I haven't finished this yet as it's rather overly descriptive and kind of hard to get through. It is enjoyable buy a tad dry in places. Characters are a little scattered. Other wise very entertaining.

Reynolds creates interesting characters and explores many relationships such as father-daughter, sister-brother, love and even platonic ones. This book follows Aluma, who is forced to take part in a tournament after her father was mysteriously injured and although she is finally allowed to pursue her dream of flying, she learns the devastating secrets behind the king and the centuries-old war with Laithlann.

For a debut novel, this was actually really good. I enjoyed reading about all the characters and the plot was so wonderfully planned out and was unexpected in the right places. However, due to my natural bias against love triangles, badly written or not, I had to take off one star for the unnecessary trope (in this instance it wasn't really necessary because she met the other guy two days ago or something and he wasn't even the villain). And I 100% love that even with all the character development, she's still reckless and commits to her insanely stupid ideas.

Thank you netgalley for sending me a digital arc copy in exchange for an honest review!

A light in the Sky is a YA book about the adventures of a seventeen year old girl living with her dad and brother on a farm in Cintrenia, on the island of Eirelannia. Cintrenia is one of the kingdom ruled by King Breasal. The king and its retinue are from Tarmensil, capital of Uladmond. Its people are wealthy, rich and well fed. The king and his brother have been adding to their realm by annexing lands close-by. And Cintrenia is one of these annexed lands, where famine is on everyone's doorstep due to heavy taxes from the king. So rebellion is in the air. The last kingdom to be annexed is the kingdom on Laithlann which, to me, seems like New York under water. Tall skyscrapers, their base in water, define the capital city.
Aluma's dream is to become an Empyrean Rider and to fly a Pegasus-like Empyrean Steed. The horses have wings. How cool is that! Every year, at the Autumn fair, a tournament is held to select the next candidates to go to Galghesworp, the Riding training center. Aluma would like to compete but her father is dead set against it.
From there flows a really nice story on what happens to Aluma and her family. The story is full of friendship, love, filial duty but also betrayal, spite, heartache, hatred and death. As the book evolved, Aluma is faced with choices that will impact other people's lives and destinies, And these choices are not easy to make.

I like the story overall. It had a good rhythm, the key characters were well developed (i would have liked a little more details from the secondary characters), I had no issue turning the pages to find out what happened next.
What i didn't like as much were ..... the names. I am not sure why but they struck me as odd but i couldn't shake the feeling that they were very very odd. Also I am not sure about the timeframe of this story. Are we talking post-apocalyptic? what year or century? what happened to Eirelannia and when?
It would also help to know if this is book one of a series. If it is not, then this story needs a lot more. There are some ends that need to be tied: Aluma's mum and brother for e.g.

Overall a good effort from the author. I think that teens or young adults will really like this story, especially if you are into horses.

#ALightintheSky #NetGalley
thank you to Wink Road Press and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

In general I thought this story was pretty good and has a lot of potential, but the love triangle was insufferable (I just really hate love triangles) and the cast of characters had absolutely zero diversity. It’s going to be a series so I’m excited to see this author improve their skills!

I was given the book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

DNF
I got past page 400 and just couldn't continue.
This book was not for me. It started off good with a lot of potential. The further I got into it, I got a "Hunger Games" feeling with the dystopian fantasy theme going on. Then it started to become predictable.
I really had high hopes for this but...nope.
It didn't feel mature enough for the genre.

This is a great fantasy, young adult read that captures the attention of the reader from the very beginning. The story follows Aluma, who has dreamed of becoming a rider in the Empryean cavalry to protect her nation. In order to join, she must survive the notorious Autumn tournament and the dangers that come with it.

This story did an amazing job on the world building. The setting involves a futuristic society with advanced technology but still engaged in a war that has. been destroying both nations. I really enjoyed the characters and their dynamics throughout the story, The relationships further illustrate the complex relationships these characters share.

This is a great teen read that involves all the tropes readers love in YA: a strong female main character, love triangles, and a society filled with secrets and magic. I recommend this book to any fans of the genre.

This book was a very pleasant surprise, to say the least. I became interested in it after seeing the beautiful artwork on the cover and after reading its synopsis. We follow the story of Aluma, a girl that loved flying more than anything else in the world, and her quest to fullfil her father´s wishes, alongside others with the same interests. The plot is well constructed and fast-paced, so you won´t be bored reading this book, if anything it makes you want to keep reading it. It is also well-written and the characters are easy to love. My favorite part about this book was the world-building and the characters relationships. We are introduced to the world by parts, as the plot progresses, so it´s easy to follow up and the friendships formed between the characters are very heart-warming to read about. Regarding tropes, we have some well loved ones and some of my favorites, such as the "Revolution" trope and "the chosen one" trope. There are also hints of romance in the book, but nothing well-established for now. We got an open ending, so i´m curious to see the future of each character in possibly another novel. I really liked this book and it´s definitely one of my favorites of the year. Truly reccomend it!

Seventeen-year-old Aluma Banks has always dreamed of soaring freely through the skies astride a powerful winged steed of her own. But flying is a privilege granted only to the Riders of the king’s Empyrean Cavalry, the aerial warriors who defend the borders of their land from the fallen Kingdom of Laithlann.

Each year, Rider hopefuls across Eirelannia compete in the Autumn Tournament for the honor of joining the Cavalry. Aluma, trained to ride and fight by her retired Empyrean Rider father, knows she has what it takes to prove herself worthy—if only her father hadn’t forbidden her from joining their ranks, in the hope of protecting his only daughter from the perils of war. To make matters worse, Thayer, Aluma’s best friend who could be becoming something more, is competing—and if he wins, he’ll leave her behind.

When Aluma’s father is tragically injured just before the Tournament, she finds herself unexpectedly thrust into this year’s competition. But as Aluma begins to pursue her dreams, she learns devastating secrets about the king and his never-ending war with Laithlann. In her quest for the truth, Aluma discovers a power deep within herself that may be the only way to save Eirelannia and the people she loves from the darkness that threatens to consume them all.

The constant action means there is never a dull moment ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A great read, with tension from the start for Aluma.
Aluma is not only discovering a growing love but also just how deeply bad the world is around her that she knows. After her fathers unfortunate accident, life changes drastically for Aluma and her best friend Thayer.
She is a strong person, who, supported by her new friends, quickly learns that she needs to take control and save those who they love, and their world from becoming a darker place.
I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

Thankyou for Netgally for allowing me to read a pre-published copy.

A Light in the Sky is a fast, action-packed epic fantasy. It has a fabulous combination of technology and old-world charm, being set in a previously technologically rich world since destroyed by political greed. We find a society that is centered around the main capital of power, the rest of the land being used for its crops and resources in order to keep the rich in their positions. Aluma, our hero, has dreamed of becoming an Emperyean Rider - one of the elite troops that defend the land on their winged steeds, and while she has never been allowed to by her father, circumstances connive to give her a chance.

The story is rich in detail and the world is beautiful. Aluma's love triangle is the only disappointment int he book, being quite awkward, repetitive and odd. In the midst of this life threatening situation, she is worried about her choice between two boys - one of whom she just met? Every other part of her character does not fit with this.

Despite this, Aluma's story in enthralling and addictive. While it is 'finished' byt the end of the boo, it is clear there is much more to look forward to.

A Light in the Sky is an epic young adult fantasy novel and a coming-of-age journey of its protagonist, Aluma Banks, thrusts into the world of politics within their kingdom ruled by an oppressive king and his slew of disciples.

Each year, Rider hopefuls across the kingdom of Eirelannia compete in the Autumn tournament for a chance to join the ranks of the aerial warriors known as the Empyrean Cavalry. The victors of the competition get to earn wings for their stead, given that they pass their subsequent training.

My favorite thing about this story is its very detailed world-building. I loved the combination of this old and modern society ambiance, and it’s vividly different for each ‘kingdom.’ I thought this is where the author excelled the most.

On to the story itself, the early part of the novel was so fast-paced that it almost feels like I’m missing many details. I know that this is just the first book, but for most of the story’s first half, several characters were introduced but did not get to play significant roles in the second half. I’m probably just impatient for its next installment, but I thought some characters should’ve gotten more “page” time. I’d loved for the secondary characters to get their characters developed fully in the long run, along with the main protagonist.

There is also the inevitable love triangle which I find a bit problematic. I was like, girl, you’re in the midst of war, your father’s life is in peril, and a few days after meeting the guy who saved you, you thought that you’re already in love. Don’t get me wrong, I liked Aluma’s character, and she’s supposed to be smart and all, but she lacked focus most of the time, and it could get frustrating.

As I’ve said earlier, I loved the picturesque and vivid setting of the story. Hopefully, the pacing will settle a bit as we get more character development in the second installment. I won’t delve much deeper into the story because the official synopsis was already a dead giveaway, but I’d say that this is still a fantastic effort from the author.

Overall, I found this story to be very engaging and entertaining. The characters may not remain with you, but they’re generally likable. I’m looking forward to its second installment!

This book is really amazing! The world building and characters are excellent and relatable and immersive. While it's the first of the series, it's definitely a must-read.

The tale of Aluma and the rich world of Eirelannia is an interesting one.

-SPOILERS AHEAD-

This book is a blend of so many genre’s, and encompassed so many complex elements that painted this world in such vivid colours. I love high fantasy, and find not a lot of YA novels seem to go as in depth with their world building as I like. Shina Reynolds does. The blend of ancient elements and modern technology is very well balanced, and I found it very easy to immerse myself into the world.

I think the pacing of the story was done just perfectly. You dive heard first into the action, and it never felt like I was spending a lot of time reading about the one incident. The momentum of the plot was just right.

I will say that the use of so many unusual and difficult to pronounce names was very distracting throughout the book. I also found it really hard to enjoy the romance elements because of the love triangle between Aluma, her childhood friend, and the handsome and mysterious foreign prince. She spends far too long torn between the two of them, and listening to that inner conflict felt very repetitive. I’m not a massive fan of the love triangle trope, but when it is done when and provides opportunities for character development and growth I can get on board with it. Sadly, this just wasn’t the case here.

Overall, I did enjoy a lot of parts throughout A Light In the Sky, but the romantic elements were lacking depth and were often repetitive and frustrating to read.

I’d like to thank NetGalley for my copy of A Light In the Sky.

I really enjoyed this book. It felt like a mix of fantasy and adventure, similar to The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins), but also similar to Eragon (Christopher Paolini). Thayer especially gave me Peeta Mellark vibes. Speaking of Thayer, a love triangle? Really? I wasn't a fan. It reminded me of The Hunger Games again, except the love triangle was less well executed. Gattacan had no personality for Aluma to like. I think my favourite character was either Wolkenna or Xander. Wolkenna was sweet, but at the same time really badass. Xander had the potential to be really bratty and spoiled but was a genuinely nice person. Something I couldn't understand was how the horses could understand full sentences of instruction. Horses are smart creatures, but they're not that smart. If it's a magic Empyrean Steed thing, it's never explained. Overall though, I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend if you enjoyed The Hunger Games or Eragon.

A Light in the Sky is a story about Aluma, a 17-year-old who has dreamed of being part of the Empryean cavalry and riding her own winged horse. We follow Aluma through betrayals, successes, and going on a quest to save her world.

Once I saw the cover I knew I had to read this book as I've always been interested in winged horses and I loved the idea of a flying horse cavalry. This book has both regular and flying horses and I really liked the lore of how they both fit into the world, with flying horses being given wings later in life. I could tell that the author has experience with horses and was glad that I didn't have to read, "she squeezed with her knees" 500 times like I have in all other adventure books. I felt like the horses were grounded in reality, although as the book went on they became less grounded with the the horses understanding full sentences. That certainly would make riding easier! The rest of the world building is really nothing new and I found myself picturing areas from other fantasy books to picture the locations instead of actually feeling like I was anywhere new.

This book had a lot of YA tropes that I have seen in many other books. We have a "not like other girls" protagonist who is from a not special area with her hot friend from childhood but gets thrown into being special and meets another equally hot but much more mysterious new guy and love triangles/shenanigans ensue. I was especially reminded of Shadow and Bone, Divergent, and the Hunger Games. I know that books borrow from each other, especially YA fantasy books, but I really feel like the author could have played more with audience expectation as I felt like many of the main plot points were very predictable.

I thought that the writing in this book was very basic, even for a YA book. I could predict the end of many sentences because they were so cliched. I felt this the most with the villain writing, there were a lot of, "silly girl, you think you're so clever," "you must do more to defeat me," "you will never fulfill your destiny," etc. Some of the character premises were interesting, but the dialogue was so cliched that I had trouble thinking of them as actual characters and not one-dimensional fantasy archetypes. I really hope that any following books flesh these characters out more!

If you were excited as I was about flying horses, I'd give this book a read. If not, I wouldn't recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley and Wink Road Press for the advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I am blown away by how much I loved this book. The world building is amazing, with a little bit of an info dump at the beginning but I don't mind that - I felt it set the scene very well.

I am a great lover of horses so was thrilled to dive into a new fantasy series about winged horse riders. I'm now desperately wishing I could get wings for my own horse! Aluma is such a fierce character and really grows into herself as the book progresses. There's action and excitement and a building romance - what more could you want! Needless to say, I am eagerly awaiting the publication of the sequel!

Read an ARC of this.

The What : Magical flying horses in a kingdom ruled by a tyrant. Citizens join forces with neighbouring kingdom to fight back. Very YA. You will feel the 17 years of age of the protagonist in every immature interaction.

The Good: Interesting premise. The world building is rich and detailed. Wolkenna.

The Bad : The information dump at the beginning is overwhelming and slightly tedious. Some plot choices felt like plot holes.

I will not be picking up a second instalment of this unfortunately but I think it's because it's target audience is the bottom tier of young readers. Just not for me but might appeal to others.

I thought this book sounded super interesting and I was very excited to read it. I ended up flying through this book in one afternoon! I thought the plot and main characters were very unique and I loved it. Great read!