Great Standalone Sequel

(Really close to five stars, but you'll find out why later in the review)

So, this is more of a companion book to Dark Shores where we get to follow Terianna’s best friend, Lydia. I super called it in my last review where Lydia had “main protagonist” written all over her, and I’m glad for it. There’s no need to read Dark Shores first. You can actually read Dark Skies first if you’d like.

Lydia was raised by her adopted father after she was found with her murdered birth mother. No one knew the origins of Lydia, and her adopted father took her in and cared for her like she was of his own blood. Unfortunately, Lydia was raised in the very Roman-ish Cel Empire, which means women are pretty much treated like property. In order to secure his daughter a safe future, Lydia’s dying father tries to marry her off to the worst possible person to get her married to—the evil and power hungry Lucius. Thankfully, Lydia is able to escape the murderous Lucius (that’s right, he tries to oversee her murder) but instead finds herself on the other side of the world—the Dark Shores, which were previously thought of as a myth. Lydia must get back to the Cel to save her father from an insidious plot and to save her friend Terianna, of whom Lydia may have accidentally doomed her entire people.

Oh, you think that’s it with the synopsis? Pfft, no! We get two POV’s.

Killian is our second protagonist. He lives on the aforementioned Dark Shores where the people worship seven gods/goddesses. These immortal beings “mark” humans they like, which gives these humans cool powers like an affinity for fighting, growing plants, or fast healing others. Killian is marked by the war god, so he should be okay with protecting the non-penetrable wall, right? Nope. Because the god of death/chaos sent his marked ones over to take the wall and capture/kill Killian. The wall falls, and Killian pretty much spends the rest of the novel trying to atone for not going with his gut instinct, which resulted in the fall of said wall. He’s supposed to be charming and good with the ladies (which is a ruse yet it’s never really displayed), but I got more of a “I have to atone” vibe from him, even before the wall fell.

But what did I think of the book? Well, I liked it. It was fun and well developed. Lydia grows from a girl who knows of the problems plaguing her world and doing nothing to heal those problems, to an adept and goal driven woman. Killian goes from a boy who is chained up by his marked to taking control of his life and being reliable to the people around him. I HIGHLY enjoy how Lydia and Killian were truthful with each other from the start. There are so many stories where misunderstandings and withholding information damaged a pretty good plot. I dislike how you know where the story will end up just because of someone keeping a secret. (Ex: I shouldn’t tell him about my past because he’ll hate me for it---->Oh no, he hates me for keeping the secret and not because of my past, I have to heal our wounded relationship now!) Thank goodness this story didn’t end up like that.

That being said, I ended up liking Dark Shores better. Terianna is a fun character. Super awesome and witty. I would have actually liked Terianna and Lydia to be romantically together than with Killian and Marcus. They have way more chemistry than they do with the two boys. I liked both plots, the growth in both novels, and basically everything pretty much at the same level. But there’s a smidgen of Terianna in this book so that’s why it comes in second.

Quick ramble: What’s up with brothers in these books hating each other? Where's the familial love?

I listened to this book on audiobook through Audible.com.

Johnson DeVante is not the best narrator for Killian. Don’t get me wrong. His voice is like melted butter mixed with a delicious batch of brownie batter---but that doesn’t go well with Killian. Killian who is, what, 19-years-old, and not the learned, deep voiced 30 something DeVante sounds like. There “are” some parts where Killian does exhibit that “rascal” attitude, but it’s lost on DeVante’s narration. (Still, I’d listen to DeVante if he was narrating a character closer to his voice range.)

Stephanie Willis was a great choice! I wouldn’t change her performance in any way.

Okay. Hope you had fun reading this. I had a great time reflecting. See ya with the next review!

3 people found this helpful

Narrator took me out of the Story

I enjoyed the female narrator, but the Male narrator sounding congested. At times I thought I changed the speed of the book because he spoke too fast at random times.
This book wasn’t as good as the first two (#0.5 and #1), but I still enjoyed it. Hoping book #3 ties the story together more

The most awful male narrator EVER

The only reason I will continue to listen to the rest of the series is because it is actually good. But the male narrator is awful. If you cannot annunciate then you should not be a narrator.

Amazing narrator!!

In love of Lydia’s voice. She did an amazing job, not so much the male narrator.
Can’t wait to continue the story

Great story

the Female narrator was amazing, but the male one wasn't one I enjoyed listening to. stumbling over words and hard to understand.

Awesome book. Bad male narration

Loved all of Lydia’s parts. She did an amazing job embodying this character. The male narrator however was severely lacking. He made it so hard to even want to follow what was going on. I don’t think he was right for this book or it’s strong sure male character Killian. We needed a voice we could all fall in love with. That was not it. I feel like that narrator alone is holding the book back from its true potential because the story is amazing and the character are phenomenal.

Great fantasy!

This author is a wonderful creative storyteller. I have read a few of her books and not one disappoints her attention to detail is mesmerizing.This particular story is perhaps worthy of comparing to Phillip K Dick. I hope there is more.

Do dark shores first

The man narrator is the absolute worst. It is so hard to listen to his awkward pauses and bursts. It’s like a teenager was told to read out loud in class. Woman does fine.
Dark shores was awesome and now I’m addicted to the story but if I’d listened to this first I would’ve given up entirely.
The story is good. It’s the man narrator was a terrible choice.

Loved It

Book 2 in the Dark Shores series

Political Upheaval...Gods...Goddesses...Judgments...Love & Longing

Desiring hope. Wanting too much. Determining where you belong. Finding a purpose.

Once again I was pulled into the book from the beginning. I love reading the different people's stories in each book and seeing how they overall series ties together. At the risk of own life, the main characters continue to do all they can to preserve life.

"I choose this."

Can't wait to continue in book 3.

Strong story; poor male narration

While I enjoyed the story, the male narrator, was distracting and without credence. No one speaks the way he narrated. And no actor would speak in the manner he narrated unless it was a trait of his character. He spoke in choppy, quick bursts of words conveying little or no emotion. If the story was not as soundly written, his portrayal of the character would have completely weakened the character. Am not looking forward to hearing him in the next book. The male narrator of the first book in this series was excellent.

The female narrator was excellent and was the only salvation for the performance aspect of the story. I recommend listening to the book on the strength of the story and the female narrator.