Lightlark (The Lightlark Saga Book 1) (Volume 1) (The Lightlark Saga, 1) Paperback – September 26, 2023

I had this book recommended to me with a caveat. "It's really fun" or "it's good for a YA book". I'm no stranger to reading YA as an adult, but this book is not just "good for YA", it's good for adults too.The characters are interesting and complex; the story sets up a challenging ultimatum for the characters to struggle with; the world is genuinely strange and yet familiar to fantasy readers.The ending, though, was amazing. Truly clever twists chain together to reveal the mysteries and surprise the reader.It's not the best book ever written, but it's a lot better than you might expect.

The writing really left something to be desired for me, but sometimes I feel like you have to choose between descriptive writing or being fast paced. Still I think the writing could have been better. The world was really interesting, I liked the characters, the story was intriguing, and it had a love triangle thing that actually didn't annoy me or was obvious who the choice should be. The ending was pretty great and made me want to re-listen to the book immediately. I'm definitely going to read the second book.

i want to begin this review by stating that many (not all) of the negative reviews i have seen are either from people who have not even finished the book, or people who were simply review-bombing it.putting everything aside that you may have heard or seen about it, i really enjoyed this book.yes, there were things that could've been better, such as the world-building and dialogue variety for the characters. however, this is the case with many books, which usually improves the more a writer writes over time. if i'm being honest, i did not have an issue with the slight lack of descriptors for characters' looks because tbh, the story matters more than what a character may look like.isla crown, our protagonist, has a lot of issues to overcome. she's a very strong character, but struggles with knowing who to trust, and who to avoid. as the rulers are pitted against one another to try and solve the riddle to break the curses, she grows into a person who is able to find herself and overcome her challenges. she's very smart, but tends to fall short most of the time and seem as if she is the opposite. it's okay isla, i still love you!! she must learn to form alliances, and avoid the discovery of her biggest secret.the story of Lightlark and the Centennial kept me turning page after page, always wanting to find out what the next twist will be. and i definitely was impressed and captivated by everything i read.*spoilers incoming*isla was born powerless, or so she thought...THE PLOT TWISTS!! absolutely amazing. alex aster really knows how to keep you on your toes throughout the story. i could never see some of the twists coming, and that made this book all the more worth the read to me. i think the biggest twist of all would have to be grim's "betrayal."let's talk about the love interests for a moment:typically, i am a huge hater of love triangles, BUT, this book really does it well.love interest #1: oro. oro is the King of Lightlark, and angry fellow who simply needs his walls broken down and to find someone who loves him for the person that he is. a ruler capable of anything and everything who must put on a brave and powerful face in public. he has many cute moments with isla, and she ultimately chooses him at the end of this book (which following the plot twists, makes sense.) oro is a character who you hate at the beginning, and gradually grows on you as the story progresses.love interest #2: grim. grimshaw, ruler of nightshade is full of mystery. he almost had a "relationship" with isla, but it fell through the cracks once she found out he had wiped her memories of them together prior to the Centennial. he wields shadows (my fav type of character), and will do anything to protect isla, and win her heart again.i cannot choose who i would rather she end up with, both are written really well so i wouldn't be angry regardless. grim has been my favorite throughout the book though, so i'm rooting for him in Nightbane (book #2).for what it was, this book really was an interesting and entertaining read. i think a lot of the times, people forget it's YA, and even the part that is not is something that has happened in other YA books too. YA doesn't necessarily equal no explicit content of any kind.i'm definitely excited to read Nightbane in November to continue isla's story!! <3

The story was fun.. there are definitely plot twists I didn’t see coming but I had to look up character fan art to get an idea of what the characters looked like.. mostly in regards to Isla.. I felt like I was halfway through the book before I found out she was a brunette. I imagined her with flaming red hair for some reason. This is definitely a slow build romance and minimal spice.. there is one scene that I wouldn’t feel comfortable letting a preteen read (it’s a descriptive intimate scene where two characters don’t go all the way but there is touching) for that reason I’ll give parents a heads up..I wouldn’t let a preteen read this book. I am not sure if this book was over hyped through social media for me but it was just okay. I enjoyed the story line.. I enjoyed some of the characters. I wish there were more trials. I felt Isla got through the trials way to easily without revealing her secret. I also was wishing that she had figured out “the key” way sooner. I’m not saying it’s a bad read I just think some people over hyped it and expectations were so high. That being said I’ll give the second book a chance. I didn’t hate this book, I definitely see the potential.

✨ THE LIGHTLARK SERIES ✨ ~ ALEX ASTER @alexaster (Lightlark, Nightbane, Skyshade, Crowntide, & ORO/GRIM POV) literally 5 stars plus romantasy series (4 stars book 1, 5 for book 2, 5+ book 3!!)! New favorite! Buddy reading this one with @misscharlottejo and it has absolutely enthralled and crushed us simultaneously!!! Such a well written magical, heart shattering, butterfly inducing swooning, tragic, gripping, sucks you in and you can't stop won't stop dystopian read. You really fall hard for these characters and get emotionally attached! You cry, scream, gush all of it! Best read of the year for me!! #dystopian #bookish #lightlarkseries #romantasy #dark #light #lovetriangle #oro #grom #isla #nightshade #sunling #wildling #starling #skyling #centennial #magic #power #buddyreading #fivestars #AlexAster #fantasy #romance