Joanna Ruth Meyer

It has always been Eda’s dream to become empress, no matter the cost. Haunted by her ambition and selfishness, she’s convinced that the only way to achieve her goal is to barter with the gods. But all requests come with a price and Eda bargains away the soul of her best friend in exchange for the crown. Years later, her hold on the empire begins to crumble and her best friend unexpectedly grows sick and dies. Gnawed by guilt and betrayal, Eda embarks on a harrowing journey to confront the very god who gave her the kingdom in the first place. However, she soon discovers that he’s trapped at the center of an otherworldly labyrinth and that her bargain with him is more complex than she ever could have imagined. Set in the same universe as Joanna’s debut, Beneath the Haunting Sea, Beyond the Shadowed Earth combines her incredible world building and lush prose with a new, villainous lead.

Beyond the Shadowed Earth

Chiara Vitale Zelaia

I received an ebook copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Actual rating: 2.5 stars

Beyond the Shadowed Earth had a very strong start for me. I was so very intrigued by Eda, our villainous protagonist. Her ruthlessness and determination made for an unpredictable protagonist, and I found it extremely refreshing. Her villainous traits set Eda apart from the usual heroine, and coupled with an incredible world-building frame and a winning political intrigue, I was hooked.

My problems started more or less when Ileem, the love interest, showed up. As much as I enjoyed reading the interactions between him and Eda, I found that the affection between the two was too quick, and that Eda’s softening—especially with such a quick pace—diminished her villainous allure. Unfortunately, things didn’t get better for me after that. The political intrigue that I was so hooked on at first ended up feeling rushed and ended too quickly. The plot, sadly, became predictable, and the most shocking twist was one that I predicted far too easily.
After the first 50 percent, the book started to drag. Events should have made Eda a more relatable and, perhaps, likeable character, but it wasn’t the case for me. The Eda of the second half of the book was a character I found hard to understand and hardly likeable, because she was so different from the character that was first presented. It didn’t help that the bonds she makes in this part of the book were introduced too late and were too underdeveloped for me to feel invested or interested in them, which made the ending flat and unsatisfactory.

Ashlee

I’m a big fan of villainous/morally grey leads and after reading Beneath the Haunting Sea I was looking forward to diving into this one and seeing Eda’s story!

This is also my third book by Joanna Ruth Meyer, and you can absolutely expect it to continue with Meyer’s style of weaving stories within stories and incorporating fascinating mythology into her character’s lives. In my experience, Meyer’s books absolutely have the feel of two books in one and that’s the case in this one too. There is a distinct first and second part to this one.

In the first part, we see Eda trying to keep her promise to the Gods while maintaining her hold on the Empire—one she stole away from the rightful heir (which is seen in the first book, but not required to read for this one). In the second part, we see Eda grappling with the loss of literally everything she holds dear and grappling with the reality of her deeds.

Eda is a villainous lead, but there are absolutely larger villains in her world than she. Overall, the story is a beautifully written, epic journey of Eda discovering her place in a world that doesn’t revolve around her. I *loved* the side characters, as is typically the case for me with Meyer’s books and the grasp on the world’s mythology and interweaving plots is really well done.

There’s a little romance and a lot of betrayal. I do wish there had been more of a “wow I’ve done some really unforgivable stuff” moment for Eda, and found the book weak in that area, but I don’t think there was a needed full-on redemption arc (there is a bit of one, but not in the way you might have expect). Overall, another win for Meyer, in my opinion!

Sheila Goicea

Thanks to The Fantastic Flying Book Club for having me as a part of your blog tour!

I received a copy of this book via Page Street Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! In no way does this affect my rating or review.



All included quotes have been taken from an ARC and may not match the finished publication. 


  ”One must always take care when treating with gods,” said her father. “It may not be worth the risk.”

Okay, I know that I should never judge a book by it’s cover, but I must mention that I absolutely love this cover! With that out of the way, let’s get on to the review. Beyond The Shadowed Earth is a companion read to Beneath The Haunting Sea. I didn’t realize this before picking up this book, therefore, I haven’t read Beneath The Haunting Sea and plan to in order to get a full picture of this bookverse. Apparently, Eda is present in both stories. However, other readers (who have read Beneath The Haunting Sea) are agreeing that you don’t have to read Beneath The Haunting Sea to understand this book.

Beyond The Shadowed Earth is a beautifully written story about a villain who finds her way to redemption. Set in a world that is well-built, it was easy for me to sink into the imagery that linked it all together.

Eda’s character is a difficult one to adhere to. She is brash, selfish, and plain irritating at times. Early on in the story, she argues with her advisors unabashedly, and it’s embarrassing at times. Her reason, however, is understandable, when the god that she made a deal with to become Empress shows up to remind her that her time to pay them back is running out. Frantic and afraid, Eda pushes harder and harder to get the temple dedicated to reigniting belief in the old gods completed. But with the royal coffers depleting, Eda finds that she is in trouble. Out of desperation, Eda travels far to find the god of the mountain to take back her power, only to find that she would have a lot to learn along the way.

My Rating: ★★★★

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Nathalie Matsuda

DMF page 160

So… Ever since this book was put on my radar, I was intrigued by it and after the first few chapters it seems like I would enjoy it quite a lot.
I mean, the premise lets us to believe that we‘ll follow this badass empress who ventures out to seek revenge on a god. What‘s not to be excited about? 

Full disclosure: I was not aware that this is a second book in a companion novel series, but it can absolutely be read as a stand-alone. I only found out when I added it to GR after already having read about 25% without any problems. 
So comprehension was definitely not a factor when DNFing it.

Sadly, my biggest issue was our main character. I have no problems with unlikeable characters, but as much as Eda is narcissistic and short tempered, she is also extremely dumb and flimsy. She is literally told what to do multiple times (although the reader is made to believe it‘s some big riddle… it ain’t) and she is still whining „I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO“
Not to mention, I don’t even know WHY she wanted to be empress so badly in the first place. It‘s never explained or mentioned. As a character, she feels almost 2 dimensional, with no depth, like the writer didn’t think past „make her the bad guy somehow“

When we then get a plot twist that I could see from miles away, I was done. And we haven’t even gotten to the revenge part yet. 

PS: The flowery writing did not help, either.

Leelynn Brady

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Fantastic Flying Book Club, Netgalley, and Page Street Kids for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

Okay.

First of all, I really don’t think that I could be in Eda’s situation, although a part of me does feel like I can be ruthless to get what I want. Maybe. Sometimes. In my dreams. Not sure.

But could you freaking imagine bartering away your best friend’s soul in order to get what you want? Like, this is your best friend, and you just up and gave their soul away to the gods because you want to have power. I’d rather barter my own soul away if it came down to it, because I couldn’t do that to a best friend. No way, no how. And if I were tricked into it, then I’d feel even worse because then I would look like a total jerk.

I would BE a total jerk, there is no other way around that.

This works out in my favor because this is more of a companion novel than a sequel. And you KNOW I’m going to need to read that first book because – whoa buddy this one had me on the edge of my couch and I almost fell over many times. I didn’t feel lost trying to jump into a world that I didn’t know about from prior experience, and I’m so glad for that. It would have made it harder for me to enjoy the novel, feeling like there were people telling an inside joke without giving me the back story. Rude much? Am I right?

But no. This book was great. Eda’s character was very, very interesting to me and she gave me morally gray vibes. I mean, I don’t know if I could straight up ask some deities for control over half the world, you know? Because as Rumple always says:



Which means we know something bad is going to happen in order to get something of this magnitude. There’s just no escaping it.

And boy do I love a good “villain”. Apparently Eda is more of a villain in the debut novel, and now I’m even more into her than I was before? If that’s even possible? So yeah, I need to read the first book – well you know what I mean – because if this kind of takes place before that one, then I can totally see WHY Eda would be considered the bad guy.

Beyond the Shadowed Earth

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