Shadow Fire Blog Tour + Review

Shadow Fire by Kimber Leigh Wheaton 
(The Light Chronicles #1) 
Publication date: February 24th 2014
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

Synopsis: 
Ashlyn – a free-spirited teenager whose peaceful life is shattered when the village elders honor her with a perilous quest to recover a stolen relic.

Zane – a jaded mercenary, torn by his undeniable desire for Ashlyn and the dark secret that could make her hate him forever.

Delistaire – a malevolent sorcerer driven by an insatiable lust for power.
All three are bound together by an ancient relic supposedly infused with the power of a Goddess.

Shadow Fire – adventure, passion, secrets, and betrayal

As Ashlyn and Zane race to stay one step ahead of the evil lurking in the shadows, their passions are ignited and their bond strengthens. But will they find the relic before Delistaire? Or has their entire quest been orchestrated from the very beginning by a madman in pursuit of ultimate power?

GOODREADS

Purchase: AMAZON





Review: I am a little unsure about how I feel about this book still, which is a feeling that I really hate, though I don't think that it's necessarily a good thing. It has kept me thinking about it long after I finished reading it, which means I'm still thinking about it. That has to be a really good thing, right? There were things that I really enjoyed about this book, but there were also a few things that I was not the biggest fan of. I feel it's that way with most books, but especially with fantasy for me. It is not my favorite genre, so sometimes I do struggle with some of the aspects of the stories. Still, I did think that this was an enjoyable read. I will go through and share my likes and dislikes, just to give everyone an idea of my thoughts as I read.

Likes:

1. The book was very easy to read. I felt that the writing was very well done, the dialogue was great, and I did not think that any part of the book drug on too much. I have a problem with fantasy books because they always seem to drag on way too much as they set things up, but that was not the case here. The writing had me wanting to continue reading, and that is always a very good sign for me. It's the sign of a good writer when you want to see what happens next to the characters in their book.

2. The Creatures: There were a lot of unusual and unique creatures that played a role in this book, and I really enjoyed that. I guess a part of it reminded my of Harry Potter since we are introduced to so many cool characters there, too. I thought that they were all identified and explained well enough that I was not confused when they popped up, and I also loved how a couple of the creatures seemed to be actual characters in the book because of their intelligence.

3. The characters: the characters in this book really were fabulous. Ashlyn, the red-headed main character can obviously take care of herself, which I love in a main female character, especially when it comes to fantasy. It's great when you know that the character could completely take care of herself if she needed to. I felt that she was very believable as a character. Zane was great, too. I tend to dislike the male characters in fantasy books because they tend to be full of themselves, and are often treated like the book could nor survive without them. I did not feel that way with this book, though.

Dislikes: 

1. Insta-love: I'm not as big of a fan of this as I used to be. Sometimes I am still okay with a bit of it, but it just happened way too fast in this book. Sure, the romance was good and I thought that the characters were adorable together, but I do wish that we could have seen how their relationship unfolded a little bit more first. Instead, they meet and then within a couple of days they're completely in love, and that's just not too believable to me.

2. I'm not sure that there was an even amount of romance and adventure. I am a huge contemporary fan, so I definitely love me some romance, but I like it more so in some books than others. I feel that contemporary is the right place for it, and maybe not so much for fantasy. Sure, I am good with their being a relationship, but sometimes I thought that there was too much focus on their romance and PDA and not enough on the quest and adventure that was supposed to be going on. I don't know, that could just be me, though.

3. I felt that a lot of the problems/conflicts in the book were wrapped up way too easily. Problems would be mentioned, and then suddenly it was resolved without much happening at all. There was one point when Zane told Ashlyn some pretty big stuff, and she seemed to barely acknowledge the whole situation and then it was just done. That wasn't okay with me since it seemed so hyped up in the synopsis. I felt like the final battle was way too easy as well. I just wanted to see more of a struggle and adventure in some points.

Overall, I did think that this was a good, fun read. I had been in a bit of a reading slump and read this a little while after coming out of it, so it was nice to read something that I would not necessarily read. I do think that it was very well written and that the characters were amazing. It is not a life changer, but it is certainly a fun read. I would recommend it to any fantasy fans.

Rating: 3.0 / 5.0

Kimber Leigh Wheaton is a YA/NA author with a soft spot for sweet romance and is a member of Romance Writers of America.

She is married to her soul mate, has a teenage son, and shares her home with three dogs and four cats. No, she doesn’t live on a farm, she just loves animals. Her house is filled with dragons, though she does lament that they are the porcelain, non-flying variety.

Kimber Leigh is addicted to romance, videogames, superheroes, villains, and chocolate—not necessarily in that order. (If she has to choose, she’ll take a chocolate covered superhero!)

Her debut novel, Shadow Fire, is the first book in the Light Chronicles series. Watch for book two, Stolen Moon, a standalone sequel, coming August 2014.

Author links: 

https://www.facebook.com/KimberLeighWheaton

http://www.kimberleighwheaton.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7885752.Kimber_Leigh_Wheaton

https://twitter.com/Cymberle