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Gilded Moon #1
Blood of Silver
Not yet published
Expected 10 Nov 26Win a free print copy of this book!
1 day and 10:16:25
25 copies available
U.S. only
Seeking answers about her mother’s past leads a teen to a magical realm where she must learn to wield a rare magic to keep ravenous monsters at bay in this whimsically imagined young adult fantasy perfect for fans of Tahereh Mafi and A. B. Poranek.
The day of her mother’s funeral, Linh is visited by a strange boy who seems vaguely familiar and claims to know secrets about her mother’s past. Feeling alone in her grief and desperate to hold onto what’s left of her mom, Linh follows the boy, Elior, and is transported into another world.
Ebrirene is a realm governed by six ancient magics—light, fire, earth, water, nature, and space—and populated by talking flowers and powerful mages. Its beauty and power make it the perfect target for the greedy, vicious demons at its border. Linh’s mother used her space magic to seal the demons’ portal back when she was a princess of Ebrirene, and now Elior, the crown prince, has brought Linh here in the hope that she can strengthen her mother’s weakening protection.
Linh does her best to adapt to her fantastical new surroundings and master powers she didn’t even know she had, but not everyone wants her to succeed at her task. Someone enters her into the annual tournament at the mages’ academy, which promises to be deadlier than ever before. Now, caught in a web of court intrigue and unsettled by her dangerous attraction to the prince, Linh must fight for survival against enemies that may be closer to her than she fears.
The day of her mother’s funeral, Linh is visited by a strange boy who seems vaguely familiar and claims to know secrets about her mother’s past. Feeling alone in her grief and desperate to hold onto what’s left of her mom, Linh follows the boy, Elior, and is transported into another world.
Ebrirene is a realm governed by six ancient magics—light, fire, earth, water, nature, and space—and populated by talking flowers and powerful mages. Its beauty and power make it the perfect target for the greedy, vicious demons at its border. Linh’s mother used her space magic to seal the demons’ portal back when she was a princess of Ebrirene, and now Elior, the crown prince, has brought Linh here in the hope that she can strengthen her mother’s weakening protection.
Linh does her best to adapt to her fantastical new surroundings and master powers she didn’t even know she had, but not everyone wants her to succeed at her task. Someone enters her into the annual tournament at the mages’ academy, which promises to be deadlier than ever before. Now, caught in a web of court intrigue and unsettled by her dangerous attraction to the prince, Linh must fight for survival against enemies that may be closer to her than she fears.
448 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication November 10, 2026
About the author
Allie Nguyen
2 books223 followersAllie Nguyen is a Vietnamese fantasy author based in London, UK, with an MA in Creative Writing. She has a deep love for flawed female characters and strange, whimsical worlds. When she's not writing, she's often found making Taylor Swift playlists for her books, wandering around museums, or rereading Wuthering Heights for the hundredth time.
Her YA Fantasy debut Blood of Silver is scheduled for publication in November 2026 by Simon & Schuster. You can find her on social media @alliewritesalot.
Her YA Fantasy debut Blood of Silver is scheduled for publication in November 2026 by Simon & Schuster. You can find her on social media @alliewritesalot.
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May 9, 2026this one's is one of my most anticipated reads of this year, because I love my grumpy woman x sunshine-y man combo!
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Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the ARC.
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Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the ARC.
June 16, 2025
To Allie Nguyen,
You carry both our family name and our hopes with pride. I’m so proud of you—not just for your success, but the way you make "our dream" come true. And especially for the love the heart (with your motherland) which, had been brought into your book. Best wishes and I believe that your your path ahead be guided by purpose and surrounded by family's love.
I want to buy you book right now.
You carry both our family name and our hopes with pride. I’m so proud of you—not just for your success, but the way you make "our dream" come true. And especially for the love the heart (with your motherland) which, had been brought into your book. Best wishes and I believe that your your path ahead be guided by purpose and surrounded by family's love.
I want to buy you book right now.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
"You either come out of this a pawn, or you rise to become a queen.”
YA fantasy is so back! this is exactly what i want from the genre: fast-paced, an interesting unique world and magic system, lovable (and hatable) characters, action, political intrigue, and some great quippy lines.
there are some of the tried and true tropes, most of which i didn't mind. black cat fmc x golden retriever mmc, hints of a potential love triangle (poly???), long lost royal blood, buried secrets, and a trial. the one thing i think i could've done without was the academy that the trial took place through. i understand the choice, but there's so little actual focus on the school itself that wasn't necessary imo.
linh and elior's dynamic had me giggling. he is very wendell bambleby-coded (which is to say, howl coded, but i specifically note the degrees of separation bc he is a watered down howl imo - not a bad thing). both of them deliver lines that had me laugh snorting, which help lightened up the tone a lot. i am def interested to see how marcellus's role may change bc i swear i'm getting poly vibes but maybe not. slight spoilers as well that i'll hide i'll leave it at that, let me not spoil too much.
hal was especially funny and a great cast addition, a bit of a scene stealer!
“Linh doesn’t need a bodyguard,” Elior says. “She almost killed me last night.”
Hal looks at me to confirm if that’s true, and I give him a shrug. “Well, he’s still here, so you didn’t do a good job, then.”
the political intrigue itself was promising and overall i was riveted and didn't want to put the book down! my only complaint is it's a bit rushed of explanation at the end, and i personally want a stronger cliffhanger ending! devastate me a little! leave me yearning for book 2!!!
i'm excited to see what happens in the next book tho, count me in 🩶
“My chaos. My undoing. I thought I’d never see you again.”
an honest arc review ♡
YA fantasy is so back! this is exactly what i want from the genre: fast-paced, an interesting unique world and magic system, lovable (and hatable) characters, action, political intrigue, and some great quippy lines.
there are some of the tried and true tropes, most of which i didn't mind. black cat fmc x golden retriever mmc, hints of a potential love triangle (poly???), long lost royal blood, buried secrets, and a trial. the one thing i think i could've done without was the academy that the trial took place through. i understand the choice, but there's so little actual focus on the school itself that wasn't necessary imo.
linh and elior's dynamic had me giggling. he is very wendell bambleby-coded (which is to say, howl coded, but i specifically note the degrees of separation bc he is a watered down howl imo - not a bad thing). both of them deliver lines that had me laugh snorting, which help lightened up the tone a lot. i am def interested to see how marcellus's role may change bc i swear i'm getting poly vibes but maybe not. slight spoilers as well that i'll hide i'll leave it at that, let me not spoil too much.
hal was especially funny and a great cast addition, a bit of a scene stealer!
“Linh doesn’t need a bodyguard,” Elior says. “She almost killed me last night.”
Hal looks at me to confirm if that’s true, and I give him a shrug. “Well, he’s still here, so you didn’t do a good job, then.”
the political intrigue itself was promising and overall i was riveted and didn't want to put the book down! my only complaint is it's a bit rushed of explanation at the end, and i personally want a stronger cliffhanger ending! devastate me a little! leave me yearning for book 2!!!
i'm excited to see what happens in the next book tho, count me in 🩶
“My chaos. My undoing. I thought I’d never see you again.”
an honest arc review ♡
June 16, 2025
I'm very happy to have been a Beta reader for this one!
A Marvelous tale leaded by a solid group of characters that will prevail in the readers minds and hearts for long time after reading the book; Linh, the protagonist, is full of nuances, which makes it feel like she’s real and human; the world building is crafted with love and care, you can read the autor's attention to detail, every bit of this fantastic world will make the readers wish it was real; and finally, the plot, of course, a story driven by its characters and their interest, decisions and sometimes mistakes, a total page turner, I wasn't able to put it down.
If Game of thrones was inside the Ghibli universe it would look a lot like Blood of sliver.
A Marvelous tale leaded by a solid group of characters that will prevail in the readers minds and hearts for long time after reading the book; Linh, the protagonist, is full of nuances, which makes it feel like she’s real and human; the world building is crafted with love and care, you can read the autor's attention to detail, every bit of this fantastic world will make the readers wish it was real; and finally, the plot, of course, a story driven by its characters and their interest, decisions and sometimes mistakes, a total page turner, I wasn't able to put it down.
If Game of thrones was inside the Ghibli universe it would look a lot like Blood of sliver.
October 14, 2026
Incredible debut by Allie Nguyen! I am so happy to have another Vietnamese author join the YA fantasy book community!
Blood of Silver is EVERYTHING I love and more when readying a YA fantasy book. The fact that we even have entire Vietnamese sentences in this book brings tears to my eyes. There is finally a book that has an FMC that doesn’t only look like me but has the same dysfunctional family like me. Down to the aunties descriptions??
What a fantastic read this book was! FMC is essentially transported to another world that somehow feels like home, comes to find out that it’s actually her mother’s world that she ran away from to save herself. The magic system is one of my favorites; an earth magic system. Our fmc has the rare ability of mage/portal magic. We have yearning, banter, and a little messy love triangle (I love messy). Amazing fighting scenes and a trial (we love a good trial) literally everything I enjoy in a YA fantasy series. WAS NOT EXPECTING to cry at the end!! Unfortunately, like every viet girl, I too, have daddy issues.
This book exceeded my expectations and I’m looking forward to the second installment!
Blood of Silver is EVERYTHING I love and more when readying a YA fantasy book. The fact that we even have entire Vietnamese sentences in this book brings tears to my eyes. There is finally a book that has an FMC that doesn’t only look like me but has the same dysfunctional family like me. Down to the aunties descriptions??
What a fantastic read this book was! FMC is essentially transported to another world that somehow feels like home, comes to find out that it’s actually her mother’s world that she ran away from to save herself. The magic system is one of my favorites; an earth magic system. Our fmc has the rare ability of mage/portal magic. We have yearning, banter, and a little messy love triangle (I love messy). Amazing fighting scenes and a trial (we love a good trial) literally everything I enjoy in a YA fantasy series. WAS NOT EXPECTING to cry at the end!! Unfortunately, like every viet girl, I too, have daddy issues.
This book exceeded my expectations and I’m looking forward to the second installment!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4.5/5 stars
the oversaturation of "enemies to lovers" in fantasy has made me forget that a REAL etl with star crossed lovers is supposed to stress you out with the denial of feelings, conflicts, hating how much they still want each other because they're naturally on opposing sides of something bigger than themselves, and intense yearning with sacrifices and betrayal of all kinds. and this book absolutely stressed me out because it has all that because tell me why i keep moving from giggling to frowning and then jumping from my bed and pacing around like oh my god it made me wanna scream (in a good way)
anyways elinh my newest client i will protect you with my LIFE and i will make sure you get your ultimate happy ending together. alive. with nothing standing between you.
the oversaturation of "enemies to lovers" in fantasy has made me forget that a REAL etl with star crossed lovers is supposed to stress you out with the denial of feelings, conflicts, hating how much they still want each other because they're naturally on opposing sides of something bigger than themselves, and intense yearning with sacrifices and betrayal of all kinds. and this book absolutely stressed me out because it has all that because tell me why i keep moving from giggling to frowning and then jumping from my bed and pacing around like oh my god it made me wanna scream (in a good way)
anyways elinh my newest client i will protect you with my LIFE and i will make sure you get your ultimate happy ending together. alive. with nothing standing between you.
June 16, 2025
I was very lucky to read a draft of this book, and my goodness it had me hooked from the start! Allies writing is so immersive and so are her worlds. I am in love with Linh and Elior’s dynamic and chemistry is so good it had me screaming crying and throwing up in the best way possible. Can’t wait to have the published version in my hands. 🩷🩷🩷
October 19, 2026
First of all, I would just like to thank Allie Nguyen, Simon & Schuster UK Children’s, and NetGalley for an ARC of ‘Blood of Silver’ in exchange for an honest review.
I’ve been eagerly awaiting this book since Allie first announced she got an agent on X, so I was so unbelievably lucky and excited to get an ARC!
I enjoyed this. I think it was a solid YA fantasy with a charming blend of whimsy, romance and horror. I particularly enjoyed the talking flowers; I wish we’d seen more of them in the second half. I can definitely relate to the Worrywart.
Upon reflection, I think there were three things that I struggled with in this novel that made me unable to rate it any higher than I have, despite my overall enjoyment of the plot.
First, I would say that while the writing is very polished and whimsical, it is also quite lacking in personality. Let me try to explain. Not much is ever really described beyond a cursory sentence, and so that made it hard to properly visualise Ebrirene and all of the wonderful locations we visit, ultimately culminating in a lack of personal style. This shortage of description was also apparent with Linh and her inner monologue. She talks a lot in her head, but we never really see how she feels about situations beyond her dialogue, so it sometimes made it hard to sympathise and understand her motivations. (Don’t get me wrong though, I still loved her as our FMC.)
The next thing I struggled with was the pacing. It was very uneven. The plot takes a while to kick in at the beginning, which is fine; it’s often expected in a fantasy book to accommodate all the worldbuilding, but I did find myself becoming slightly impatient in the middle and then surprised when the last 50% was wrapped up so quickly.
And finally, my last issue is a combination of the above in that, for a medium-paced fantasy book, things happen far too quickly because they’re underdeveloped and rushed. I think this is due to the lack of description to flesh things out. Nothing is ever fully explored, and this makes a lot of the plot feel quite shallow despite the emotional core at its centre.
Character-wise, I loved Elior, but honestly, I think I might prefer Marcellus. Especially for Linh. Their banter and relationship felt much more naturally developed and authentic to me. Hal was a gem though; I adored his humour.
Overall, I enjoyed this, and I will definitely be reaching for the second one when it comes out, but it also didn’t quite meet my expectations, and for that, I couldn’t quite justify giving it four stars. However, I still do highly recommend it for a fun, whimsical and lighthearted time!
I’ve been eagerly awaiting this book since Allie first announced she got an agent on X, so I was so unbelievably lucky and excited to get an ARC!
I enjoyed this. I think it was a solid YA fantasy with a charming blend of whimsy, romance and horror. I particularly enjoyed the talking flowers; I wish we’d seen more of them in the second half. I can definitely relate to the Worrywart.
Upon reflection, I think there were three things that I struggled with in this novel that made me unable to rate it any higher than I have, despite my overall enjoyment of the plot.
First, I would say that while the writing is very polished and whimsical, it is also quite lacking in personality. Let me try to explain. Not much is ever really described beyond a cursory sentence, and so that made it hard to properly visualise Ebrirene and all of the wonderful locations we visit, ultimately culminating in a lack of personal style. This shortage of description was also apparent with Linh and her inner monologue. She talks a lot in her head, but we never really see how she feels about situations beyond her dialogue, so it sometimes made it hard to sympathise and understand her motivations. (Don’t get me wrong though, I still loved her as our FMC.)
The next thing I struggled with was the pacing. It was very uneven. The plot takes a while to kick in at the beginning, which is fine; it’s often expected in a fantasy book to accommodate all the worldbuilding, but I did find myself becoming slightly impatient in the middle and then surprised when the last 50% was wrapped up so quickly.
And finally, my last issue is a combination of the above in that, for a medium-paced fantasy book, things happen far too quickly because they’re underdeveloped and rushed. I think this is due to the lack of description to flesh things out. Nothing is ever fully explored, and this makes a lot of the plot feel quite shallow despite the emotional core at its centre.
Character-wise, I loved Elior, but honestly, I think I might prefer Marcellus. Especially for Linh. Their banter and relationship felt much more naturally developed and authentic to me. Hal was a gem though; I adored his humour.
Overall, I enjoyed this, and I will definitely be reaching for the second one when it comes out, but it also didn’t quite meet my expectations, and for that, I couldn’t quite justify giving it four stars. However, I still do highly recommend it for a fun, whimsical and lighthearted time!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
huge thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy
guys this book is incredible. full review to come.
pre review
i need this book asap (the author's insta posts are keeping me fed)
guys this book is incredible. full review to come.
pre review
i need this book asap (the author's insta posts are keeping me fed)
April 19, 2026
(Arc given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review 🌙✨)
There’s something special about being a fan of an author even before their first book is released and I’m glad to say that with Allie Nguyen!! Blood of Silver was something we need more of in young adult books today. It was a love letter to those who’ve always imagined what they would be like as a character in a fantasy book.
I’ll do a more in depth review in November when this releases but I do have to say something about Linh as I know most of the reviews will mostly be about Elior. Not to say that I’m not obsessed with him but we don’t need to feed his ego quite yet 😅 I really connected with Linh specifically because she has weaknesses, she is not a fantasy character who has grown up in that world her whole life and it shows. I love how much she learned throughout the story about herself and her insanely cool magic!
In conclusion (for now) if you like keeper of the lost cities but are looking for something a bit more mature and you like spirited away and the vivid imagery ghibli movies have, you will LOVE this!! And thank you again to Allie for allowing me to read this early 🩷
There’s something special about being a fan of an author even before their first book is released and I’m glad to say that with Allie Nguyen!! Blood of Silver was something we need more of in young adult books today. It was a love letter to those who’ve always imagined what they would be like as a character in a fantasy book.
I’ll do a more in depth review in November when this releases but I do have to say something about Linh as I know most of the reviews will mostly be about Elior. Not to say that I’m not obsessed with him but we don’t need to feed his ego quite yet 😅 I really connected with Linh specifically because she has weaknesses, she is not a fantasy character who has grown up in that world her whole life and it shows. I love how much she learned throughout the story about herself and her insanely cool magic!
In conclusion (for now) if you like keeper of the lost cities but are looking for something a bit more mature and you like spirited away and the vivid imagery ghibli movies have, you will LOVE this!! And thank you again to Allie for allowing me to read this early 🩷
June 16, 2025
My dear Allie really outdid herself with this book.
If you want to feel butterflies in your stomach and be in love with characters THIS is your book!! 🔮
Submerge yourself into the world of Ebrirene and let Linh and Elior surprise you with their fun, exciting and a bit weird dynamic.
I love this book like a niece or a nephew, so proud of it.
If you want to feel butterflies in your stomach and be in love with characters THIS is your book!! 🔮
Submerge yourself into the world of Ebrirene and let Linh and Elior surprise you with their fun, exciting and a bit weird dynamic.
I love this book like a niece or a nephew, so proud of it.
June 16, 2025
Literally can’t wait!! Everything I’ve heard about Allie’s novel has got me slick wanting the year to speed up just so I can have her book in my hands 😂😂
May 4, 2026
OMG! I have been waiting for this book for almost a year now and it was so perfect!
I’m so happy to be on the street team of such an amazing book and author. This book exceeded all of my expectations and is easily one of this year’s highlights for me. Allie truly puts all her love into her books despite saying she’ll kill characters off. (she loves them all trust my delulu state of mind)
Blood of Silver is a YA fantasy book with magical powers and creatures and let me tell you, The magic is amazing!
There are magic houses, magic books, magic animals basically magic everything and I lived for it! There are magic houses, there exist many different mages like Space mages (Our FMC Linh), Fire mage, Water mage, etc and all of these houses have personality traits that are seen in the characters.
The start in the book is amazing and kept me hooked right from the start, I kept turning pages because I NEEDED to know what happened next.
Speaking of chapters/pages, the chapter length was amazing not too long and not too short, and Allies writing? Even better!
Her writing is amazing and sooo easy to read, I basically just flew through the book, no weird fantasy words and no words that nobody uses. Allies writing is so perfect for fantasy and sooo bingeable.
There is also no cringy or corny dialogue or any second hand embarrassment moments that try to make a character quirky but just are embarrassing. It’s one of the things I hate most in a book and I was so glad it wasn’t there.
The world building in this is sooo addictive and I felt so connected to the world and their struggles. I’d kill to live in a world with whiny flowers and Hamster employees.
The characters were introduced soo well and the vibes and dynamics of them were so fun to read! Plus I love a good found family and these characters definitely act like a little fam! All of the characters really captured my heart in different ways, Speaking of characters our main character and narrator Linh is sooo well written and amazing!
Their choices actually make sense and even if they don’t make sense in the moment they do later. None of the characters are insufferable or annoying except Linhs bullies who I can’t remember the names of and Linh can’t either.
She is relatable in ways I haven’t read in a fantasy book in a while, despite having the strongest powers in the world she isn’t immediately overpowered because she doesn’t know how to use her Powers. I loved reading about her journey of learning to control her powers and use them to punish her enemies. (aka her bullies, I hate them and you should too)
Linh is a great narrator with funny thoughts and ideas that all make her the person that she is. (GIVE ME ELIORS POV PLEASE ALLIE!!!)
Elior is our blondE male main character and utterly whipped for Linh, which to his demise Linh doesn’t realise until very very late in the book. He is absolutely fun and has some amazing lines! To Eliors absolute demise Linh also doesn’t realise her own feelings for Elior until VERY VERY late into the book. Elior reminds me a lot of Warner and Cardan, he basically got their best traits lol.
But in general the characters are written perfectly and there are just a few I hate (Allie would not agree) and it is fun to get to know them, you keep learning about them until the end. Which brings me to my next point….
The plot was A W E S O M E, demons, dead lands, death, magic rivalries and sooo much more. It kept me on my toes until the very end and made me cry so bad. There were so many plot twists, I didn’t know who to trust most of the time so I just went with whatever Linh said. You didn’t know who to trust the more you found out about the world and politics.
There is not THAT much romance it was more plot before romance because Linh didn’t get it lol but it felt like just the right amount of romance for it. The scenes we got were top tier and we got 3 kissing scenes! Our dear author Allie promised me one and she gave us three! I was so excited even tho two of those three kissing scenes made me sob violently( Allie can agree)
There is a lot of pain, yearning, sadness and loss in this book but also a ton of fun stuff like Hamster employees( yes I am mentioning them again because they were one of my book highlights lol)
There were so many cute easter eggs and Riddles which was very fun to read and figure out especially because I’ve been waiting for almost a year and check Allies instagram stories like a psycho and threatened her a few times so she gave me a few hints and info on the book.
Seeing the story snippets on her story and then finally reading them felt amazing!
I’m not just saying this because I’m biased (I totally am, this long review is just payment for Allie not to kill of Elior) or because I really think Allie is not just an amazing writer but also a kind hearted and amazing human being who listened to me crying, laughing, hating and screaming on instagram for 2 weeks while reading this (sorry Allie) but I really really enjoyed this book and felt every emotion while reading this, it met and exceeded all of my expectations and completely destroyed my soul in the best way possible.
I’m so happy to be on the street team of such an amazing book and author. This book exceeded all of my expectations and is easily one of this year’s highlights for me. Allie truly puts all her love into her books despite saying she’ll kill characters off. (she loves them all trust my delulu state of mind)
Blood of Silver is a YA fantasy book with magical powers and creatures and let me tell you, The magic is amazing!
There are magic houses, magic books, magic animals basically magic everything and I lived for it! There are magic houses, there exist many different mages like Space mages (Our FMC Linh), Fire mage, Water mage, etc and all of these houses have personality traits that are seen in the characters.
The start in the book is amazing and kept me hooked right from the start, I kept turning pages because I NEEDED to know what happened next.
Speaking of chapters/pages, the chapter length was amazing not too long and not too short, and Allies writing? Even better!
Her writing is amazing and sooo easy to read, I basically just flew through the book, no weird fantasy words and no words that nobody uses. Allies writing is so perfect for fantasy and sooo bingeable.
There is also no cringy or corny dialogue or any second hand embarrassment moments that try to make a character quirky but just are embarrassing. It’s one of the things I hate most in a book and I was so glad it wasn’t there.
The world building in this is sooo addictive and I felt so connected to the world and their struggles. I’d kill to live in a world with whiny flowers and Hamster employees.
The characters were introduced soo well and the vibes and dynamics of them were so fun to read! Plus I love a good found family and these characters definitely act like a little fam! All of the characters really captured my heart in different ways, Speaking of characters our main character and narrator Linh is sooo well written and amazing!
Their choices actually make sense and even if they don’t make sense in the moment they do later. None of the characters are insufferable or annoying except Linhs bullies who I can’t remember the names of and Linh can’t either.
She is relatable in ways I haven’t read in a fantasy book in a while, despite having the strongest powers in the world she isn’t immediately overpowered because she doesn’t know how to use her Powers. I loved reading about her journey of learning to control her powers and use them to punish her enemies. (aka her bullies, I hate them and you should too)
Linh is a great narrator with funny thoughts and ideas that all make her the person that she is. (GIVE ME ELIORS POV PLEASE ALLIE!!!)
Elior is our blondE male main character and utterly whipped for Linh, which to his demise Linh doesn’t realise until very very late in the book. He is absolutely fun and has some amazing lines! To Eliors absolute demise Linh also doesn’t realise her own feelings for Elior until VERY VERY late into the book. Elior reminds me a lot of Warner and Cardan, he basically got their best traits lol.
But in general the characters are written perfectly and there are just a few I hate (Allie would not agree) and it is fun to get to know them, you keep learning about them until the end. Which brings me to my next point….
The plot was A W E S O M E, demons, dead lands, death, magic rivalries and sooo much more. It kept me on my toes until the very end and made me cry so bad. There were so many plot twists, I didn’t know who to trust most of the time so I just went with whatever Linh said. You didn’t know who to trust the more you found out about the world and politics.
There is not THAT much romance it was more plot before romance because Linh didn’t get it lol but it felt like just the right amount of romance for it. The scenes we got were top tier and we got 3 kissing scenes! Our dear author Allie promised me one and she gave us three! I was so excited even tho two of those three kissing scenes made me sob violently( Allie can agree)
There is a lot of pain, yearning, sadness and loss in this book but also a ton of fun stuff like Hamster employees( yes I am mentioning them again because they were one of my book highlights lol)
There were so many cute easter eggs and Riddles which was very fun to read and figure out especially because I’ve been waiting for almost a year and check Allies instagram stories like a psycho and threatened her a few times so she gave me a few hints and info on the book.
Seeing the story snippets on her story and then finally reading them felt amazing!
I’m not just saying this because I’m biased (I totally am, this long review is just payment for Allie not to kill of Elior) or because I really think Allie is not just an amazing writer but also a kind hearted and amazing human being who listened to me crying, laughing, hating and screaming on instagram for 2 weeks while reading this (sorry Allie) but I really really enjoyed this book and felt every emotion while reading this, it met and exceeded all of my expectations and completely destroyed my soul in the best way possible.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
2.5 stars
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Who doesn't love an isekai? I've always loved stories about a character having to adapt to a whole new world (literally), so I had high hopes for this one. I was already invested just from seeing the stunning cover, the interesting description, and seeing all the beautiful art that the author has posted. Unfortunately though, the book fell flat to me.
A lot of my issues stem from the writing itself. It often felt like the author didn't trust their readers to piece things on their own and handed out all the information without letting their readers wonder. Everything was explained rather than given room to unfold naturally throughout the events of the story. There was a lot of telling rather than showing, especially at the start, where it felt like the author was rushing to get most of the story's lore out of the way.
The explanations about the lore and the world building were dropped in bulky chunks that I didn't feel was integrated well into the story. Most of the time, when a new concept was being explained, it felt like the characters were reading from a textbook all of the sudden rather than having an actual conversation. I think the concept and the world building itself was interesting, but I would've enjoyed it a lot more if the information was woven into the story more organically.
As for the characters, they were also quite inconsistent for me. I felt like I couldn't connect with them because I couldn't grasp who they were, beyond what the narration told me. The story told me what their motivations and personalities were, but I wasn't seeing it from their actions or scenes. One example is how Linh, through her narration, kept telling us how scared she is about her new situation but rarely freaked out about it. Even in her first near death experience, it felt like there were no stakes at all and I didn't feel that stress I usually felt for characters like her that are put into situations they've never encountered before.
She adapted very quickly to her situation for someone who didn't even know magic or other worlds existed. Maybe that's supposed to showcase her mental fortitude but the pacing of the story didn't help. Everything moved too quickly with not enough time for the readers, or even Linh, to process what had happened. I wanted to see more of her confusion, her disbelief, and her struggle of being put into this situation that she didn't ask to be put in.
This also affected the relationships in the story, especially Linh and Elior's romantic development. The relationships developed so quickly that they felt unnatural and, at times, forced. I didn't feel like there was enough time spent building their connection and even at the early moments of the book, they were already establishing this relationship despite having only a few interactions. There were moments of fun banter between them and I still do think there's chemistry, but I wanted more moments where I could really feel why there was attraction between them rather than just being expected to believe in their feelings for each other.
One thing that I really liked, though, was her complicated relationship with her family, especially with her father and the feelings that came with learning the new information about her mother and her past. I wish this was explored more in the story, instead of being mentioned every now and then in passing. I think it would've been interesting to see more of her frustration with being shut out from this huge part of her life for so long by her mother and how she handles that with her grief for her mother's passing. Unfortunately, Linh doesn't tend to linger in those moments for very long and just goes with the flow, moving onto the next thing.
That said, I still do think that the lore was very interesting. It's a unique take on some familiar fantasy concepts, especially with the monsters' origins. I just wish the book had slowed down more to let me experience the world. I'm also a sucker for tournaments arcs. I really enjoyed the tournament part of the story, and I think from there, the story had found a bit more of its footing, enough that it made me believe it had a good premise to work off on, especially with that ending. I'm interested in where the story is going next and would definitely still read for a sequel!
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Who doesn't love an isekai? I've always loved stories about a character having to adapt to a whole new world (literally), so I had high hopes for this one. I was already invested just from seeing the stunning cover, the interesting description, and seeing all the beautiful art that the author has posted. Unfortunately though, the book fell flat to me.
A lot of my issues stem from the writing itself. It often felt like the author didn't trust their readers to piece things on their own and handed out all the information without letting their readers wonder. Everything was explained rather than given room to unfold naturally throughout the events of the story. There was a lot of telling rather than showing, especially at the start, where it felt like the author was rushing to get most of the story's lore out of the way.
The explanations about the lore and the world building were dropped in bulky chunks that I didn't feel was integrated well into the story. Most of the time, when a new concept was being explained, it felt like the characters were reading from a textbook all of the sudden rather than having an actual conversation. I think the concept and the world building itself was interesting, but I would've enjoyed it a lot more if the information was woven into the story more organically.
As for the characters, they were also quite inconsistent for me. I felt like I couldn't connect with them because I couldn't grasp who they were, beyond what the narration told me. The story told me what their motivations and personalities were, but I wasn't seeing it from their actions or scenes. One example is how Linh, through her narration, kept telling us how scared she is about her new situation but rarely freaked out about it. Even in her first near death experience, it felt like there were no stakes at all and I didn't feel that stress I usually felt for characters like her that are put into situations they've never encountered before.
She adapted very quickly to her situation for someone who didn't even know magic or other worlds existed. Maybe that's supposed to showcase her mental fortitude but the pacing of the story didn't help. Everything moved too quickly with not enough time for the readers, or even Linh, to process what had happened. I wanted to see more of her confusion, her disbelief, and her struggle of being put into this situation that she didn't ask to be put in.
This also affected the relationships in the story, especially Linh and Elior's romantic development. The relationships developed so quickly that they felt unnatural and, at times, forced. I didn't feel like there was enough time spent building their connection and even at the early moments of the book, they were already establishing this relationship despite having only a few interactions. There were moments of fun banter between them and I still do think there's chemistry, but I wanted more moments where I could really feel why there was attraction between them rather than just being expected to believe in their feelings for each other.
One thing that I really liked, though, was her complicated relationship with her family, especially with her father and the feelings that came with learning the new information about her mother and her past. I wish this was explored more in the story, instead of being mentioned every now and then in passing. I think it would've been interesting to see more of her frustration with being shut out from this huge part of her life for so long by her mother and how she handles that with her grief for her mother's passing. Unfortunately, Linh doesn't tend to linger in those moments for very long and just goes with the flow, moving onto the next thing.
That said, I still do think that the lore was very interesting. It's a unique take on some familiar fantasy concepts, especially with the monsters' origins. I just wish the book had slowed down more to let me experience the world. I'm also a sucker for tournaments arcs. I really enjoyed the tournament part of the story, and I think from there, the story had found a bit more of its footing, enough that it made me believe it had a good premise to work off on, especially with that ending. I'm interested in where the story is going next and would definitely still read for a sequel!
August 10, 2026
4.5 ⭐️ omg I love when a book gets me this invested. Whenever I wasn’t reading, I was thinking about it and counting down the seconds until I could pick up my kindle again. I absolutely loved the atmosphere and the magic system, especially Linh’s type of magic. And speaking of her, it had been a while since a protagonist had won me over this much. I loved her humor (or, in this case, the complete lack thereof) and to my own surprise (bc 99% of the time I HATE that dynamic), I actually loved the grumpy x sunshine dynamic between her and Elior. The romance didn’t fully convince me but tbh, I don’t even think that was the point of this book. I’ve actually been preferring books with this amount of romance lately (aka crumbs at best) but I did expect to be a little more invested in their relationship. I also know I probably wasn’t supposed to be confused about that other character but unfortunately I was. I can’t help it, this always happens to me!!!!
That ending left me so curious about what’s coming next and I’m especially excited to see how the dynamic between all the characters develops in the sequel. Overall, I loved pretty much everything and everyone in this book, it’s definitely going to be one of my favorites of the year.
That ending left me so curious about what’s coming next and I’m especially excited to see how the dynamic between all the characters develops in the sequel. Overall, I loved pretty much everything and everyone in this book, it’s definitely going to be one of my favorites of the year.
August 10, 2026
| rating: 4.5 ★
. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
✎ᝰ.ᐟ review
This buzz. Oh my god. I’m alive but I’m also dead.
Elior and Linh are my new clients. I've only had them for 3 days but if anything happens to them, I'm killing everyone in the room and then myself.
Full review to be posted closer to the release date: November 10, 2026.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK for the e-ARC.
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Started: August 08, 2026
Finished: August 10, 2026
. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
✎ᝰ.ᐟ review
This buzz. Oh my god. I’m alive but I’m also dead.
Elior and Linh are my new clients. I've only had them for 3 days but if anything happens to them, I'm killing everyone in the room and then myself.
Full review to be posted closer to the release date: November 10, 2026.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK for the e-ARC.
. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
Started: August 08, 2026
Finished: August 10, 2026
June 16, 2025
To Allie:
It was my pleasure to read the early draft of this book. I hadn’t read anything for a long time, but this draft definitely pulled me out of my laziness and made me read it non-stop! The way Allie illustrated Linh — a Vietnamese female character, not a softie but a baddie — drove me crazyyyy. I’m totally obsessed with it. Can’t wait to hold the published one in my hands!
It was my pleasure to read the early draft of this book. I hadn’t read anything for a long time, but this draft definitely pulled me out of my laziness and made me read it non-stop! The way Allie illustrated Linh — a Vietnamese female character, not a softie but a baddie — drove me crazyyyy. I’m totally obsessed with it. Can’t wait to hold the published one in my hands!
June 16, 2025
So lovely!! Can't wait to read this wonderful book as soon as possible 😍
June 16, 2025
Amazing author and book! Absolutely loveeeee! Been reading her fanfic since 2013. ❤️
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review 🙏🏼
I will start by saying I REALLY wanted to love this! And I really did try to love it, but … you’ve seen my rating 😅
I was hooked by the first chapter, but then it felt like a completely different person had written the rest of the book 😬
Before I explain my reasons for the low rating, I will say that I think this book has a lot of potential. There are a lot of fun and whimsical elements and creatures ✨ but this book needs a lot more time and editing before it’s sent out into the world!
I did get an eARC and the format was not finished, so I don’t know how much more editing has been done since - just letting you know! But it seems like a lot of things were cut out, and the author/editors forgot to go back and adjust the rest of the text to make sense after chunks of conversations/information etc. had been deleted. Multiple times, I got the impression that what I was reading was referencing something earlier, so it was supposed to make sense by now, but had never actually been mentioned before 😅
Most of the conversations felt so unnatural and just off - almost like 50% of the lines got cut and then nothing was changed afterwards + the conversations didn't flow naturally🫠
The pacing was so weird! I don’t know if I was the problem, but a lot of the time I didn’t even realize the setting/location had changed until we were already mid-scene. It was very weird. It was also extremely rushed… I felt like I was reading and reading and reading and had somehow still only read 3%. The book would benefit from slowing down a bit, so we could actually feel the emotions and stakes 🙌🏼
This is a YA, which usually isn’t a problem for me, but this feels VERY YA. Maybe more for tweens/early teens if we just cut out some of the kissing scenes 😅 I know I just said it was very rushed, but at the same time, it was very overexplained - emotions, moments, plot + like the author thought we were a bit stupid and couldn’t connect the very obvious dots ourselves 🤦🏼♀️
It was very much a case of telling instead of showing :(( I didn’t feel one drop of chemistry between the FMC and her love interest, and if I hadn’t been told multiple times about their so-called connection (which I didn’t feel at all) I wouldn’t even have thought there were any romantic feelings between them 👀
Inconsistent is the keyword for this novel… the pacing, the conversations, the characters, the magic skills: all inconsistent. Instead of hearing about Linh working on improving her powers, we just jump in time (without being told we’re jumping in time), so in one chapter she doesn’t know anything, and in the next she has a pretty good hold on her powers. The characters were flat, and the amount of energy it took from the mages varied so much from chapter to chapter that in one chapter opening a portal was pretty light work, and in the next, putting up a little shield was taking up all her energy 😒
And this is just a personal thing, but I absolutely hate the fact that the FMC and her love interest’s parents were once lovers. I know they (the parents) didn’t end up together, but it kinda still feels like incest 😅
And with all the negativity, I feel like the book could improve SO much with a lot of editing and A LOT of beta readers. The foundation of the story is there, it just needs to figure out how to hold itself together + decide whether it wants to be for tweens, YA, or NA 🤷♀️
I unfortunately don’t think I will continue with this story… There’s definitely an audience for this book, and I see what the author was trying to do, but unfortunately, it was not for me 😞
I will start by saying I REALLY wanted to love this! And I really did try to love it, but … you’ve seen my rating 😅
I was hooked by the first chapter, but then it felt like a completely different person had written the rest of the book 😬
Before I explain my reasons for the low rating, I will say that I think this book has a lot of potential. There are a lot of fun and whimsical elements and creatures ✨ but this book needs a lot more time and editing before it’s sent out into the world!
I did get an eARC and the format was not finished, so I don’t know how much more editing has been done since - just letting you know! But it seems like a lot of things were cut out, and the author/editors forgot to go back and adjust the rest of the text to make sense after chunks of conversations/information etc. had been deleted. Multiple times, I got the impression that what I was reading was referencing something earlier, so it was supposed to make sense by now, but had never actually been mentioned before 😅
Most of the conversations felt so unnatural and just off - almost like 50% of the lines got cut and then nothing was changed afterwards + the conversations didn't flow naturally🫠
The pacing was so weird! I don’t know if I was the problem, but a lot of the time I didn’t even realize the setting/location had changed until we were already mid-scene. It was very weird. It was also extremely rushed… I felt like I was reading and reading and reading and had somehow still only read 3%. The book would benefit from slowing down a bit, so we could actually feel the emotions and stakes 🙌🏼
This is a YA, which usually isn’t a problem for me, but this feels VERY YA. Maybe more for tweens/early teens if we just cut out some of the kissing scenes 😅 I know I just said it was very rushed, but at the same time, it was very overexplained - emotions, moments, plot + like the author thought we were a bit stupid and couldn’t connect the very obvious dots ourselves 🤦🏼♀️
It was very much a case of telling instead of showing :(( I didn’t feel one drop of chemistry between the FMC and her love interest, and if I hadn’t been told multiple times about their so-called connection (which I didn’t feel at all) I wouldn’t even have thought there were any romantic feelings between them 👀
Inconsistent is the keyword for this novel… the pacing, the conversations, the characters, the magic skills: all inconsistent. Instead of hearing about Linh working on improving her powers, we just jump in time (without being told we’re jumping in time), so in one chapter she doesn’t know anything, and in the next she has a pretty good hold on her powers. The characters were flat, and the amount of energy it took from the mages varied so much from chapter to chapter that in one chapter opening a portal was pretty light work, and in the next, putting up a little shield was taking up all her energy 😒
And this is just a personal thing, but I absolutely hate the fact that the FMC and her love interest’s parents were once lovers. I know they (the parents) didn’t end up together, but it kinda still feels like incest 😅
And with all the negativity, I feel like the book could improve SO much with a lot of editing and A LOT of beta readers. The foundation of the story is there, it just needs to figure out how to hold itself together + decide whether it wants to be for tweens, YA, or NA 🤷♀️
I unfortunately don’t think I will continue with this story… There’s definitely an audience for this book, and I see what the author was trying to do, but unfortunately, it was not for me 😞
2026
August 30, 2026Valentine's Day TBR
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Margaret K. McElderry Books
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Margaret K. McElderry Books
August 10, 2026
𓏲 ๋࣭ ࣪ ˖ 4.5 stars ★ ˖⌕ ۫ ➺ spoilers free review
→ thank you netgalley and Simon and Schuster UK Children's for the arc
It was definitely a rollercoaster, a rollercoaster i really enjoyed!! Such promising debiut, first of all I want to point of how beautiful the cover is and how gorgeous elinh look there. I also want to appreciate the really interesting worldbulding, which was truly magical and beautifully described and executed. Also subtle haunting perspective…oh Allie Nguyen you didn’t even tried to kiss a brick before you throw it at me.
Second of all characters, I loved linh and elior as characters so much, the concept of agonizing elior??? Saying he will be bad king ??? What the hell take it out of your mouth, you don't understand him!!! He cares so so much and is amazingly created character, the way he is so down bad for her made me sick. Linh is also amazing, I loved how strong she is and her relationship with her mother was so beautifully written. I would be so mad if anything happened to any of them, they can’t be doomed I will pray for their happy ending every day until second book release day.
About elinh…so SO buzzy, welcome my new premium clients. Like they are star crossed…we shouldn’t…they are forbidden…they want each other so bad, but deny it…CHEF’S KISS I SWEAR.
the only thing I didn’t enjoy was poor attempt of doing love triangle…it is so unnecessary. Marcellus was there just to make a mess, I liked some drama but in the end he didn’t bring much into a story besides making elior jealous and that part didn’t really hit me.
→ thank you netgalley and Simon and Schuster UK Children's for the arc
୨୧ 一
It was definitely a rollercoaster, a rollercoaster i really enjoyed!! Such promising debiut, first of all I want to point of how beautiful the cover is and how gorgeous elinh look there. I also want to appreciate the really interesting worldbulding, which was truly magical and beautifully described and executed. Also subtle haunting perspective…oh Allie Nguyen you didn’t even tried to kiss a brick before you throw it at me.
Second of all characters, I loved linh and elior as characters so much, the concept of agonizing elior??? Saying he will be bad king ??? What the hell take it out of your mouth, you don't understand him!!! He cares so so much and is amazingly created character, the way he is so down bad for her made me sick. Linh is also amazing, I loved how strong she is and her relationship with her mother was so beautifully written. I would be so mad if anything happened to any of them, they can’t be doomed I will pray for their happy ending every day until second book release day.
About elinh…so SO buzzy, welcome my new premium clients. Like they are star crossed…we shouldn’t…they are forbidden…they want each other so bad, but deny it…CHEF’S KISS I SWEAR.
the only thing I didn’t enjoy was poor attempt of doing love triangle…it is so unnecessary. Marcellus was there just to make a mess, I liked some drama but in the end he didn’t bring much into a story besides making elior jealous and that part didn’t really hit me.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Rating - 4.25⭐️
After the death of her mother, Linh unknowingly portals herself into a magical world she never knew existed and finds out the truth of her mother’s heritage. The royal family needs her to save the kingdom by honing her dormant powers with the help of the crown prince who she shares a mysterious connection with.
I really liked the elemental magic system and the world building. There’s a slight cozy vibe but also creepiness since there’s deadly creatures and some gruesome scenes but not too graphic. I think this would be the perfect autumn/winter read.
The author was quite creative with the magic abilities imo. I really liked seeing each mage showcase their elemental magic. The propaganda and censorship had a strong presence so it made the plot quite an intriguing mystery which had me locked in. The world building with the different hybrid creatures was one of my fav aspects! And talking creatures mixed with technology was pretty cool too.
The characters, particularly Linh, Elior, Marcellus and Hal were so entertaining when put in a room together. Some of the dry humour was making me wheeze (I’m looking at you Marcellus) and I was not expecting it at all. He is so adorable and so precious to me (can you tell he’s my fav?). There’s a subplot of some forbidden/star-crossed romance between Linh and Elior that’s sweet but also filled with some good tension that had me going “will they or won’t they?”.
After the death of her mother, Linh unknowingly portals herself into a magical world she never knew existed and finds out the truth of her mother’s heritage. The royal family needs her to save the kingdom by honing her dormant powers with the help of the crown prince who she shares a mysterious connection with.
I really liked the elemental magic system and the world building. There’s a slight cozy vibe but also creepiness since there’s deadly creatures and some gruesome scenes but not too graphic. I think this would be the perfect autumn/winter read.
The author was quite creative with the magic abilities imo. I really liked seeing each mage showcase their elemental magic. The propaganda and censorship had a strong presence so it made the plot quite an intriguing mystery which had me locked in. The world building with the different hybrid creatures was one of my fav aspects! And talking creatures mixed with technology was pretty cool too.
The characters, particularly Linh, Elior, Marcellus and Hal were so entertaining when put in a room together. Some of the dry humour was making me wheeze (I’m looking at you Marcellus) and I was not expecting it at all. He is so adorable and so precious to me (can you tell he’s my fav?). There’s a subplot of some forbidden/star-crossed romance between Linh and Elior that’s sweet but also filled with some good tension that had me going “will they or won’t they?”.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
doomed charactrers, an absolutely mesmerizing fantasy with the most interesting magic systems and all of this in the backdrop of very ghibli-esque worlds, seen through the lens of one grieving girl facing the horrors on the daily. miss allie when i catch you!!! (the nightmare material in here is crazy T-T) full rtc
Read
September 15, 2026Current rating: 3.75 stars
I was immediately hooked when I saw the author's social media posts promoting this book, and it quickly became one of my most anticipated 2026 releases! Unfortunately, I think I got a little too excited and had my expectations a little too high, so my reading experience is on me.
Starting with the positives, the magic system really intrigued me and I'm looking forward to seeing more of it in the sequel! Same goes for the world building.
I really liked Linh's character and had a pretty entertaining time following her as she landed in this unknown world and learned about her powers and family lore. Some of the other characters also piqued my interest, like Marcellus and some others (no spoilers) who I didn't necessarily like, but am intrigued by their roles in the story. I'm honestly surprised that I didn't care for Elior as much as I thought I would and left feeling neutral about the romance/like I could have gone without it. Sorry to all the Elior fans.
One other thing that both increased and decreased my enjoyment of this book was that it felt nostalgic in a way. It was slightly reminscent of these dreams I had years ago that had these random details that were just thrown in, and I don't know why, but some of the minor world building details in BoS felt like that?? It also reminded me a bit of this middle grade fantasy series that I used to love, and I was inadvertently comparing BoS to it while reading, which made me feel kind of bad. I will say that despite enjoying the world building in that series more, tbf it has way more books and also Linh is a more complex character!!
I'm still interested in seeing where this series goes! When book 2 comes out, I might reread this and hopefully I'll enjoy it more!
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!
I was immediately hooked when I saw the author's social media posts promoting this book, and it quickly became one of my most anticipated 2026 releases! Unfortunately, I think I got a little too excited and had my expectations a little too high, so my reading experience is on me.
Starting with the positives, the magic system really intrigued me and I'm looking forward to seeing more of it in the sequel! Same goes for the world building.
I really liked Linh's character and had a pretty entertaining time following her as she landed in this unknown world and learned about her powers and family lore. Some of the other characters also piqued my interest, like Marcellus and some others (no spoilers) who I didn't necessarily like, but am intrigued by their roles in the story. I'm honestly surprised that I didn't care for Elior as much as I thought I would and left feeling neutral about the romance/like I could have gone without it. Sorry to all the Elior fans.
One other thing that both increased and decreased my enjoyment of this book was that it felt nostalgic in a way. It was slightly reminscent of these dreams I had years ago that had these random details that were just thrown in, and I don't know why, but some of the minor world building details in BoS felt like that?? It also reminded me a bit of this middle grade fantasy series that I used to love, and I was inadvertently comparing BoS to it while reading, which made me feel kind of bad. I will say that despite enjoying the world building in that series more, tbf it has way more books and also Linh is a more complex character!!
I'm still interested in seeing where this series goes! When book 2 comes out, I might reread this and hopefully I'll enjoy it more!
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Did Not Finish
October 27, 2026dnf @ 15%
genuinely could not get into this story. The plot was not executed well. Readers are not brought into the story in a good way, so I did not feel like I was escaping reality (which to me is why I read). Because I could not connect to the storyline/plot, I felt very bored. The characters were also very dry and dull.
genuinely could not get into this story. The plot was not executed well. Readers are not brought into the story in a good way, so I did not feel like I was escaping reality (which to me is why I read). Because I could not connect to the storyline/plot, I felt very bored. The characters were also very dry and dull.
June 18, 2025
I read the first draft of Blood of Silver and it was already perfect then. I can't wait to see the edits, but these characters and world are wonderful and Allie is absolutely the new fantasy writer to be watching out for.
November 2, 2026
4 stars. this was one of my highly anticipated releases of the year after stumbling onto marketing for it on Instagram/TikTok. i was drawn in by the premise, the beautiful artwork of Linh and Elinor, and by the tropes advertised. it's toted as Ghibli inspired, but i think its much more akin to vibes in Princess Mononoke more than Ghibli itself as a whole. when something is said to be "Ghibli inspired," i imagine something extremely cozy and whimsical, which this was most definitely not. this is a fairly high stakes, fast moving fantasy story with a unique magic system and an anti-hero FMC. Linh, as a character, was interesting to read and it was fun being inside of her head. some of her commentary is hilarious, though i found her a bit unlikeable at the start of the book. the romance with Elinor was fun to watch develop, even if it isn't a pivotal part of the plot. the writing was solid, the worldbuilding was fairly strong, and i felt like the plot flowed very well. the cliffhanger was well done and i'm very curious to see where the next book goes! if you like fantasy with a splash of romance on the side, this is definitely for you.
thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
August 7, 2026
3.75 rounded up for Goodreads and Netgalley.
A solid young-adult romantasy, despite some flaws. The first half and the second half of this book were quite different. The first half definitely focused more on the main character and her love interest. From the start, the implication of who the love interest was was clear. A little too clear maybe. The attraction between the two was instant, unfortunately. Despite what’s written in the synopsis, it was absolutely not a slow-burn romance. This was disappointing, honestly. I don’t understand why the romance was so rushed. Also, I didn’t really believe in their chemistry; they don’t feel very compatible, and too different. She was determined and had plans of her own while he also did, and the plans did not align. There was also the fact that he was always trying to touch her and that was rather uncomfortable to read. Given the time they’ve known each other and the fact that they don’t know much about each other at all, it felt icky. Another thing I did not like very much was the underage drinking.
Fortunately, the second half was much better and gripped me. It was more focused on the main character and her own story and her family. And that was really interesting. The plot thickened and gave the readers some stong moments. The creatures and the world-building were also more explored. And the romance faded a little bit, which was pleasant. The love interest was a less present and more characters stood out, which allowed more relationships to develop (and they were the most interesting relationships of the book). Linh’s character was more developed, she grew more by herself and she showed her determination and her strength. It definitely improved my rating and my reading experience. If there’s only one thing I would have liked, it’s more of the relationship between Linh and her mother. It was such a big part of Linh’s character.
The book felt a little bit unbalanced but because the second half was so engaging it did not bother me. I definitely recommend it.
Thank you to Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for a honest review.
A solid young-adult romantasy, despite some flaws. The first half and the second half of this book were quite different. The first half definitely focused more on the main character and her love interest. From the start, the implication of who the love interest was was clear. A little too clear maybe. The attraction between the two was instant, unfortunately. Despite what’s written in the synopsis, it was absolutely not a slow-burn romance. This was disappointing, honestly. I don’t understand why the romance was so rushed. Also, I didn’t really believe in their chemistry; they don’t feel very compatible, and too different. She was determined and had plans of her own while he also did, and the plans did not align. There was also the fact that he was always trying to touch her and that was rather uncomfortable to read. Given the time they’ve known each other and the fact that they don’t know much about each other at all, it felt icky. Another thing I did not like very much was the underage drinking.
Fortunately, the second half was much better and gripped me. It was more focused on the main character and her own story and her family. And that was really interesting. The plot thickened and gave the readers some stong moments. The creatures and the world-building were also more explored. And the romance faded a little bit, which was pleasant. The love interest was a less present and more characters stood out, which allowed more relationships to develop (and they were the most interesting relationships of the book). Linh’s character was more developed, she grew more by herself and she showed her determination and her strength. It definitely improved my rating and my reading experience. If there’s only one thing I would have liked, it’s more of the relationship between Linh and her mother. It was such a big part of Linh’s character.
The book felt a little bit unbalanced but because the second half was so engaging it did not bother me. I definitely recommend it.
Thank you to Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for a honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
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