Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Tor Teen for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Goodreads synopsis
"The night my sister was born, the stars died and were reborn in her eyes…".
Zuhra and Inara have grown up in the Citadel of the Paladins, an abandoned fortress where legendary, magical warriors once lived before disappearing from the world―including their Paladin father the night Inara was born.
On that same night, a massive, magical hedge grew and imprisoned them within the citadel. Inara inherited their father’s Paladin power; her eyes glow blue and she is able to make plants grow at unbelievable rates, but she has been trapped in her own mind because of a “roar” that drowns everything else out―leaving Zuhra virtually alone with their emotionally broken human mother.
For fifteen years they have lived, trapped in the citadel, with little contact from the outside world…until the day a stranger passes through the hedge, and everything changes.
Review
This was my first Sara B. Larson book and it will not be the last.
I found myself captivated by this magical world that Larson has created and ended up really enjoying this book. With the sisterly bond between Zuhra and Inara at its forefront I ended up connecting with the two characters a lot, having a close bond to my own sister.
However, while I found myself loving these character’s I also felt disappointed by the lack of real character development. I can only hope that the next book provides us with more, especially when it comes to Inara who felt like a secondary character in this story in comparison to her sister.
I really liked the idea of paladins in this book as it’s something I haven’t really read about in my years of reading YA fiction. I loved the magical element to this book and still find myself amazed about the magical hedge which for some reason only lets two people through willingly.
While this does have romance, it’s very much a side note to the story very focused on family bonds. I felt like the book had a smooth and good pace, keeping me hooked and in turn making it hard to put down, especially in the final section of the book.
This book ends on a very stressful cliff-hanger that makes me wish I had the second book ready to read. I cannot wait to see how Larson progresses the story.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Comments