I received an electronic ARC from NetHalley in exchange for an honest review. 

3.5/5

Honestly this book, though better than its predecessor, Beneath the Haunting Sea, still had some of the same problems. 

Beyond the Shadowed Earth is about Eda, the girl who sent Talia away in the novel’s earlier companion book, Beneath the Haunting Sea (which I recommend reading before this one because something happens that just won’t make sense unless you do). Eda now has the Empire, but what will she do with it? Can she do anything with it now with her Barons trying to wrest control away from her at every step? And then someone who Eda thought was her enemy comes proposing marriage, and she can’t help but think he shines like the moon and the stars. All of this on top of trying to hold up her deal with the most powerful god, who is said to be missing, puts Eda and those around her in danger. She just doesn’t know how much danger yet, or who the danger is. 

Joanna Ruth Meyer is a great writer. Sometimes though, I feel that her pursuit of being literarily beautiful, her sentence flow becomes a little clumsy and detached. She creates beautiful imagery in exchange of breaking her line of story. This only really happens when all the mythical type events are happening though, so luckily it’s only for a bit of the novel. Which takes me to my next point: because this story is much of creating a myth/legend in the world, there’s a lot of details just looked over and not fleshed out enough in my opinion. Things would just happen and work out for seemingly no reason and then we’d move on to other things. 

I do have to say though that Meyer’s creation of the world and all the past myths surrounding it was great. I loved the continuation of the base myth and the connectedness from the first novel. 

I shall also say that I enjoyed Eda’s character a tremendous amount more than Talia’s. Where Talia was water, Eda was flame. Eda was feisty, and angry, and selfish, which in my books makes for a great heroine. She had a backbone and a fierceness and fought for what she deserved. She’s not exactly an anti-heroine but she is up there with the greats. 

I’m not quite sure if I liked the ending? It was short and cute, but after aaallllll that, is that really how the book is going to end? BtHS definitely had a fuller ending, but then again, it might not be a bad thing to have such an open, sweet ending. Like, I was mad, but not entirely mad. So the verdict is still out. 

Overall, it did take a bit of my willpower to read this book. It had its lulls and exciting times, its good and its bad. I think I’ll try reading Echo North in the future, but for now I am content with the vast, story-rich world Joanna Ruth Meyer has just laid at my feet.

This book was a mixed bag for me. I loved book 1 in this series so my expectations with the world building and character development were very high. I feel like Joanna is such a fantastically writer and her world building was exceptional. I just did not care for the character development of relationships in this book. Overall I am giving it 3 stars.

***I received an Arc of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

***Contains spoilers!***

When I started this book I was a bit overwhelmed by it. The world seemed to vast, too much to comprehend and I felt like it wasn’t explained enough and like I was just thrown into the story. This is my fault though. I requested this book on the synopsis alone, without knowing that it would be the second in a series, so most likely the world was thoroughly explained in book 1 already. 

As soon as I understood the world, I also liked the story. The concept surrounding the goods and the bargain Eda made with Tuer were super interesting and I also liked the connection Eda and Ileem seemed to have. <spoiler>However, I knew…. I simply knew that this could not be a happily ever after. </spoiler> And I must admit that I didn’t really like Eda very much during the first half of the book. She pretended to be an empress. Ruler of all those people, but in fact she was just a little brat that played at being empress. Not more. And with Ileem she was just too trustworthy and naive. I could have slapped her, for her behaviors and for being this brat. 

And then all these things happened and they were brilliant and frustrating, because I wished for Eda to finally grow up and seize power for real and to get rid of all these stupid and annoying barons. But…. Well she didn’t. And I was angry for her sake. But after these certain things happened, I liked her SO MUCH MORE than before. <spoiler>It felt like she truly found herself after losing everything and being at her lowest. </spoiler>
The journey that was described was really good. She found herself, her true purpose and she broke out of her shell. She grew. Especially mentally. 
<spoiler>The part where she finally did something for others - saving the world - and stopped being selfish. The part where she served Tuer, did what he wanted from her all along and STILL made more out of this. When she drew power from her chains and what was holding her down and used it to her own advantage, to be free, to become more and to become a goddess herself? THAT WAS MY FAVOURITE PART. And I liked that she did not let herself fall in love again. That she did not grow weak and too trustworthy again. I liked that she decided to not let anyone else shoulder her burdens and sorrows for her. That she did it all by herself. Because that is when she really grew strong. That is how she would have been fit to rule. And also in the end, when she went back to her empire. I loved that she chose not to take revenge. Not to rule. Instead she chose a life in solitude. And I just loved this. A LOT!!!</spoiler>

I didn't know that this book was part of a series so I can't currently read this book. Somethings I did like about this one was the book cover. It's very pretty. I'm just dissapointed that they didn't mention it being a book in a series.

Overall, an interesting fantasy read.

However, I felt like I was reading a new book during each new section (there were three). I have to say, the middle is probably my favorite part, and I read that rather quickly. I think I would have with er liked if the first half was interspersed inside the second as flashbacks or something, or if it had been a different book. The third part left me mostly confused and wanting answers. Perhaps if it were multiple books, the author could have dug into the story more and really made the world and its characters come more to life.

I know there is a separate book and this is set in the same world, so perhaps reading the other book might help ease my confusion.

Overall, I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to. It took me a long time to get through it.

Beyond the Shadowed Earth is a companion novel to Beneath the Haunting Sea and I was a little worried that I would struggle to understand some of the storyline having not read the first book. Thankfully however it isn’t a sequel and is simply set in the same world, so it doesn’t really matter if you haven’t read the Beneath the Haunting Sea or not, phew.

This book has a beautifully rich storyline too, it ebbs and flows and twists and turns. The end of the book builds to a cresendo and then peters out to contemplate humanity and life, it’s a stunning piece of narrative writing.

The main character Eda is a bit of an anti-hero in a way. She starts off as a rather selfish and bad tempered ruler, but as her world starts to fall away you warm to her. The lengths that she goes to in order to save her friend shows us that she’s more than just the selfish brat on the surface, underneath there’s much more to her.

The style of writing and the world that Joanna Ruth Meyer has created cannot be understated, it’s Game of Thrones level with the detail and feeling. After reading Beyond the Shadowed Earth I’m now aching to get stuck into Beneath the Haunting Sea and hoping that there will be future books from this amazing writer and her beautiful literary universe.

“It has always been Eda’s dream to become empress, no matter the cost. Haunted by her ambition and selfishness, she’s convinced that the only way to achieve her goal is to barter with the gods. But all requests come with a price and Eda bargains away the soul of her best friend in exchange for the crown.” – Goodreads

With that description I was excited to start this book. I was interested in the story of someone who is so ambitious they would betray their closest companion, and how that would affect her. Eda is very much an anti-hero, and she has a lot to answer for. She is selfish and driven which leads her to manipulation and even murder. The guilt that comes afterward compels her to try to fix some of her errors, but rather than take full responsibility for her actions, she continues to blame others. In an effort to escape her guilt she will make more decisions that have the potential to destroy her kingdom.

Again, more plot points that would seem to be something I would really enjoy! For some reason, I didn’t. Partly I think because some of the developments in the book didn’t feel earned. Her escapes from danger feel like plot cheats, and are a little haphazard. I don’t mind a villain story, but I found it difficult to make an emotional connection with her or to care about her fate. I think that this authors style might fit another reader better than myself, so I don’t want to say it’s a bad book, more that it’s just not for me. I hope you can read it and enjoy it more! The plot really was a promising idea.

I've had a hardback of Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer on my TBR for ages but I haven't picked it up yet. I also haven't read Beneath the Haunting Sea, the companion piece to Beyond the Shadowed Sea. I don't feel like I need to have read the previous book to enjoy and understand this one, but I am now very much looking forward to reading Meyer's other books (especially the one I already own).

Meyer's writing was rich and descriptive while also being really easy and readable. A perfect combination, which had my flying through the first half of the book. I floundered a little during the second half, which might be due to pacing, but just as likely might be the fact that court settings and political scheming are always a particular favourite of mine. It's the slower pacing of the second half, while Eda's explores the wilderness and searches for her god, that just dropped this from a four-star by a tad.

The linchpin of Beyond the Shadowed Sea is the character of Eda. While the world-building is interesting and the supporting characters are entertaining, I think the real factor for how much you enjoy this book is how much you connect to her. She's very much the centre and focus of the story. She's a complicated character and one who makes a whole raft of bad choices. She's in way over her head and makes some terrible mistakes. While I disagreed with a lot of her choices, I found her a really intriguing and relatable character. I love driven, ambitious women, morally grey characters and redemption arcs. If you do too, Eda might be the perfect protagonist for you.

Beyond the Shadowed Sea is an action-packed story with a powerful protagonist. It's great fun, immersive and memorable. I'm really looking forward to picking up more of Meyer's writing.

A worth wild adventure for those who are fans of Wicked Saints and Guilded Wolves. 

She must rebuild the temple to appease the gods, or people will lose their lives. Balancing running and Empire and being married off this strong female protagonist must decide what is more important to her. 

A clear addition to any library who values a good story of fantasy. Added to the current trend of gods and past religions playing a part in the future.

Having really enjoyed Echo North last year, I was thrilled to get an ARC of Beyond the Shadowed Earth - I'll admit, I requested it just based off the author. As the months went on, however, I just wasn't drawn by the synopsis to pick it up. Feeling guilty, I picked it up during its publication week, to at least get a timely review out. Unfortunately, this was a case of 'this book isn't for me.' The synopsis doesn't really accurately describe this book - for example, the adventure to find the god doesn't start until over halfway through the book.

The book is divided into distinct parts (the beginning, full of political intrigue, the climb up the mountain to get to the god, and the weird fever dream ending of the circles), plus a boat ride in the middle. Each section has its own cast of characters, which are discarded faster than I could keep up with. We were never with side characters long enough to care about them. I felt like too many plots were crammed into one book, creating an odd narrative structure and strange pacing. This might have been better as two shorter novels - one book to develop Eda as an empress who is marrying for a political alliance, who is betrayed at the end, has her life come crumbling down around her, and has to escape, and a second book to show Eda arriving on the shores of a new land, ready to seek vengeance on the god who she feels has betrayed her and claim back her power. It would have given time for relationships to develop and for the reader to care about the characters.

The Eda we are shown at the beginning is strong willed, selfish, and ambitious. She's won the crown, which indicates she is capable of great political guile and maneuvering, yet falls in love with the first dude who bats his eyelashes at her within a week of meeting him, promising marriage and to crown him as an equal ruler. This foolish and out-of-character decision leads to a very predictable outcome, which puts the second half of the book into motion. The first third held such promise to me - an unlikeable protagonist, political wheeling and dealing, and a religion with gods of questionable morality. I positively compared the first part to Rae Carson and Megan Whalen Turner when talking to my coworkers. The second half was all downhill; by the end, I just didn't care about what happened to Eda, this world, or these gods. 

I found the ending to be particularly perplexing. There was a lack of rules for the gods, world, and "magic;" instead, things just seem to conveniently happen to push Eda forward in the plot. New concepts were repeatedly introduced towards the end of the book, but there had been no discussion about how these things were part of the religion or mythology earlier. The journey through the circles of the world made my head spin - I still have no idea what was happening. Eda is increasingly passive as she moves through the circles of the world, relying on random forces to carry her from one part to the next. This isn't the girl with agency who believes she is solely responsible for everything that happens to her - this is a girl who is just drifting along in the eddies of a nonsensical mythology that hasn't been properly explained because some outside force commanded it.

Overall, this was a huge disappointment for me. I can see the right reader enjoying this, but I'm not that reader.

DNFd at about 25%.

It started out interesting, pulled me in and I was enjoying the story building and Eda's history. The plot sounded awesome, and I was excited for another badass female lead to strut her stuff and take whatever the hell she she wanted, because F the consequences. Right?!

But....this went from "Woo!" to "Zzzzz" real quick. 

I just have no connection or feeling towards anything in this book. The main character, Eda, is bland and just says things that lack any emotion. When she is supposed to be infuriated or seeping from her pores with anger, she's just yelling mean stuff and stomping her foot. I feel like the author was trying to make her seem like a daunting empress that makes her subjects quake, but she came across as a child pretending to be an adult. I feel nothing towards her, and nothing towards any other character.

They're all kind of existing on these pages and I'm over here sitting awkwardly in the corner watching.

Like a stalker, who lost their love to stalk.

The romance is weird and forced...I mean, I assume it's the romance of this story. The Ileem guy (I think that's his name?) comes in and at first Eda is all suspicious and hates him, but then he says a few nice things in a few situations and

Fa-la-la-la-la

...she just drops all her suspicions and anger, and gets flirty?

Oh honey....noooo. It's 2020. Make him work for it.

I'm sure this would have turned out fine, but my interest was zapped and I was ready to move on.

This was an amazing novel, just like Meyer's last novel. I enjoyed the world-building, and the lush writing was exquisite. I cannot wait to read more by this author.

Set in a world where the gods make deals with the people, a wrong deal can cost your loved ones their lives. We follow Eda, who has done anything to become empress, and she loses her best friend because of it. She journeys to seek out the god who she made a deal with and finds an unexpected surprise.

Eda does have the qualities of a villain and was more of an anti-hero protagonist. She is selfish and her motivations were unclear at the beginning of the book, but that improved throughout the plot. The world building was fantastic though, I enjoyed learning about the gods and the mythology surrounding them. If you enjoy a villainous lead on the quest for revenge, pick this one up!

Sooo apparently this is a companion novel, which I didn't realize when I had requested it from NetGalley. Thankfully it didn't impact my reading experience at all; there were only a few times that I thought something could have been expanded on/felt incomplete, and now I realize it was likely addressed in book one. Oops, I have no idea how I missed this!

Regardless, this was a pretty quick read filled with complex characters, interesting world-building and folklore, and some interesting lessons. I did feel like some parts were drawn out, I didn't feel very connected to any of the characters, and the plot didn't feel as high-stakes as it seemed it was supposed to be. I'm interested in reading the first book to learn more about those incomplete pieces, but it isn't very high on my tbr. Still, I really enjoyed the world-building in this book and would recommend it to lovers of fantasy with folklore vibes mixed in.

Beneath The Haunting Sea

Beyond the Shadowed Earth, releases today. It is a companion book to Beneath the Haunting Sea but not a sequel. Set in the same world and the villain that set-off the series of events in Beneath the Haunting Sea, Beyond The Shadowed Earth tells the story of Eda and the price you pay for getting everything you wanted. JoAnna Ruth Meyer set a clear directive in the level of hatred for the readers ability to hate Eda for how the actions she took at the beginning of Beneath The Haunting Sea. 

Her ambition overtook right from wrong. She took something that was not meant to be hers and in doing so she made a dangerous pact with a god to become empress. Beyond the Shadowed Earth picks up almost a decade later with that pact, and her part of the world crumbling around her. And Eda determined to demand what is rightfully hers from the God that has betrayed her. 

As I said when reviewing the incredible Realm of Ash, about Empire of Sand, both those who have read Beneath the Haunting Sea and those who have not will love Beyond the Shadowed Earth. As always, if you have read Beneath the Haunting Sea, yes there is always more to gleam, but you will lose absolutely nothing having not yet read it.

Lush...

No. Not me. Liam? Maybe... I kid. 

Liam would never let himself become a lush. It would cloud calculating nature.

Meyer continues to deliver her beautifully composed prose with a mythology flair that was well received in Beneath the Haunting Sea. She discusses this at length in the Q and A linked above. That rhythm and style plays into the the content and structure of Beyond the Shadowed Earth perfectly. It provides a perfect place for Eda's character ARC and a haunting and frightening place for a God to interact with Eda at times, and then for some beautiful times of reflection and revelation, at others.

Beyond The World...

Just as Meyer's style played so well into the plot and essential action sequences, character reflections, it also played beautifully into how the world was built. Much of the best of parts of Beneath the Haunting Sea was how brilliantly the world was built and I have to say the same about Beyond the Shadowed Earth. The world building was so specific and detailed and the credit has to go to how Meyer writes. There is vivid, painter way with-which Meyer writes. It is a very unique tone and quality that sets her work aside from others. Due to that, her world building is particularly brilliant, coming alive like jeweled tones and gems sewn onto a queens gown. It is almost blinding in its brilliance, really.

Oh Eda...

Will everyone be able to go on this redemption arc with Eda? I don't know. More importantly, whether you are rooting for Eda to come around to the light or fail to a bloody end? You will be compelled by the plot and her story to read Beyond the Shadowed Earth. And considering the palatable hatred I had for Eda going into this book? That is saying quite a bit. 

I don't want to say more than Meyer said in the interview. It is not mine to say too much. But maybe it isn't about whether or not you want her to be redeemed? Maybe it is about whether the author can spin a story web compelling enough that it doesn't matter. It only matters that the reader wants to go for the ride. In Beyond the Shadowed Earth that is what Joanna Ruth Meyer has done. 

*Posted to all sites 1/14 along with Q and A*

Thank you to NG and Page Street Kids for ARC in exchange for honest review

This book starts like it might be pretty good but is so slow. I’m 25% in and it just isn’t drawing me in enough. I would recommend to someone who loves politics.

Though not without flaws, Beyond the Shadowed Earth was, overall, an enjoyable read. Set in the world of Meyer’s debut Beneath the Haunting Sea, this book was ambitious in its coverage; expanding on already established elements and exploring characters previously introduced.

The story focuses on book one’s antagonist, Eda. Intent on taking revenge on the baron who stole her inheritance, a grieving nine-year-old Eda makes a deal with the god Tuer: her life in his service in exchange for the crown. Bargaining with gods, however, are tricky transactions and when Eda fails to fulfill her end of it, she realizes, much too late, that the consequences are bigger than her.

I’m going to be honest. I had a hard time with this book. Yes, the plot was intriguing, and yes, the world building was well done. I loved and enjoyed both elements. I am, however, of two minds about its characters.

Eda, to say the least, is unlikable. She’s selfish, self-centered, naive, and vengeful. She is so blinded by her anger that it clouds her judgment. She bartered with a god, schemed and killed her way to get the crown. She is everything a villain is.

Being unlikeable, though, isn’t the reason why I have conflicting feelings about her.

All throughout the book, things happen to Eda – tough ones. She lost both of her parents at a very young age, was displaced and betrayed and used. Her best friend, the one person she truly cares for, is taken from her all while her hold on her empire slips, her barons making their own moves to grab whatever power they could. All these are meant and should have made me, at the very least, a little bit considerate if not totally empathetic towards her. But it was so difficult to connect with Eda. Her character was shallowly drawn and one-dimensional. There just wasn’t so much to her, no hidden depths. This also holds true for most of the supporting characters, which, for a character-driven story, is a big problem.

Setting my issues with character development aside, I still found many things to like in Beyond the Shadowed Earth.

The world building was exquisite. From its complicated politics to its intricate religion, Enduena was fully alive and I gladly immersed myself in it. The magical and almost mythical nine gods, the center of this story’s religion, was the most interesting part for me, and, admittedly, it was what kept me reading especially when Eda’s story wasn’t progressing much.

Ultimately, even with its share of issues, Beyond the Shadowed Earth was a good read. The conclusion to Eda’s story was satisfying, open-ended enough but with clues that she’s on to the right path. This book is the second of the series, but could pretty much stand on its own. YA fantasy readers, especially the ones that love a good redemption arc will love this story.

TW: Death, Blood, death of loved ones

Rep: Immigration (possibly others that I don't remember seeing)

"She wept, for her sorrow, and for the world's. She would never stop weeping. All the grief of all the world poured through her, eating her, but never consuming her. "

I have a feeling this review is going to be nice short as there was really nothing special about the whole thing. This book is the companion novel to Beneath the Haunting Sea, and you don't have to read the first book to understand this one. 

This book was okay. There was nothing special to it and was missing something. It was probably the interesting characters. Throughout the book, I didn't feel connected to Eda or any of the secondary characters. But there was one thing I noticed. I connected a lot more to Eda than Talia, so I guess that is a good thing? 

Eda was an interesting character as a whole. There was no spark to her whatsoever, but that didn't stop me from finding her interesting. She was determined to be Empress and would do anything she wanted. Even making a promise to the gods, a life to become Empress. 

I loved how it played out and find that it was a minor improvement from the first book overall. 

The one thing I actually liked was expanding the world-building. Meyer expanded on it adding in the gods and their role in the major story and how it affects people. It was a really cool addition that I don't really remember reading anything about! I liked the way the customs and such was a major part and the story felt really fleshed out!

The pacing like wow. It was super slow and I started getting antsy around the halfway point. Nothing happened until like page 250 where it started getting interesting, but the first part was just really meh. I get expanding the world and stuff, but wow was it slow.

Meyer is obviously an incredible talent. After reading her book Echo North, I find that she has built an entirely new and imaginative world for readers in Beyond the Shadowed Earth that is just as captivating.

Meyer excels at world building. Is she doing workshops on this? She seriously could teach a thing or two! The landscape feels rich, the culture is captivating, the mythology is spellbinding! 

Eda is not your typical heroine and that one of the many things that makes this book standout from other YA fantasy novels. Eda is selfish. She can be cruel. She’s done some very bad things. She’s pretty unbearable for the first half of the novel and when things start going south for her, the reader really doesn’t feel the least bit sorry for her. The second half of the book is where things really start picking up for the reader! Eda begins to have to face herself for who she is and what she has done and things really get exciting on her quest for vengeance.

I really love the ending and think it wrestles with the idea of what does a person do once they’ve made horrible mistakes and are dealing with some heavy things in the aftermath. Things aren’t always sunshine and roses, but we don’t have to wrestle it alone.

Summary: fantastic world building, good character development, pacing may feel slow at first but picks up in the second half! Worthwhile read for 2020.

In order to read this one in the proper context, I picked up the audiobook of the first installment in the series Beneath the Haunting Sea - which was a brilliant and imaginative story with fairy tale elements, really interesting mythology, and a character worth rooting for. Beyond the Shadowed Earth, however, took an antagonist and, without trying to redeem her personality (she was selfish and petulant and spoiled, when I would have expected her to be driven and ambitious and angry), we're dragged along on her adventure.

She falls for the wrong man and gets tricked at every turn, unable to see the obvious right in front of her. The whole first half is her denying everyone else's good sense and then having everything pulled out from under her. In Beneath the Haunting Sea, this big upheaval happens in the first 10%; in Beyond the Shadowed Earth, you have to wait for almost 50% of the book before the journey begins.

Eda was a character I couldn't engage with. Based on the synopsis, I was very excited to read about a character who would normally be seen as the antagonist, but Eda doesn't have any redeeming qualities. This one also has a lot less of the pretty, descriptive writing that made me really enjoy the first book.