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A review by booknerd_charlie
Among Veiled Stars by Shelby Brookes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Talk about complex world-building! Among Veiled Stars takes you on an epic, fantasy journey as you follow Eefah, the last descendant of the pixie throne. Raised by humans, she was always taught that her purpose was to unite the two realms in order to prevent war. An attack by rebels suddenly brings undiscovered magic to the surface, and suddenly Eefah’s entire worldview is shattered. Along with her snarky bodyguard, she goes on a quest of self-discovery to come to terms with her past, everything she’s been kept isolated from, and all that she has yet to achieve, in order to determine what her true purpose in this world really is.
I really enjoyed the author’s attention to detail in the world-building and complex magic systems developed in the book. They painted a vivid picture of the Kingdom of Aevover and of the outside world Eefah has yet to explore. I am a big fan of detailed world-building, so the beautiful depictions of the settings and mythical creatures in this book immediately caught my attention. I think the author did a fantastic job immersing the reader in this magical world.
Where I think she fell a little short is in the plot development and in Eefah’s character growth. The concept of the story is rather complex, and often I feel the plot threads got away from the author as she tried to weave too many details and pieces together. It made the story rather difficult to follow in some parts, and rather sluggish in others. This, along with Eefah’s somewhat naive and whiny characterization, made it difficult at times to really root for her as a main character because she was often so frustrating.
I can see a lot of these issues potentially being resolved in the second book, as the story takes some time to breathe and as Eefah grows more as a character. But I think some readers may not be as patient to want to invest in the series if they can’t weave through the plot threads of the first book.
⚜️Complex world-building and magical systems
⚜️Found family
⚜️Mythical creatures
⚜️Epic quest
⚜️Star-crossed lovers
⚜️Forbidden magic
⚜️High stakes
⚜️Enemies (frenemies?) to lovers
I really enjoyed the author’s attention to detail in the world-building and complex magic systems developed in the book. They painted a vivid picture of the Kingdom of Aevover and of the outside world Eefah has yet to explore. I am a big fan of detailed world-building, so the beautiful depictions of the settings and mythical creatures in this book immediately caught my attention. I think the author did a fantastic job immersing the reader in this magical world.
Where I think she fell a little short is in the plot development and in Eefah’s character growth. The concept of the story is rather complex, and often I feel the plot threads got away from the author as she tried to weave too many details and pieces together. It made the story rather difficult to follow in some parts, and rather sluggish in others. This, along with Eefah’s somewhat naive and whiny characterization, made it difficult at times to really root for her as a main character because she was often so frustrating.
I can see a lot of these issues potentially being resolved in the second book, as the story takes some time to breathe and as Eefah grows more as a character. But I think some readers may not be as patient to want to invest in the series if they can’t weave through the plot threads of the first book.
⚜️Complex world-building and magical systems
⚜️Found family
⚜️Mythical creatures
⚜️Epic quest
⚜️Star-crossed lovers
⚜️Forbidden magic
⚜️High stakes
⚜️Enemies (frenemies?) to lovers