This is such a great book to begin the Sundered Worlds series by Hughes and is perfect for lovers of Percy Jackson. This book is unique and I enjoyed reading it. It was fast paced, action packed and I finished in one sitting. The main character Jackson was fantastic and I see a lot of readers relating to him. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book.

Thanks to NetGalley for an Arc of this book! I admit that this is probably a younger novel than my usual reading level, but there is nothing wrong with reading something light hearted and shorter occasionally. Fast-paced and easy to devour in one sitting ensure you don’t go into a reading slump and the weird but wonderful dust bowl location with giant hawks and unicorns made for an extremely interesting read!

I honestly can’t wait to find out what happens next. It’s like a comfort read, like when I go back and re-read Harry Potter or Percy Jackson!

The first in a new series by Naomi Hughes, The Sundered Flame follows Jackson Harper, a freelance unicorn rider who (along with his bonded unicorn Luna), travel the "sundered" world, helping out those around them by killing the monsters that roam the land. After coming across Todd - a brilliantly named (by Jackson) snake-dragon - and running in to a spot of trouble, Jackson is reunited with his childhood friend Moira and learns that she is also a dragon rider, working with the official unicorn corps, and shortly becomes embroiled in a conspiracy surrounding the magic of the world, and the unicorns that everyone looks up to.

As a whole, I quite enjoyed this book. The book genuinely made me laugh out loud at times, and Jackson had a fantastic narrative style as the MC - and his brilliant sarcastic wit was a real breath of fresh air.

It was also great to see the "unicorn trope" turned on its head too, with them being seen less as "beings of purity who will only tolerate pure women" and more as warriors and generals, fighting a ~conspiracy~ and an unseen big bad, and also helping with the more immediate threat of magic-starved (and potentially insane!) monsters terrorizing the nation.

One thing I wasn't really a fan of though was the romantic sub-plot. It didn't really seem to add anything of substance to the story, and progressed a bit too quickly for my liking. I would have much preferred it had Moira and Jackson remained as the reunited best friends - at least for the first book, and maybe just had the potential there for something more, if we have to go in that direction.

Overall, this was a super fun book and a really easy read, perfect for Middle Grade and young YA readers alike.

Reminiscent of Percy Jackson and Twice Upon a Time, this first installment of The Sundered Worlds Trilogy was an entertaining read!

Our narrator Jackson is a free-lance unicorn rider, who has avoided official registration due to his not-so-pure past that will separate him from his unicorn, Luna, if it comes to light. When a freelance mission forces a reunion between his ex-bestfriend and official unicorn rider, Moira; Jackson fears his unicorn riding days are approaching an end. However, when he and Moira stumble upon dark secrets involving unicorns, they discover deadlier problems.

I loved the characters in this! First off, Jackson's narration was great, and I may have related to his dig-yourself-a-hole-by-talking trait. Also, I really liked that we actually had a male unicorn rider, a role that has usually been female. And unicorn riders also being monster slayers was fun! Moira was a great secondary lead. She is an official unicorn rider with tons of weapon training. Also, Moira and Jackson's past friendship and current estrangement was revealed in a practically perfect manner.

All in all, this was an enjoyable read. After reading this and Mercurial, Naomi Hughes has definitely become a must read author for me, so I'll definitely be picking up book 2 (Empress of Ash) when it releases! (especially after the teaser at the end of The Shadowed Flame)

Many thanks to NetGalley and Naomi Hughes for an eARC of The Shadowed Flame. I really appreciate the opportunity to read this!

Found this for my grandson but hey I ended up enjoying this book alot. Unicorn riders. Usually unicorns are with girls but I liked how they are teamed up this time with boy riders. With depth to their personalities! A fun adventure for both young and young at heart! Thanks #netgalley and #independentBookPublishersAssociation for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jackson Harper is a unicorn rider, who communicates with his unicorn, Luna, through telepathy. They are living in a post-apocalyptic world that was depleted of all magik several years before Jackson’s birth. Their job is to rid the world from monsters, creatures who became evil and dangerous during the Draining. As the book begins, Jackson and Luna are fighting a dragon, a battle which Jackson is losing. Just in the nick of time, he is saved by a mysterious girl in white, who he discovers is his long lost childhood best friend and first crush, Moira. Together Jackson and Moira, along with their unicorns must discover why magik is missing from their world and how to return balance to a world that is dying.

Naomi Hughs is adept at world building. Although she uses traditional mythological creatures, she gives them a unique spin that is not always anticipated. It’s easy to picture the landscape, dotted with old automatons, zeppelins, and all manner of discarded technology that no longer functions in a land that is slowly withering. Her characters are well developed, and it’s easy to root for Jackson to triumph over evil and win over his crush, who is perpetually frustrated with him. This could easily have been a simple adventure story, but there are deeper themes as well, like grief, overcoming fear, mental illness, and the struggle to know what “right” is among a plethora of choices that all seem wrong. Although there are times that the plot moves slowly, overall, the story line is gripping, and the reader is trying to figure out the mystery along with Jackson.

There were, however, a few concerns. The first third of the book reads very much like a fun adventure aimed at middle grade readers. However, after that, the book takes a darker turn, and some of the gore seemed gratuitous to me. The level of darkness that follows places this clearly in the YA realm. My largest concern is the use of some pejorative language towards the mentally ill. It is actually very clear that Ms. Hughs has worked hard to create an environment that is accepting of the mentally ill. Jackson deals with some anxiety, and his mother appears to struggle with PTSD. Both characters are portrayed sympathetically. However, the word, mad, is used multiple times as a descriptor, both for mythological creatures and an evil queen. Did the creatures become mentally ill? Was the queen dealing with depression? The use of the word mad could be replaced with better, more accurate descriptions. I also found it problematic that Jackson jokes about suicide, as well as the portrayal of suicide as a nobel choice in one situation. I believe that both joking about suicide and glorifying it are issues that can increase stigma and misinformation, as well as possibly hurting those who struggle with suicidal feelings.

"Shadowed Flame" is reminiscent of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians review in terms of similarities between Jackson and Percy, the idea of a world-saving quest, and plenty of action/fight scenes. This book opens with a fight between Jackson and a dragon; the action throughout is written and described well. The overall tone of the book is light and humorous, and sometimes the more serious moments read as a little cheesy. Jackson and Moira, both unicorn riders, are the two main characters. The progression and development of their relationship (similar to Percy's and Annabeth's) was shown well, but toward the end, some aspects happened too quickly to be entirely realistic.

I enjoyed the world-building and the premise of having unicorn riders. Usually, when unicorns are present in fantasy books, they are aloof and, in keeping with some mythology, exclusively bond with women. I appreciate that Hughes gave some discussion to why there are so few male riders. The pacing of backstory reveals was well done; each reveal was well placed and gave insight at the right moment. However, some of the explanations about the central conflict became slightly convoluted and were hard to follow/understand. Splitting the explanations into mini-episodes with small refreshers throughout the story as opposed to one big plot dump may have helped me better understand some of the intricacies of the conflict.

This book is told from Jackson's perspective, which I liked. Many books feature the perspective of at least two characters, and while this method can be effective, I liked that we knew only what Jackson was thinking. All the characters were well-developed and distinct; there were no extraneous characters.

One complaint I have is feeling like this book could easily have been a standalone. The direction for the sequel is clearly established at the end of the book, but I am not sure it is needed. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a light, fun, coming-of-age hero story featuring secret-keeping and subterfuge.

• Beautiful imagery ✅
• Mythical creatures and unique background stories for the unicorns ✅
• A unique magic system ✅
• Lovable characters ✅
• A sweet but angsty childhood friends-to-lovers romance

I knew by the cover art alone that I would love this book!! It had everything that I love about a good fantasy story and it did not disappoint. My only complaint, is I knew who both the Traveler and Shadowed Flame were early on. All the hints made it very easy to guess and I wish there would’ve been more suspense there so the revelation was more shocking.

I loved this book very much and I can’t wait for the sequel!!

I really didn't know what to expect going into The Shadowed Flame, but this book absolutely delivers on the Percy Jackson vibes. There may be no Greek Gods here, but there are some pretty impressive teenagers battling monsters, and our MC is a fun mix of joking-when-anxious and snark.

Unicorns and boys don't get paired together in fiction that often, so that was pretty cool to see here. I admit to being slightly disappointed that the unicorns can talk - that wasn't the take on the animal/human magic bond trope that I was hoping for - but still: unicorn-riding monster hunters! What's not to love about that concept?

The Shadowed Flame is set in a secondary fantasy world, one which lost its magic 20 years before the start of the story - resulting in a kind of post-apocalyptic setting, given that all technology was powered by magic and is now non-functional. On top of that, all magical wildlife became monsters when they were starved of magic, which is why you have the Riders - humans bonded to unicorns, who did not go mad and both were and are the only sentient magic-users.

The story starts with a bang - in the middle of a dragon-slaying! - and proceeds at a rapid pace. The unicorns here are definitely not sweet fairytale steeds; they have their own agenda, the reveal of which was a twist I definitely didn't see coming. Although The Shadowed Flame maybe has a touch too much telling-not-showing for my taste, there's plenty of action and a great cast - and honestly, I could forgive a lot worse in exchange for the incredible premise.

This is definitely a potential new fave for Percy Jackson fans, as well as offering plenty of appeal for those who are tired of Greek mythology. I know I'm definitely going to be buying copies for my younger sisters!