Review Detail

A fun and intriguing fantasy that any reader can really sink their teeth into.

The story:
Nova and Jade are two girls who have led very different lives. The story alternates between their points of view. Jade is a princess under her powerful mother's thumb. Her life is constantly in danger because as she ages and her magic grows, her mother will weaken, leaving the queen desperate to keep this from happening.
Nova is from a land far away. She has her father and her cousin and just wants a simple life. She's always been good with animals and it isn't until she is captured by the queens men that she finds how just how far that talent stretches.
Two girls from different worlds who are brought together for one purpose, but no one ever said they were going to play by the rules.

What I loved:
The world. Ms. Joy has done a fantastic job of world building, leaving me anxious to know more. The overall plot of the story is so well done. It's difficult to find something so original these days, even in fantasy, but I've never read a story quite like this. The queen is perfectly evil and the magic is very well done.
From beginning to end it is such a well done book. The cover, the formatting, and the editing are all about as professional as you can get.

What was just okay for me:
I was hoping for more from some of the relationships. It would have been nice to see a bit of banding together from the two girls and instead we only get suspicion and jealousy. The romantic aspect didn't completely work either and I couldn't tell if that was purposeful. It almost seemed like the beginnings of a love triangle, but only one of the three of them showed any kind of feelings towards anyone.

Final Verdict: A solid read that is hard to put down. Well-written. Fun. It's easy to get sucked into this elaborate world of magic and treachery. The biggest problem was that I didn't have the sequel sitting on my kindle right when I finished.