The story was amazing and I really want to know how it continues. The world building is good. Not too complicated and logical.
English is not my mother tongue and as far I can tell, the writing style was good. I liked it and was easy to follow.
The only downside was the connection between the two protagonists. I didn't quite feel it. Each of their own were awesome characters and I liked them. But the connection between them... I don't know. Something was missing for me.
Overall it was a solid read and I want to know how the story continues!

Whew, this one was...kinda wild. In a good way, I think.

It's another entry in the New Adult Romantasy genre juggernaut that's so popular at the moment. It features Fae, Demons, a broken kingdom, betrayals, secrets, romance, a dash of spice and a somewhat insane amount of plot twists.

As I was reading A Realm of Ash and Shadow I occasionally felt like it was all a bit much. The author literally threw everything but the kitchen sink into this book's storyline and it did feel a bit messy at times. But as more time goes by since I read it, I actually think I'm appreciating it more in retrospect and I'm definitely still thinking about it and looking forward to any future books to see what the author does next with everything she has begun here.

I also had a few issues with main character Valeria's actions and reactions here and there - she's a tad impulsive - and some of the dialogue made me cringe once or twice, but I can't deny I had fun reading this book nonetheless!

This story may start out feeling very reminiscent of so many other similar Fantasy Romance books you've probably already read, but it quickly deviates and becomes something more unique. I didn't want to rehash any of the plot in my review, but I'll just say that any time you think you know what's going on in A Realm of Ash and Shadow, you don't.

If you're looking for a fun read within this genre we all can't get enough of and have some good neck exercises to help you with the inevitable whiplash you'll experience from the crazy plot, I'd say definitely give this one a go.

4 stars ★★★★

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy of a realm of ash and shadow. This was such a cute fantasy romance, right up my alley and the over was beautiful.

With purely magnetic worldbuilding that draws you in with every page, and captivating and badass characters that seem to leap off the page, A Realm of Ash and Shadow is a reader's dream! I couldn't put it down. It was fantastical and mesmerizing ina all the best ways and I immediately knew I had to own a copy for my permanent library.

Not 100% sure how I feel about this book.

Things felt both rushed and slowed. It felt like there were plot holes that were not explained and character changes that didn’t make sense.

At other times the story line was good. The characters interesting as well as their abilities. However I don’t think that out weights the parts that didn’t feel like part of the book. The parts that felt weird or confusing.

I would not recommend

Lots of action that kept me turning the pages throughout. Loved the feistiness and strength of Valeria. Gideon and Malachi also have a special place in my heart. But I’m definitely rooting for Vemdour, rightly or wrongly!

I feel like my thoughts on this one might be disjointed but honestly, that'd match how I felt reading this book.

The plotline had pacing issues, it had too much going on and yet not enough explained for me to care about where it was going. Also, when people say they want something "like ACOTAR" or like another hit book they generally mean the vibes of that book, not stuff jerked directly from the pages.

My biggest issue with this book was the constant reconfirmation of our FMC's age (freshly 18!) and general immaturity while also hammering home the overt sexualization. I love an open-door scene as much as the next person but the focus on the character's age and high school-level activities (prom) and then jumping directly into multiple sexual interests just felt icky. I'd have preferred the characters all aged up clearly and the book just be planted in the NA category.

Thank you to Sword and Silk books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐
🌶️

3 STARS

I enjoyed the world building a lot. The idea of different realms, that function in different ways, and have different rules is something I liked a lot. I am a bit confused as to what really is the difference between the Realm of Mortals and Empyrean. It feels like the only difference is the time period they are set in, and the knowledge of other Realms...

Plot and writing are a bit chaotic. It felt like trying too hard, as there were moments where the story didn't flow as well. This is one of the books where the "less is more" would work perfectly. That being said, it is a fun and interesting read. The political situation of Empyrean, and all the revelations that we got, were great. There were plot twists that were very predictable, but there were also a few that caught me off guard!

The characters are a big hit or miss for me, and the relationships are a bit all over the place. They do feel forced, but they kind of got explained, so they are just...okay I guess. Both the love triangle and the hate to love trope didn't really work for me. As it always is with me, I loved the side characters!


CONCLUSION

This is an okay, fun read...that is a bit chaotic.
It's a good first book in the series, as it makes me curious what will happen next and where will the characters go from here.
If you are looking for an entertaining read where you don't have to think a lot, and that is a fast read (I finished this in a day and a half) this is a book for you.




Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Realm of Ash and Shadow is a must-read for any YA fantasy romance lovers. This book is a masterful example of addictive fantasy that will keep you captivated until the very last page. The book has it all, from magic, romance, enemies-to-lovers, godly realms, and just the right amount of spice.

The story follows Valeria Breault, an 18-year-old princess who was exiled from Empyrean because her father didn't want the hassle of raising her. After a horde of demons crashes her prom, Valeria is forced to fight for her life and barely escapes being captured by the Realm of the Forsaken. She is then dragged back to Empyrean, only to find herself in a hellish nightmare where the poor are dying, the rich are thriving, and her claim to the throne is in jeopardy.

Buckheit has created a richly layered world system, and the pacing of the book is fantastic. The book has constant action, but it doesn't feel too fast, and there's still character development. The four-world system going on here is fascinating, and the world-building was done in a very organic way, with no info-dumping or leaving the reader confused for pages on end.

Although Valeria is not the most likeable character in the beginning, the character development is impressive, and she grows on you as the story progresses. I adored Gideon and Malachi's friendship, and the love triangle trope was done very well. The story was captivating, with great twists, an unravelling of lies, good tension, and witty banter.

The title, and synopsis didn’t really catch my attention right away, but after a few chapters it evolved into a compelling plot, and became my evening escapism. The world building was tactically done; it paints a picture but doesn’t confuse the reader with an exuberant use of detail.

I’m a sucker for a soulmate trope and found family. This book also has some morally grey characters, love triangles, and an “enemies to lovers” tale. Filled with great twists, an unraveling of lies, good tension and witty banter; the story was captivating. This book ends with a great cliffhanger though, so I can’t wait for the next book!

Thank you to NetGalley, Lara Buckheit and Sword and Silk books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

Unfortunately I couldn't get into this one at all and ended up as a dnf

I think it was the high school setting that I wasn't vibing with - the main character felt a bit too whiney for me

Valeria, or Val, is the princess of a magical realm called Empyrean, and she has been hiding on Earth for most of her life, where she has been raised and trained by Mistress Marjorie, and where she also tries to live a “normal” human life, until her 18th birthday when she will have to go back to Empyrean.

That’s about all there is to it for the first 46%. Not much politics or real plot, just Val dealing with jealous teenage girl drama, insta-lust, and a lot of whining, even though she insists on saying that she is a tough cookie, and she is NOT like all the other girls.

I hesitated before requesting an ARC of this one because the main character is a high school student, and I am VERY picky when it comes to school/academy settings. Sadly, this one was not for me, partly because of the immature main character, but also because of the plot. While the ideas were interesting, and the world-building was not bad overall, the plot just felt a little messy. Some things didn’t add up, and the first half of the book focuses more on teenage romance drama than the actual political plot I was led to believe this was about.

Val was a rather bland main character, and very annoying too. She has been trained her whole life for her return to her realm, to take up her role as a princess, but despite all those years of training, she seems to have no manners or grasp of politics at all. She is also portrayed as a badass that can fight, but she spends half of her time whining, and her inner monologues didn’t give us any insight, it only felt like she was narrating her daily life, which made it very easy to feel detached from her.

Val made many annoying/stupid decisions, and it made her seem selfish and bratty at times. As an example, her life is in danger, she got attacked, and she still insists on going to prom because she HAS to live this human experience, and she does not want to let the threat of demons prevent her from this special evening. I understand wanting to have a “normal” human life, but now she is putting her life, and her classmates’ lives in danger too and it made her appear selfish. The more self-centered reasoning makes sense if you take into consideration the fact that Val is 18 and still in high school, but it didn’t resonate with me at all. I am looking for more mature main characters in the books I read.

She also insists that she is a simple girl, she even says to one of her maids (once she arrives at the palace) to choose whatever she wants for Val to wear because she’s not picky at all, but 2 minutes later, she is stating that she will not be wearing what the maid picked because it’s something a grandmother would wear… So is she picky or not? Does she care about superficial things such as clothes or not? Because we get two different messages here.

Mason was not much better as a secondary character, to be honest. He was fine at first, but then he showed signs of a special ability, so they HAD to tell him everything of course, and he just took everything in stride. He asked a few questions but was basically willing to uproot his whole life for Val after hearing their info-dump about her true identity and where she comes from.

The romance… I feel that the author forced herself to add romance to the story, even if it was not really necessary. First, there is Val and Mason, and even though Val makes it clear that she is not in love with him and that it’s only a friends-with-benefits situation, she gets jealous when another girl flirts with him. She also gets excited at the idea that Mason might want her more than he did before he learned who she truly was, but then she just forgets about him once she arrives in her new realm. It’s as if Mason never existed, because she’s suddenly surrounded by better-looking and sexier men.

Then there is Gideon. I think his relationship with Val is supposed to be a hate-to-love because Val decides that she hates him for a not-so-good reason (in my humble opinion), but then there is this undeniable physical attraction between them, that didn’t spark anything in me by the way, it just felt bland and boring. Val then tries to make Gideon jealous? To get revenge on him for something that she didn’t really let him explain? I am not sure what the goal was here, but it felt as if the author just crammed a bunch of unnecessary events together just so she could add some drama, jealousy, and a few popular tropes while she was at it, but none of it felt relevant to the plot (that was still unclear at the 46% mark).

Valeria is ready to go to prom with her decidedly not-boyfriend, Mason, and graduate from high school before her dad drags her back home to fulfill her duties. Sent to live among mortals until she turns 18, Valeria is the princess of Empyrean, hiding from the demons who killed her mother and tried to kill her too until she comes of age. Everything changes when Mason reveals that not only can he see demons, but they’re surrounding Valeria in her daily life. On prom night, Valeria decides she doesn’t care that demons are out to get her and she’s determined to enjoy her last week in the realm of the mortals when the demons actually do attack and she’s swept back to empyrean by a ridiculously attractive man, but it’s not the same land she’s been told about all her life.

This book is a toss up for me. I think Val was immature and obnoxious, and the whole multiple love interests thing made her seem a little shallow and callous. She just hops around to different men with no regard for their feelings because *she* doesn’t want to catch feelings. The magic system needed more explanation, as did the state of the kingdom and *how* it got that way. The rebellion aspect and everyone needing vengeance was fun though.

This cover is what originally drew me in but the words on the book is what made me fall in love! I couldn’t put this book down! It was so good!

Thank you netgalley for allowing me to read this book. This book was so much fun but I will say I wasn’t the biggest fan of Valeria in the beginning she just seemed immature and bratty but I really started to love her as time went on. I adored Gideon and Malachi ‘s friendship! Gideon and mason were so great to Valeria and I honestly didn’t know who to root for. I really loved all the twists and turns in this book! I definitely didn’t see the plot twists at all and it made it all the more thrilling. I know I shouldn’t but I couldn’t help but love vemdour! I loved the detail of everything and the action parts were amazing! I hated the ending because it was the end of this great book! I loved all the characters and can’t wait for the second book so I can return back to this world! I need the next book now so I can read about everyone finally getting the happily ever after they all deserve.

This book has it ALL!!!! You won’t be able to put it down, it has magic, romance, enemies to lover, godly realms, and just a bit of spice. You can’t help but get caught up in Valeria’s world, her love triangle and the drama surrounding her mother’s death.
When Valeria is called to return home, but is met by a group of demons right before her departure, what adventures will unfold as she tries to find her true self?

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of A Realm of Ash and Shadow in exchange for my honest review!

This book has a super fun fantasy vibe to it. The world building is well fleshed and immersive. It wasn’t until around the 50% mark that I was well truly sucked into the story.

Overall, I had fun reading this!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Valeria has been taken from her home to be raised with mortals after her untimely death. I liked that Valeria wanted a "normal" human experience of going to her graduation ceremony. I felt that this made her more relatable. Her "relationship with Mason, however, seemed too good to be true, which means it usually is.

The band marking isn't a new concept but the jealousy that Valeria felt rather quickly felt a little too convenient and towards the beginning, it seemed as though it was there mainly to push the plot along.

It's around the 40% mark that things start to get interesting to me and had a bit of a Defy the Night feel to it at one point.

I enjoyed the story once I had got through the first few chapters but I did come across some issues. Valeria isn't exactly likeable, she came across as whiny and negative and was quick to find a fault with anyone and find a way not to trust them. Gideon was a little too perfect (we now know why) and had a Captain America/Golden Retriever vibe which I see no issue with. However, Try to make the characters more nuanced and less one-dimensional. For example, Valeria could have more positive qualities or moments of vulnerability, while Gideon could have flaws or make mistakes.

This is the first book in a series and I am looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Great and enticing plot, immersive world building. What more can I ask for? I was invested in the characters from the beginning!

Thank you to the publisher, author & NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

I really enjoyed this book it gave me acotar vibes so if your a fan of Sarah j mass you will love this book. I was a bit disappointed with the ending and the spicy scenes could have been better but overall still an excellent fantasy romance!