Title: Sea of Shadows
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Age of Legends #1
Genre: YA Fantasy, Horror
Format: Hardcover, 416 pages
Release Date: April 8th 2014
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Source: ARC received by publisher in exchange for an honest review

Purchase
Amazon | Indigo | TBD | Goodreads








The first book of a bold and hugely anticipated new YA trilogy by the phenomenal Kelley Armstrong.

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 and separated by an ancient evil, the sisters' journey to find each other sends them far from the only home they've ever known. Accompanied by a stubborn imperial guard and a dashing condemned thief, the girls cross a once-empty wasteland, now filled with reawakened monsters of legend, as they travel to warn the emperor. But a terrible secret awaits them at court--one that will alter the balance of their world forever.


Starting to read this book was very hard for me, and it is probably not the reason you think. It was not because I was afraid of Sci-Fi, or the start if a new series, it was because it was written by one of my favorite authors of all time; Kelley Armstrong. I have read and loved everything that Kelley has written so far, and my fear was that I was not going to like it as much as her other books. I hate not loving a book by a favorite author, and that was my fear going into this book. But thankfully I was worried for nothing and I loved every page of this book.

This is not a genre that I am great at reading, it can be very touch and go for me, and I will say that more often then not, fantasy mixed with a bit of sci-fi can be dangerous. But honestly I think that this book is a great start to a brand new series that follows twin sisters who have extraordinary powers. I loved the creativity that Kelley had with the world that these twins live in. Not only was there magic and mystery but it also had disgusting creatures that both frighten and enthrall the reader. I loved reading about this world and what it was capable of.

This book is told from both girls' POVs and I loved that because they were separated for most of the story therefore as a reader we got to see two different sides of the same story and that was great to read. I love being able to see different sides and figure out what will happen next. And I will be honest I never actually figured out what was going on until Kelley decided to show me, and I will say that I was surprised!

Kelley has always been good at writing romance, and I honestly loved that this book was not focused on that. Although it was prominent at some points, most of the story was about the love these sisters had for each other and how that love drove them to find one another in the end.

Overall this book is a lot darker and more horror-like in genre than most of her other YA novels but I think that the grotesque elements brought this book to a whole new level for me and I loved reading it. I seriously cannot wait for the next book!