Another fantasy world where those with magic are feared and exiled, but right in the King’s court hiding in plain sight is Rora. Serving as a spy for the King she is sent on a mission to negotiate with the giants for stardust. Stardust to stop a magic plague and save the King’s son who also happens to be the love of her brother’s life. For the trip, Rora and her brother are saddled with the King’s elder son who despises them. Enter witty banter and strife for their journey through the wilderness. Along the way they suffer all sorts of hardships and realize that the battle against magic is much more widespread and personal than they ever knew.
The first quarter of this story was quite an information dump as we get familiar with this world. It’s worth sticking with as once they start their journey the action is good. The journey reminded me a lot of Frodo and Sam on a selfless mission facing all manner of danger.
I enjoyed the read although it’s fairly formulaic YA fantasy. I liked the characters and their magic. I wished the ending was less of a cliffhanger and more of a natural end. I promise, I’ll read your second book, you don’t need to give me an aggressively sad ending with overtures to a much bigger adventure.
Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.
In this one the magic can shift into animals, what animal would you want to be able to shift into?
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