The kingdom of Hálendi is loosing the war at its borders. There are rumors that magic is being used in the fight. To bring more troops into the fray, the King plans to marry Princess Jennesara to another ruler. On Jenna’s journey to her new kingdom, the caravan is attacked and only she escapes. Now what can Jenna do to save the kingdom and people she loves?

This was a light read that transported me to a new world. It was very fast paced and well written. I found the plot interesting and I couldn’t put it down. The first half of this book was a bit of a struggle for me though. Some aspects felt very repetitive. The second half moved at a blistering pace that I really enjoyed. I also found the magic system interesting.

I felt the romance in the book happened too fast. Everyone was much to trusting with two kingdoms at war. I would have liked to see more relationship development. While I enjoyed the fast paced nature of this book, some characters and relationships could have been more developed.

Overall, this is an enjoyable book that I breezed through. Fans of Sorcery of Thorns will definitely enjoy this one.

In the beginning, I was a little skeptical due to the description having this work be compared to the likeness of other works like Furyborn and books by Sarah J. Maas. It can be daunting to compare to such great works, but this book is well thrown with those works. This book kind of surprised me in the way the plot unfolded.. The first half is all about Jenna, and it took half of the book to really establish the entire setting, premise and story line. That felt a little off fore me because I was just waiting for it to really pick up. I feel some parts of that first half weren't that necessary. When things really did pick up, it was fun reading and following Jenna's story. There were the chapters that would face the subplot/ or villainous plans of the antagonists and that at times were less useful for the plot and more of a throw off. The book had a lot of plots twists, some which were predictable, but it was a fun and easy read from beginning to end. As a book one, it was an interesting beginning to s a new story and it is something that I am excited to return to when book 2 is revealed and published.

I received this book as an ARC and I'm voluntarily leaving a review. Three words: short and sweet! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book which somewhat caught me off guard. I had seen reviews of people saying that the pacing was too fast, but I would actually disagree. I think the pacing was just right for the book, even if we're thrown into some chaotic stuff at the beginning of the book. Jenna goes through a lot and we experience it all at the same time as her. Also, the cover of the book is beautiful! Jenna is such a lovable character; she's fiery, determined, and is actually super sweet. I often found myself going "Awww!!!" but I just as often was like "what? No!" The author caught me off guard so many times. Some parts were predictable, but other times I was surprised by a sudden change. The other characters were also lovable; I love the family dynamics in this book. By the end of this book, I found myself incredibly invested in making sure Jenna would survive. I was really satisfied with the ending of this book; it was sweet and I almost thought it was a stand alone novel. However, there are still some things that need to be taken care of so I'm happily going to get a copy of the sequel when it comes out. This book is clean and wholesome, great for YA readers but it also would be a good book for middle grade readers. This sweet, precious novel got me very attached to the characters and I can't wait for another book.

So it was a good book but had an extremely slow start for me. Im not sure if it was just my reading mood or what but thankfully after it finally caught my attention it was a rather fun read with a great cover.

I liked, but didn't love Shielded.

Jenna is a princess with power she shouldn't have, but it's also a power she didn't want. To save her family from impending war, her power must be set aside to go marry a neighboring prince in exchange for military support- something she grieves but ultimately accepts. This is half a story about her journey there, and half a story about who she becomes while she's there.

So heres my issue with this one. It took until about 45% of the book for anything to happen. I mean it. I kept expecting to see plot movement of any kind, but theres more walking in this book than a Lord of the Rings Joke. Over half of this book is the main character moving forwards her destination, talking out her anxieties- and just when you think the story is about to begin...wait...it doesn't. Our Heroine finally makes her way to her destination (the plot) , where readers can be treated to her standing around, making friends. talking about her anxieties, sort of finding her betrothed to be kind of cute. Standing around...

I struggled a lot with the characters as well, finding that they didn't stand out to my liking, but Jenna Is a genuine person and maybe a little more mature than other princess characters in YA series. Likewise, her love interest and friend characters are all equally good natured, and the system of which Hálendi is run is intriguing. I found myself wanting to learn more and more about the world, especially where conflict unfolds and what makes Jenna so dangerous.

I also found it interesting to see Jenna take to a duty she once rejected while still finding her own power in a way that makes sense for her.

Id be curious about the second installment in this series to see how the future unfolds.

📚Book Review📚
Shielded by KayLynn Flanders
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
First thank you @netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this jewel.
I would like to start by saying I had not heard anything about this book in most anticipated releases but I do not know how. I might be living under a rock to not have heard about it but this book was immaculate and astounding. The story line was amazing and I loved how the love did not by any means take over the story, that being said I did love Jennesaras and Enzos love. Another thing among many that I love is that Jennesara is a princess but she is a princess of warriors. She trains and discovers new depths of herself and her magic. Her country is at war and her father agrees to a betrothal to dig their country out of a hole. Along the way things go wrong and she must disguise herself as many try to kill her and few try to save her. I will say I wish this book would have been longer just so some of the parts could have had more to them but I feel like I’m bias. Over all I think the writing was well done. This book is definitely for fans of Sorcery of Thorns and I would even say An Ember in the Ashes. I say this because people in these books are either fighting for there country or somehow hiding parts of there selves. I just can not express how much I fell in love with this book and I’m saddened it’s not released yet because I was ready to hope on Pinterest and see some fan art.

Strong female MC, amazing places, and an interesting plot....yes!!! I couldn’t put the book down. I enjoyed the writing style. Great twists. Interesting inciting incident.

I liked this book, but not as much as I wish I had. The plot wasn’t entirely uniqie to me, though it had its moments. The characters weren’t that memorable, and I found I didn’t really care about their story much. The writing was alright, nothing special or memorable. So sadly I wanted more from this book.

An enjoyable fantasy read? Yes.

Great for both YA and Middle-Grade readers!

Main character-wise, I liked Jenna and found her pretty interesting. I wished there was a bit more in-depth with her though and more we could've seen to her.
The characters were fun and engaging, though I noticed that it was more the side characters in the last half of the novel that were the ones I liked a lot.

  It was an enjoyable read that had even more backstory and plot hinted at in the end, so I feel like it was just setting up for the next book in the series. Which also means there's more to discover which makes me pretty happy as I want to see more of some side characters and hopefully some depth to Jenna that I can love as well.

 The world-building and satisfying ending were probably my favorite parts of the book! Despite not loving somethings as much as I would've liked, there were parts that made up for it.

I received a free copy of this book from netgalley, all opinions are my own.

Actual rating 3.5

I'm gonna be honest, I really struggled to get into the story, I tried reading it several times and just couldn't connect, so I let it sit for a while and then gave it another go.
The first half of this book was kind of boring for me and I really didn't like the main character, I think she was annoying and too naive. But I pushed through and I'm glad I did, because the second half was great!
Main female character goes through so much and she evolves into an amazing heroine! I loved her character arc. Such a drastic change.
We also get a lot more world building in the second half and it was interesting and detailed and I liked it.
I LOVED the romance part which is rare for me, since I'm not a fan of romance in ya books (unless i specifically read for romance). But gosh, it was so good, i seriously got butterflies in my belly.
There were a lot of plot twists I didn't see coming which was nice. And overall I think it was a solid story with great character development. It dragged a bit in the beginning but I feel like the sequel will be better.

I love me a good fantasy read and this one exceeded my expectations! I would love to read more if this amazing author!

You know what, I didn’t know I needed this book until I read it. It was advertised as similar to a Sorcery of Thorns, but it isn’t really. This book is unique in and of itself. I think it does follow the mold of a fantasy book, and it does deal with libraries, but it isn’t the same, and you should not be thinking this is going to be another Sorcery of Thorns. It isn’t. However, I liked it just as much. (And I will admit, one part tore my heart out, and I’m not sure I can still believe it if its true…)

The Writing
The writing was lovely. I have no complaints in regards to the writing. I think there is something to be said for prose that flows well and isn’t inundated with description for a book like this. This book is very much action focused and it is go-go-go all the time. And yet it worked really well with Flanders writing style. I was impressed by it all. I couldn’t put the book down…I got obsessed and read it in one night. When I’m sleep deprived at work, I’m going to blame this addicting book.



The Pacing
Again, I loved the pacing of this book. I am sometimes in the mood for fast paced books, and sometimes in the mood for slow paced books. This one is a fast paced one. Something is always happening. Action everywhere! Do not expect there to be too many boring tea parties and balls in this book my good friends, but do expect lots of heroics, awesome sword waving girls and magic. In other words, yes, I liked the pacing.

The Plot
Now, I love this magic plot. And the library portions. All of it really. And I LOVED the take on the princess and the betrothal and everything else. It just all seemed to work together. I never felt that any of it was coming out awkwardly, and I wasn’t cringing every ten minutes. Were there certain parts I was screaming “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” at as loud as I could yet.

Also, P.S. I got partway through the book and said “HAH I’M RIGHT” and then went “Uh-OH” and anyways, suffice to say I was pleasantly surprised all the way through with the plot. Yay good plots!



The Characters
JENNA. Let me tell you, she reminds me very much of Tamora Pierce’s heroines in some ways. She has the strength and likeability of them. She is flawed, but also good. I really loved her, and I think her journey in this story is great.

Enzo is as well. Ren too. Honestly, I only hate the villains as I was rightfully supposed to. But I like the characters. I feel for them. I wept tears and I rejoiced. I lived vicariously through Jenna and her amazing-ness. Yes, I liked the characters.

Let me just say, I think this book is great because the story doesn’t just revolve around romance.


The World building
One word: fabulous. I am really intrigued by this world. I do believe that what we’re give in terms of knowledge is more than enough to satisfy me. I never felt it was too much or too little. The lands are a part of the story yes, but so is the magic. And they’re woven together beautifully. I love it.


Overall
If you can’t tell, I loved this book. LOVED IT. I cannot wait to purchase it so I can get that gorgeous cover on my shelf…and now I’m thinking of the horrific wait for the next book because I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

"His hope, his excitement, his worry, and, most of all, his love for me flowed in like warmth and pure light—a farewell stronger than any words would have been."⁣
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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 I'm calling it right now. This series is going to catch like fire! You're all going to be talking about it.⁣
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I devoured Shielded (especially after the halfway mark) and the whole time I was thinking, "I don't want this to end." But end it did and quite to my liking. I wasn't left hanging but also had plenty to anticipate.⁣
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If you've got a soft spot for ya fantasy adventure, including but not limited to - a magic-wielding warrior princess, dark mages, a hidden library and living forest, intense battle scenes, and a love story you'll want to claim as your own, this is the book for you!⁣

This book was sooo good! The characters were amazing, the story awesome, and the overall plot was different. A cool twist on a ‘chosen one’ story!

What a truly unexpectedly wonderful book!

Okay, so I did not think I would like this book as much as I did! It is a great story.
The MC is a relatable female. She does not have this overly dramatic background nor is she skilled at anything in an unexplainable way. Jenn is what I think a princess would be like. She loves her country, but also has a mind of her own. Her fighting skills actually make sense, unlike other books in which a princess is apparently like a ninja for no reason. Jenn has logical emotional battles raging in her mind. Her development throughout the story is very interesting to watch.

The romance is not a slow burn, but it does have an interesting twist. If you have read any of my reviews then you know how much I love plot twists. Normally, I do not absolutely adore quick romances, but this one actually made sense. Readers were able to see moments of how the romance came to be.

As for the story line, it flowed wonderfully. There was never a time where I felt like something was missing or I did not understand what was happening. Things were well explained and well written. Family, lies, romance, magic, mystery and flat out betrayal is webbed throughout the plot. This book is a YA dream!!

The only reason why I did not give 5 full stars was because I felt like it was not long enough. Weird right?? A lot happens very “fast” and you don’t get a lot of time to wrap your mind around it before another event happens. I just wanted more!!
Also...can we just talk about how FREAKING BEAUTIFUL this cover it?!?! It is so different compared to all the books we are seeing come out and I just loved it.

Overall I would HIGHLY recommend this book to other readers.

Thank you Netgalley and KayLynn Flanders for an ARC of the story and I hope to read more!

-Stone

All I can say is WOW.
Loved the writing, the world building was amazing and the magic system so unique.
What more can I say? Highly recommend this book if you're a fantasy lover.

This book was gifted to me on Netgalley but all opinions are my own.

I was initially drawn to Shielded because of the beautiful cover. The depiction of Jennesara on the front is absolutely gorgeous and instantly had my attention. The contents, however, lost me. The plot sounded super interesting but ended up being super lackluster. I didn't care for the superfluous amount of info dumping at the beginning. The first 3 chapters felt like reading a text book. I understand trying to establish your world and your magic system but I felt like it could have been done better. Even after the gush of facts we are still left with middling world building and a magic system that wasn't fully coherent. The rest of the story was just sort of boring and predictable. It reminded me a lot of Truthwitch and Falling Kingdoms, both of which I hated and DNF'd for all the same reasons.

The one positive that I have is the main character. Jennesara is very well written in places and even though I didn't enjoy the book as a whole she is an excellent example of a strong female that middle grade girls will dig. She's very similar to Ciri from the Witcher novels, witty and determined but also compassionate. Sadly though, the rest of the book's shortcomings over shadowed this one excellent character.

I tried really hard to get into this book, but ultimately I found everything to be rather flat. It wasn't a bad book, it just didn't do anything interesting or new, or present it in a compelling way. I disliked the main character and her name, which might be petty, but it was distracting.

I just could not bring myself to buy any of the plot, or care about anything that was happening. The romance was never really developed either.

I do not think I would read any subsequent books in the series.

Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte press for the ARC. Goodreads review to follow.

5☆☆☆☆☆
I recieved an E-ARC of Shielded by KayLynn Flanders from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

I really loved this book! I loved the family ties, the romance, and the badass protagonist who doesn't take no for an answer. Ren and Jenna have the ideal relationship between brother & sister. They pick on each other, they clearly love each other, & yes they can live without each other, but would 100% rather not have to.

Enzo is now one of my favorite love interests! Aaahhh forbidden love! Can't say more without spoilers! I love how all of the characters are supportive of each other the entire book, there wasn't any "it's your fault" there was more "we'll get through this".

The world building was good, even though I imagined the castles to be a lot smaller than they are meant to be. The Wild is an interesting concept that worked well in the story. The fact that the Wild is literally alive and trying to keep you there by drugging you & tempting you with luxuries is super scary.

What the physical copy of the book needs is a map of the countries/territories. The cover art is beautiful for the books & tells a story that you'll eventually learn throughout the story. The chapter headers are gorgeous and intricately designed, but simple at the same time. The chapters are a little longer than how I like then, but the scene changes in the middle of the chapters chop them up a bit, which is nice.

Overall a solid story! I definitely regret putting reading it off for so long! I'm ready for book 2 to come out now!

**DNF @55%**
I was really happy for this book, since the plot sounded great and the author is local to me. But sadly, after about a month of trying, I'm putting this down. The icy world of Jennesara's kingdom, her good intentions, mention of a magical library and wild woods, these aspects weren't enough to keep going. I feel like this book was going on forever without getting anywhere? I never understood why her power was such a secret and was so important. I feel like since she was going to be important to help her people, she should've gotten some kind of secret training to deal with magic. This was a major qualm I had with the book. Plus, the wilds was cool to be in but it was too easy for her? The pacing and lack of interest in the main story was the major reason I put this down. I'm open to trying it again after publication date, but right now, it couldn't keep my interest. But I'll still recommend it to patrons and other people in the book community :)