Noontide

by Beck Leavesley

Fifteen-year-old Silas Roman just wants to graduate early with his best friend. Instead, he’s attacked by a monster with spinning eyes and rescued by strangers who take him to Noontide—an island where Gennuma like him train to control their unstable abilities.

Just one problem: Silas was supposed to arrive six years ago.

Determined to catch up, he throws himself into training and trying not to panic every time he accidentally explodes something.

But when attacks start happening again, Silas is forced to team up with the three most frustrating Gennuma on the island. With trust so hard to come by, these unlikely friends are the only ones who know the truth about his abilities, the horrible things he’s done with them, and the danger he’s brought to Noontide.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction

314 pages, Paperback

First published June 17, 2025

Reviews

[Avery Mortensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recieved a free ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are entirely my own.

“Noontide” by Beck Leavesley is a clean YA summer island fantasy novel and is an amazing read for anyone looking for a new favorite character! The beautiful cover really sets the tone for Noontide and is filled with Easter eggs! This book has 4 POVs, all written in third person. As the main character, Silas Roman, discovers that reality is a delicate scale, he must embrace something in himself that he’s been ignoring for far too long. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and cannot wait to buy the official copy!

The characters in Noontide are very well-written and feel very alive! They have little habits and motives that are real and engaging. The story contains a lot of good character dynamics and relationships that will have you hooked from page one. The plot is easy to follow; though, at times, it can be a little difficult to keep track of what’s going on with the fantasy aspect and magic system of the book (this could just be my ADHD). Noontide keeps you on the edge of your seat and the pacing is very well done! There was not one boring scene and everything pushes the plot forward. There is always some sort of conflict which felt very engaging! For a story with elemental magic, I do wish there was a bit more focus on that aspect of the book. I really loved the setting of the story and how well-written each and every character was. Every scene in Noontide is immersive and fun!

This book is appropriate for the targeted age range and will be a very enjoyable read for anyone interested in this genre! I definitely recommend to anyone who loves stories like this! (Percy Jackson, Ninjago, etc.)

5 ⭐️ in my opinion! I’m already waiting for the sequel!!!

Ultimately, this is a very fun book with an exciting plot and amazing characters! An amazing read for anyone interested in a clean YA fantasy novel with summer vibes! (P.S. follow Beck Leavesley on YouTube! The biggest thanks to her for giving me this opportunity! The author is just as fun as the book!)

[kate ⊹ ࣪ ˖ · Rating 5 out of 5]

💠 𝓹𝓸𝓼𝓽 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭 💠

⭐️ six stars

i’ve waited very patiently (or not 👀) for this book for eight months, following beck’s journey on yt and completely fangirling over how inspirational she was and AHHHH it’s safe to say this book delivered 🤭 also the chapter titles? percy jackson level funny if I dare say so

silas was such an easy mc to love and the cast of characters are amazingggg. the plot was always moving (like actually never stopped) and i’m proud to say i called a plot twist before it happened 😌 so yeah…GO READ THIS MASTERPIECE PLS


𝓹𝓻𝓮 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭
i don’t think i’ve ever been so excited in my life AHDHSHSHSHSHSH

[Marta Cleverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC provided by the author, honest opinion:

ARTISTRY. Here’s the pitch: It’s Percy Jackson with elemental powers. It has all of the humor, adventure, fun, summer camp vibes that PJO does and I love it. It is so easy to just get lost into and DEVOUR.

The world building? AMAZING. ATE. The characters have sooo much depth and their interactions are soooo good. Leavesley’s writing style is the perfect blend of humor, intrigue, and imagery. I forgot I was reading. It’s also one of those books that inspires you so much to go write your own, and man, if I can do half of what she does, I’m set. My only complaint is that I don’t love most of the character names, but everything else is so wonderful, it hardly matters

[Maria ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. I had really high hopes for this book. I’ve been following the author on social media for ages.

This one just kind of fell flat for me. The first few chapters were great and then there were so many characters and I didn’t really understand why any of them were there and it just got really confusing.

The chapter titles were awesome and some of the humor but otherwise I was bored.

I’ve seen lots of great reviews of this though so I think it was just a personal preference. I’m not invested enough to continue the series.

[Mariah Brancheau · Rating 5 out of 5]

FAVORITE BOOK AND AUTHOR EVERRRR !!! 🩷🩷🩷

[Jeaneen · Rating 2 out of 5]

*I was given an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.*

Before I get into my thoughts, I want to say that it takes a lot of bravery to publish ANY debut novel and it is a feat in itself that is remarkable. The passion bleeds through every page of this story and every word from Beck about it online. Ultimately, this book did not land for me and I want to get into the reasons why.
1. The pacing didn’t stick the landing for me. Frequent time jumps in the first half feel rushed, while the second half shifts so dramatically in plot and structure that it felt like a different story entirely. I felt like it was a tale of two arcs and tried combining them into a weaker whole rather than finding a stronger through line.
2. Exposition and worldbuilding was often delivered through dumps and information was repeated several times while other important revelations are either glossed over or skipped entirely.
3. The character dynamics definitely had spark in isolated moments, but as a whole it felt undeveleoped. Harbour stood out to me as someone I WANTED to root for, but her arc felt inconsistent with many key moments happening off-page. It felt like sometimes characterization was sacrificed in service of mystery or plot twists, even when withholding that info doesnt make sense with the character’s POV.
4. The antagonist didn’t feel competent enough to be menacing nor compelling enough to be fun to engage with. He was serviceable, but his motivations and presence felt vague (badum cha!). The stakes tied to him never fully landed for me.
5. For a story involving lots danger, both small and large scale, the lack of meaningful consequences pulled me out of it. For the most part, even situations that should have had major, lasting impacts were quickly resolved or forgotten about. This feeling of plot armor undercut the tension for me significantly.
6. The magic system was difficult to sink my teeth into. For a hard magic system (one with rules and limits) the rules shifted frequently to suit the plot. This inconsistency made the magic feel more like a soft system in practice, which caused confusion and broke immersion since that is not how the story treats it in universe.
7. The genre also really confused me. For a “ clean dark fantasy”. I struggled to see many dark elements here. While it is clean, the darker themes only surface very late in the narrative (arguably too late). This made for a jarring disconnect between the package I was promised and the container it actually arrived in.

In conclusion, this book reads like what it is: a passionate and ambitious debut novel. While it didn’t work for me overall, I can see so much promise in Beck’s voice and creativity. With more experience and stronger editorial support, I really think she has a promising future. I will be following her projects and cheering her on as she goes forward!

[ray ౨ৎ]

i want an arc so badly 😭🙏 (i alr applied)

[Mel Schoolie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are entirely my own… NOONTIDE is a clean YA that could be a summer favorite for years! My only complaint is that me receiving this book didn’t line up with my camping trip. It’s face paced, it's fun, it's got fantastic world building, and it's got snappy chapter titles (which I have been missing).
The story is something you’d lay at summer camp, and dream up alongside the noise of the crickets. It’s such a creative story and you can feel the passion of the author come through the pages. It’s an amazing debut by BECK LEAVESLEY and I can’t wait to read more of her work.

I highly recommend it if you enjoy HARRY POTTER, PERCY JACKSON, OR MISS PEREGRINE'S!

[gildedflwers · Rating 5 out of 5]

pre-read:
→I'm sooooo exited for this book just ordered it from amazon

Review:
→I finally got my copy and had the chance to read this masterpiece, after I saw Beck post her first long form video about Noontide on yt I knew I needed to get my hands on it, no i've had the chance to and I can say that I did love it as much as I was guessing, for I do have a weakness for elemental magic, and school/summer camp settings in books so really my love for Noontide should be no suprise(hint it most definitely was not), I also loved Silas poor boy had no idea what was going on, and just kinda got dragged into all of Noontides forming problems, I also loved Harbour and all the times she called Silas a Salamander(weakness #3 of mine that Beck added nicknames), all the other characters were fun and interesting, though I did have a feeling there had to be at least one character that I couldn't trust, with all of everything happening, though I just was terrible at trying to guess who it was(not good with guessing plot twists), so I definitely was not expecting that ending
→★★★★★

[Pae⸆⸉ (Jax’s wife version💍💍)]

I am so exited to read this book omg!!! No rating yet bc I haven’t read it but the blurb is giviiiiing…. Five stars????

[Jonathan Muth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received and read a free ARC copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. The following opinions are entirely my own.

This book was a fantastic read! The story was beautiful, and the ending was magnificent. Beck’s writing is one of my favorite styles I’ve encountered. She writes with humor, wit, and a clear understanding of the story she is telling! Tell-tale signs of a great author!

I truly felt like I was there with the characters as I read! Experiencing what they were, feeling what they felt, and understanding what they desired. The writing of these characters was exemplary!

The book itself is extremely reminiscent of the Percy Jackson books in all of the best ways. But then you’ve got the mystery woven in the book, with the world building a cherry on top, tying it all together and really making the story Beck’s own.

It was altogether well-written, and a fantastic debut novel. With a large focus on dialogue and thoughts, Beck still managed to keep the descriptive aspects balanced. Furthermore, the usage of devices, language, etc. in the work was astounding, profoundly adding to the writing.

Whether you’re younger, an adult, or older, if you like fantasy, humor, Percy Jackson, lots of dialogue, and actually smart blond protagonists, then this book is a must for you to read! I truly cannot wait for the sequel, and will be waiting impatiently until it’s released!

Thank you so much, Beck, for giving me the chance to ARC read such a good book!

[Rachel Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ummm a ✨six star✨ read
First off, as a debut novel this is incredibly and masterfully written. From cover to content this is a story of friendship, trust, and doing what’s right no matter what.
I’ve followed Beck Leavesley since she’s had three video on YouTube. Her author journey has been so interesting to follow and quite inspiring.
I read this book in one day. It had me in a chokehold because I have finished three books since this and haven’t reviewed any because there are now words.
The characters are crafted for you to care so very deeply about each of them and to realize where they have come from. While I do have my favorites, I know each of these will grow on me throughout the series.
The plotline was genius. The twists and turns meshed wonderfully with the themes.
I adored the world building. The magic system intrigues me and I cannot wait to see more of it.
All in all this is the picturesque ya novel with friendship, magic, and an adventure.

Content: inworld magic, violence and romance (minor and only up to semidetailed)

[sawyer alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are entirely my own.
Omg I loved this so so much! I think my favorite part has to be the relationships between the characters. They all felt so real and well rounded. Even just reading Silas’ inner thoughts was so entertaining. This book was quick paced and pretty easy to follow and stay interested in. Honestly I was mildly confused about the magic system in the beginning but it was satisfying to have it all come together as I kept reading. This really reminds me of books I read when I was younger that inspired me keep reading and to be my own hero. Ending was crazy can’t wait for the next one.

[Elsa Singer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, Beck Leavesley, for giving me an ARC copy of this book! I loved it SO MUCH!

First off, I want to say, this is the fastest I’ve ever read a novel—I read it in less than three full days! And I guarantee that fans of Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, The Iron Trial, and The Mageye will love this book as well!
The characters were super fun to get to know as I took their journey along with them in this book, Leavesley’s descriptions of the scenery in this book was immaculate—I especially love the pink sunset—and the plot twists were fun to guess and also be blown away about one I was half wrong/right on. 
This is the PERFECT summer read and the PERFECT read for anyone within the YA range (or anyone who likes to read YA books)!

This is in my top three favorite books ever btw 🥰🥰

[Reese · Rating 5 out of 5]

(I received a free ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are entirely my own.)


I’m absolutely in love with the book! The characters are amazing, very well written, all have been very interesting and original. It had me hooked on every chapter. It’s fun, fast-paced (but just the right amount), and there’s great relationships!

I’m in love with Beck’s writing style, it’s so refreshing, and not something you see in every book. It really makes me feel like I’m not just reading a book— but I’m actually living in and experiencing the story along with the characters.

It had me reading this non-stop, gasping at the plot twists and making all my accusations at characters (You’d find it hilarious how much I did that).

I’d recommend for you to read this book and give it a chance, I promise it’s worth your time. It’ll have you dying to read the next one by the end!

(A special note to Beck: Keep going for your dreams, you’ve done amazing things and are such a talented author. I hope that you someday get to become a well-known author and that all your dreams become reality.)

[Elyse]

✨ARC REVIEW✨

Noontide was the perfect book to read right after I started summer break. It’s a fun summer adventure novel by a young debut author, and overall I had a lot of fun reading it! Noontide is marketed as YA, but personally I felt like it had more of a middle grade vibe. It was very reminiscent of Percy Jackson, so Rick Riordan fans, I think this is one you won’t want to skip!

WHAT I LIKED:
~The entire. First. Chapter. This is exactly what I want when I start a book; I was immediately pulled in, got a strong sense of who the main characters was, and was asking lots of questions right off the bat. I was on my edge of the seat the whole time.
~Silas’s coping mechanism. I loved that his thing was numbers and math, and that he was constantly counting everything, whether it be steps, breaths, or the seconds separating various events. He was honestly such an adorable kid!
~The setting. Like I mentioned above, this was a great summer adventure read. It starts right as the school year is ending, and primarily takes place at what is essentially a summer camp (think Camp Halfblood). I left Noontide wishing I’d been able to have more time exploring it with Silas and the gang, and I am very curious to see what will happen with this school in the sequel.
~Jenson and Tad. These two made me think of Fred and George Weasley, and every scene they were in made me laugh.
~The pacing. This book never slowed down, making it easy to read quickly and keeping me pretty well invested in the story.

WHAT I WASN’T A FAN OF:
~The plot felt a little all over the place. There were lots of moving parts, and they all ended up kind of jumbling together. I felt like it was rather unclear what was driving the main characters on throughout the story. That might be due to the fact that each character had their own personal goal they were trying to achieve, and they were all hyper fixated on those goals while a lot of stuff was happening around them. I was just a little thrown off by the fact that.I didn’t feel like there was a clear goal for the overall story until around 70% through the book. Some other plot points seemed to be disregarded at that point, or perhaps unintentional emphasis was put on certain things and I mistook them for plot points? This was really my one big issue, as it made the book a little confusing to read at times.
~I didn’t get to know the characters as well as I would have liked. We see this story through four different POVs, and each kid is dealing with a LOT in their separate storylines. Both the major and minor characters were intriguing, and had tons of potential and good bones, but I wish we could have seen them all flushed out a bit more!
~The magic system was cool, and I felt like it had a unique twist to it, but we didn’t get a lot of details on how it worked or its history. I would have loved to see the different characters’ powers/abilities used more, and to have them explained and explored in more detail!

FINAL THOUGHTS:
If you’re looking for a fun, overall light-hearted and fast-paced summer adventure novel, you should give Noontide a try!

HANDFUL OF MY FAVORITE QUOTES:
(⚠️ Slight spoilers are included)

“You have so much to learn. I was once like you. Young⁠—” “We’re both fifteen,” Silas muttered. “Naive—” “Excuse me?” “Full of wonder.”

Silas watched him, squinting through the bright midday sun. From its position, Silas had to guess it was close to one o’clock. That was perfectly fine, except for the fact that it had been four thirty-seven when he left detention.

Sure, addition came in handy for everyday life, but it wasn’t the best weapon against kidnapping principals and their eye-gouging shadow friends.

“I introduced you to this world. I’m not going to let it kill you.”

“The metric standard is universal,” Silas retorted. “But it’s equivalent to seven-point-five-four-five-nine-three feet, for all of you who don’t know how to function in international society⁠—”

“I’m on standby right now, so I can’t take you there. But I really don’t think you can miss it.” Silas missed it.

He thought this would be a quick get-in-get-out escape plan. He didn’t realize it was going to be a social event, topped off with exploding boulders.

Silas didn’t know what to expect when those dining hall doors finally opened. A five-hundred-person group hug didn’t exactly make top twenty on his list.

[Haven’t Got Time · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in exchange for my honest review! All thoughts below are my own.

I loved Noontide! The storyline is immersive, the vibes match the plot and the characters nicely, and the descriptions were crisp without being overwhelming. I had a tiny bit of trouble following the plot a couple of times, but that often happens to me when reading digitally, so I don’t think it was the book’s fault.

Noontide has strong Percy Jackson vibes without feeling at all like a knockoff, and the world felt fully fleshed out and real. And can we talk about the elaborate clues and hints?? I can’t pretend I understand half of what Beck is up to, but it’s very exciting to be along for the ride.

I’m new-ish to Goodreads, and I’m very excited that this got to be my first written review. Happy Noon!

[mayli :] · Rating 4 out of 5]

OMG THIS WAS SUCH A GREAT BOOK!!!!! the chapter titles: *chef’s kiss* 🤌perfection. the characters: *chef’s kiss* perfection. the plots twists. PERFECTIONNNN. 🤌🤌🔥🔥not to mention, can we talk abt how gorgeous the cover was? why can’t all book covers be this pretty for crying out loud? *bombastic side eye* (cartoon covers…. im looking at u) *criminal offensive side eye* anyways, i was hooked from start to finish, i couldn’t pull myself away. the plot was constantly moving, i wasn’t bored for a second and the characters had so much depth and felt so real and relatable :)

i gave it four stars for only a few very small reasons that honestly didn’t even take away from the book very much, these were just some of my thoughts as a writer myself, that i would’ve done slightly differently.

honestly, i can’t believe im even saying this and i hate that i am bc i always get so mad at authors for killing off characters, but i was honestly surprised there weren’t more character deaths 😔 JUST HEAR ME OUT, OK? im talking specifically by the Vagues, and im not saying i want the *main characters* death, i don’t want anyone crucial to the plot dying. it’s just that the Vagues were crazy intimidating and scary in the beginning of the book and i was so amazed by how creepy she made them (points for beck 👌) but arnd halfway through, the description of the Vagues was still crazy scary but like…… after a while they didn’t rly do anything? like they encountered them several times throughout the book and EVERYONE made it out alive each time and it made it just a smidgen less suspenseful for me personally bc sure they have creepy spinning eyes and they honestly remind me of the Hollows from Mrs. Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children but we don’t rly get a chance to see what they can do. and the fact that Megallun has no abilities whatsoever and is completely relying in the strength of the Vagues kinda makes him a little less intimidating as well considering we haven’t rly seen the Vagues do any real damage so far :/

also, Oliver’s villian arc? WHAT?!?! WHYYYYYYY HE WAS SO PERFECTTTT 😭 there was no foreshadowing whatsoever and they never even explained his motives 😭 Melinda’s motives were kinda implied but also, they’re deaths were a little sudden and i wasn’t rly sure why Oliver FOLLOWED HER INTO THE FIRE?!?! i feel like oliver at LEAST (maybe not melinda 😒) deserved to go down better than that…. he didn’t rly put up much of a fight tbh and the villain reveal seemed more for shock value rather than it actually being crucial to the plot bc he literally turns on his friends, reveals how he had be playing Silas the whole book and then walks away and they escape pretty much without a fight and then he walks into a fire and dies? idk i was just a little confused by that, i could be wrong tho

the climax had me sucked in from start to finish tho… i literally read the last, like, five chapters in one sitting cuz i couldn’t put it down. overall, it was a rly rly great book and i totally want to reread this next summer 👀 and would very much recommend it to anyone looking for an adventure… or even if ur not looking for an adventure. JUST READ THE GOSH DERN BOOK 🗣️‼️ anyway, sry for the long rant 🫣 thx for reading if u got this far lol i will be not-so-patiently waiting for the sequel 👀

[mephi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are entirely my own.

I was ecstatic to receive an ARC of this book and want to first comment: THE COVER ART, STUNNING!! Love the vibes.

Leavesley’s writing style is engaging, witty and paints a vivid picture of the beautiful world she's crafted, all while not being overly descriptive to where you get lost. The characters were entertaining, and there is plenty of room for character development in later books, and what we have works well for the story. The different points of view are all unique and interesting, and the flow in which we learned about the world and magic system felt very natural. I did wish we explored the loopholes more, they didn't feel as prominent as the marketing advertised, but these are nitpicks that can be explored in future sequels. I did guess some of the twists, but I admit I'm not in the targeted age group. The ending is satisfying, and a little dramatic I'll admit, (but who doesn't love a bit of theatrics and drama) but it definitely gets you hyped for a sequel.

A lovely cast of fun characters, an intriguing magic system, and a plot (while predicable at times) is easily engaging and a fun ride. Any fans of Percy Jackson, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, and Harry Potter will love this. A perfect summer read!

[Aryaka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. Opinions are entirely my own .

Noontide was such a rollercoaster of an experience, and I'm glad to have gotten on the ride.

Beck Leavesley masterfully crafted a story of lies, betrayal, and tragedy, and then threw in some found family and emotional angst for good measure. The four main characters, Silas, Harbour, Bee and Cameron, are fascinating characters, each so unique, yet bonded by necessity. Silas and Harbour get the most development in this book, and, personally, I'm rooting for a future romance here. Come on, Beck. Give the people what they want.

Plot-wise, it was good. Nothing groundbreaking, but it gave me serious Simon Snow vibes (I have no idea why tbh). I did see most of the plot twists coming, as someone who usually doesn't, and while it didn't decrease my enjoyment of the book, it could be a deal-breaker for someone else. 

Neither of the sides the kids have to pick between seemed... well, ideal. The other is evil, for obvious reasons, but something about noontide makes my stomach twist uncomfortably. I have no idea where the author is going to take this, but I'm on the edge of my seat for it. 

Overall, 4 stars for a story well told. And personally, I absolutely despise Hammond.
Thank you to the author for this wonderful experience!

[aasiyah m. ✴︎˚｡⋆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

pre-read: been waiting for this book for months!!! i'm so excited. also, the cover is stunning????

post-read:
3 ⭐

i think this was pretty good, esp for a self-published debut & i think it was a good first book in a series that set up the rest of the series well. excited for the other books!

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

THE THINGS THAT I DIDN'T LIKE
1. similarities to pjo - now i didn't necessarily dislike this, but i do think there were quite a few similarities i couldn't ignore. like the harbour-silas dynamic being like percy-annabeth, this being a summer camp, harbour nicknaming percy "salamander" etc.
2. ch. title irrelevance - i feel like the ch. titles were fun (i laughed reading some of them) but they told you nothing about the ch. like the title was smth abt headaches and there's one sentence in the ch. talking abt a headache.
3. character personalities/mismarketing - so idk if it's just me but i feel like there's not much of a distinction btwn the different characters' personalities? they're all sarcastic and that's all i can rly describe. ALSO silas was described as being SUPER talkative but that wasn't a noticable trait in the book. he talked like any normal person. same way harbor wasn't unusually quiet and she didn't seem shy at all (as a semi-shy person myself)
4. worldbuilding - idk but for some reason i can't wrap my head around the worldbuilding entirely. like i still don't fully understand vitality

THE THINGS THAT I DID LIKE
1. muslim (?!) rep! - ahhhh i was so excited to see this. one of the characters (taima) is said to wear colorful headscarves that drape down her shoulder - so hijab! this was super exciting esp bc the worldbuilding i don't think necessarily contradict islam (so there's no other gods or anything) HOWEVER very sad that she died - would've loved to see more of her
2. the traitor plot twist was interesting - esp bc i guessed half of it! from the beginning i KNEW oliver was a traitor so super happy i guessed that
3. the humor/sarcasm - the book was just rly funny. i laughed a bunch
4. the summer vibes - i rly enjoyed this being on a beach and it was the feeling of reading summer.

[Ellie K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

DISCLAIMER: I received a free ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are entirely my own.


So, starting off, I’d like to talk about how good this book is as far as cleanliness (idk what else to call that, lol) of this book.
Thankfully, there isn’t that much!
There is NO swearing (not even things like OMG or d*ng or anything like that as far as I can remember), no sexual content of any kind (I don’t think there’s even kissing, which is 100% fine since they are kids), and though it’s got action and fighting scenes, there isn’t any crazy amounts of blood or gore (there IS blood, but not any more than you would expect in a YA fantasy story).
The only concerns that some people could have is that there is an initiation where they have to create a sort of scar and write their name in blood? Yeah, that part was kind of weird. That part isn’t directly shown and I don’t think that would be a problem in older kids (13 or 14 and up or something) but it is something to keep in mind.

Another negative note towards this (that could just entirely be my fault 😅) is that it moved pretty quickly (makes sense for a 200 some page novel for teens) but it was a bit hard to soak in the information and remember everything.
Again, could just be me as I’m used to reading more slow paced novels, but it is something to keep in mind, especially as the author doesn’t repeat much (if any) information (which is actually an amazing thing but again it’s just a bit hard to figure things out)


Now for the positives (which honestly looks shorter but I promise it’s actually a good review):

Quickly story time: I actually started reading this while in the middle of reading a different book that had to be finished first, so while I finished up the other book I read the first few chapters of this one. That’s not a big deal except for the fact that I was so hooked it made it really hard to focus on the other one (though it did make some serious motivation)!
It took me about three or four days to finish this (which is really fast for me) and then I seriously spent the NEXT three or four days just unable to even THINK of reading anything else because of JUST HOW GOOD IT IS!!!!
Seriously, the main characters are all unique and well rounded (each with VERY interesting flaws and good traits), they’re all super cute friends (there are hints of romance but I can see it not turning that way), the antagonists (bad guys/monsters) are actually pretty terrifying and complex (not so much in this book but maybe in some books to come?), and the whole story was just such an exciting and entertaining read that made it rly hard to put down!!

Now, would I ever read this again? Yeah, I’m already planning for my second (hopefully deeper) read through as soon as possible! Will I be dying waiting for the next book to release? Absolutely!! 100% would recommend this to any readers hoping for a fun (but clean!) read this summer (or any season)!

Anyways, hope this was helpful for all you readers out there :)

[Taylin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are entirely my own.

Noontide is a fun, fast-paced lower YA book, perfect for fans of Percy Jackson and Cinder. Chock-full of magical items, mysterious backstories, and witty banter, it's a great time all around—fightening amounts of blond people notwithstanding. I did find the writing style a bit boring, and only got fully invested by the second half, but the characters arr unique and interesting enough that I still enjoyed it even before the plot really started taking off. And chapter titles!!! I'm such a sucker for chapter titles that this is an automatic bonus for me. So it isn't flawless, but I tore through it in just a few days when I really should've been studying for my exams, and I don't even regret it.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are entirely my own.

Noontide is really fun and exciting to begin with! I loved that it has short chapters - it makes it just so much easier to read. I especially enjoyed the creative chapters titles.
The story is told by several different characters, so you get to see the world through many points of view - and each one feels unique and interesting.
The elemental magic in this book is really creative. It’s not just about controlling the elements - it’s way more than that. These powers are a big part of the story and make it feel fresh and original.
In general, the book starts a little mysterious with many unanswered questions that get revealed as the story carries on.
The ending is powerful, although a little dramatic, and gets you excited for more!
Noontide is clever, magical, and a lot of fun from start to the end. It really gives off that typical fantasy & y/a - vibes, but with a unique touch - it even includes a map xD!
All in all one of my new favourite books and definitely a huge recommendation!

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 🌟
The first half of the book wasn’t my favorite, but the second half really pulled everything together. I loved the friend groups and their dynamics, but i think, personally, there needed to be some slower moments! but i love becks channel too!

[Jerica Wood · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book in a series of magical adventures. We get multiple POVS to better understand the different characters. I enjoyed each action scene throughout this book, they kept me wanting to see how the story progressed! I would recommend this book to any teen or adult that enjoys fantasy without all the smut!

[bex ~•~ (Telemachus’ Version) ~•~]

pre-read
IM SO EXCITED FOR THIS!!! I’ve been keeping up with her channel and eagerly waiting for this to come out 🤭☺️🥰😍

[Ella E · Rating 4 out of 5]

DANGGG! THIS BOOK WAS SO FIRE!(yes that pun was intentional) If you like Percy Jackson then this book will definitely be your cup of tea. I did guess the plot twist, but that was only because I heard it was insane so I was thinking of the most random plot twists. This book was perfect to get me out of my reading slump(Charles Dickens I blame you for that.) Go read this book like your vitality depends on it( Yes another pun. aren't I so punny?) Beck if you see this good job on following your dreams! God Bless you! - from a girlypop whos from the same town as you❤

[Phoebe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am very unsure of how I feel about this book. I've waited over a year for it and was so excited, and I definitely think the first 30% lived up to my expectations, but the rest left much to be desired.

I just felt like a lot of the story was very muddled. Certain plot points were explained well while others were thrown in randomly and made me confused and feeling like I needed to go back and search for when it was first mentioned, only to find that it was confusing more than interesting. This was particularly frustrating because it mostly involved the important action and villains where I felt it should have been the most clear. I think this is due to attempting a mysterious air but it only ever seemed like the writer was confused or distracted.

The other thing that really bothered me were the characters 🫠. I only liked maybe 2-3 of them, and they weren't even the "main" ones. I found the MMC and the FMC to be so grating and they constantly argued for seemingly no reason other than added "tension"?? It was distracting and I found myself unable to get lost in the story.

In conclusion I am unsure but I definitely feel disappointed. I hope the next installment improves in these areas.

[Kaylee · Rating 3 out of 5]

High three stars. A pretty engaging book that I think lacked focus but was overall an enjoyable read.

Little disclaimer here: as with my last review of a self-published book, I want to give huge props to this author for managing the incredible feat of writing, editing, and publishing a story with her own resources. Because this is a self-published story that I want to support, regardless of my rating, none of this is meant to be read in a negative or passive-aggressive way as some of my other reviews are. This is solely constructive criticism from my very unprofessional editing opinion. Please support this book if it sounds like something you’re interested in!

For a self-published debut novel, this was pretty dang good! The writing felt very polished, and I don’t think I found a single typo in the whole book. I quite like how Beck Leavesley writes; her balance of dialogue and description is very well done. However, I do think her use of single sentences to provide emphasis became a bit old by the end of the story. She used one-line stingers a bit too much, to the point where I think it lost its intended function. Other than that, I have little else to critique. I can’t wait to see how her writing gets even better in the future; she has a very readable style that I think I’m going to grow to love.

My biggest issue with this book is one I can’t place as solely a writing flaw or a plot flaw, so I’m going to give it its own section. Branching off my earlier comment, there’s a bit of an emphasis problem with this writing style. I don’t think it’s bad to have little focus on details that seem unimportant and more focus on ones that have more significance, but at some point brushing over details leads to tons of questions in the reader’s mind that quickly become plot holes. To elaborate a bit more, I think there are some very important details missing in this story to fill in some gaps. Silas’s parents died, yes, but how then does he have the money to go to school? Does he live in foster care? Is the school a boarding school? Why does he never think about his living situation or friends once he goes to Noontide? Why is there no question of ‘what the heck is this random island you brought me to and why on Earth do you think I would want to stay here for the summer to train in this magic thingy that I’m kind of in denial about?’ These are some HUGE leaps in logic that lead to Silas feeling like less of a character and the plot feeling contrived. It feels like a lot of events are happening because they have to happen for the plot to plot, not because the characters are driving the story. And it’s not just Silas this happens with; it’s all the characters, but also the world and magic system. What IS Noontide? How does splicing really work? Why is the magic system loredumped at face value and then never expanded upon or at least explained again so we can remember it? For that matter, what IS the magic system? It doesn’t feel like it has any real limitations to me: the only one I can think of is that only kids can have it. But that’s not really a limitation; it’s more of a reasonable explanation for why the main characters are all kids. I think the magic system needed more developing and explaining to make it believable, and these smaller BUT IMPORTANT plot details needed to be addressed to give the story more weight. As it is, I barely feel anything for these characters because I’m too busy wondering how they got to this point if X happened.
One last thing. I have mentioned this before in other books, and I will say it again here. Authors in general, please stop making things purposefully vague (haha, vague:) just for shock factor later in the book. It is unbelievably frustrating to read about a character skirting around a topic they already know about for the sole purpose of trying to create suspense. This was a HUGE issue for me with the Heroes of Olympus series, especially The Mark of Athena, and a similar thing happens here with all of our main characters. Silas references ‘six years ago’ constantly, which is annoying because not only is there no reason for him to keep the actual events quiet in his own thoughts (he already knows what happened and telling the characters around him doesn’t change his internal feelings about the event; therefore, it was only kept vague to try to make the house fire a twist), but it also means that it’s hard to judge flaws like the ones I pointed out earlier (his general lack of surprise at the existence of a magical island where magical kids are trained in magic-y things he thought were impossible an hour ago) when I have to constantly question how much this character already knows and how much we don’t get to see because the author is saving it for a later reveal. Harbour has this whole plot with a coin, but we don’t get to know what the coin is, why she’s trying to find it, or even at first what she’s even doing because the author wanted it to have shock value when we find out what it is. Bee hears voices and apparently lived with the some of the Other (who Noontide is supposed to be at war with?) as a kid, but neither of those VERY UNIQUE AND WORLDVIEW CHANGING facts are really addressed at all, and only after, again, several chapters of purposeful lack of context. Even the other characters just move on immediately when they learn about Taima’s involvement with this supposed enemy group. Cameron has magic healing abilities, which is cool, and probably the best done ‘character twist’ of the group. . . But there wasn’t anything earlier in the story that made me wonder about this, or think this was a secret. In that instance, the vagueness (pun mostly intended. I mean it’s just begging to be referenced but I am serious with my comment here) was so strong that I didn’t even realize this was supposed to be a big moment.
To summarize that exceedingly long paragraph, the intentional withholding of information from the reader for supposed shock value was a big drawback of the story for me, and left me confused more times than not.

I kind of already stated all my plot grievances, but I’ll add one more thing here. There isn’t really any goal for most of our characters until the end. (And if they do have a goal, it’s also super vague-🙃-, but I digress; I’ve discussed that enough.) And while I think it’s perfectly fine, even good, to have the first book in a series not jump right into the main plot, I think it would have been nice to have clear goals for everybody to work toward in the meantime to give the story more direction. For example, Harbour doesn’t want to get expelled: we are told this several times. But she doesn’t really do anything to stop this possibility (except the coin, but I don’t think that was to help stop expulsion, and also we aren’t told why she’s looking for the coin until almost the end, so as far as the reader can tell she isn’t even trying to stop this possibility). It would have been nice to see our characters take more agency to push the story forward more organically.
Other than that, I quite liked the story, especially the climax after the kids return to Noontide. The four planning to get to the Incandescence was very exciting, the final confrontation was super dramatic, and the mini chapter cliffhanger with the fire being souls was fantastically chilling. The magic system, while underdeveloped, has some serious potential and is very unique. And everyone’s powers are very creative and distinct. I can’t wait to see what the summer brings in book 2, as well as possibly the next school year!

Ok. I promise I will try to make this quick; this review is far too long already. Character time!
Silas and Harbour suffered from the same issues, which I already mentioned earlier. While I love their personalities and what we got of their backstories (also Silas’s little counting habit; that’s super cute and makes him stand out), it was very hard to get attached to them when including relate to their motivations. I think motivations is the key thing missing from this main cast: they all either lack a main goal, or have one that isn’t told to us, which makes their actions seem nonsensical. Both of these characters were very entertaining to follow, but I’d love for their stories to have a clear direction in book 2 to make it easier to root for them.
Bee didn’t get enough focus, I think. She has serious potential to be super unique and interesting, but because her backstory is vague (why is she always in the medbay, why is no one concerned when she apparently consistently gets captured by Vagues, why does she get hurt so easily, etc.) I can’t get a good grasp on her motivations. So she doesn’t feel like a very fleshed out character despite her unique personality and seemingly unique backstory. I hope we get more of a deeper understanding of her character in book 2 so she feels more like an individual and not a plot device.
Cameron is the most bland of the four leads for sure. He needs more. . . Everything. More goals, motivations for those goals, a backstory, more unique traits, anything. Compared to the other three, who, while they have flaws, all feel very different from each other, Cameron feels like your average young YA protagonist but without a reason for being like that. I hope we get more everything from this guy next book.
The side characters weren’t anything special, but they were all entertaining and I think utilized well when they needed to be. I don’t think there’s really anything else to say on them.

Villain time!
Oliver and Melinda were both twist villains, but I did guess they would be the evil ones pretty much immediately. I do think that’s just because I’ve seen/experienced so much media at this point, so that’s why he definitely isn’t a knock on the author at all! On the contrary, I thought their motivations were well established, and I love that there IS a chance for the reader to guess the twist before it happens. It’s always so much more fun to reread when I can go back and see all the hints! I’m a bit sad they both died, honestly. I think the moral questions they brought up about Noontide would have made for a very interesting conflict next book. But oh well, I’m sure there will be new villains in the next one.
The Vagues were great! They were physically intimidating, and I like how they feel like a natural extension of the magic system. Megallun, though, was less well done. He was an alright antagonist, but he never felt dangerous, and once again because of the vague (. . .dare I make the joke again?) nature of his background, he doesn’t have any emotional significance or weight to him. He’s just a guy who’s occasionally kind of intimidating.
Zech was confusing to me. He definitely suffered a bit from the vagueness (oh dear, I think I’ve exhausted that pun) of his motivations. But I do like his worry for Harbour and apparently genuine care for Melinda. I wouldn’t really call him a villain, but he served as a very minor antagonist, so that’s why he ended up in this section. I’m really excited to see what happens to him next book- while he is victim of my least favorite trope (amnesia), I have had much better experiences when side characters fall to this. And I think this author is easily a smart enough writer to give those potential amnesia character developments lasting impact. So I’m excited to see where his character goes!

Overall, while this book definitely had its faults, I did enjoy my reading experience and am excited to see where the story goes in book 2!

SERIES RATINGS:
Noontide: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Isolate 44: TBD