This book was definitely interesting! My true rating is more of a 3.75 stars....it took me a while to get into the book. After about 80 pages or so I was able to connect a bit more with the main character. The dragons are probably one of my favorite things about this book! Sev is a very mysterious character and one of my favorites!

My review for this book is featured on my blog.

http://aconjuringoflit.com/2019/06/21/review-shatter-the-sky/

This started out really well. I was loving the mountain setting, and this was going to be a story about a bisexual girl trying to get back her girlfriend who was kidnapped by powerful people working for the corrupt empire that colonized their land - of course I had to try it, especially since this is also about a biracial girl in an Asian-coded fantasy world (or, so the plant life described made me think?)

But then the pace slowed, and the main character got into a boring fortress (no plants. I'm sad), and halfway through she still wasn't interacting with any dragons. Instead, we got:
- a prophecy about something really predictable
- the main character gets close with a mysterious, kind of broody boy I didn't care about

I don't want people to take away that this book is bad from this review. I don't think it is - as far as YA fantasy goes, it's a solid story. Yes, it's tropey and predictable, but that's fine; tropey stories can be great, especially the diverse ones, I just really, really don't like this one trope and I have very little time for a story that I know I won't enjoy, and so I'm leaving this.

So you want a book with a bi main character? So you want a book with no white characters? So you want a book with dragons and a quest to rescue your girlfriend from the villains? This is the book for you.

Shatter the Sky opens with Maren’s girlfriend, Kaia, being taken from her by agents of the empire and forced to join them. And, in the process, establishes something very early on. This is a fantasy world without any homophobia. Not only does Maren have a girlfriend, but her girlfriend has two mothers. And nobody bats an eyelid. So, from the start, I loved the worldbuilding.

Another thing about this book is that it’s fast-moving. Even in the middle passage where Maren is learning things, it still never sinks into that kind of lull a lot of YA fantasies seem to. You know the one. Between the big exciting opening third and the big exciting final quarter. There’s none of that here. It builds up gradually to the end (and the end, when it comes, is nothing short of epic). So, me with my poor patience, I really appreciated it.

But probably my favourite thing about this book was Maren’s character development. The transition from believing herself to be nothing special to how she is at the end (no spoilers)? Spectacular. I cannot wait to read book two after that ending.

The one thing I would say I wasn’t a big fan of? The (hinted at) love triangle. Not because I feel it’s a trite trope that gets trotted out a lot with bi characters (sorry, alliteration. Also, I do feel that), but because I genuinely thought by the end that Maren was better off without either of her potential love interests. Sev was too much of a hypocrite for me to actually like him (and the mysteriousness didn’t work on him), and Kaia, I think she’s too different to by the end, but. As ever, I’m willing to see how it plays out.

So, in the end, I’ll just refer you back to my first paragraph. And beg you to read this book.

It has been a little while since a book intrigued me as much as Shatter the Sky. This LGBT, YA fantasy book has a little bit of everything for the reader in the form of a fast-paced, exciting coming of age story.

Over the course of the story, Maren learns a lot about herself and what she is capable of as she tries to track down and rescue her girlfriend, Kaia. She meets some interesting people along the way; some with good intentions and others with more nefarious intent.

Have I mentioned that there are dragons? Yes, dragons. Which is awesome. But there is also government corruption, rebellions, and more. Like I said, a bit of everything.

I didn't want to put this book down and became heavily invested in the story and Maren's character specifically. And I love that this is planned to be the first in a series. Because that means there is likely more forthcoming and I can come back for more adventure.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers in exchange for this review.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Shatter the Sky. The main character, Maren, finds herself stepping out of her comfort zone for the first time in her life as she tracks down her girlfriend who was taken away. And in order to save her, she must try to steal a dragon. The story itself was super interesting and I really loved the world where this is set. I love the dragon lore and the connection between dragons and Maren's people but I felt like the relationships between Maren and Kaia as well as later on with Sev didn't feel very natural to me. I just didn't really care about them and honestly, I think Maren can do a lot better than Kaia yet she seems to spend almost the whole book being unable to see that she is just as worthy and interesting of a person as she has always seen Kaia. Maybe its just because we barely spend time with Kaia but I just didn't really like her or the fact that this girl who seemed ready to drop Maren if she didn't follow her every step was enough of a motivation for Maren to completely change her life. That being said, I did really enjoy the growth and development that Maren went through on this journey and I think it was an important process for her to go through. I am interested to see where the sequel will take the story and how this will all wrap up. I had a good time reading but the book also didn't really feel super memorable to me and I can't really put my finger on what it was. Really good, just not amazing for me.

To be honest, I was beyond excited to read this novel. Every time I hear the word “dragons” in a synopsis I immediately add said book to my TBR, so needless to say O went into Shatter the Sky with so high expectations, and though there were some parts that I really enjoyed about it, I overall have mixed feelings about it, and I’m not sure if I’ll be continuing with the series.

The main thing about this book was that I’m not sure after finishing what was the plot of the story. Sure, there was the girl-trying-to-save-her-girlfriend trope very present throughout the story, but apart from that I feel there wasn’t much else. There were times where I couldn’t really tell the direction it was following or the reasons why, and it was mostly little subplots and a more character driven story.

However, I have to say that the world building was incredible. For such a short book we got to know a lot about this fictional world and the society, and even though there was a lot of info dump thrown at us at the very beginning and I found it a bit confusing to place everything and get into the story the first few chapters, I still think it was so complex and really well created, and one of my favorite parts.

Another part that I adored and wish it was more present in the book was the dragons. I think we got a fair glimpse at the creatures in Shatter the Sky, which I loved, but it would have been even better if we got to see them much more than that. It was such am interesting thing what the author did in regarding to them, and I think it’ll be explored much more in the next installment, but still.

What happened with Shatter the Sky that made me not enjoy the story as much as I wanted to was that it was such a short book, and its pacing was a bit off sometimes. There were times where there were a lot of things happening and twists and turns that kept me intrigued, and other times where nothing (literally nothing) was happening. And for such a short book, I found it a bit inconsistent.

When it comes to the characters, I have some mixed feelings. I really enjoyed our protagonist and I think she had such a strong and interesting voice, and I also appreciated her bravery and everything she did to rescue Kaia, but her arc was pretty much the same at the beginning and at the very end of the book. There wasn’t really anything that made her grow, and there were some tropes that were part of some revelations regarding some side characters that are quite common in YA and didn’t really surprise me as much. I think that the reason why everything felt so rushed regarding our characters’ interactions and the plot of the story had much more to do with the length of the book than anything else, because if it was longer I think there would have been more time for progression between certain scenes and more development of the characters.

Overall, there were some things I really adored about Shatter the Sky, and thought were interesting to kept me wanting to kept reading, but I had a few issues with the plot and the length that made me lower my rating a bit.

The Quick Cut: A teen girl leaves home and goes to great lengths to get her girlfriend back from the kingdom leaders that took her. Drama and chaos unfolds when the bigger picture reveals itself.

A Real Review:
Thank you to Simon and Schuster for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What would you do to save the love of your life? While most people only have to do the usual favors, words, and processes to hold onto those they care about - this book takes the heroic save of your love to an LGBTQ angle with the story of Maren & Maia.

Maren and Maia are in love with plans for the future. Living in the mountains, these two girls have spent their time determining where to go after they grow up enough to leave their town and what the future will look like. However, that process gets halted in it's tracks when the Emperor's prophets called Aurati come and take Maia away. Maren refuses to lose her and leaves home with a plan to get a dragon in order to get the girl back. Will the seemingly crazy scheme work or is all lost already?

THIS STORY! A lot of LGBTQ books unfortunately fall into a category I like to call "shouters" where the focus becomes so much on the character's orientation that it's practically shouted at you in every page you read. I was so happy to see this story be the exception with the rule in the way that the focus is on the action, not the sexual preference.

The action really hits the ground running and launches the reader directly into the world. With very little explaining, the reader understands how the land is oriented, who plays what roles, and why all that matters. My only gripe is the rush to wrap up the loose ends in those last couple chapters. Personally, I would have really enjoyed seeing it play out a little longer when truths were revealed.

Dragons play a pivotal role in this fantasy novel and the author's take on them adds flair to an already enjoyable read. The Aromatory is an essential component of training a dragon through the combination of oils, powders, and other substances to open up the opportunity needed. This can vary from allowing a dragon to smell their proposed linked human to creating a specific emotional response in them. It's a small change that I've never seen before and enjoyed how a small addition could transform a tired fantasy trope into a shiny new perspective.

Maren is passionate, strong, determined, and best of all: deeply flawed. Even though she leaves home to get her girlfriend back, she ends up finding a friend in a boy named Sev (and yes, there's a chemistry). They have a shared goal and a flirtation occurs, which seems to set up future emotional angst. Although I can see some HATING this angle (girl vs boy for the heroine's affection? Really?), it plays out naturally and I had no issues with it. I would love to see how it unfurls in the sequel, but it's definitely going to require careful consideration to pay off right.

I'm already eagerly anticipating the next book in what is bound to be an exciting series!

My rating: 4.5 out of 5

An interesting worldbuilding and a perfect story for fans of The Dragon Prince, which was ultimately just a little too forgettable for me.

This book starts with a really great premise, a QPOC girl who decides to go save her girlfriend and undertakes a journey in a very interesting fantasy world with dragons that can bond to humans.

I thought the execution was okay for a debut, but if you've read a lot of fantasy books this will read a little too generic. The protagonist, Maren, is on a deadline to save her girlfriend, and yet we conveniently forget about the time issue for the time that it takes Maren to learn useful skills and important bits of worldbuilding and forge new friendships and relationships. Then time is suddenly relevant again and everything has to move forward rather fast. So, overall the pacing doesn't usually bother me and it didn't here, but it was definitely something I noticed. Some things were also very predictable, and all the foreshadowing was very obviously foreshadowing from the moment you read it and not 100 pages later when it actually became relevant. This is all just nitpicking and it's just something you notice if you've read a lot of books, like I said.

Probably my favorite part of the whole book was the dragon egg that reminded me so much of The Dragon Prince, one of my favorite shows. It was really cute.

Maren is a bi girl in an already established relationship with a girl, that will be the reason for her whole quest. And here comes the part of this review that I dread to write, because it's impossible for me not to mention it but as a bi girl I am aware of all the nuance in this. Of course, there's a boy and Maren is like, immediately attracted to him. While still in a relationship with Kaia, her girlfriend. Think of it as you like, I personally was annoyed at this aspect of the story. There are other ways to show bisexual attraction without involving actual emotional cheating (and I use this term because it was more than just, "oh he's so hot."). Does it happen IRL? Of course. But maybe it's not great in general and especially when the bisexual character is the one doing it. In any case I was mostly able to overlook it and pin it to the writer's inexperience, I just want to warn other bisexual readers that this is something that happens.

So, would I recommend this book? I think the worldbuilding was interesting and it has a lot of potential for the rest of the series, if you can overlook some of the more debut-y aspects. I'm going to keep an eye out for the next installment if I remember, but even just a few weeks after reading it I don't remember enough about this to really crave the sequel.

This was such a fun read! It was entertaining and delightful. I loved the adventure the author brought with this story! It was detailed. It made me think I was apart of the journey!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

I absolutely love the cover of this book and it sounds like something I would truly have enjoyed, but unfortunately none of my devices are able to get this book to open, and please believe me when I say I’ve tried. I can see from other reviewers I’m not the only one who’s run into this issue.

Because I will be getting this once it comes out, for now I’m going right in the middle with 3 stars, which will be adjusted once I’ve been able to review.

(This review is based on an advanced reader's copy provided by NetGalley.)

3.5 stars rounded up. While not earth-shattering, this was a solid, enjoyable, quick read. It has a similar feel to Of Fire and Stars (a book I wasn't very impressed with), but this book is better: more creative, more intricately plotted, more unpredictable. I will say the plotting is not exactly Dickensian - I feel like many readers, especially adult readers who are deeply familiar with YA tropes, will find some of the reveals not particularly surprising. How to put this? I didn't predict the reveals, but afterward I felt as though I should have seen them coming; they managed to surprise me even though some of them felt almost familiar. But it was still a good time.

The other big difference is that Of Fire and Stars is straightforwardly a romance (and, in my opinion, does that part well), while this book has an established relationship and, by the end of the book, hints of a second, competing love interest. This book is more about the main character's own character arc - which is nicely done - than about a romance arc.

Another book this reminded me of is The Abyss Surrounds Us, though that's sci-fi rather than fantasy: both books are based on the concept of fantastical beasts that trained humans can control through special devices. In this book, humans control dragons via scents - a concept I really enjoyed.

This particular type of fantasy isn't my favorite, in general - it has a lot of names of fantasy geopolitical entities (provinces? nations? not totally clear), which I always find hard to keep track of. But I liked this book more than I like most books that do this, and it had some interesting, if basic, political worldbuilding, like how the Aurati (the emperor's special police force) are feared and hated in the main character's hometown but revered in other regions.

A cool thing about this book is that (also like Of Fire and Stars) it's set in a fantasy world that seems to have no sexuality- or gender-based discrimination or history thereof. The main character and her girlfriend never hesitate to be open about their relationship, even when they're being scrutinized by the emperor's hostile police force that has unchecked power over the populace. (Bonus: the girlfriend has two moms!) Also, most of the most powerful characters other than the emperor are women, the main character has her mother's last name instead of her father's, and her mother is a government official while her father is a homemaker.

I spent a lot of the book wishing there were even more dragon content, but it delivered in the end. The book stuck the landing with a great dragon scene. In fact, the ending was so satisfying that I'm not sure if I'll read the sequels.

Frankly, another reason I'm iffy on the sequels is that the main character has already sort of almost cheated on her girlfriend with the second (male) love interest, and the book seems to be hinting that she's going to go further down that path, whether by cheating or breaking up with her girlfriend, and I don't really want to read either of those outcomes. (I'm not at all suggesting that those two outcomes are comparable - you're allowed to break up with people! I am bisexual and I support books with bisexual m/f romances - Noteworthy by Riley Redgate is a great one. I just personally am not interested in reading either of those outcomes in this case.) I was excited that the book had an established f/f relationship, because I don't see a lot of those, so I was disappointed to see it start to fall apart this way. And here's the thing: if the book made a good case for it, if it showed us how the competing love interest is better for Maren than her girlfriend is, I wouldn't mind so much. But he's not even a good love interest! He keeps hitting on her even after she tells him she has a girlfriend!

Overall verdict: If I had not already read this book but somehow knew the exact degree to which I would enjoy it, I probably wouldn't buy it, but I would definitely still read it.

This book looked promising upon selection, and the description is intriguing. However, no matter which device or format I tried to open this book with, it just didn't work. I wish that I had gotten to read this book, and I will keep trying to open it and give an updated review when/if I can.

The description, cover, and title look so promising that I am going to give it three stars for now, pending any future ability to access this title.

3.5 stars. This was fun!

Think, a super diverse high fantasy with dragons and a bi mc who is one of very few who can communicate with them. The first half was pretty slow paced but the second half was considerably more exciting and that ending was very cool and makes me excited to see what will happen in the sequel.

I liked the mc & the world & the dragon aspect was super cool (once they were actually introduced - it took a hot minute). My main disappointment was the romance. I was expecting it to be very centred around a f/f which it wasn't. The premise is, when in reality the mc is only really interacting with her girlfriend for about 3 chapters in the entire novel - it's very centred around an almost m/f romance. As someone who's bi myself, I do love seeing bi characters in other relationships not just same sex (it makes you no less bisexual to be in m/f relationship despite what some people think lmao), but it wasn't quite what the premise of the book was promising so it felt disappointing as I was hoping for something different.

Apart from the romance, I would say this book delivered. Loved the diversity (there's like... not a single white person in sight folks - and there's also no discrimination against lgb relationships), I loved the dragons (baby dragons being cute and mewing!!), and while a lot of the plot / character twists felt typical of young adult fantasy tropes, it was still satisfying and the ending was just... Badass.

That is all. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

This book was enjoyable enough to read however it felt like the same thing I've read a hundred times before. It was a pretty by the formula story. There were some dragons which I always appreciate and this was a book that had a positive representation of the LGBTQ+ community. There can never be too many of either of those things in my books. Still I wasn't swept away by this by any stretch of the imagination.

This book was good, but it didn't really blow me away the way I wish it had. It was a some-what classic story of an unwilling hero who after their call to adventure goes off to save someone she loves and her task soon turns into something bigger than she planned. There was just nothing that I felt brought anything new to this type of story. That aside, it's not to say this was not enjoyable or poorly written.

The first few chapters are kind of slow to get through, and I had some difficulty picturing the village. There was a little bit of exposition, but it was also woven into the story so it wasn't that noticeable. Things don't really pick up for what I feel like is a bit into the book. There was a slight lacking in urgency for me. I felt that Maren should have had more agency, it just wasn't as fast paced as I would have liked for how worried she was for Kaia.

I suppose I felt the lacked agency and urgency because she is a very unwilling hero, she's not exactly brave, so she's a little hesitant to more boldly look for a way to get a dragon other than waiting and listening.

All in all, this was a good book, and I was entertained. I am looking forward to where this series is headed.

Unfortunately I couldn’t open this book in any format therefore I can’t actually review it. I’ll leave it at 3 stars just because it’s totally unfair to leave it at 1.
Hopefully I can figure it out and read it!

Maren is a 17 year old girl that is in love with Kaia. They are heartmates, and at some point in the future plan to go down the mountain and seek out adventure. Then the Aurati come, and everything changes, the take Kaia and Maren can only think of going after her. And the only way she can think of to do that is to get a dragon, and that means going to the fortress to find one.

This is an interesting way to start a series. The plot itself isnt all that unique when it comes to these types of books, in this one a young girl decides she needs to try to save someone, and in the process finds that she is some sort of promised one. There are a few new elements to the book that make it a bit different and still keep things interesting.

Things I didnt like about this book:

Probably the biggest complaint that I have about this book is the marketing. This book was positioned as a huge book for the LGBT+ community. Did it have LGBT elements to the book sure, the main character is quite possibly Bisexual, and at least most definately a lesbian. But did it really change anything or move anything forward for that group, not really. It was just an element to the story. It wasnt the defining characteristic of any one character, they were just who they were. So maybe if the goal was to normalize LGBT characters than sure it did its job, but if it was going to be a major plot line...not so much.

Things I liked about this book:

This was a quick read, it didnt feel like I was trudging though the book. The book passed really quickly and it wasnt a chore.

The world building was fun in the book, although there was a bit of confusion which there always is at the beginning of a new series. For instance when the Aurati were first introduced I had a hard time telling if they were even human, but that became more clear as the book went on.

Overall a good first book in a series, and I am interested to see where this series will go in future books. I really hope to see more things develop with the Sev sub plot, as well as to find out more about Naava, as she is an interesting voice in the book. Oddly I really kind of hope that Lilin comes back as well just for another voice of discent.

3.5 stars, rounded to 4 for the review

For fans of YA fantasy, as well as some LGBT issues.

SHATTER THE SKY follows, Maren, who has been raised in a small mountain town. She and her girlfriend, Kaia, have big dreams of leaving and carving their own path. First, they must get through a ceremony with the Aurati of the emperor, who had conquered the country in which their town resides, and who frequently take girls from their village for unknown reasons. Kaia reassures Maren- but then, Kaia is taken. Maren plots to steal a dragon and save Kaia from the Aurati.

As she travels into the Zefedi lands, she must pose as one of them and infiltrate the fort where the dragons are trained. Beginning as a food taster, she schemes to get closer by becoming an intern for the Aromatory and learn how to train the dragons. As the clock ticks against Kaia, Maren pushes forward to achieve her task. However, the world is more complex than she anticipated and many surprises are in store.

What I loved: Maren is a fantastic main character, and I loved following her journey. Plus, it’s always great to see LGBTQIA representation in YA fiction, especially when that is not the primary focus but just a part of the characters. The world-building is enough to be intriguing but not enough to overwhelm. However, the glimpses into folklore/legends were fascinating, and I really hope to get more of the history of this world in future books.

What left me wanting more: The plot drags a bit as Maren seeks to find a way to steal a dragon. Her time as a food taster and then working her way to the Aromatory was a little slow. However, it does speed up quickly in the last half of the book as there is more action/advancing plot.

I also would have liked more background/context for Maren and Kaia’s relationship. We get glimpses at the beginning and then it falls to the wayside. More passion about Kaia, rather than just saving her, would have been lovely to see throughout the book. However, as it is, this leaves the door open to a potential other love interest/triangle. Still, it would have been nice to have Maren think more about Kaia throughout (e.g. remember their past, consider how Kaia would view the adventures, etc.) to reconnect with the passion of why she is going to such lengths to save her.

Final verdict: Overall, this is an exciting start to a new YA fantasy series, and I would definitely love to continue with the series. With an intriguing new world, LGBTQIA representation, and dragons, this book is sure to delight fans of immersive YA fantasy.

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Shatter the Sky was an intriguing young adult LGBTQIA fantasy novel that contained the following : kingdoms controlled by a tyrant, fulfilling prophecies, young women ripped from their homes and loved ones, a daughter of dragons, and of course, dragons. It was also a story of love. When Kaia was taken from her home, her heartmate Maren was determined to do anything to get her back. Undeterred by the mounting dangers that awaited her in her quest to steal and then bond with a dragon, Maren raced against time to save Kaia before death claimed her.

This novel had an interesting storyline with young adults trying to change their political and tyrannical environment. Added to that was the strength of character demonstrated by a young woman who sought to right some wrongs by those in power and possibly save her homeland.

Overall, this was a very engaging and well written read that will certainly captivate its targeted audience, as well as adult readers.
Highly recommended!