Review Detail

HER SHARP EMBRACE is an intriguing YA fantasy with messy characters and an interesting world. Noa joined the Nightshades, a female gang of people with magic, after leaving her family and the Saints, the magical people in political control, behind. She fell in love with Lennon, the leader of the Nightshades, but she has struggled to fully fit in with them.

The story begins with a bang - Noa and Jolie are in the safehouse when masked men break in, leaving Jolie dead and Noa gravely injured. The book then goes back before the incident through the aftermath and trial to figure out who in the Nightshades was behind it, with Theo, Noa, and Mia all implicated.

What I loved: This is an interesting look at love and betrayal with power influencing the scales. The characters were messy, and the reader gets many points-of-view to complicate sympathies. The main characters all read like teenagers with the drama and complications of their age and immaturity readily apparent, which suits the YA genre well. The magic and power they have throws a wrench into everything as their conflicts and pettiness become more high stakes very quickly.

The mystery of who was behind the hit that left Jolie dead drives the story as the reader seeks to understand the relationships between the Nightshades and the potential motivations. This really drove the plot forward with shifting thoughts and alliances as things unravel. The twist at the end is surprising with further reaching implications that make you want to go back and reread some scenes. I am really interested to see how it will all play out and where the pieces will land in the sequel. I think there could be more that the reader does not yet know.

What left me wanting more: The world-building was a bit confusing, as the reader is thrust into everything without a lot of explanations. For about the first half, it was really challenging to understand this world with its many gangs and power dynamics. After that, the reader could get lost in the story and the mystery of whodunnit.

Final verdict: HER SHARP EMBRACE is an intriguing YA fantasy with a compelling mystery. Recommend for people who enjoy character-driven reads with multiple points-of-view and a quick pace with less world-building.