This book wasn't bad. It was really good in my opinion. Yet I think I read it too late for my liking of it. You know how it is when you see something that you know you would love when you were younger, but now being older it's just a memory that you have to take care of.
Dina is a Shamer daughter but she has power on her own as well.
When her mother is called to the city to do her duty and the next day she's summoned as well something is definitely wrong.
Something terrible happened - assassinations - but who is the killer? Is it the one that was found with evidence or Shamer power is at loss here?
Who is a friend and who is your enemy? Find out in this book.
I totally recommend it for children!!!

Dina's mother has a special gift. Just by looking in someone's eyes, she can force them to feel all the shame of any crime they've committed, from not cleaning the kitchen table right up to murder. Dina has inherited this gift, and when her mother is caught up in a political struggle Dina means to do her very best to get her out of it again.

First things first. The translation on this is smooth as butter. There's no hint of the awkward phrases and strange sentences that often show up when something is translated. In fact, I wasn't even sure it was translated until I looked it up on Goodreads.

The story itself is relatively uncomplicated. The bad guy is obvious almost at once, there are various allies of varying levels of usefulness. There are dragons, here animals rather than intelligent, and they're sufficiently terrifying. Dina is convincingly ten years old, sometimes. At other times she seems far older, but we can attribute that to the gift of Shaming. It's an inventive gift, not one I'd read about before.

I'm interested to know what will happen next in this series, and I'll be watching out for it.


Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.

Good mix of YA and science fiction! Dina and her mom can read people’s shame by looking into their eyes. They are both caught up in treachery by the castle and dragons. This book was a good, fast paced book and I hope to read another book about Dina!

(Will review on Amazon and Goodreads once published.)

I received an arc of this book on netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This seemed like a really interesting concept to me, (make someone say things by looking into their eyes) but it was kind of a let down for me? Also the book seems to end rather abruptly, which was kind of annoying. Overall, it just wasn't a book for me.

This is in many ways a very standard middle grade fantasy. A child here has a power that makes her an outcast from the village. Her mother is charged with a crime she did not commit to cover up for a larger plot and then plots and mischief occur to get everyone out of prison. The book is very middle grade in its light description of violence even if it open with the murder of a family including a child. I liked that Dina made a friend who was a girl and that she felt like a child and many of her actions made sense considering she was ten. On a side note, I just looked up the series and the plot in this book does not come back round until book four, which seems odd and I am unlikely to read that many books to defeat the bad guy.

Dina starts off as a bit annoying and just a bit bratty to me but as the story unfolds she becomes a more mature (especially considering her age) and resourceful character. You really root for her.

There is also the beginning of a good female friendship, I just wish it had come into the story a bit earlier since we didn't get to see much of it. Hopefully there will be more development of it in the next book. Also no romance! Even with young characters there's normally a hint of a romantic relationship to come later but not in this one!

The political plotline isn't particularly original but it's a trope I always enjoy (especially when you add dragons).
Man I hated that villain!

I was originally interested in this title because I watched the subtitled movie on Amazon. I enjoyed it and thought my 8-year-old would like to read and review this book. Turns out I couldn't wait for him to read it, I wanted to read it too!

This is a great middle grade fantasy. Interesting and original concept, lots of good characters, just enough magic and mythical creatures and world building for the age group. The movie stuck to the book pretty closely, although not exactly.

I will add the eight-year-old's opinion once he reads it as well. I look forward to reading the next one in the series!

I have heard about the Shamer Chronicles, but I never actually read the series. This novel is about a young girl who is an outcast in her village because of her eyes. I really sympathized with Dina who tries to find her own self and her own belonging. The novel itself is very fast-paced and immediately sucks you in. The writing is simple but exquisite. The world-building is very realistic and has a medieval setting. Thus, this novel is an enjoyable ride from the start that is filled with dragons, murder, and mayhem! I recommend this for fans of Tamora Peirce, Jessica Day George, and Shannon Hale! Full review to come!

Well, I'm left feeling largely ambivalent about this one. SHAMER'S DAUGHTER has all the makings of a classic fantasy, however, this ended up working against it: nothing felt particularly fresh.

I understand this book released a while ago, and I can see why people enjoyed it. The writing is solid, there's a great layer of intrigue, and some interesting characters. But the world itself was your typical pseudo-medieval fantasy society, with similar rules. Dina occasionally bordered on I'm-not-like-other-girls territory (which I'm SO bored of), and the lore around the Shamers felt murky. Are they respected or not? They spend most of their time getting heckled and called liars, but if that's the case, why does their testimony matter?

So eh, I don't know. I certainly won't be rushing out to buy the sequel. It's definitely got that classic, comfy fantasy vibe; it's short and super readable. But emotionally, I just couldn't connect. 3/5.

I absolutely loved this book. The way it was written made everything come to light!! Characterisation was wonderful, I felt like I knew them all. Very unusual story but one I look forward to reading the next instalment of.