**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 :)

I loved everything about this book! It has everything from strong characters to a compelling story that I found quite entertaining. The only issue I had with this book was the pacing at the beginning. It started out on the slow side and for a while I wondered whether it was ever going to pick up. But pick up it did! Jenna was a strong lead that I couldn’t help but root for. She was more than capable of taking care of herself and everyone around her, but there was still a vulnerable element about her that made her all the more likable. The romance between Jenna and the crown prince of Turia was also enjoyable to see play out. It wasn’t exactly insta-love, but instead played out more gradual. The story itself was ultimately what drew me in and kept me reading. The blurb honestly did not do the story justice, but I think going in to this novel knowing very little about the plot made the read even more enjoyable, I highly recommend this book to fantasy and young adult fans!

Unputdownable. I really like the strength and occasional fragility of the main character. Nice, subtle foreshadowing at times and fun plot twists. Loved it!

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

HOLY COW GUYS! I can't even comprehend what I just read. Wow, oh wow. Loved this book from start to finished and now I need to somehow cope with not being able to dive into the second book right now.

Seriously guys, Shielded was so freaking good. My love for Enzo and Jen will forever grow. I will admit the beginning was a little slow for me but after the first chapter, I was hooked. You couldn't pay me to put the book down because I just wanted to know how everything was going to go down.

So, a lot actually happened in this book. A lot more than I thought but it was still a really good book. I, of course, couldn't trust a lot of characters because some were acting so weird during random moments. Like why are you acting like this right now?? Ugh! It drove me nuts.. but then the ending made so much sense. My brain was like, "WOW ALAINA! JUST WOW!".

The characters, story building, action, and betrayal were all delicious. Heck, even the romance was likable. Wish I got more but I'm hoping I will be happy as a damn clam in the next book. Other than that, I'm trying really freaking hard not spoiling anything about this book. Just know that I loved it and I hope you all do to.

I seriously need the next book!

eBook provided for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Life for Jenna, a warrior princess second in line to her kingdom's throne, is supposed to be easy. Train, support her father and older brother, hide her secret magic. But as a war on the northern border drags on, Jenna's life gets far more complicated. Her father promises her hand in marriage to their southern neighbors in exchange for an alliance and men. When her caravan to the south is attacked and her family murder, Jenna is forced to run and rethink everything she thinks she knows to save her kingdom.

I'm going to be honest, I've put off writing this review for over a week because I'm not sure how I feel about "Shielded." The great cover is what first drew me to the book and the blurb grabbed my attention. A YA fantasy about a princess with magic? It had me written all over it. But ultimately, "Shielded" didn't do it for me. It took me a LONG time to get into the book -- like almost halfway through the story. But when I did get engaged, I really enjoyed it. While the story has pacing problems and is a bit more telling than showing, the fight scenes are some of the strongest I've read in YA. It's worth noting that "Shielded" is a debut novel. I believe the author has the skills to follow this up with a stronger sequel with the help of the right editors.

"Shielded" is a book best for younger fans of fantasy on the cups of YA from middle-grade.

Holy crap I loved this! From the first chapter I was hooked and the whole book was fantastically written. Jennessa is a great character, she's a fighter and loves her family more than anything. Her adventure was so much fun and I liked the various friendships she made along the way. Enzo is a cutie and his sisters were fun characters. The world building was well done, I understood what happened without feeling overloaded. Great pacing and the romance was sweet. I can't wait for this to come out so the world can see how marvelous it is!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read Shielded in exchange for an honest review.

What wouldn't you love about a delicate magic system, countries at war, mysterious and deadly mages, and two lovers meant to be together?

This book was nothing like Sorcery of Thorns or Furyborn (in my opinion), and I would say it reads a lot like if Dance of Thieves and Bridge Kingdom had a baby. It was just lovely and is a feel good warrior princess novel.

I'm trying to think of any constructive comments, but all I can come up with is that the beginning might be slow for some people. However, it gives you background to who this girl is and why we should be reading about her journey. I really did love every part of this book, and it got me out of my reading slump.

This by far is my favorite read of 2020, and I'm so excited to get my hands on a physical copy in July!

After too many YA Fantasy flops in a row, I finally found one that I actually enjoyed! Can you believe it?

Shielded hooked me from the start and while the reveals and the direction of the plot was pretty predictable, I liked it nonetheless. Shielded doesn't re-invent the wheel but gives you a good story with a nice touch of romance (which I really liked) to keep you entertained. The characters in here were really well done. I was rooting for them and I teared up a little at one particular scene.

One of the things that stopped me from rating it higher was the villains. I feel like it was one of the weakest points in this book. The "evil mages" described by color were so generic and cliché I was actually disappointed in that aspect. I'm not even sure if they have another motivation to find that library where powerful artifacts are hidden other than gaining power and get their revenge on the descendants of Kais, the one who banished them.

Overall, a good start to the series and I'm interested in reading the sequel which is saying a lot for a ya fantasy! Hopefully, the second book will be even better. I'm nervous but hopeful.

<i>(Thank you for letting me read and review an arc via Netgalley)

I enjoyed this book more than I was willing to let myself think I would. I really loved the cover, that was half of the appeal for me to request an ARC. And the story itself is good too. It's definitely one that I could have seen my younger self being extremely into. My only main criticism would be that it seemed like things happened so quickly, although that could also be a factor of my own fast reading of the book. Overall it was quite good and I would recommend it to others to read.

A very simplistic but charming read. I enjoyed this. It reminds me of Throne of Glass and The Kiss of Deception in a way. The magic system captured my attention throughout the story and I really liked the different cultures described between the two main kingdoms, one is more snowy/cold with fair skin and light hair while the other is warm with bright colors, darker skin and darker hair but it’s not without its flaws.

The story is set at a cat and mouse pace. It’s a lot of hiding. Characters waiting out on enemies to leave. A chase happens and then more hiding again. Those chase scenes get your adrenaline pumping and it becomes a little unsatisfying reading a whole 2 chapters about the characters hiding in a fireplace. When there was a fight scene thrown in, it was written very well. I guess I wanted even more because of that!

There are also a couple infuriating plot moments. For instance, a character gets poisoned within the castle. The next day, the king, queen, heir, and most of the soldiers leave and they leave their two little girls alone... where there’s someone obviously very dangerous around.

I think this book is a good one to take a chance on because there’s a lot of good things going for it but it’s kinda like holding a juicy gummy bear, dropping it on the ground and having to pick off all the crustys.

As the princess of Halendi, Jennesara has been shielded her whole life, kept behind the walls of the castle. Like most barriers, this one works two ways…for as little as Jenna knows about the kingdom beyond the walls, there is a lot the kingdom does not know about her. In ‘Shielded’ author KayLynn Flanders has written an epic adventure, with a strong, fierce protagonist, who must step out into the wild unknown, while learning to trust herself and embody her full potential along the way.

In the kingdom of Halendi, a complex history and ancestry has left some capable of magic. Yet, it is only supposed to be the first-born heir that inherits magic in the royal family. When Jenna is born showing signs she has magic (a white streak of hair), her potential must be kept secret to prevent her from being outcast. Jenna spends her whole life hiding who she truly is, with only her older brother as a confidant. Then, everything she knows gets turned upside down when she is betrothed to the prince of a neighboring kingdom for a necessary political alliance. Suddenly, she must embark on a great journey, to meet and marry someone she has never met. How will she continue to hide her secret?

Along the way, everything falls apart, as is often the case in young adult fantasy. Of course, things need to fall apart, before they can fall back together in just the right way… Jenna ends up alone and stranded in a dangerous area, known as the Wild. After journeying for days, Jenna must make difficult choices, balancing her personal wants, with her sense of duty. Jenna’s ability to survive her journey along with the many challenges that she faces, reveal that the title ‘Shielded’ has multiple meanings.

There is a lot to like in this book. Jenna is a phenomenal character—thoughtful, insightful, resilient, selfless, and a badass fighter, who knows how to wield a sword to defend herself and those she cares about. The book is jam-packed with adventure of various types—being lost in the Wild, encountering a new kingdom and unknown people, hidden identities, and of course some high stakes combats. There are twists and turns, and some surprises that really caught me off guard. There may have been a few tiny plot holes, but the book was so generally good, they are easy to overlook. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially to fans of Harry Potter, Twilight, The Hunger Games, and Lord of the Rings. In more good news, this is the first in a series, and the ending left me eager to read the next.

Finally, thank you to Kaylynn Flanders, Netgalley, and Delacorte Press (Random House Children’s) for the opportunity to read ‘Shielded’ as an advance reader copy, in exchange for an honest review. When reading an excellent book like this, I am so grateful that this platform exists, allowing me to read this book in advance of its publication and in turn get the word out about this fantastic book and author!

This is another surprisingly amazing installment with its mind-bending, intriguing world-building, well-crafted character development, riveting story-telling, heart throbbing progression and satisfying ending! And let’s not forget to praise the brilliant illustration! Lately the covers of the books are breathtaking and thankfully there are such amazing artists out there to support fantastic reviews with their skilled imaginative minds!

I’m not gonna write a long review and take your precious time. I’m gonna summarize the facts why I liked the book so much:

Fact one: HEROINE: Jennesara is decent, trustworthy, likeable character. She is a princess and she is also warrior but she isn’t blood thirsty, looking for vengeance kind of heroine, not excessively badass, tough, wild, violent and obnoxious. She does not have a tragic background story, not suffering from any loss or dysfunctional family drama. Her father tells her to marry with the prince of Turia for benefiting the resources to save their kingdom and she happily obeys her father to save her family. Maybe you may misjudge her for not fighting her way out or blaming her not to have any trace of feminism in her system but she is a real sweetheart to sacrifice herself for the safety of her loved ones and her kingdom.

Fact two: I don’t normally love insta love stories but romance parts of this book surprisingly warmed my frozen and cruel heart (daily I pour boiling water on it to feel something but neighborhood kids still call me Cruella de Vil)

Fact three: Of course I enjoyed action-packed, moving, exciting and heart throbbing chapters which were truly unputdownable. Betrayal, lies, family ties intercepted with magic, fantasy and epic romance makes you sigh several times are tasty combination for any kind of readers’ dreamy books.

Only thing I didn’t like and resulted with cutting one of the stars was pacing! I normally enjoyed fast-pacing and I admitted too many times I’m not a big fan of slow burn fantasies. But in this book, you need extra time to absorb the whirlwind events because too many things happening at the same time and you want to take a break and slow your heart rhythm, feeling like just finished 5K marathon, breathing in and out to gather your senses. So I wish the pace could be a little slower or some of the actions could be saved for the second book.

But overall: it’s enjoyable, perfectly- written epic journey, mesmerizing you and captivates your focus, energy, soul and heart at the same time. At the end you keep smiling because you had great time during your reading and enjoy every second of the characters’ journey.

So I stick with my exhilarating, actin packed, entertaining, epic four stars! And I cannot wait to read the second book into my hands.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s/Delacorte Press for sharing this fantastic ARC with me in exchange my honest review.

I really loved the cover for this one. I don't always enjoy people on the cover but the blue background really pulls it all in and I am a sucker for blue books. The premise is pretty simple and gives just enough to interest me. I did generally like the book but there were things that left me wanting more.

Jenna is a princess except she has grown up wielding a sword. There isn't too much said about her life because things move quickly and soon she is out the door headed to reach her betrothed's home. Through the journey there is more shown about her personality, including how brave she is. So many things happen to her and yet she clings to wanting to survive.

There are many characters introduced from the beginning. Through certain circumstances it felt like many would be done away but this author knows how to add the element of surprise! I never saw any of it coming. My one complaint about the characters was that there wasn't much time to form any feelings towards them so I didn't connect with the story in that way.

The book is also split between two point-of-views. It was confusing at first because I wasn't really sure what the second point-of-view had to do with anything but as the book continues on everything starts to unravel and makes sense. (I mean that's how it usually works but sometimes I'm just scattered brain, haha!) I'm not really sure if I enjoyed the split point-of-view or not.

The relationship that is formed was fine but nothing that made me want to root for them. At least it wasn't insta-love.

Although there are parts that can be slow, there is quite a bit of action. The plot is pretty intriguing and the twists, as stated already, were very surprising. They did keep my interest going. I think that the ending was fine and it did set the stage for the next book.

Overall, it was a good debut and I am curious to see what book two has in store.

"Shielded" starts off with a simple premise. The kingdom of Hálendi faces threats from its borders and weak relations with its neighbor, Turia. To solve this, the king promises Princess Jennesara in marriage to the prince, Enzo. However, she's not entirely too keen on the idea and would rather fight next to her brother on the battlefield. Jennesara also has a secret. She bears a white streak in her hair, which marks her as having magical abilities and the power to inherit the throne. Forced to hide this her entire life to safeguard her brother's claim, Jennesara realizes that marriage is the only way to help her kingdom.

Trouble, however, follows them on the road to Turia. Traveling with a royal entourage, Jennesara and her group are ambushed by a gray mage and his shadowy creations. Forced into the Wild, an environment controlled by magic, Jennesara must find Enzo and decide whether or not to reveal her secret to save Hálendi from invading forces.

While this book started out with an intriguing premise and an interesting heroine, the story lacked a sense of world-building and the kingdoms of Hálendi and Turia were not fully fleshed out. At the start of the book, there was a continuous dialogue about how people from Hálendi were warriors and protected Turia from outside invaders and magic wielders, but this was never fully explained. Instead, we received an information dump from the swordmaster about halfway through which served as the only explanation. Additionally, the world-building was left behind for a half-hatched political plot and typical romance.

Jennesara's character was also disappointing. I'm always a fan of women, who prefer the sword, but her magical abilities were barely discussed or even developed. One moment, Jennesara did not know she had magic and the next second she was turning people invisible. This story also lacked a definitive character arc and instead, Jennesara went from one event to another without having time to digest what had actually happened to her.

This book hits the mark! Fun, beautiful cover, great heroine and great ending. Great book! Just a little slow at the start, but picks up quickly and you will want to race to the finish.

This book took me by surprise! I was not expecting to enjoy and love this book as much as I did! This book had a fresh voice with an amazing storyline. This book had me reading and loving it from beginning to end. There were a few things that weren't my favorite, but overall this book was a wonderful read. The author did an amazing job of keeping the story moving and the action and suspense interwoven. The world-building was well done and the romance was sweet. The main characters were enjoyable and heart-felt. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! A couple things that weren't my favorite was how she used magic maybe a little too expertly with the mage, and maybe a little too much time in the Wild. Great twists and turns, some twists were predictable, and others were shocking! Enjoyable book, would highly recommend! Can't wait for the next book!!

This story about the badass Jennesara figuring things out and bringing peace to a warring land is the incredible new fantasy you need in your life. Jenna was born with a magic she wasn't supposed to have, forced to keep it a secret her entire life. Enzo is the sweet prince she is betrothed to and together they will change their lands.

SHIELDED is a really amazing fantasy filled with first love, family ties, sisterhood, and magic <3

<i>*This book was given to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review*</i>

This was a fun read overall. I would have liked to get a better understanding of a few of the characters, and more on The Wild. I expect it will have a high check out at my library, especially with a cover like that!

3.5/5 stars

I wasn't drawn in to the story as I had hoped. As far as the books this was compared to, I wasn't particularly fond of either of them. Despite that, I went into this with high expectations. The summary drew me in instantly, so I was willing to set my feelings on the comparisons aside. I enjoyed it, but for me personally I wanted more. I love the writing style and the magic system though. The pacing was good, although it did take me about a third of the book to really get into it. Characters were a mixed bag for me, but the last few chapters gives me the impression that we'll learn a bit more. I liked this, but not enough to bump it up to 4 stars. I reserve the 4+ stars for books I feel more "connected" to or have fun with. This book just didn't give me that.

3.5 or 4 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's nothing unique, but it's a good story if you're in the mood for a medieval adventure. I loved the details added into the world, and there's some solid building blocks for worldbuilding in a sequel.

The characters were strong. They didn't feel bland like in most YA. You got a good glimpse of their identities and thoughts that make them unique while not info-dumping on them. There wasn't any development in this as the focus of the story was more an exploration of the characters as they were. Again, I can see set-up for development and growth for a sequel.

The magic system makes absolutely no sense. There are no clear rules for it nor is it a soft or ambiguous magic system. It gave me all the vibes of classic fantasy stories where the magic simply occurs when needed and there's no explanation as to why it does what it does. I can definitely see people finding fault with this, and I usually do myself, but I enjoyed the characters and story so much that I can overlook a lax system.

It reads like a debut book, but there's a lot of hope for growth in the author's writing and the world itself, and I'm excited to see where it goes.