Evenfall
Author: Gaja J. Kos
Series: Shadowfire #1
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Romance, Magic
Publisher: Boris Kos
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A monster does not deserve the intimacy of a name
As if waking up in an unfamiliar world isn’t enough of a surprise, Ember gains a new title to her name. Savior.
Hunted by the Crescent Prince and his lethal shadows, she accepts a young Mage’s help to navigate the land of blood magic and its many illusions. But where Ada sees the good in her power, Ember discovers something else.
An icy darkness, designed to take lives, not save them.
The only thing worse than not being able to rely on her senses—or the reality she had once believed to be true—is knowing that she cannot trust her heart. Especially as it seems to draw her to the one person in whose hands she can never fall…
Will Ember escape the thrall of darkness or will she reign in it? Pre-order* your copy of Evenfall today for only 99c to find out!
my review
I received a free copy for an honest review.
This book…ugh.
I am so frustrated because of how much better this book could’ve been and the obvious, blatant potential this book possessed.
It can’t be just me who realized this – this book had an AMAZING premise/synopsis (hell, even that cover is phenomenal. I mean, it’s not surprising because it’s Charlie Bowater, but still).
This book reminded me of a movie I watched really recently (Mortal Engines). Both had amazing visual world building and attempts to make a deep and meaningful storyline, and yet you can still feel the heavy flaws in the execution and storyline.
This can be even further exemplified by the lack of of…empathy and care I have for the characters at the end of the book. None of them stood out to me – the Crescent Prince himself was nothing special, Ada herself cannot provide to with any reasons to care deeply about her well being (aside from the fact that she’s the main character). I think one great way that could’ve made the Crescent Prince more interesting if the author was to give him a more…”Levi” vibe (Attack on Titan fans, you should know exactly what I am talking about). These characters are excellent examples of how you can portray a cold (arguably heartless) character with an understandable (yet not cheesy) “tragic backstory”. The fact that these characters are so badass also really help with not only making them more likable but also spicing up the book’s entire storyline in general.
However, I would be easier in this area regarding Ada as a character. I wouldn’t give the author such a hard time for not making her extremely interesting because I think by doing this, the author could leave a great amount of potential for her to grow and transform throughout the series (which is a common and key component in many good stories). I just hope that she actually does this, though, and not leave her completely unchanged even when her environment is changing at the same time.
Overall, this book was an embodiment of “not as bad as I thought it was after looking at Goodreads average review, but not as good as it obviously could’ve been, which was a huge shame”.
Do I hate this book? No. But this book is definitely quite forgettable (and maybe that is its most deadly flaw out of everything).
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
about the author
Gaja J. Kos is a USA Today bestselling author with a mission to breathe fragments of Slavic lore onto many, many pages of fiction.
Gaja resides in Celje, Slovenia, with her husband (as well as co-author) and two Chinese Crested dogs.