KayLynn Flanders

For fans of Sorcery of Thorns and Furyborn comes the thrilling sequel to Shielded about a world in a deadly magical war and the newly crowned king and feisty princess who must defeat the deadliest of foes before there's nothing left to save. Although King Atháren's sister, Jennesara, saved Hálendi from the Gray Mage, the reprieve came at a steep price--the life of their father. Now Ren rules over a divided kingdom, with some who want him dead, and a Medallion that warns of worse trouble brewing in the south. As second born, Princess Chiara is the perfect Turian royal--perfectly invisible. She longs to help restore peace on the Plateau, but with no magic and no fighting skills, she doesn't stand a chance against a mage. So when a member of the Turian royal family goes missing and Chiara finds a clue about the rumored resting place of the mages' long-lost artifacts, she decides it's time to be seen. As Ren's and Chiara's paths cross, they find the depth of the mages' hold on the Plateau is more powerful than anyone suspected, and that they must learn to trust themselves, and each other, before the mages retrieve their artifacts and become too powerful to ever defeat.

Untethered

Selin Igten

ren <3 atharen <3 
book was alright.. expected more romance maybe? it was good though
3,5/5

Aliya ali

Was actually good but not the best starting was too slow

Loved the bigger glimpse of this world. Ren and Chiara make tons of mistakes with good intentions, and doesn’t that just encapsulate the teen experience for so many of us growing up with impossible perfectionist standards.

Ren kinda reminds me of Steve Harrington from Stranger Things, in that he’s an enormous flirt that becomes tongue-tied with the ONE girl he’s actually interested in. If it were up to me, he and Chiara were fine as just friends, but the hint at romance was okay too.

Chiara suffers from realistic middle child syndrome, floundering to feel useful or wanted. She’s on the younger side of your typical YA protagonists, which explains some of her impulsive behaviors. But she’s sweet and kind and proves you don’t have to be a raging badass wielding a sword, because some of us have always felt like side characters in our own lives, and it’s comforting to read a character like that who still finds courage. 

Liz Griffin

Loved the bigger glimpse of this world. Ren and Chiara make tons of mistakes with good intentions, and doesn’t that just encapsulate the teen experience for so many of us growing up with impossible perfectionist standards.

Ren kinda reminds me of Steve Harrington from Stranger Things, in that he’s an enormous flirt that becomes tongue-tied with the ONE girl he’s actually interested in. If it were up to me, he and Chiara were fine as just friends, but the hint at romance was okay too.

Chiara suffers from realistic middle child syndrome, floundering to feel useful or wanted. She’s on the younger side of your typical YA protagonists, which explains some of her impulsive behaviors. But she’s sweet and kind and proves you don’t have to be a raging badass wielding a sword, because some of us have always felt like side characters in our own lives, and it’s comforting to read a character like that who still finds courage. 

Story Eater

KayLynn Flanders’ sophomore novel and conclusion to the Shielded duology wraps up the story of Ren, Jenna, Enzo, and Chiara with a nice bow and teases some possibilities of extra exploration or bonus stories at the end. 

Where Shielded follows Jenna and Enzo’s arranged marriage and romance, Untethered follows their siblings, Ren and Chiara respectively, on their quest to save their kingdoms, while falling in love with one another quite unexpectedly. 

Readers meet the nefarious mages along the way, all the while finding out the hidden, inner strength of some of the side characters. 

While I did not wholeheartedly enjoy this installment quite as well as I did the first, it’s not at all bad. I’d rate it a 3.5 stars, which rounds up to 4. I definitely look forward to reading some more of Flanders’ writing. Her first two books were certainly YA appropriate and had little to no objectionable content in them. 

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, for which I give my own opinion.

When Ren, who rules over a divided kingdom, crosses paths with Turian royal Princess Chiara, they must learn to trust themselves and each other as they work to defeat the deadliest of foes before there's nothing left to save.

danielle bush

I really enjoyed reading this story. Ren and Chiara are two characters that really compliment each other. They make each other feel seen and supported even in the worst of times. 

This book picks up some time after the events in the first book, and Ren has been crowned King. He is basically alone both his mother and father are dead, and his sister is in Turia planning her wedding.. He only has a handful of people that he can trust in his kindgom and he is really struggling to figure out his new role.. When he has the feeling that he needs to travel South to Turia (with the help of a magical amulet) he takes it.. 

Chiara is a princess with no magic, and doesn't feel like any one really sees her, like she can just fade into the backround.. When her father travels to a neighboring kindgom, and dissapears she gets her chance to have an adventure of her own. 

Chiara and Ren are now traveling together to find the Black Library and save her father.. But there are so many obstecles that they have to navigate through., Old enemies, and old friends have resurfaced to stand in their way. I really loved the moments between them when they start to really show how much they trust each other by sharing their feelings and fears..As the story progresses they really show alot of growth, and I love seeing Janna, Eros and Mari again. 

 Im not sure if this series is finished or not, but I would love to get a story of Janna and Eros wedding, and what happens in Rens kindom after the events of this book. 

The only thing that was missing for me was I really wanted more romance and chemistry between the characters. You can see the potential, and the moments when the feelings between them could be turning into something but it didn't have as much as I wanted. 

I really enjoyed both books in this series, and will definitely be reading all the books that this author puts out.

Samantha Bass

After the end of Jenna and Enzo's story, we are left with some questions and concerns. We know that Graymere is dead, but what about the other mages? And how will it work now that Ren is King of Hálendi, while Jenna is currently betrothed to the future king of Turiana? And what about The Black Library? What happens if the mages find it? And did I feel some tension between Ren and Chiara?

If you had any of those questions, then welcome to the book that provides all of these answers! We didn't get to see much of Ren, Jenna's older brother, in Shielded as he was off fighting and healing soldiers on the battlefield, but this book is Ren's story. And Chiara's, Enzo's little sister, who we saw a good bit of in Shielded. I loved splitting up this series into two separate stories, while keeping it in the same world. Jenna and Enzo's story was mostly complete by the end of Shielded, with only a few major questions left behind. Picking up the story with Chiara and Ren was such a fun change and I loved the two of them as MCs!

Following along with their story, we have Ren, who's unsure of his new responsibilities and fears for the future, and Chiara, who feels invisible at home and wants to be anything but useless. When Chiara's father is kidnapped on the way to a royal wedding in Riiga, she does the only thing that felt right, go out and find him. But while Chiara doesn't have the fighting skills and magic of Jenna, she does have her wits about her. She's definitely not a stupid person and manages to find a friend, Aleksa, on the road who's willing to help her get into Riiga. Ren, who now wears the Medallion, gets a feeling that trouble is brewing in the south and heads to check on Jenna in Turiana. After discovering that Chiara has left for Riiga with her grandmother, Ren volunteers to get her and bring her home.

But things aren't always that easy. Because while Chiara is on a mission to save her father, she also ends up being the key to finding The Black Library. And while she doesn't want to help the mages find it, things change when her eight year old sister Mari sneaks off to find Chiara and ends up getting picked up by one of the mages. This book has so many twists and turns as we follow Chiara and Ren on their rescue mission. I was honestly amazed with how much happens in this book, especially since it was only 400 pages long.

One of my favorite things about this series, and KayLynn's writing in general, is her ability to lay down a plot that is filled with action, adventure, and romance, yet it doesn't feel overdone or too much. And her characters are always so tough, even when they feel like they're weak. There's a lot about this book that I love and I wish I could get more stories out of this world. Though this is a satisfying ending, I was still left with some questions. I'm hoping this means that we're getting another book in the series, because I would love to know the answers to some of these!

Overall, this was such a good sequel. I loved Ren and Chiara's story and the ending that we get from this book. While I have some questions, I'm hoping this means that we get a third book in the series, but I won't hold my breath. If you like action, adventure, magic, and romance, this is a series you will love and should definitely check out!

Untethered

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