Amber & Dusk (Amber & Dusk, #1)

by Lyra Selene

Imogen Sage (Narrator)

Sylvie has always known she deserves more. Out in the permanent twilight of the Dusklands, her guardians called her power to create illusions a curse. But Sylvie knows it gives her a place in Coeur d'Or, the palais of the Amber Empress and her highborn legacies.

So Sylvie sets off toward the Amber City, a glittering jewel under a sun that never sets, to take what is hers.

But her hope for a better life is quickly dimmed. The empress invites her in only as part of a wicked wager among her powerful courtiers. Sylvie must assume a new name, Mirage, and begin to navigate secretive social circles and deadly games of intrigue in order to claim her spot. Soon it becomes apparent that nothing is as it appears and no one, including her cruel yet captivating sponsor, Sunder, will answer her questions. As Mirage strives to assume what should be her rightful place, she'll have to consider whether it is worth the price she must pay.

• ISBN13: 9780655643838
• Publish Date: 1 January 2020 (first published 27 November 2018)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: AU
• Publisher: Bolinda Publishing
• Imprint: Bolinda Audio Books
• Edition: Unabridged edition
• Format: Audiobook (MP3)
• Duration: 11 hours and 14 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

[alisoninbookland]

Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Youtube

Oi. That was the longest 370 pages ever. The first 250 or so of the book are so freaking dull. It was very much a mishmash of every other fantasy book out there.

Orphan girl who doesn’t feel she belongs. Decides to go to the big city where ‘her’ people are. Surprise! Things don’t work out as smoothly as she hoped. She struggles to fit in. Double surprise! Her hidden lineage is revealed.

It’s been done 100 times before. More importantly, it’s been done better. I’m a fantasy fan so I’m used to recycled tropes and storylines because authors can put a different twist on a storyline. That’s usually enough to make the story new and/or interesting.

I couldn’t really tell you much about this world. I think time was different because the sun never really set? People posses powers. Nothing is really said about what they or where the powers came from.

The characters were dull. I can’t even think of anyone that I liked.

Basically, this was not for me at all. At least, Owlcrate’s cover is pretty?

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

This book has such a pretty cover. The OwlCrate edition is a beautiful purple and orange gradient and the cover aesthetics are everything I love. It has perfect purple end pages. It’s so, so pretty.

I wish I liked the book as much as I like the cover.

The first word that comes to mind in describing Amber & Dusk is “clunky”. There are the bare bones here for a decent story. It reminded me of a cross of Mirage and Red Queen. There’s an interesting magic system and characters that could be interesting if there was a little more care taken. There are also a lot of cliches. I don’t mind cliches, generally speaking, if they’re compensated with wonderful characters, beautiful writing, or original twists. I don’t think Amber & Dusk accomplished this. There was a lot of telling in the writing – in the setting, in the world building, and in the characters. The reader is often told to accept the details rather than discovering them. As a reader, I felt much less invested in the story because of this.

One of my biggest complaints is Sylvie/Mirage. She enters the story as a refugee on a caravan, and she single-handedly saves the caravan – huzzah! Her character continues on with the same snobbish self-importance. The reader is never given the opportunity to love Sylvie, because we are told stories about her past and told what she is feeling but we don’t discover her story and we aren’t affected by her emotions. The “telling” aspect really affected every aspect of this book, spoiling one bit after the next.

Sylvie wasn’t my only concern about a character (note: all characters have two names, as if there weren’t a bunch to keep track of already). Lullaby had character potential, but she was pushed a bit into the shadows. There is one particular good scene with Reaper, but I never felt like I had enough time about him to be as wretched about the plot as Lyra Selene was hoping. That’s how I felt about most the characters. I’ve met them, but I don’t really feel anything toward them. No attachment.

There was also a love triangle… I think? I believe there was an attempted love triangle here between Sylvie, Sunder, and Luca… but… I’m not… sure? I think it was supposed to be a love triangle, but it was clumsy. Again, not enough emotion for anything to feel potent.

I know I’m being redundant. The fact is, the way Amber & Dusk was written – flat and dramatic – so deeply affected the way the book came out. Brusque and unattached. I didn’t care for Sylvie’s cockiness or the ease with which Sunder, Luca, and the other snuck around the supposedly dangerous court. The book was predictable and the ending unexciting. At one point, Bane “snarled” and “wept” within two sentences. “Luca’s eyes narrowed to skits of fire” is another prime example of the literary flourishes she tried to include. I just don’t think it was successful.

All in all, I was absolutely disappointed in Amber & Dusk. I thought there were some interesting elements, but I didn’t enjoy Lyra Selene’s writing style and there wasn’t enough originality in the story to hold my attention. At the end of the day, I’m grateful it was a quick read. It was not for me.

[tweetybugshouse]

 Sylvie is at once a cunning and ambitious character who is still somehow sympathetic and endearing. The world building was superb and really gave us a good idea of why the two sides are pitted against each other in the politics of the world.   The story may have all the elements of passed fantasy i have read, evil queen, love interest, a girl who is to save the world but doesn't know but it was still one that drew me in and wanted me to read as fast as i could to get to the end.    My favorite part is the legacy that each character hold in the court and of course mirage with her illusions made it hands down the best part of the story as she develops this talent.   When she first uses to try and take the queen down i was holding my breath the whole time, thinking she going to do it this is the end.   An edge of your seat book and i totally want more.