Hey there everyone! Today I'm taking part in the Blog Tour for Threats of Sky And Sea by Jennifer Ellision, organized by Xpresso Book Tours!
I will be sharing my review & a Blog Tour wide giveaway, so click HERE for the full tour schedule! But before that, let's get you some more information about the book & author, shall we?
(Threats of Sky and Sea #1)
Publication date: May 20th 2014
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Synopsis:
Sixteen year-old Breena Perdit has spent her life as a barmaid, innocent to her father’s past and happily free from the Elemental gifts that would condemn her to a life in the Egrian King’s army. Until the day that three Elemental soldiers recognize her father as a traitor to the throne and Bree’s father is thrown in jail—along with the secrets from his last mission as the King’s assassin. Secrets that could help the King win a war. Secrets he refuses to share.
Desperate to escape before the King’s capricious whims prove her and her father’s downfall, Bree bargains with him: information for their lives. It’s a good trade. And she has faith she’ll get them both out of the King’s grasp with time.
But that was before the discovery that she’s the weapon the King’s been waiting for in his war.
Now, time is running out. To save her father’s life and understand her own, Bree must unravel the knot of her father’s past before the King takes his life– and uses her to bring a nation to its knees.
About the author:
Jennifer Ellision spent a great deal of her childhood staying up
past her bedtime with a book and a flashlight. When she couldn’t
find the stories she wanted to read, she started writing them. She loves
words, has a soft spot for fanfiction, and is a master of the
fangirl flail. She lives in South Florida with her family, where she
lives in fear of temperatures below 60 Fahrenheit.
Threats of Sky and Sea, a young adult fantasy, is her first novel.
You can find Jennifer online at www.jenniferellision.com, or on twitter @JenEllision.
Threats of Sky and Sea, a young adult fantasy, is her first novel.
You can find Jennifer online at www.jenniferellision.com, or on twitter @JenEllision.
My Review
I have been quite in the mood for fantasy books and this book was the perfect fantasy read to my mood!
I got my ARC from Xpresso Book Tours so thanks a lot Giselle for letting me be part of this tour! I will try my best to keep my review spoiler free, but I might find myself babbling a bit too enthusiastically and end up letting something slip, but I promise no big reveals will slip my lips!
The book starts with Bree in the forest, trying to gather some wood to take back to the inn runs with her father. She finds herself following some screams in case someone needs help but stumbles into something bigger that she could even imagine. Soon her life changes completely and she discovers that her father had kept her in the dark of way too many things and that neither her father or herself are who she had believed they were. Her world changes so suddenly and in such an abrupt and dangerous way that I'm surprised how well she handled things, even if she had her moments here and there!
The world building was quite fantastic! We start small, with this small inn near a river and a small village nearby. With Bree and her Da, that make a fantastic team at staying afloat even in difficult times, and you can see the genuine love between them and how much Bree likes her life. Then little by little we get a bit more information about what's beyond the inn, and then we go on discovering more of the bigger picture and the world as Bree experience and fumble through it. There's a fantastic mix of magic with the Elementals (that made me think a bit of Avatar and the element benders) and the medieval feel of a court full of political intrigue and an overly powerful and ambitious king.
The characters were quite interesting, and I absolutely adore Bree! She's headstrong but kind and with a resilience that I wish I could have if I'd find myself in a situation like hers. She gets the life she had taken from her, mistreated & taken as prisoner, discovers that her father has lied to her... then gets chucked into court (that is like a nest of vipers) and is expected to change who she's always been and be grateful for it. She is spied on, experimented on, threatened by the king and mostly ignored by her own father (even if it was a wise choice due to the spies all over the place)...
Bree's Da was quite a mystery and by the end of book we're still left with quite a few questions about him, that I hope we'll get answered in upcoming books, because we can see he was quite a complex character with a dark past full of hard choices but a real love for Bree. The king was a rather typical villain to hate, but I think there's also more to him than just the ambition and power-crazy tyrant we see. And talking about evil characters I can't not mention Lady Kat, the king's Elemental assassin and right hand, she is one very hateful character that deals with threat and knowledge as well as fear.
Aleta the royal princess was quite an interesting character too, so prickly and distant at first but a character full of layers and that becomes a true friend and ally to Bree. I think these two can make a fantastic team together. Then we have Prince Caden, the heir of the kingdom that finds himself in a most difficult position between family loyalty and what his moral compass tells him to do. An interesting character that has great banter with Bree and makes for an interesting love interesting, even if the romance is very very subtle and develops very nicely and slowly.
I was a big fan of the romance in this book because even if you could suspect where it was going, it was never thrown in your face and you can see a fondness growing and turning into something more, it never takes over the plot, or the characters brains. Even if the hormones might get the best of the love interest in one certain occasion, desperation and all that!
As far as the plot goes this is the first novel of a trilogy (hopefully a longer series) but it's not just world building and barely any plot movement. Here we get a pair of big reveals and although I suspected both beforehand, they were not obvious or dull, and we still don't really get the full picture. The ending is not exactly a cliffhanger but there's a lot to happen and loads of unanswered questions! I'm really looking forward to the next book and give this one 4 to 4.5 stars!
I got my ARC from Xpresso Book Tours so thanks a lot Giselle for letting me be part of this tour! I will try my best to keep my review spoiler free, but I might find myself babbling a bit too enthusiastically and end up letting something slip, but I promise no big reveals will slip my lips!
The book starts with Bree in the forest, trying to gather some wood to take back to the inn runs with her father. She finds herself following some screams in case someone needs help but stumbles into something bigger that she could even imagine. Soon her life changes completely and she discovers that her father had kept her in the dark of way too many things and that neither her father or herself are who she had believed they were. Her world changes so suddenly and in such an abrupt and dangerous way that I'm surprised how well she handled things, even if she had her moments here and there!
The world building was quite fantastic! We start small, with this small inn near a river and a small village nearby. With Bree and her Da, that make a fantastic team at staying afloat even in difficult times, and you can see the genuine love between them and how much Bree likes her life. Then little by little we get a bit more information about what's beyond the inn, and then we go on discovering more of the bigger picture and the world as Bree experience and fumble through it. There's a fantastic mix of magic with the Elementals (that made me think a bit of Avatar and the element benders) and the medieval feel of a court full of political intrigue and an overly powerful and ambitious king.
The characters were quite interesting, and I absolutely adore Bree! She's headstrong but kind and with a resilience that I wish I could have if I'd find myself in a situation like hers. She gets the life she had taken from her, mistreated & taken as prisoner, discovers that her father has lied to her... then gets chucked into court (that is like a nest of vipers) and is expected to change who she's always been and be grateful for it. She is spied on, experimented on, threatened by the king and mostly ignored by her own father (even if it was a wise choice due to the spies all over the place)...
Bree's Da was quite a mystery and by the end of book we're still left with quite a few questions about him, that I hope we'll get answered in upcoming books, because we can see he was quite a complex character with a dark past full of hard choices but a real love for Bree. The king was a rather typical villain to hate, but I think there's also more to him than just the ambition and power-crazy tyrant we see. And talking about evil characters I can't not mention Lady Kat, the king's Elemental assassin and right hand, she is one very hateful character that deals with threat and knowledge as well as fear.
Aleta the royal princess was quite an interesting character too, so prickly and distant at first but a character full of layers and that becomes a true friend and ally to Bree. I think these two can make a fantastic team together. Then we have Prince Caden, the heir of the kingdom that finds himself in a most difficult position between family loyalty and what his moral compass tells him to do. An interesting character that has great banter with Bree and makes for an interesting love interesting, even if the romance is very very subtle and develops very nicely and slowly.
I was a big fan of the romance in this book because even if you could suspect where it was going, it was never thrown in your face and you can see a fondness growing and turning into something more, it never takes over the plot, or the characters brains. Even if the hormones might get the best of the love interest in one certain occasion, desperation and all that!
As far as the plot goes this is the first novel of a trilogy (hopefully a longer series) but it's not just world building and barely any plot movement. Here we get a pair of big reveals and although I suspected both beforehand, they were not obvious or dull, and we still don't really get the full picture. The ending is not exactly a cliffhanger but there's a lot to happen and loads of unanswered questions! I'm really looking forward to the next book and give this one 4 to 4.5 stars!
Giveaway
Open to US/Canada only
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/7a85c218/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway
Great review sweetie. <3 I am glad you liked this book :D So happy you loved the romance. That is a plus :D And oh, this cover is gorgeous, isn't it? I love it :) I might read this book someday. We'll see ;p
ReplyDeleteCarina, you might very well love this one! It's fantasy and great!!
DeleteThank you, sweetie!
Gah! I need to read this Pili! The fantasy genre is quickly becoming my very favorite genre, and with a cover that gorgeous and the mention of a romance that doesn't turn into something all-consuming I'm completely sold. The characters sound amazing, particularly Bree, and I'm just so excited to read this now. Thanks for your thoughts!!!!!
ReplyDeleteJenny, you really NEED to read this one!! I loved it!!
DeleteI cannot wait to hear what you think when you read it!
Yay glad you liked it, hun! I know you love fantasy books so I was hoping this one would be right up your alley. It sounds like both the characterization and world building is really well done. Bree def sounds like my kind of MC, too! Wonderful review, muffin!
ReplyDeleteIt really was, Giselle! Thank you for including me in the tour!
DeleteBree clearly was one of the feisty girls we were wishing for earlier, Giselle!!
Thanks a lot!
Thanks Pili. We have very similar taste is books so i think i will enjoy this one. ill be adding it to my TBR now. also thats an awesome giveaways. I like a giveaway monster! how could you not be when there are so many good books out there.
ReplyDelete:-)
Britt
I highly recommend this one, Britt!
DeleteThe giveaway is hosted by the author, and I hope you'll win a copy of the book so you can read it!
I've never heard of this novel before, but Bree sounds such a fabulous protagonist. And, if a fantasy novel worked this well for you, it must be strong enough to be added to my review queue! Lovely thoughts, Pili!
ReplyDeleteMelissa, I can highly recommend this one! I cannot wait to hear what you think of it if you end up reading it!!
DeleteThank you!
Hmm, really interesting. I always like some good fantasy books, too bad fantasy was the last thing on my mind when I saw the cover. Thanks for putting this one on my radar.
ReplyDelete-Mari
Glad I could help, Mari! I saw the cover and had to check the synopsis and was so glad it was a fantasy book, and after reading it... a great fantasy at that!
DeleteThis is a new one for me. I hadn't heard of it before! So glad to hear you enjoyed it. I'll keep an eye out for this one :)
ReplyDeleteVivien it was an awesome book, I highly recommend it!
Delete