Amber Sky

C.O.I.L.S of Copper and Brass #1

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Pub Date 23 Jun 2017 | Archive Date 08 Oct 2017

Description

"You thought I did this out of the goodness of my heart?" He gave a short mirthless laugh. "Not a bit of it, this is going to be dangerous for me. What are you offering for my help?"

Beneath the Amber Sky, the nobility control the food, education, and the mysterious C.O.I.L.S of Copper and Brass. To Tay, struggling to keep her siblings alive, the ideas of rebellion and freedom are distant and unreachable. 

But when her father is arrested, she begs Darius James, the son of the Overseer, to save his life. Darius agrees, but his help costs her a favour, one he can call in at any time. 

Darius' favour will bring her to the Palace, and the perfect position to help the growing rebellion. But the court has games beyond anything she has seen before, and Darius' secrets will add to the danger.

Tay is now able to make a difference, to join the rebellion, find the C.O.I.L.S and discover the secrets of the Amber Sky. All she has to do is survive.

"You thought I did this out of the goodness of my heart?" He gave a short mirthless laugh. "Not a bit of it, this is going to be dangerous for me. What are you offering for my help?"

Beneath...


Available Editions

EDITION Ebook
ISBN 9780995463134
PRICE $3.99 (USD)

Average rating from 46 members


Featured Reviews

Amber Sky by Claire Warner

This book was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This review edition is an ARC and may differ from the printed edition.

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I have given this book ☆☆☆☆. It belongs to the Young Adult Fantasy and Dystopain genres. Raven Press published it. It was published June 23 2017.

The blurb reads: “Beneath the Amber Sky, the nobility control the food, education, and the mysterious C.O.I.L.S of Copper and Brass. To Tay, struggling to keep her siblings alive, the ideas of rebellion and freedom are distant and unreachable.
But when her father is arrested, she begs Darius James, the son of the Overseer, to save his life. Darius agrees, but his help costs her a favour, one he can call in at any time.

Darius' favour will bring her to the Palace, and the perfect position to help the growing rebellion. But the court has games beyond anything she has seen before, and Darius' secrets will add to the danger.

Tay is now able to make a difference, to join the rebellion, find the C.O.I.L.S and discover the secrets of the Amber Sky. All she has to do is survive.”

Verdict:

I know the cover isn’t promising and it looks very juvenile but crack this book open, I swear on my life that you’ll not be disappointed. Amber Sky was a phenomenal read that I didn’t want to put down. And I’m not just saying that.

Long story short, Tay’s father was sent to work in the most heinous of places for a crime of rebellion where he will surely be worked to death. To save her father, she goes to Darius (a most unassuming name for a very dashing hero) and pleads that he save her father’s life. In exchange, he grants her a favour that can be called on any time and lo and behold, she’s a servant in the house next to his. Then, he calls the favour in and Tay gets whisked off into a masquerade of glitz and glamour only to find out more heinous secrets. There is also a forest, shots fired into the sky akin to fireworks and fireballs, a masked ball, a daring train crash and abduction, useless adults, and of course, sparks flying of the emotional kind.

Sure, some people say that it’s a genre that’s been done before or that they’ve seen this done a million times. But, when it’s something done a million times AND it’s actually good, then it deserves it four stars.

Amber Sky leans more towards steampunk than dystopian, mainly because of the Victorian-esque elements of scullery maids and lords and ladies as well as the liberal use of machinery. Specifically, Tay mentions that steam power was discovered and harnessed.

It’s also incredibly well-written in that the pacing was good and the plot twist is bomb diggity. I never quite felt bored and elements that were introduced in the beginning of the story that seemed useless were always made use of in the end. I always love when writers do that, whether on tv, the silver screen or in books, because it really shows thought and planning.

However, despite mentions of C.O.I.L.S. of Copper and Brass, there was close to nothing about the mysterious organisation in the book. Which was pretty sad because it’s such a clever name that I’m curious about what they do. It’s the reason I knocked a star.

All in all, Amber Sky has really given me hope about 2017 publications after a disaster of published works. This is a short review mostly because there’s nothing I really dislike about Amber Sky and, it’s a starter novel, that’s for sure. It can’t stand on its own and more plots were introduced than resolved.

[may contain spoilers]

Despite my glowing review, as always, I do have things I dislike about Amber Sky. They’re not enough to spoil my enjoyment about it though.

1. Tay was incredibly shy and timid throughout the first half of the novel and her nerves and jittering got on my nerves really quick. I would say it’s a breath of fresh air from the typical brash and confident heroines but unlike Katniss who was nervous, Tay was just annoying about how scared she was. Darius had to constantly shush her like a frightened animal. It wasn’t until Tay grew a backbone and went from zero to sixty in three point five that the book’s tone FINALLY picked up.

2. Almost every man in the novel seemed lecherous. I suppose it’s not something I should be complaining about since given the setting and the gender balance but come on, it would have been nice to have a hero I could rely on and fall in love with. Even Darius wasn’t as hunky dory and charming and beautiful as a male lead can be. He was manipulative and unapologetic about it. But, he was always resourceful and useful.

3. Maybe because it’s an arc that I’m reading but I got it pretty close to publication date and even this review is close to cutting the one month period, but there were a lot of strange word choices as well as things suddenly happening. I did highlight quite a bit of it and it was enough for me to notice. I hope it gets corrected in the published version.

Conclusion:

I loved Amber Sky and I urge you to give it a try despite it’s very disappointing cover. It’s very well-written and clever. I wish there was more use of steampunk instead of hinting at it. Decide, dear author, decide. I can’t wait for the second one!

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Loved every minute of this book ! I felt transported into another world while reading even when I wasn't I couldn't stop thinking about this book! I will definitely be continuing with this series because I'm dying to know what is going to happen ! You will find yourself in the same boat as me, hooked and unable to stop thinking about the coils of copper and brass, what is going to happen to Tay and Darius?! A must read !!!

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