This book started off soooooo good! It was looking to being a 4-5 star read for me and I fell in love with Mael but then at the 20% mark him and grandma die and I wasn’t interested anymore. I read to the 85% mark before deciding to DNF which is unfortunate because I was so close to being finished with the book but I couldn’t get myself to feel interested enough to keep reading. I still give it a 2 stars even though it was a DNF for me because of the first 25% of this book and how much I did enjoy that! I may pick this up and finish it in the future but for now I unfortunately don’t care enough to finish the book.

I loved the premise of this book. Alora is a girl from a small village who lives a simple life until her entire village is brutally wiped out & she is the only one left to avenge the people she loves. She becomes an assassin, discovers how to wield her powers, and coincidentally meets her mate during a one night stand. After that things get crazy, somehow she becomes a princess (still bent on revenge mind you), and her fate never seems to really be in her hands no matter how she may try.
Unfortunately, that is the only thing that I enjoyed about this book. It seemed to fall flat in so many ways which was so disappointing!!! I felt like I had whiplash the entire time because the plot jumped so quickly I couldn’t catch my breath, but at the same time I felt like it was a really slow book. I LOVE a powerful & cool FMC and Lor had so much untapped potential that seemed to get lost within the pages of this book. I wanted to like it but unfortunately I just didn’t. It felt like a jumble of cliches without the important character building in between.

I wish the writing had been more consistent as well. The chapters seemed to skip between past and present tense which contributed a lot to the disorienting feel of the entire book.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. SPOILERS AHEAD.

This story had a strong start, immediately pulling me into its immersive world. The characters were well-written, and the opening chapters did a great job of setting the stage. However, it felt like it took quite a while for the main storyline to truly begin, only to end abruptly on a massive cliffhanger.

I really enjoyed the writing style and the characters, though I wish we’d had more time to connect with some of the others.

That said, this book reminded me a lot of Throne of Glass. While I understand SJM didn’t invent the fantasy genre, there were numerous similarities that were hard to overlook—things like family is killed then right into the assassins guild, the protagonist being an heir to the guild, the fated mate trope with the prince, themes of capture and torture, and the interplay of shadows and fire. I’m hopeful that the next installment will take a more unique direction, though as it stands, the storyline seems fairly predictable, with the protagonist destined to win the war using her powers.

Despite those critiques, I found this book very easy to read and engaging. I’m looking forward to seeing where the author takes the story in the next book. Overall, I enjoyed it and am excited to read more from this author

This book was a little complicated to get through. I did like the story premise and Mael was a good character to start the story off with.

3.5✨

Thank you to NetGalley and Cursebreaker Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The overarching theme I get from this is a YA with adult characters and scenes. If you love YA but just want that little bit extra from it then you will absolutely love this book!

The imagery from the writing is truly immersive, like I really feel like I can see the world, but I'm not sure I need the woods described to me more than maybe twice, like I get it, and I feel like that really slows down this book. I loved the first few chapters as it gave me a minute to get into the world and the story but with limited worldbuilding and info dumps I don’t necessarily feel like I understood the world until much further along in the book.

You can really feel the Throne of Glass influence in this book, but Alora is Celaena's quite distant cousin that just so happens to be on the same vibes, this entire story has its own intricacies and details that are different from Throne of Glass, but the influence is strong. (and I do not hate that)

Once you actually get into the meat of this book at about 50ish% that’s when it starts getting really good, honestly before that is essentially a prelude to get you into the world, but the actual story is super enjoyable. As I said it very much has YA vibes in some of the character decisions and ways they act, and while that’s not my fave and I am not a huge fan of YA with adult characters, I didn’t feel alienated from the story.

I have a lot of questions left unanswered so I am absolutely going to be waiting for book 2 and if this is the base, I can only feel that book 2 will be even better.

Daughter of shadows and ash has twists and turns on every page! This is my first read from this author and it did not disappoint. Lor is a strong FMC who is dealing with alot of heartbreak throughout this book. She becomes an assassin in hopes for vengeance against those who wronged her (without giving too much away). She is then swept away into a world of Royals that are not as they seem. Overall, I could not put this down, the writing was very entrancing but I will admit some spots seemed a little short or rushed. I wish the book was longer, but seeing as it seems it will be a trilogy, it left off on a perfect spot. I have some theories for the next book, but time will tell! If you enjoy shadows, fae, fated mates, and strong FMC, this one is for you!
Thank you to the author, Net Galley and Cursebreaker books/ Victory editing for this ARC :)

Daughter of Shadows and Ash by new to me author Ember Johnson, published by Cursbreaker Books, is the first book in the Araceli's Blade Series.
A dark read with some lengths, mildly pretentious language, example: "her voice wove spells of comfort" and deals with some sensitive subject.
I was pretty quick bored and shlepped through the story because I wanted to be no quitter, hoping the story could peak my interset at some point.

This was a really great dark fantasy romance! A one night stand turns into a major problem when he turns out to be her arranged marriage partner. After becoming an assassin to avenge her family and finding herself here, we've got a really interesting premise!