Shadow Rise Shadow Fall

Rating: 3/5 Genre: YA sci-fi/dystopian Recommended Age: 16+ (violence, gore) Pages: 305 Author Website Amazon Link I received a copy of this book for free courtesy of Blaze Publishing. Thanks! All opinions are my own. Synopsis: Terrorist. Rebel. Traitor. One rash decision during the Shadow Trials led to unspeakable horrors that left innocents dead, friends injured and hunted by the Empire, and Maia Graystone imprisoned in the Tower at the Archduchess’s mercy. Unsure if Riser Thornbrook survived, Maia must find a way to battle the Empire from within its own walls and escape so she can fulfill the promise to her father and stop the asteroid. But when she breaks free and joins Nicolai's Rebel army, she discovers she’s been branded a traitor. With war between the Rebels and the Empire looming, old alliances shifting, and suspicion hanging over her head, she must fight in the Rebel Blood Courts—and win command—to regain their trust. Only problem is, first she has defeat the reigning champion, someone she knows all too well. Will Maia’s emotions lead to her defeat, or will she rise up and claim her victory? While the first book wasn’t my favorite beginning books for series, I did go ahead and read the sequel over the weekend while I could. And again, it was a decent read for me. I felt that the ending was decent and that the character development and world building was much better. The book was also much more action packed for my tastes. However, the first part of the book is really really slow and boring for me. It took a lot for me to make it through that section. I’m still really confused on some of the aspects of the book and I also found that a lot of the book is forgettable. Verdict: If you liked the first book, you’ll like this one. Just get through the first half of the book.