Series: Guardians of the Soul Forge #1
Pages: 179
Genres: Coming of Age, Fantasy
ASIN: B0D9R82N3P
ISBN: 9798333550750
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Source: ARC, VRO
Under the towering peaks of the Labyrinth Mountains, deep within the serpentine caves of the Havens, light is the only wealth that counts. And for those without inherited privilege or power, the sky is a myth and the sun a god that turned its face away from their poverty.
In the darkest corners of the Havens’ civilization, creatures of blue radiance called sinileva grow at the edge of cavern pools. These simple lifeforms are the only light that can touch the darkness of the Deeps and the people that dwell there. Yet even this light has fallen under the control of the Ydin city nobility.
Fiiri, a young boy from the Deeps along the outskirts of Ydin, is ready to leave his life of pools and caverns behind to become a Guardian. But with the death of his father, he has inherited a sinileva pool that was never meant to be his. Now, he must choose between who he wants to be, and who he needs to be. All his life, he had dreamed of becoming a Guardian, learning to harness powers that would take him out of this world of darkness. Yet how can he take that path alone while so many need a Guardian who is willing to do more than simply escape?
Tropes:
- High Fantasy
- Epic Journey
- Coming of Age
- Legendary Weapon
- Hero’s Destiny
My Review
Now while I understand many people would probably like this book, I just didn’t.
I love to read fantasy, the weirder the better, but I just couldn’t get into this, every time I picked it up to read I only managed a few pages. With time ticking along so slowly while reading those pages, I realised I was just not enjoying it.
However, from what I did read, it was written well. I could tell there was some kind of theme I was possibly missing? What I understood really was mining, cave like areas, swimming pools of light that power cave type residences, and some kind of bubble lady? And some gem stones that were laid out in an unexplained symbol, with a blade that could be picked up instead of said stones, an underwater outside forest/garden place, fish skin junkies.
That’s really all I could cope with.
There’s a lot going on and none of it really has much context, I believe this is due to the fact it’s a short story and everything is just rushed.
I made it to around 44% and still had no clue what the purpose of mentioning most of said things were. 🤷🏻♀️
Perhaps I shall retry it one day, as I did initially like the prologue, which seemed very interesting, more up my alley, but it changed so much from what I’d expected from that prologue to the actual bulk of the story that I didn’t expect to be disappointed from there on out.
Also, I had no fricking clue how to mentally pronounce the characters names, well some.
I also just couldn’t bond with them, no connection to keep me invested in their journeys.
So for now, this one, for me personally is a DNF.
A sad 2* from me.
Sorry.
If I reread and change my opinion, I shall update my rating/review accordingly.
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