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 - he always intended for her to free him... or take his place.
A | If I could hold up another book as the PERFECT example of mythology and worldbuilding, I’d move Beneath the Haunting Sea to the side and hold this one higher up instead. Beyond the Shadowed Earth takes what was good about the previous standalone book in this universe and makes it better. Quite frankly, this book is far more compelling and impressive. Eda makes for a far better protagonist than Talia. The mythology and worldbuilding are much more extensive here. Still, although I liked the story overall, the ending was a bit meh and there were certain things that made it hard to suspend my disbelief.
Full review to be posted on my blog on 11 Jan. 2020. I received this book as I am taking part in the Fantastic Flying Book Club blog tour for this novel. Thank you to Page Street Kids for providing me with a copy of the ARC and for FFBC for giving me this chance
Reading updates
-
Started reading
-
22 December, 2019:
Finished reading
-
22 December, 2019:
Reviewed