Shielded, the first book in this series, was an enjoyable fantasy adventure so I was excited to pick up this sequel. Sadly, I don’t think I was able to enjoy it as much — however there were definitely still elements I enjoyed. I thought Chiara was an interesting and compelling narrator, and I honestly wished more of the book had been from her point of view. Her narrative is one of finding strength in yourself and your values, and also in traits that are too often deemed weak. I really loved that aspect, and thought her character growth was cool. Overall, the plot didn’t do too much to entertain me — it felt rather similar to the first novel and just in general a bit formulaic. I also wasn’t super into Ren’s and Chiara’s romance; it was just kind of boring for me. However, I did appreciate that their relationship was based off a healthy foundation of trust, so that was nice. All in all, by all means a decent sophomore novel, I just wouldn’t say it was a standout for me.

This is such a fluffy fantasy. If this was ever made into a TV show, sign me up because it's perfect for that or a movie.

I definitely found this a lot less action-packed than the first book. It was a bit slower, so that combined with my slump make it take me a while to get through, but I definitely enjoyed it. You got to see characters from the first book and have some formerly side characters fleshed out more. There was a lot of exploration of the world, some explanation on the villains, and a good ending.

Please keep in mind, this is a tidy ending. I usually hate those, but I enjoyed it in this. Had a fairytale feel to it, very cozy. <spoilers>I also found it super interesting that the villains were never really explained/expanded on which is kinda nice. I feel like some books spend too much time making their villains "relatable" that they lose the scariness of them. While I never felt that the characters were threatened by these villains, I had no doubt that they would kill people if they wanted to at the drop of the hat. They were just good, standard evil dudes.</spoiler> I found the ending, while relatively predictable, to have some twists I wasn't expecting, so that was fun.

I think my only "complaints" would be I wish we had a bit more explanation on the magic. I always got the feeling that magic was super rare, and i would have liked to seen that explored more. I also would have loved to know more about the land. There were some mentions of another continent (I think? It's been a while since I read <i>Shielded</i>), and it was brought up again in this. I would have loved to have known just a smidge more about it. Just so the world felt a little less like a video game terrain with fuzzy borders around the areas you play through and more like the fuzzy boarders are there, but you know a bit about what's beyond them.
I also kinda wish we had had more with the villains mainly to learn about Kais, and more about the Library.

But other than that, this was an enjoyable read. A good fantasy if you're looking to dip your toe into the genre while giving a steady, solid plot and characters.

3.5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for sending me a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Untethered is the sequel to Shielded (which I reviewed an ARC of about this time last year) and is just as fast-paced and action-packed as its predecessor. This time around, though, there is more focus on the characters than the world building and themes of teamwork, friendship, family, and healing are especially prevalent.

I love spending time with these characters and each of the enchanting settings that make up this world and I really enjoyed discovering the new settings and characters introduced. I hope to see more of them in a future story.

There is one noticeable difference between the two books: in Shielded we had one major POV with brief snapshots from a limited number of minor characters while in Untethered we are treated to two main POVs with snapshots from a wide range of characters. Since I prefer multiple POVs, I liked this change and think it’s clever how the number of POVs expands as the story and world do. However, I did find the spacing between POVs to be a bit off: I always wanted to check back in with characters well before the story made it back to them and sometimes the parts I was hoping to read were skipped over entirely.

Overall, though, I think my biggest complaint is with Ren’s initial setup in his opening chapters. By the end of Untethered, none of the issues brought up in the beginning with Ren are even remotely resolved and I don’t understand why this setup was chosen as his catalyst. Obviously, Ren needed something to set him on his path so the events of this book could happen…but I feel like there could have been a more satisfactory catalyst that didn’t leave so many unresolved questions. When I first read Shielded I was under the impression this was a duology, however Untethered reads more like a trilogy (and, after some research, I can’t find an answer to that question and I have absolutely no idea where I got that impression). Since there were a bit too many loose ends for me for a duology, my rating will probably bump up if this turns out to be a trilogy.

Thank you again to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the privilege of reviewing an ARC.

When I read the synopsis of this book, I was immediately intrigued. However, I hadn’t read the first book in this series and so before I requested this one from NetGalley, I made sure to see if my local public library had Shielded. Reading both books back to back allowed for me to immerse myself in the trials and tribulations of the kingdoms of the Plateau. All the characters were so well written… from leads like Jennesara and Enzo, Chiara and Ren to more minor characters like Yesilia and the Brown Mage. For Untethered, Chiara is a very relatable character. She is surrounded by people who are preparing to run kingdoms and whose choices impact a great deal of people. This causes her to feel very insignificant. She doesn’t have magic, she isn’t a great warrior, and she isn’t in line to rule a kingdom; but what Chiara does have, love and courage, just might be enough to save her beloved Turia as well as the other kingdoms of the Plateau.

An entertaining follow up to the first book, I enjoyed further exploring the world created in "Shielded." "Untethered" has a fun and fast moving plot and likable characters with realistic vulnerabilities. Hopefully we'll see a third book in the series with more problem solving from this duo.

This book was a stunning sequel to Shielded. This story follows Ren and Chiara as the continue the fight against the mages and work to save their kingdoms, and their families. They grow closer as they endeavor to save the missing king, and find the Black Library. This story contains loads of action and adventure along with some romance. I love this world and all of the characters in this book.

I loved the first book of this series so I was very excited to start reading the second. It did not disappoint and I was so excited to join these characters again. The author did a great job with the characters and the plot. You will definitely not be bored reading this.