I was very happy to find out you didn't have to read all the books before this one, which helps a lot. Especially when you do not find out it's apart of a series till you download the book or look it up. The writing style is alright and suits the journey Kit goes through stealing and begging for what she needs to survive and then by fate she discovered she has the potential to become a knight and finally gives her family the love and prosperity they deserve but it comes at a price. This book was so quiet enjoyable and I am very tempted to pick up the rest books in the series.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this.

This book seems to be written in 2 very different styles and formats and it really made it difficult for me to write a fair review. Both styles were fine but together they didn't mesh and I kind of felt an overarching sense of annoyance over the writing style change and no longer felt invested in the story, the characters, anything really. DNF.

It didn't take long to get through this book despite it being so long. The chapters were short enough that I could read them on my commute to work and I didn't have to stress too much about being stuck in the middle of a chapter and having to reread it.

That being said, I expected this to be a young adult or adult fantasy, but the writing in the beginning of the book was almost as though the author was trying to write a middle grade novel. Some of the writing was reminiscent of Aru Shah and the End of Time or The Lightning Thief. Several chapters in, the book switched gears and started to read more like a young adult novel, but it felt lacking in descriptions and substance.

The world itself felt described well, it had a somewhat atmospheric vibe to it instead of being blatantly specific about describing tiny details. I do quite enjoy atmospheric storytelling, but I didn't like the balance between atmosphere and action in this book, which weren't described very well for me.

Aside from all of this, the book also felt rushed. I barely had enough time to understand what was happening before Kit was off doing something else or going somewhere else. It felt pointless to spend so much time on the atmospheric storytelling element of this book for the characters to just move on again, to a new place, where we get more, slightly different atmospheric storytelling, but not enough to distinguish the places.

I think this would have been more my style if it weren't so fast paced so that I had time to connect to Kit and get a feel for what is going on before she just decided to throw herself into 'the test.' Some more elaboration and explanation would have made it easier for me to connect with this story, but as is, it felt like 2-3 books crammed into one and it was really difficult for me to read because of that.

This is most definitely a plot driven book, whereas I typically lean towards character driven stories. Perhaps this is just a case of 'this book wasn't for me' but it might be right for someone else. In any case, this book has a lot of potential, and I'm interested to see how TL Rese grows as a writer, especially if they stick with this atmospheric type of storytelling (which I usually very much love.)

I liked this overall. Fantasy is not my first choice, but I do read it occasionally. This has been out since 2014, but hasn't generated many reviews or attention. The author has a nice writing style, and I stayed mostly engaged. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I was a YA, but I've read plenty that I'm "too old" for.

Thanks very much for the review copy!!

thanks to netgalley for providing me with an arc.

as much as i wanted to love this book, it fell short for me. the story and characters felt bland, more so the world-building. it just felt like the author wasn’t planning where the story was going. in my opinion, the world-building was poorly written out but the world was diverse enough to have potential—until it didn’t. i hoped to see more of this, it was ok but nothing special.

This is a really easy read. I devoured this in short time and it was a nice palate cleanser after reading a lot of very dark books. I have never read a book by this author before and therefore cannot compare the quality of this book with their other works but I think this book works and if the blurb sounds interesting to you give it a try.

I liked the main character well enough even though I think comparisons with Superman are not wrong - the character appears to have only a few flaws and no real weakness which makes it not that gripping to follow the narrative. I never questioned if something would work out for the main character.

I also think the prose still needs some work (or an editor). I cannot pinpoint what exactly I did not like about it about it but sometimes the picture the author wanted to paint with their words was not very clear.

The writing in this one needs a bit more editing in you ask me. I liked the overall story of Kits rise to the ultimate status and the enjoyment of watching her meet her goals. She felt honestly a bit like Superman without the Kryptonite though, almost over powered if you will. This might just be my perception, I think others will enjoy this story overall, it just didn't hit all the 1-2s for me personally.

this is my first book from this author and i find it interesting how it was a quick read from me, and i really enjoy quick reads. but the thing is whenever i read books from this genre, i really have this high expectation that even i have a hard time explaining, but mainly i gave this three stars because i know it isn't a book that was meant for me to enjoy for the rest of my life, because i'm quite sure i'm forgetting what happened here sooner or later (not the book's fault ig, mainly me). still a fun read, would recommend.

I wanted to like this book, but for whatever reason I just found that I really didn’t sink into the story. With a blurb like this one, I thought I’d be hooked instantly, so I’m fairly disappointed that I didn’t like the story.. As a reader I don’t like forcing myself finish a book that I’m not enjoying so I DNF’d this at about the half way mark.

-despite the book being long with 500+ pages, the chapters are pretty short and I love it
-in Goodreads the description says that it's suitable for 16 and up. But in this first 4 chapters the book have a middle grade vibe. I mean I can see the dystopian side of the book but the way the narrator narrates the feelings and thoughts of each character feels like the narrator is telling a story to a child
-what made me to DNF this book is because of grammatical errors. I mean I don't mind it because the copy is an uncorrected proof, but the errors made the storyline a little bit hard to understand.
-it's a shame though, I like the atmosphere but here we are.

I thought this was a good fantasy novel. It was an interesting imagining of a new world. It charts the progress of Kit who leaves her family to progress through the various tests required to become an elite warrior.

It describes her progress from an intuitive but untrained ingenue and the friends she picks up along the way.

The fantastical world of Alhallra was so fun to dive into. I loved the whole beginning, the characters, the story, the setting. However, unfortunately the more I read the harder it was to follow. It was nearly impossible for me to distinguish the passing of time; when Kit first mentioned it had been years I was genuinely shocked because I thought it had only been months.

The description was also lacking in some areas. I feel like I had to spend so much time trying to figure out the timeline and building my own ideas of what things looked like and how they worked that it distracted me from the plot. Also, the sudden introduction to violence was so jarring I had to put the book down for a few days. Overall the book was good, I really enjoyed the beginning and there was enough throughout that I liked to keep me interested enough to finish.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me a copy of this ebook.

I really enjoyed this book finished it within a few days. The fantastical world draws you in It was very strange and different and I would have liked to see it continue

This book was received as an ARC from T.L. Reese in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was really happy to read the description that you did not have to read the books in order for understanding because it wasn't until after I downloaded this book that I realized this was a series. I was so engaged with the writing style of this and the journey Kit goes through stealing and begging for what she needs to survive and then by fate she discovered she has the potential to become a knight and finally gives her family the love and prosperity they deserve but it comes at a price...her life at risk. This book was so invigorating that I did not want to stop reading and I can not wait to read the rest of the series.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

What I liked about this book:
- I loved the in-depth, fast-paced action scenes. I found that these were really well written and immersive.
- The world-building and imagery were really well done. I liked the creation of scenery, plants, creatures etc. and thought they were described really well.
- Kit was written wonderfully and had a really in-depth back story.
- The introduction to kits friends made the book a lot more interesting and easier to read.

What I didn't like about this book:
- I feel as if the beginning was incredibly rushed, which left me confused. We went back and forth between a few characters that we didn't really need to read about, making the story a little hard to connect with. These parts definitely could have been taken out!
- I feel as if other characters within the story were well written but needed more depth. There was a lack of connection and detail that really could have brought them to life.

Overall I really enjoyed the book and found it a fun and exciting read!

What I Liked:
- I enjoy the world-building: the world feels real and exciting. I love learning new things about the world.
- The characters are great, I really enjoy Kit and her family and learning about them and how they live. The friends Kit makes later in the book (at around 20-25%) add to the story and I enjoy them.
- The fight scenes are great!

What I Didn’t Like:
- The beginning feels very rushed. We’re in one place and something happens, and then we’re taken to a new place, and something happens. Then there’s a huge twist and we’re to another place and then something happens and we’re brought to yet another place. There’s not enough time to settle with the characters in the different stages. I wish we spent more time exploring the world and the plot points. It’s rare that I wish a book was longer, but I wish this was longer! Making it longer would also make Kit’s desire to take part in the Test clearer because as it is now, it felt rather sudden.

Wishes
- Stay in one place with one plot point for a longer amount of time to get used to what’s going on and who the characters are.
- More pages, at least 100 more. I think the world building and the characters are solid, but we (the readers) need more time diving into these things and the cultural elements (and cultural shocks). There is one setting we didn’t spend a long time in at all (in the beginning) and I think there’s a lot to be played with there. I’d also love to learn more about the characters at that place (The Shores). How are they different from what Kit is used to? Do they dress differently? Do they talk differently? What do they do in their spare time?
- GRAPHIC NOVEL! This book would be AMAZING if turned into a graphic novel. That way, we (the readers) get to explore the world visually. We get to see the stark differences that T.L. Rese have described and explained. I think this book would be absolutely amazing if made into a graphic novel!