Page Count: 400
Published On: January 14, 2020
Published By: Page Street
Genre(s): YA fantasy
Source: ARC provided by the publisher
Where To Find It: Amazon // Book Depository
Where To Find It: Amazon // Book Depository
My Rating: 4 stars
Goodreads synopsis:
It has always been Eda’s dream to become empress, no matter the cost. Haunted by her ambition and selfishness, she’s convinced that the only way to achieve her goal is to barter with the gods. But all requests come with a price and Eda bargains away the soul of her best friend in exchange for the crown.
Years later, her hold on the empire begins to crumble and her best friend unexpectedly grows sick and dies. Gnawed by guilt and betrayal, Eda embarks on a harrowing journey to confront the very god who gave her the kingdom in the first place. However, she soon discovers that he’s trapped at the center of an otherworldly labyrinth and that her bargain with him is more complex than she ever could have imagined.
Set in the same universe as Joanna’s debut, Beneath the Haunting Sea, Beyond the Shadowed Earth combines her incredible world-building and lush prose with a new, villainous lead.
Years later, her hold on the empire begins to crumble and her best friend unexpectedly grows sick and dies. Gnawed by guilt and betrayal, Eda embarks on a harrowing journey to confront the very god who gave her the kingdom in the first place. However, she soon discovers that he’s trapped at the center of an otherworldly labyrinth and that her bargain with him is more complex than she ever could have imagined.
Set in the same universe as Joanna’s debut, Beneath the Haunting Sea, Beyond the Shadowed Earth combines her incredible world-building and lush prose with a new, villainous lead.
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This ARC was sent to me for an honest review. All thoughts, feelings, and opinions are my own. No monetary compensation was provided for this review.
This ARC was sent to me for an honest review. All thoughts, feelings, and opinions are my own. No monetary compensation was provided for this review.
Hey guys,
If you've been following me for a while, you'd likely know of my deep love for all things Norse mythology and Norse-inspired. In 2019, I had the pleasure of reading Joanna Ruth Meyer's Echo North, a retelling of the Norse tale of "East o' the Sun, West o' the Moon." I enjoyed it so much and I instantly started to follow Joanna's writing journey through her Twitter and Instagram. I love her style and she's such a kind human with an adorable family.
In June, I had commented on one of her photos of her ARCs for Earth and she DM'd me and asked for my info so that she could have her publisher send me a copy. I yelled. However, I was so excited that I decided to wait until closer to the publishing date so that I didn't have to wait even longer for her next book. Like a buffoon, I waited too long. School became intense, life was happening, and I had to finish other books for scheduled reviews. Long story short, I didn't finish the book until the beginning of February. What a journey.
Beyond the Shadowed Earth is a beautifully crafted story. It reminds me of my favorite stories from my childhood mixed with the badass women that I encountered as I started reading YA. The story follows Eda, an ambitious and selfish girl who just wants to be the empress of her country. In order to do that, she has to barter everything she loves to the gods. She makes risky deals with the god, Tuer, and begins to lose everything she loves. To reclaim her empire and to recover all that she loses, she has to adventure to the mountain that Tuer is trapped in and kill him.
In June, I had commented on one of her photos of her ARCs for Earth and she DM'd me and asked for my info so that she could have her publisher send me a copy. I yelled. However, I was so excited that I decided to wait until closer to the publishing date so that I didn't have to wait even longer for her next book. Like a buffoon, I waited too long. School became intense, life was happening, and I had to finish other books for scheduled reviews. Long story short, I didn't finish the book until the beginning of February. What a journey.
Beyond the Shadowed Earth is a beautifully crafted story. It reminds me of my favorite stories from my childhood mixed with the badass women that I encountered as I started reading YA. The story follows Eda, an ambitious and selfish girl who just wants to be the empress of her country. In order to do that, she has to barter everything she loves to the gods. She makes risky deals with the god, Tuer, and begins to lose everything she loves. To reclaim her empire and to recover all that she loses, she has to adventure to the mountain that Tuer is trapped in and kill him.
Joanna has a way of crafting worlds that I could get lost in for the rest of my life. The world that she's created in this novel is just so fantastic and I want to dive deeper into the mythology and the intricacies that follow a large pantheon. She did such a great job when creating spiritual and religious characters. I was completely captivated. However, in this book, I felt like I didn't know as much about the magic system or the processes of conjuring or calling the gods. Maybe that's because I haven't read the companion novel, Beneath the Haunting Sea, but I wish I had been given a bit more to grasp.
Additionally, Joanna creates a fantastic cast of characters. I really loved to be irritated with Eda. She was so completely selfish and made the worst decisions, but it was so fun to yell at her whenever she did something dumb. She was really terrible at being politically savvy. She really didn't know what to do other than bully her way into power. I felt like she didn't really care at all about her country by the middle of the book. She was so focused on fixing her mistakes that she would just up and leave via horse and go to the temple. I really didn't enjoy the political aspects of this book because I felt like they weren't particularly believable. The parts of the novel where Eda was in the palace was where it fell flat for me. It just was a stretch to me. However, once she left to go on her quest, that's when I felt like the book picked up. The first hundred pages were excellent, the second hundred fifty were slow because we were trying to get to the quest and it just got slower and slower for me, and the last 250 were excellent because we were on the quest. I just wish that some of the filler stuff would have been cut down. It just slowed down the pacing. It was an excellent story, but the middle's pacing was just slow.
I really loved the overall vibe of the story; however, I just wish that there had been more of an emphasis on the magic and the gods' influence on the worlds. It was a very character-driven novel, but I would have liked even more of the world. Eda was on my nerves enough that I wanted another perspective or something.
Overall, this book was so much fun. I can't wait to read Joanna's next novel, Of Leaves and Stars. It hits all of the buzz-tropes and buzz-words that I adore in the books I read. I hope that I can get my hands on an ARC or something.
Additionally, Joanna creates a fantastic cast of characters. I really loved to be irritated with Eda. She was so completely selfish and made the worst decisions, but it was so fun to yell at her whenever she did something dumb. She was really terrible at being politically savvy. She really didn't know what to do other than bully her way into power. I felt like she didn't really care at all about her country by the middle of the book. She was so focused on fixing her mistakes that she would just up and leave via horse and go to the temple. I really didn't enjoy the political aspects of this book because I felt like they weren't particularly believable. The parts of the novel where Eda was in the palace was where it fell flat for me. It just was a stretch to me. However, once she left to go on her quest, that's when I felt like the book picked up. The first hundred pages were excellent, the second hundred fifty were slow because we were trying to get to the quest and it just got slower and slower for me, and the last 250 were excellent because we were on the quest. I just wish that some of the filler stuff would have been cut down. It just slowed down the pacing. It was an excellent story, but the middle's pacing was just slow.
I really loved the overall vibe of the story; however, I just wish that there had been more of an emphasis on the magic and the gods' influence on the worlds. It was a very character-driven novel, but I would have liked even more of the world. Eda was on my nerves enough that I wanted another perspective or something.
Overall, this book was so much fun. I can't wait to read Joanna's next novel, Of Leaves and Stars. It hits all of the buzz-tropes and buzz-words that I adore in the books I read. I hope that I can get my hands on an ARC or something.
Happy reading:
Olivia
~ Liv the Book Nerd ~
Twitter // Instagram // Tumblr // Goodreads // YouTube // Bloglovin // Book Depository Affiliate Code // Ko-Fi // Book of the Month
Olivia
~ Liv the Book Nerd ~
Twitter // Instagram // Tumblr // Goodreads // YouTube // Bloglovin // Book Depository Affiliate Code // Ko-Fi // Book of the Month
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