Sea of Shadows (Age of Legends, #1)

by Kelley Armstrong

'We loved the dark fantasy and smoldering romance in this story of identical twins with very different personalities. A tale of heroes, filled with mythological creatures, valor and self-sacrifice--fans of high fantasies will happily slip into this action-packed and exciting tale.' - Justine Magazine

'Armstrong smoothly switches from her customary modern paranormal setting to a high-fantasy adventure. Strong female protagonists make this trilogy opener a standout.' - Kirkus Reviews

In the Forest of the Dead, where the empire's worst criminals are exiled, twin sisters Moria and Ashyn are charged with a dangerous task. For they are the Keeper and the Seeker, and each year they must quiet the enraged souls of the damned.

Only this year, the souls will not be quieted.

Ambushed by an ancient evil, Moria and Ashyn must race to warn the empire of a terrifying threat. Accompanied by a dashing thief and a warrior with a dark history, the sisters battle their way across a wasteland filled with reawakened monsters of legend. But there are more sinister enemies waiting for them at court - and a secret that will alter the balance of their world forever.

The first volume in the Age of Legends trilogy, Sea of Shadows is a thrilling dark fantasy where evil hides in every shadow and the deadliest monsters of all come in human form . . .

• ISBN10: 0751547816
• ISBN13: 9780751547818
• Publish Date: 8 April 2014 (first published 1 March 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
• Imprint: ATOM
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 416
• Language: English

Reviews

[Berls]

Well, I've finally read a Kelley Armstrong book! And I really enjoyed it, for the most part. The world building did take a while to connect with me, so the first 15% of the Sea of Shadows was slow going. But, once I got into it, I really connected with the characters, the world, and the story. Full review to follow.

[Chelsea]

Cover

This is a beautiful cover! It definitely drew me in.

Initial Thoughts

I was so excited to start this book. I love everything ever written by Kelley Armstrong. Naturally my expectations were really high, which scared me a little. What if it sucked? Luckily it didn't and I was 100% satisfied with this book. I actually started it without knowing anything about what it was about. I also didn't read any reviews or anything like that because I didn't want my expectations to get higher or lower. I didn't want to be picking out little things and ruining the story. I'm really glad I did this because I went into it without knowing anything except the genre. It was really nice actually.

My New BFF

Moira. I love her and I wish I was more like her. I'm a lot less interesting than her though. I liked how she was the complete opposite of her sister. She liked to fight and was pretty impulsive whereas her sister was the kind thinker. I just found her story more interesting because she actually went out of her way to do things. Plus she was way more entertaining and had a little fire in her. I really enjoyed that.

My Crush

Gavril. I enjoyed following his story the most. I seem to have a thing for the "bad boys". But what girl doesn't? He seems like such a sad person too. I just want him to get together with Moira and be happy. I like how he sometimes had a temper but then he had his funny moments too. He was very entertaining to read about.

Writing Style

Kelley Armstrong's writing is perfect as usual. That is all.

Closing Thoughts

I'm disappointed that this book had so many negative reviews. I thought it was really entertaining. I loved that it focused around twins but the twins were completely different characters. They reminded me of Arya and Sansa Stark with a better relationship. I also really enjoyed how there was a lot of enemies. There were a lot of dangerous creatures and people. I loved that we never knew who to trust. The mystery aspect of this book was really well done.

I'm excited to learn more about the world the characters live in. We know about a couple of towns but I can't wait until we get to see the big cities. I wish there was a cool map at the start of the book. I love maps. I found that I could picture exactly where I was without knowing anything about the world. It's just easy to visualize while reading this book. I love that about Kelley Armstrong. A lot of people were complaining about the slow start. I felt it was necessary because if it wasn't there you would have no idea what was happening. I thought the pacing was nice.

Quote

“ Generally, I like to appear smart. I don't admit being stupid when there's any hope I'm not.”

Bonus

This is an adventure book. If you like fun and spontaneous adventures, this is the book for you.

[Melanie]

If you know me, you know I don't read many young adult books. However, I think Kelley Armstrong could write the phone book and I would read it. I stayed up late last night in the #ReadAThon reading this book. It was great.

It takes place in a different world where prisoners are sent into the Forest of the Dead where they will die from sickness or are killed by someone with sickness. They have "Seekers" who are people who go out and collect the spirits of these people and put them to rest. Ashyn is 16 summers old and it is her first time going into the forest looking for the victims. People in her search party start disappearing.

There is also her twin sister, Moria, who is a "Keeper". She is more of a protector. They each have a "bond beast" Ashyn has a hound and Moria a wild cat. They are separated when chaos breaks out in their village.

Through the story, the sisters face untold dangers and some things that 16 year old girls shouldn't have to face. They don't have to face these things alone. They each have a protector. Ashyn, is with a boy who she finds in the forest, still alive after months, which is unheard of. Moria, is with one guard whose father is a traitor.

I'm assuming that this is another trilogy, as Ms. Armstrong seems to like them for YA books. I know that there is a book two coming, because she left an opening for it. I don't know that I would call it a cliffhanger, but there are unanswered questions for sure.

[lizarodz]

I LOVE Kelley Armstrong. I’ve read both of her YA series – The Darkest Powers and Darkness Rising – they are paranormal gems to me and of course I was dying to read Sea of Shadows. I can confidently say that I also loved it (I mean, it seems like Armstrong can do no wrong!)

Sea of Shadows is different than her other series because instead of paranormal/contemporary, this new series is fantasy. I adore fantasy, so this is right up my alley. Scary shadow stalkers (zombies)? Check. Death works (Tremmors anyone)? Check. Thunder hawks? Check. Plus amazing animals, mercenaries, slaves, magic, and more!

Moria and Ashyn are identical twins and very different in character. They are our protagonists and the story is told in the first person POV, with a group of chapter to narrate their adventures. Moria is the Keeper, she has trained as a warrior to protect her sister and the Forest of the Dead. She is quick to react and quick to anger too. In contrast, Ashyn is the Seeker, she is supposed to help the spirits reach peace. She is methodical, caring, sweet, very smart and a great strategist, and she has the same steel inside her that Moria has.

Ronan has been punished to the Forest of the Death with his uncle and his father. He was helped to survive by Moria (under instructions of the spirits) and later found by Ashyn during the Seeking. Ronan is very resourceful, savvy of the world, smart and loyal to his family and, for some reason, to the twins. He is Ashyn’s champion and I do hope something serious develops between them.

Gavril Kitsune is a young warrior that has be punished to be stationed at Edgewood because his father was accused of sorcery and running from a battle. He is the perfect match for Moria because he is as stubborn as a mule, loyal, and does what needs to be done. Even though he pretends to be aloof, I think he really cares for Moria. I

I adore animal companions in stories and Sea of Shadows has two. Daigo is a wildcat that belongs to Moria and Ashyn has Tova, a Hound of the Immortals (a big dog). These animals have a special connection to their charges and they protect each other fiercely.

The world building is really good, I was easily able to understand everything that was going on. What was that at the end? A plot twist that I did not see coming at all. Oh, and of course the ending was a sort of cliff hanger. Have a mentioned that I’m not too fond of cliffhangers? The pace was a bit slow at the beginning, but by the middle of the book and was truly hooked. The plot is unique, interesting, and I can’t wait to see where it’s going. The writing is, well, awesome since is Armstrong’s.

I did find very interesting the different castes and the way society and politics work. Unjust, superstitious, and discriminatory, but interesting nonetheless. It seems wrong that children are bound and punished by the mistakes of the generations that came before them.

Sea of Shadows is a perfect first book in a wonderful new fantasy series by author extraordinaire Kelly Armstrong. I can’t wait for Empire of the Night, the second book in the series; it has an expected publication date of April 1st of next year. (*let the waiting start*)

About the cover: I really love the cover. The dark forest in the background and dragon? thunder hawk? in read in the middle make a nice contrast.

[Kelsenator]

3.5/5 stars

Review to come!

[limabean74]

Sea of Shadow by Kelley Armstrong is about Twin girls Ashyn and Moria who are the Keeper and Seeker of Edgewood. Once a year the Seeker goes into the Forest of the Dead to cleanse the forest of spirits and lay them to rest, while the Keeper protects the village. When Ashyn goes into the Forest of the Dead for the first time without her mentor with her. Something goes wrong but it's not because of her. Now separated the girls must try and find each other and warn the emperor of what has happened but this don't go as planned with monster and mercenaries after them, the girls, a exile and a guard must try and figure out what happened but they might not like the outcome.

Ashyn and Moria one is reserved and the other strong willed they make for get characters that create a great balance. I think Moria was my favorite, I loved her strong will and she was very outspoken, didn't like to follow the rules and was pretty badass. Ashyn was a quiet and worry some type person she was shy and I really did enjoy her. Both girls had somewhat of love interests however it really didn't have a lot of romance in this book. Ronan (exile) and Gavril (guard) are both mysterious characters with something to hide. I did not like Gavril at all in the beginning or middle I started to find him ok by the end but he was probably my least favorite out of the group. Ronin I liked he seems protective and could come off as a romantic, I am hoping in the next book to read more about him. Of the two boys Ronan was for sure my fav :)

I believe most of the story and interesting stuff happened at the end. Just when I wanted it all to be over because I couldn't take anymore I then just couldn't put it down (confused? So was I). I had such mixed feelings to the entire story. At points I felt it wasn't going anyplace and it didn't have a story but then about 65% in a story finally surfaced and it was getting good but the love hate relationship for it I was not fix able by this point. I love Kelley Armstrong and her darkest powers series and I remember at times those stories hit slow spots but this had such potential; action, fantasy, suspense and horror that I am hoping will make for more in the next book.

Cliffhangers are not bad but when the story is a little dragged and you get to a good part only to have it just end it is a bit of a bang your head on the table and want to cry moment. You waited all this time only for it not to have an ending.

I was contemplating a change from 3 stars to 4 but I will make it 3.5 as much as I have mixed feelings I would recommend this book. As I said I liked Ashyn and Moria and I want to see what happens with them and even Ronan and Gavril. The build at the end or maybe even twist made me give it more rating and allowed me to see that it has potential. If you are looking for Fantasy, Horror and some action with great characters you will enjoy this book I just warn you its rather slow at times and don't expect it to give you a clean ending but expect to once it's finished eager to read the next. I want to know what happens, looking forward to book #2.

Because reading is better than real life