't read the original. Thinking of this story though I feel if this is a better version then the first book had to have been very lacking of everything. I felt this book was lacking depth in the story and the world building. I am not a fan of the insta love that happens with the characters in the story either. This could have been a way better book then it turned out to be.

This is just another reprint that fails to get better. It still has a lot of potentials but this one still fails to have a good all-around concept. I felt like the author forgot to add world building and backstory and gave it all to us at the end of the book instead throughout or at the start. Which really hindered my enjoyment of the story. Not having this information at the start and then having it show up at the end was really weird. The other thing that this book had was insta-love which sometimes works but sometimes does not and this time it just didn't. I think with some more tweaking this one could be an amazing story but it just felt way to confusing and not well plotted out.

Vivatera, part of the award-winning YA fantasy series of the same name, was previously published in 2013 to critical acclaim, but I have to admit I found it tough to get through from the very beginning. The worldbuilding and magic system weren't explained enough and left a lot to be desired, and no matter how hard I tried simple couldn't connect with the characters. There desperately needed to be more backstory, and although the premise was a great one with bucketloads of potential it fell flat due to poor execution.

The insta love dropped into the plot out of nowhere felt contrived and superficial adding further issues. The pace needed to be quicker and the whole novel felt bland, and, at times, boring. That said, I didn't see the ending coming which was satisfying. I'm interested to know whether I'd like the second instalment better than this, so I will likely pick it up to see whether anything's changed.

Many thanks to Shadesilk Press for an ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and Shade Silk Press for the ARC.

What isn't made clear from the start is that this is a re-release of a previous series, so is it actually an ARC?

DNF at 32% - I just couldn't get into this book at all. I tried really hard to persevere but I just couldn't stay engaged. I was re-reading sentences several times because I wasn't taking anything in.

Usually, when I start a good book, every spare minute I have, I pick it up. Unfortunately, with Vivatera, I've been finding anything to do that isn't reading this book.

I think for me, there wasn't enough information from the very beginning. The world building was massively lacking. I understand that there shouldn't be an information dump right at the beginning of a novel, but there wasn't nearly enough for me. I like to know enough about something to create an image in my mind.
The magic system wasn't explained very well so it left me confused in places.

I couldn't connect with the characters and the romance sub-plot didn't really do anything for me. The romance was just dropped in, it wasn't developed and seemed a bit unconvincing. I wasn't at all invested. The whole thing just felt a bit "flat".

It really had the potential to be great, the idea is a good one, it just didn't quite meet my expectations. It may suit a younger audience.

I may try and revisit it again soon, but for now, I am abandoning the book.

I hate giving bad reviews, especially when I know that the author's heart and soul must have gone into that book. It is nothing personal to the author, and I'm sure it is a good book, it just wasn't for me.

3.5 Stars

Magical. Familiar.

Vivatera follows a girl named Naomi who, after an odd event in the market of her town, is whisked away by the mysterious Reynolds. Reynolds insists that she has to be kept safe and hidden and they begin their journey to a camp of sorts with other people like her. People with magic. Through her adventures, she discovers what power lies inside her and who she truly is.

Though many of the elements in this book are familiar, it was still in intriguing concept with a lot of potential for the author to really put her spin on things. As interested as I was, I was disappointed to find that everything--the characters, the magic, the world, etc.--was all a bit out of focus.

First and foremost, the pacing was kind of odd, which made many scenes a little confusing to read. Things happened quickly, but it felt like it took awhile for the actual story to take off. There were several essential moments in the story that were a bit too glossed over. I also would have liked more build up in the beginning before everything goes to ruins. The prologue was good, though, again, familiar, but the first chapter definitely felt rushed. I didn’t get a good sense of normalcy before Naomi was kidnapped.

Also, random note: the beginning of the first chapter shows two characters, Naomi and Zander, but we don’t learn Naomi’s age (17) until several pages later, while we know Zander is quite a bit younger (12, I think?) and before we’re told her age, there’s nothing to suggest that Naomi isn’t that young as well.

While we’re on the topic of characters, I did, on the surface, like the characters, but as I mentioned earlier, they were also not fully solid. Many of them had great potential to be complex and the root of some good conflict, but they were too two dimensional. I didn’t really connect with any of them, including Naomi, and the hinted at romance between Naomi and Reynolds did not have enough substance for me to really get on board.

The characters that I felt had the most potential were Zander, Bryant, Taren. Zander, while Naomi is off with the magic people, gets taken under the wing of the prince Bryant to work at the castle, where he finds his own adventure. Zander is young, but feels older and I could imagine him playing a much bigger role. Bryant and Taren are out resident morally gray characters, Taren especially. Morally gray characters are always the best. You’re not sure whether to trust them, but they’re still intriguing and you can’t get enough. Unfortunately, even these characters fell a little flat and I can only hope they show up better than before in the rest of the series.

The world and magic were definitely interesting aspects of the story, but again and frustratingly, they were not very clear. I could not get a good grasp of how everything worked. I will enjoy just about any story with magic in it, but I usually like to have an idea of the rules, etc. of the magic system. This book gets a pass, as Naomi is new to all of this, but I still needed just a little bit more.

Overall I did like this story on the surface and my interest was piqued, but without fully understanding the world and magic or being invested in the story and characters, it was difficult for me to really enjoy it. Although, I was left with many questions as the end that I would still like to see answered and I’m still curious about where the story will go from here, so there’s definitely a chance I will go on to read the next books.

Partial review found on Goodreads. Full review found on Write Before Your Eyes.

I honestly am surprised by this book and not in a good way. First when I requested this book I did not know this was a re-release. I wish that had been clearer from NetGalley. This book never hooked me. The premise is interesting but I was bored as people are fighting for their lives. If somebody were to die I would just move on. I never connected to any of the characters. Plus there was all this instant love stuff going on. The best love story, which is still mediocre, is between Landon and Kat. Overall just a bland story.

Going into this book, I felt so great about it! The first 30% had me engaged and ready for more. I think the last half dragged a bit. The pacing, however, was very good throughout the book and nothing felt too rushed (maybe a bit too slow at times)

My issues would include the lack of world building. I needed more information about the world to be able to understand it better.
But I loved the relationships between our main characters, you could really see the chemistry between them!

First off let me say that this book had such beautiful cover art! Ok, now onto the real review. I thought the writing style of the author was amazing! It reminds me of several other books which are some of my favorites. This book is similar to the Red Queen, the Young Elites, and Midnight Thief. If you have read any of these I think you will love this book.

Overall I really enjoyed the story idea. Anything to do with magic and self-discovery is always right up my alley. However I also require a lot of depth to my characters, which I feel was a little lacking. Especially as this story is told from multiple view points.

At times there was a lot of detail about the surrounding areas, and then nothing at all about the people. Some of the scenes appeared a little skimmed over, and I feel that they could have been perfect opportunities for more character interactions and relationship building.

The world itself sounds vast and there are so many different culture's and races that I felt needed to be experienced a little bit more. I really wanted to connect deeply with the world and the characters, as a lot of them had the makings of really interesting, in depth people. I just felt that there was something missing.

And one slightly picky view (again I'm not sure if this is different in the finished book) is that all of the characters have great, well thought out names, except for a character named 'Browneyes' - I feel for such a mysterious, badass, villain - she deserved a better name than just Browneyes. All the other characters have great names, and I was just disappointed. She seems like she should be an important character, although not much was revealed about her past, and how she connects to everything.

Great story premise - I just wanted a bit more from the characters so I could really root for them.

This book had me hooked from the first few pages. The characters are interesting and complex which made the entire story more engaging. The story moves at a good pace and there weren't any wasted words or pages. The mystery surrounding Naomi is sure to keep readers interested; it also helps that she seems to be a genuinely good person, so she's easy to root for. It was also nice to see Zander grow as a character - he starts out scared and alone and by the end is willing to put himself at risk to save others. I'm not sure how I feel about Reynolds. For starters, the age difference between him and Naomi makes a romantic relationship between them a little unsettling (assuming that she is a teenager - her actual age is not clear). Also, he did a terrible thing to Taren as a child and takes no responsibility for it and acts as though Taren is wrong or out of line to hate him the way he does. I also wish there had been more about the reason for Taren's actions at the end of the book, it doesn't make a lot of sense and he's gone before an explanation is given. I hope this is something covered in book 2. I also got frustrated every time a male character told Naomi that they couldn't tell her about her own past and abilities - she has every right to know her history.

I thought this was a good premise. The cover is definitely very very interesting, hence the reason I picked it up. The books got better as I read, but still I had trouble finishing it. The pace is a little slow for my liking, but the setting is good. More than halfway through the book, I still wasnt sure about the magic concept that were spoken about in the book and that definitely put me off.

I received an ARC from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Confusing and slow paced, it picked up occasionally but mostly really slow going. I found it hard to connect to the main character and although I enjoyed parts I was largely disinterest. A real shame as sounded wonderful but not for me

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest review

3.5/5
This was a slow-paced read that kept you just interested enough to turn the page. Some parts were faster than others but overall it was a slow pace. The characters are almost fleshed out so you dont really get enough out of them to be invested, which is a major let down when reading a book but that is something that could be improved. I’m am looking forward to reading more from this author.