Name: jess's review of Shatter the Sky by Rebecca Kim Wells
Item: Shatter the Sky
Rating: 3
Author: jess

Rebecca Kim Wells

New England Book Award Finalist “A top-notch dragon story…Both nuanced and real.” —Shelf Awareness (starred review) “I absolutely devoured it.” —Mackenzi Lee, bestselling author of The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue “Perfect for fans of Tamora Pierce, Renée Ahdieh, and Cindy Pon.” —Saundra Mitchell, author of All the Things We Do in the Dark and editor of YA anthology All Out A determined young woman sets out to rescue her kidnapped girlfriend by stealing a dragon from the corrupt emperor in this stunning fantasy debut that’s perfect for fans of Margaret Rogerson, Rae Carson, and Rachel Hartman. Raised among the ruins of a conquered mountain nation, Maren dreams only of sharing a quiet life with her girlfriend Kaia—until the day Kaia is abducted by the Aurati, prophetic agents of the emperor, and forced to join their ranks. Desperate to save her, Maren hatches a plan to steal one of the emperor’s coveted dragons and storm the Aurati stronghold. If Maren is to have any hope of succeeding, she must become an apprentice to the Aromatory—the emperor’s mysterious dragon trainer. But Maren is unprepared for the dangerous secrets she uncovers: rumors of a lost prince, a brewing rebellion, and a prophecy that threatens to shatter the empire itself. Not to mention the strange dreams she’s been having about a beast deep underground… With time running out, can Maren survive long enough to rescue Kaia from impending death? Or could it be that Maren is destined for something greater than she could have ever imagined?

Shatter the Sky

Kate

jess

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I was so excited about reading Shatter the Sky. I mean, dragons? With a bisexual protagonist on a frantic mission to get back her girlfriend? And while a lot of what I was hoping for delivered as promised, there were a lot of parts that made the book a lot slower than I would have liked.

In general, I liked Maren and her narration; she's enjoyable to read about, with a streak of determination a mile wide. Yet she's also your typical Chosen One, despite the attempt Shatter the Sky makes to subvert the trope. Everything works out very well for Maren and her abilities precisely because she is the Chosen One, which is all good, but a lot of Maren't storyline felt quite unrealistic for me. 

Another thing that I wasn't fond of was, despite the whole plot being Maren aiming to take back her girlfriend, the set-up between Sev and Maren. To me, it seemed to come out of left field, something very odd for a protagonist whose main motivation was to rescue Kaia from the Aurati, and who initially sees meeting Sev as more of a means to that end. Of course, I'm thrilled by the bi rep. But I was really looking forwards to an f/f book, and to have Kaia be in so little of the book was a bit of a letdown for me, and I definitely wanted more depth to their relationship--as well as all of Maren's relationships. 

I did find the worldbuilding quite fascinating, and it was definitely one of the strongest parts of the story. The magic system was not at all typical for fantasy, which I appreciated. I was really into learning about the Aromatory and the Aurati. 

The pacing, however, was probably my biggest problem with the book, especially once it hit the fortress--it really started to drag, and I couldn't keep interested afterwards. There was so much of the world I wanted to see that interested me - the dragons, the Aurati, the dynamics between the main empire and Maren's hometown - but ultimately it wasn't explored as much as I would have liked. 

Even though this book may not have been my particular cup of tea, it's still definitely worth a read. If you're looking for some good bi rep, or if you're a particular fan of dragon fantasy, go ahead and check it out!

Alex T Hughes

Worthwhile as a somewhat chill read. It feels somewhat linear and unsurprising, but the characters were interesting enough to keep me reading the whole way through. Definitely don't regret reading it, quite enjoyed it even, but I'm probably not going to pick up the sequel.

Jasmin 

** spoiler alert **
           I am so, so sad that I didn't love that book - queer and dragons sounded so promising, but I was let down.

It is queer, it has dragons. Yes. But everything the MC did felt too easy, even though I was told about the sakes it was super flat and predictable - and I guessed the big secret™ more than 100 pages before it's reveal.

(tbc)

Nickie Mohler

I thought this book was ok. I bumped up the rating just because I really liked the last part of the book a lot. Hopefully the next one will be even better.

Elizabeth Raines

The characters in this were like the characters in every other young adult fantasy novel on the shelf. Seventeen, outcast, and on a mission, that describes Maren and most fantasy heroines. In an honesty she a was a bit of a Mary Sue. Neve and the baby dragon were my favorites. This book was nothing new and I will continue to say that throughout this review. 

World building was one of the pluses for this novel. The start a book really shows you how this world is and how the emperor rules with an iron fist. I just wish that there would have been a map somewhere in this book. There might be in other editions but not in the Litjoy Crate version!

 The writing was not anything special. It seemed like the characters teleported a lot. Again, there was no map so I am not sure the distances of each kingdom but the characters made it seem like it would be a long way and then they would get to said location in five pages. I don't know. 

 The plot has all the common tropes of the fantasy genre. Saving someone taken by evil forces, a tyrant ruler, a lost prince, the chosen one, love triangles, all of that! Everything that readers have seen and read before. It brought nothing new to the table. 

 I feel as though this was not intriguing for me. The moments that were supposed to be big plot twists, they didn't wow me, I was just like 'okay, cool." Nothing too exciting. This has just all been done before. Lots of common tropes. 

 This was an average read for me. It was not bad it was just like I had already read this story before. I think if you are a fan of young adult fantasy novels, like Girls of Paper and Fire, then you might enjoy this one. I will not be picking up the second book, I think it will be very similar to this one just with some of the roles reversed.
https://izzyreads.blog/2021/03/24/sha...

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this book on Netgalley! Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book Series: Shatter the Sky Book 1

Rating: 4/5

Publication Date: July 30, 2019

Diversity: bisexual heroine f/f relationship, maybe biracial?

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age:

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Synopsis: Raised among the ruins of a conquered mountain nation, Maren dreams only of sharing a quiet life with her girlfriend Kaia—until the day Kaia is abducted by the Aurati, prophetic agents of the emperor, and forced to join their ranks. Desperate to save her, Maren hatches a plan to steal one of the emperor’s coveted dragons and storm the Aurati stronghold.

If Maren is to have any hope of succeeding, she must become an apprentice to the Aromatory—the emperor’s mysterious dragon trainer. But Maren is unprepared for the dangerous secrets she uncovers: rumors of a lost prince, a brewing rebellion, and a prophecy that threatens to shatter the empire itself. Not to mention the strange dreams she’s been having about a beast deep underground…

With time running out, can Maren survive long enough to rescue Kaia from impending death? Or could it be that Maren is destined for something greater than she could have ever imagined?

Review: As far as a fantasy I really liked this book. It was solid fantasy with great writing and solid characters. The story was made more fun and amazing with the inclusion of a bisexual girl who is in search of her missing girlfriend. I loved the world building as well.

However, the pacing slows in the middle and the book is predictable. I also think the book didn't have enough focus on the main character and her own character rather than this prophesized mysterious prince.

Verdict: A solid start to a series!

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Shatter the Sky by Rebecca Kim Wells

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