Circle of Shadows

Dnf @ pg 155

This had all the ingredients for a tasty pizza (cheese, flour, tomato sauce, toppings if you get down like that, etc), but it was never put into the writing oven. So, we were left with an undercooked goopy mess. I could not connect to the storytelling style. It relied heavily on “telling” things about the characters that it could’ve have shown. Dialogue/banter was unseasoned.

Circle of Shadows’ story is plot-driven. There are some big themes: a cult; two armies of ninjas (taiga and ryuu); a brother and sister estranged due to their ideologies; animal-based magical abilities; a male lead realizing his feelings for his best friend; female lead consumed with revenge; dead sister; did I mention multiple BLOOD show more SACRAFICES?

The dark angle with the prince and princess’ fallout was interesting. The graphic violence and the cult made a sharp, almost whiplike effect, contrast against the otherwise light story. The humor was lighthearted as well as the previously mentioned unseasoned banter.

Even the most cliché story can thrive with a cast of fun characters, but I didn’t care for this crew. Early in the story Sora decides to take her taiga training skills seriously in hopes to move up in the army/elite fighting force. She was supposed to be this goofy prankster, but it felt like she never really was. She threw one “prank” which was just overdoing a performance for the princess and a mention of making laxative brownies for a bully. Despite getting serious, you would think she would retain this supposedly goofy personality.

Daemon, which is way too close to demon lol, was dull. He was grappling with his feelings for Sora and his identity. He was abandoned as a baby and never knew his parents. With some work, this could have been a fun or compelling character. The rest of the side characters had quirky name-conventions/codenames, which I didn’t mind, but none really stood out either. There was a petite, flirty chick and a guy who basically worked in the file cabinet/administration. But they needed more to be likable.

The magic system not being more fleshed out was a huge letdown. I needed to know more of its limitations. Being a Taiga comes with animal power-ups, by chanting an animal characteristic (think: teeth of a shark!) will grant the user that ability. However, it’s not clear how long they last. At first, the abilities were shown to wear off, but in another instance the effect lasted even with the user unconscious.

Another example is that Daemon is basically Rock Lee (Naruto) here as he sucks at casting spells/using magic. Is magic innate or genetics-based? Can you be gifted it? I know the gods specifically select the taiga, but why would they select a magicless baby?

It’s very unfortunate I didn’t mesh with the story. Because I love stories about ninjas + magic abilities + a sweet first love. And a guy raised by wolves! Come on, those are some of my favorite things. Personally, I don’t need the most elaborate worldbuilding or robust magic system if I enjoy the characters or the story. I’ve liked worse, less than critically acclaimed stories before. Truly I wanted to like this story, but it’s not for me. show less

The worldbuilding in this book is excellent. It was fascinating to dive into, and usually well-displayed. The characters were all well-developed and I liked them a lot (Empress Aki and Daemon were particularly awesome). The writing did seem to lean more toward the "telling" side of "show vs. tell," which was rather disappointing. :/

Also, my ship was brutally attacked and I'm not happy about it. Daemon's emotions didn't seem adequately resolved, so it left a bitter taste in my mouth even though my ship was never actually official.

Anyway, other than those couple of qualms I really enjoyed this book, and I'm excited to read the sequel once I've had some time to get over how those relationships worked out.

3.5 stars

After loving the Crown's Game series, I knew I had to read this duology. This was my first read this year and also my first read after deciding to seriously get back into reading. So, I went into this with a lot of anticipation. And in a lot of ways, I really enjoyed it. The premise was intriguing, but the world could have been better developed. The characters had distinct personalities, and I loved the relationship of the friends. The only part I thought could have been better was the romance. It felt unnecessary and forced. Overall, it was a fun read, but not as good as I had hoped.

This book is the start of a series by Evelyn Skye which I think has a lot of potential. Circle of Shadows I thought was a good book but it did take me some time to become invested in the story and characters.

When I received this book in the Fairyloot January box I knew I wanted to read it. Firstly, because I loved the cover. As soon as I saw it I knew that it would the kind of fantasy book that I would want to read. Secondly, the blurb made the story sound exciting with a world full of magic, with plenty of adventure and espionage in store for the main characters.



There was a lot of adventure to be had for the main characters as they infiltrate a group that wants to change the country by putting a new emperor on the throne and bring show more new magic to the land. Trying to continue the fight that began with the Blood Rift ten years before.



Now, I really enjoyed the story when it got going but it took a long time to get past the set up of the magic and the world until the plot actually got going I felt. It probably wasn't until it was past 200 pages that I felt like I could sink my teeth into this book. At times I felt like was reading an anime more so that a story. With the play by play of every action and the repetition of naming the different spells and how they are cast it felt very much like an anime had been written out in book form at times in the first 200 pages. Which is why I only gave this book 4 stars instead of 5. I persevered with it because I felt that there was potential for this story, which I think will be an interest and adventurous series.




I am looking forward to how this series will continue and develop as the end of this book left on a bit of cliffhanger with many questions left unanswered and many problems left for the characters to try and solve. show less

The main characters Sora and Daemon are training to be taigas of the island of Kichona. Taigas are the soldiers and police of the island but more like ninjas with magic. When they are visiting a forest that Daemon’s sees as home they stumble across an enemy that threatens Kichona and all they hold dear.

Do you ever read a book and think you love it but then start to think about it and realize you had more problems with it then you thought. Circle of Shadows is that book for me. I really loved the friendships in this book between the 4 main characters especially the bond between Sora and Daemon. They were my favorite parts of the book. That and the author’s description of the island and it’s people. You really fall in love with the show more island.
But my problems are four fold. The enemies and there magic is not explained very well. I need more of an explanation because the whole time I was thinking who gave it to you, why can only this person give it, why has no one ever come to take the island with this magic before, ect… The magic of the Taigas was sad and one of the most childish magic systems I have ever read. Eyes like a Hawk, Eyes like a Hawk is NOT a spell. Neither is I am a Spider over and over again. The love triangle the author added at the end. It is a pointless one and I hate it when authors just add it for no reason and out of the blue I might add. Last but not least I need a lot more information on the Gemina bond like why do they have it, do they all have one, and few other questions and every time I was like finally an explanation nope no explanation.

Saying all this I did enjoy the characters and parts of the story. Will I read it again no. Did I have fun reading it yes. Will I read the sequel no but I will look up how it ends.

Rating: 3 stars
Heat Rating: Embers(some kisses)
Keeper or Ditch it: Ditch it show less

Actual Rating: 3.5

This was okay. I read an ARC so hopefully some of the grammar/word choice aspects of it improved by the time it was published. The plot was interesting - if the book had been a cartoon I think I would have been all about it, if that makes any sense at all.

And I didn’t dock it any stars for this, but a little resentful that my OTP did not come true so.

Literary Merit: Decent
Characterization: Decent
Recommended: Yes
Level: High School

This book was mostly “meh” for me. It wasn’t overly memorable, and the characters were okay to root for, but definitely not my favorite.

Sora and Daemon are apprentice warriors of the Society of Taigas, meaning they are marked by the Gods to be trained in magic and fighting to protect the empire and its empress, Aki, who years earlier, defeated her evil twin brother, Gin, in the Blood Rift Rebellion. Everyone thought Gin was dead, but while out on a scouting mission, Sora and Daemon see him very much alive with a horde of his followers. From there, all kinds of things go down, including Sora and Daemon attempting to infiltrate the group. Sora sees show more someone from her past she thought was long dead, and the magic system becomes more prevalent.

Sadly, the magic system becoming more of a factor didn’t really do much for the novel. It’s a very underdeveloped world with an underdeveloped magic system, and characters who are underdeveloped as well. Basically, this books mostly suffers from lack of development in all categories. I want to like Sora and Daemon, but I don’t feel like I know enough about them or their motivations. One day they just want to mischief, and the next they’re ready to be these great Taiga warriors, saving the world, instead of getting help from someone with more experience. They are “Gemina” which basically means they are linked through some kind of bond where they can sense and feel each other, and it’s supposed to make them better in battle. So…battle buddies, I guess. Again, it was all just very meh. There wasn’t enough background on either, and I can only hope that improves in book two.

The romance was also really weird. It’s clear that Daemon is super into Sora when we’re in his POV, but when it switches to hers, she’s very closed off, and doesn’t seem to reciprocate much. Daemon kind of moves on toward the end with their friend Fairy, and then allll of a sudden, Sora has these feels for her Gemina that must be romantic! It’s all very confusing.

Overall, this could absolutely work well for someone, but for me it was a mediocre fantasy that seemed promising from the plot summary and ended up being kind of a dud. show less