A nice premise with all the elements of a ya fantasy present that doesn't quite come together. I would have loved to spend more time with Jenna at her castle establishing a better sense of her position in court and her somewhat hermit ways. The strongest parts of the story are when magic is on the page - Flanders hits her creative stride in the forest scenes perfectly capturing a sense of danger, apprehension towards unknown forces and the menace of an unstoppable enemy. It was quite cinematic. However, the story never maintains that feeling once Jenna meets up with her betrothed and his family. The romance was sweet and followed a nice, natural progression I enjoyed - it was believable. However the story idles too much in the new castle setting, her mystery identity story lacks enough tension and the villains remain so mystery and one note that some aspects of the final action set piece felt anticlimactic. Jenna's story is still compelling like her mother's mysterious demise, the world-building and artifacts, etc so I would be interested in the sequel but with more consistency and more deeply explored relationships between Jenna and her supporting cast - a lot of events happened off page when they shouldn't have. My expectations were quite high given the beautiful cover but the story couldn't meet my excitement. 3/5 stars

I felt like the plot was intriguing, but the writing felt somewhat tedious. I would still like to read more books from this author, but this was not my favorite read of 2020.

Shielded has gotten a lot of hype on social media this year, but I just didn't like it as much as I thought I would. I felt like there was little to no world-building at the beginning, so I felt like I was suddenly thrown into the world with no background in regards to the setting or the magic system. The one part I did like was Jennesara's personality. She is a very strong and determined princess, and one of the best parts of her character in my opinion was her love for her brother. I loved their relationship, and although I'm not sure if I will continue with the series, I'm looking forward to seeing more of their interactions if I do. 3 stars

Shielded was amazing and impressive high fantasy novel that revolved around Jennesara and her love for her country and family. It was about family, love, sacrifice, friendship, betrayal, and good vs evil.

Writing was gripping, beautiful, vivid and fast paced. I couldn’t put this down until I finished the book. It was first person narrative from Jennesara’s (Jenna) perspective. Her voice was enchanting and I loved reading this world and her conflicting situation through her view. Everything in this book- plot, characters, world and development- was perfectly written. This is kind of book you can go blind and enjoy more without knowing anything about it.

Plot was intriguing with The Waiting Evil trope. It started with character introduction, customs of Hálendi, how war at borders was affecting everyone, and how Jenna got surprise just a day before her seventeenth birthday about her betrothal to prince heir of Turia and has to leave behind everything she loved to save her kingdom. Jenna was second born and she kept a secret that she too was born with magic like her brother to avoid conflict and fulfil her mother’s dying wish but she got another surprise when her father gave her magical artefacts before she left indicating he knew about it. On her journey to Turia, her caravan was ambushed by greater threat to kingdom than they have thought.

It was interesting to read how Jenna would survive the wild magical forest, if she would reach to Turia, what she would do once she reach there, how she would confront King of Turia, and if she could help in saving her people, her family, and kingdoms from the mages of legend.

Characters were realistic and well written. Most of them were likable which made it hard to guess who was betraying the kingdom. Even the villains were interesting and I enjoyed reading more about them. My most favourite characters were Jenna and Enzo.

Jenna was fiery, fierce and strong female character. She was amazing warrior and knew how to fight but her father kept her from studying magic and tried to keep her safe from war. She knew more about magic only recently and yet she could figure things out. She was not good at strategizing and plans but she was smart and knew kingdom politics well. I admired her love for her brother, father and kingdom, the way she kept her magic secret to keep throne secure for her brother. She was burdened by the secret and she feared the conflict if her secret came out or if she turned against her brother like stories in legend yet she handled the burden and guarded the secret so well. I enjoyed her journey through wild that made her stronger and more developed. Her time in Turia and all the scenes from her secret identity to its revelation showed how amazing she was not just from outside but from inside.

Enzo was lovely to read. He was strong, smart, great warrior but little less fierce than Jenna that balanced their relationship. We know him more through his relationship with Jenna. I will talk about it letter.

Family dynamic was amazing. I loved Ren who would made everyone want to have brother like him. He cared and loved his sister with whole heart and soul. He was Jenna’s partner in crime. Jenna’s father was amazing. I loved him when he gave those artefacts to Jenna and showed why he was strict with her and how much he loved her. Enzo’s family was lovely. His grandmother, Yesilia, was best healer of kingdom and everyone respected her. I liked her for supporting Jenna during her stay. Enzo’s father-King Marko was cunning but fair king and I liked him whenever he showed up. Queen Cora, Enzo’s mother, was motherly character and two sisters- Mari and Chiara- were fabulous, especially Mari who was mischievous, strong for her age, knew every corner of the castle and best at hiding. Chiara was great too. She was not warrior like Jenna and yet I loved reading about her and there is going to be more about her in next book.

World was mesmerizing. It developed gradually. As the plot progressed we know more about history of Plateau and Continent and how three kingdoms of Plateau were divide, what was their custom and how they helped each other and how war was affecting all three kingdoms, magical artefacts, magic, story of hidden magical library, and the Mages and their powers. It was all mind-blowing to read and was perfectly balanced with characters, plot, and romance.

Romance was lovely. Both Enzo and Jenna never met each other before, they didn’t communicate before betrothal as Jenna didn’t knew anything about it. When they met, they developed friendship and their feeling for each other grew as they spent more time together, even though Enzo didn’t know whom he had brought to palace. Jenna’s dilemma to reveal her secret or not, Enzo finding another betrothal, and danger hunting Jenna added more tension to their relationship. I was curious to see when Enzo would discover her true identity and how he would react, and when it was revealed, it made their ship even more interesting.

Action scenes were thrilling and exciting to read. There were so many twists and turns in the book. Some were good, some were surprising, and few I could guess easily. Climax was tense and filled with magic, action, and revelation of Jenna’s identity. Last and major twist before the final battle was surprising. (well, I made mistake, I read synopsis of second book which made it easy to guess for me what would happen next so I advise don’t read synopsis of second book before you finish this one.) But when the curtain was lifted from the face of traitor I was shocked and I couldn’t guess what he did next. End was just perfect. Next book Untethered is going to be my most anticipated book in 2021.

Overall, Shielded was perfect definition of high fantasy with strong characters, descriptive and captivation world, lovely OTP and well written actions and twist and turns.

I see this title literally everywhere, and am always excited to see titles I've read mentioned. A fun read and one I had a blast reading!

I am crushed. I am not ready to leave these characters... I grow to love them like my friends, like my family. I loved that Jenna wasn't your typical princess, and that's exactly what saved her. Her brother, Ren, made me think of my own brother, and I loved him for that. I savoured every twist and turn in this book, and I can't wait to read the next book! (And I will most certainly buy a physical copy of this book!)

Many thanks to KayLynn Flanders and Penguin Random House for the complimentary e-copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a great story from start to finish! The strong heroine was wonderful and a character you just couldn't not fall for. This story had wonderful and beautiful writing! The betrayal was so evil and so perfect! I need book two now! This book was magic and I could not put it down!

I loved the world building and the characters of this book so much. Flanders really set the bar high with this book and I can't wait to see what she has in store for her readers next.

I absolutely loved this. The style of writing. The character arcs and plot. Definitely a well earned 4 star from me

In Shielded, our main character is Jennesara, a princess of a nation of strong fighters who has never been allowed to leave her father's stronghold ever since her mother died. In this world, only the king and the next in line for the throne (Jennesara's older brother) are allowed to possess magic and any other magic user must be banished. Jennesara, however, bears the mark of a streak of white hear, which identifies her as a magic user. Her mother taught her to always hide it until she passed away. Now only Jennesara and her brother know.

When we start our story, Jennesara discovers her father has betrothed her to a prince in a neighboring country and she must leave the next day. While en route, her traveling band is attacked by a magic user and Jennesara is left wandering alone a magical wilderness to survive. She must solve the mystery of who attacked her, why her country is in danger and several other mysteries while also concealing her identity and battling magic creatures sent to follow her.

There were definitely plot points that I was able to predict accurately, but that does not mean that I did not enjoy the story. The characters are well fleshed out, the magic system is interesting and unique and the relationships that occur make sense and are filled with warmth.

The book definitely leaves the door open to sequels and I hope we get to see them.

i'm definitely late to giving feedback to this, but i enjoyed this debut!

i thought the magic was interesting and the characters were fun. i personally found the pacing to be quite slow with basically no plot until probably 70% into the book, and there wasn't a whole lot to keep readers' interest in my opinion? i liked the developing relationship between Jenna and Enzo as well as his sisters, but i just kept waiting for something to happen. even then, i felt like a majority of the book was so predictable because there had been obvious clues sprinkled in earlier

i think the only thing that kept me reading was the writing and the characters. i don't think there was necessarily any development to the characters throughout the course of the novel, but they weren't entirely flat either. i'd definitely be interested to see how they continue to develop in the sequel, but it probably wouldn't be something i'd pick up immediately.

but overall, this definitely wasn't a bad debut and i'm definitely interested to see what Flanders puts out in the future!

I found "Shielded" mildly enjoyable, but most of the time the book seemed to just creep along a little too slowly. Also (especially for a YA book), I expected a little more character growth. The plot however was intriguing enough to have me interested in ready the next book in the series.

Shielded was a good book! It wasn’t one of my favorites but it was a good read, decent character development and writing, with an okay plot. I was expecting more with this one, I think? It was just average for me! I can’t really think of anything I hated about it, but it was hard to get into. Overall it was a decent book! I’d pick up the sequel for sure.

a ya fantasy that is about 16 year old princess that survives an assassination and tries to find her family killer. i like the characters, the romance and all the family bonds, but overall its really genetic fantasy that doesn't stand out the much. it was okay book and i look forward to the sequel.

A princess in love with her brother and her brother's friend must survive when enemy forces attack her homeland and the country adjacent to it, all while hiding a distinctive white stripe of hair that indicates that she's magic. There was so much in this that was inconsistent and didn't make sense that I can't even begin to list it all. Filled with stereotypes and "plot twists" visible for miles, this book screams "bad Disney film treatment" all over it.

Kaylynn Flanders debut novel is a gem!
Shielded has everything you like in a fantasy ya novel. Strong female heroin, fighting for her life, family, love. Magic & traitors galore. Romance isn't too much so I'd be fine sharing with anyone 10+. Waiting to see what goodies this author brings to life in the future.
I received this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion from NetGalley.

I loved nearly all aspects of this book. The scenery was utterly amazing, the plot was twisting and super immersive, the character growth was *chef's kiss* perfect.

But the pacing was so slow I couldn't read it all in one sitting. When you guys know I can read up to a book or more a day. But Shielded just was moving very slowly. It was great for the book because the story definitely lended itself to it but I got really annoyed. The slow-burn was perfect but it almost didn't have an effect because it happened during the fastest time of the book.

I don't know. I really recommend it but be aware that it starts off really slow.

DNF after fifty pages

Already the plot isn't entirely believable (the heroine's able to hide her white streak perfectly with a braid? Always? This worked when she was a young child and now that she's apparently a clumsy teen? Even though there would be servants around ALL THE TIME? I don't think so. Aside from that, there have already been convenient plot points, like when she picks up the incriminating scrap of paper. This reads like a not particularly well-constructed generic fantasy. I didn't hate it but I feel like I've read a better version of it before.

I absolutely loved this book. There was romance and fantasy all mixed together. I loved the twists and turns. I loved the connection Jenna had with her brother Ren. The book had me falling in love with all the characters. I can't wait for the next book.

This was an ok read. It has a lot of the tropes you see in YA fantasy novels. I'm sure there are many people who will enjoy this book a lot. But I don't really see it bringing anything new to the table.