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My Review:Title: Haven
Author: A.R. Ivanovich
Series: War of the Princes #1
Published by: Alloy Entertainment
Release Date: January 5, 2016
Format: Kindle Book
Pages: 266
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Steampunk
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2020 Beat the Backlist Challenge, Lenoreo's 2020 Monthly Motif Challenge, Lenoreo's Can You Read a Series September 2020
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon
My rating:
Blurb:For hundreds of years, the peaceful country of Haven has remained isolated from the rest of the world. But for adventurous seventeen-year-old Katelyn Kestrel, Haven’s calm has always been a little, well, boring. She can’t help but wonder what lay outside Haven’s seemingly impassible borders, but no one will talk about the mysterious catastrophic event that separated Haven from the outside world. Katelyn has a strange knack for finding things, and when she miraculously finds a passage into the outside world, she thinks she’s solved a longstanding mystery. Instead, she discovers that some things should never be found . . .
The outside world is more treacherous than Katelyn ever imagined, full of monsters, magic, and two princes locked in a bloody, centuries-long battle. The moment she arrives, she is kidnapped and held captive in a nearby keep, accused of being a northern spy. With the help of a hardened young soldier and a handsome lord, Katelyn must try to escape and find her way back to Haven. But there are dark forces at work that Katelyn can’t begin to understand, and she’ll be lucky to make it out of the fortress alive . . .
This is a new edition of the previously self-published novel.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
4.5 stars — OK, that was a fun ride. Seriously, so much more than I was expecting. First, I LOVED Katelyn’s voice….she could be just absolutely HILARIOUS. She is such a strong, spirited girl, but with a fabulous self-deprecating and witty sense of humour. I actually really enjoyed her friends in Rivermarch too, and would love to see more of Kyle and Ruby.
Then there’s Rune. I mean, there really wasn’t *that* much of him in the book, but he was just so….conflicting and heartbreaking and adorable. Gah.
The thing that really just leapt off the pages was the world that Ms. Ivanovich created….both the inside world and the outside world. The outside world was insanity. I can’t even really get my mind wrapped around it. But I will say that I guessed a bit about the Lurchers!! Yay me!
OK, so I’ve never read any steampunk before, but it didn’t really feel like that so much as just a fantasy world….not that I read a lot of that either. But it was entirely approachable for someone like me who likes to have a bit of a link to real life for me to get into it. The characters were fantastic and well developed, the action was exciting, the world was fantastical and absorbing.
I can’t wait for more….awesome.
ON REREAD:
4 stars — So this book was rewritten when it was traditionally published, and for some reason the author decided to tone down some of Katelyn’s snark. Part of the reason I noticed is that I was moving highlights from the Indie book to this new one, and some of my favourite quotes no longer existed. I’m not entirely sure why the decision was made, but I’m a bit bummed. I really loved the juxtaposition between the crazy horrific things happening and her sassy internal monologue. It wasn’t completely removed, but enough that I noticed the feel of the book was a bit more serious? I don’t know…just not quite the same. It’s mostly a bummer because it was one of my favourite parts of my first read of this book.
Now, saying all that, I still loved so many other things! The world is still absolutely incredible and monstrous!! I’d forgotten little details about what happens, twists that occur, and the reveals that we get. I really love the whole concept of abilities, and the shadow stuff is crazy and fun at the same time! And I love to hate the absolute depravity of the outside world, the depths to which the society has sunk, and all that stuff. It’s just heartbreaking.
I feel like my emotions weren’t quite as involved this time around, and I have no idea why. There were some devastating moments, and I didn’t cry…which, I’m a pretty easy crier.
As with the last time, I can’t wait to move on and find out what’s going to happen next. I remember book 2 being really surprising in different ways, so I’m prepared for the ride.
BUDDY READ:
I had my second buddy reading experience with this book, again with Lillian from Mom With a Reading Problem (COYER sign up linky #16), and I will update this post with a link to her review once it’s posted. We had so much fun, we’ll likely buddy read the whole series. It’s fun to come up with theories, and express outrage over certain things and swoon over others.
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