Amber Eyes Review

About the Book

Destiny can be cruel
Darkness retreated from the light of the scarlet moon, but has since grown even stronger. The Mistress of Shadows has found a new pawn—one that may be the key to unlocking the door to her underground prison. Now evil threatens to escape its shackles and destroy the land.

In the aftermath of loss and betrayal, Jayden’s fight with the enemy still isn’t over. But while she isn’t sure she can stop the Mistress alone, leaving her friends might be the only way to keep them from being consumed by the darkness.

With lives hanging in the balance—and no time for error—can Jayden make the right choice?

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My Review

I have mixed feeling on Amber Eyes. The first book, Scarlet Moon didn’t really grab me. There’s nothing particular I disliked, but neither did the concept intrigue me, or the characters grab at my heart. With Amber Eyes, I started out feeling the same, but as it went on, I found myself loving more of the situations and the characters.

It is a complex story, with many different threads and characters. Sometimes I didn’t fully follow everything, though that’s probably because I didn’t remember Scarlet Moon especially well. I probably should have re-read it first, but I couldn’t be bothered and it was a little late by the time my brother mentioned he’s had it checked out of the library for longer than I knew I was reviewing Amber Eyes

The whole Deliverer’s harnessing the power of the Creator to fight against the Mistress if Shadows things is part of what makes me feel a little uncomfortable. I think too much, you see, and try to classify the theology and worlds of the stories I read, and this one is hard to put in a box. It’s not the Christian semi-allegory type of story, and it’s not the type of story where there’s a Christ figure somewhere in its history, or a church at the current time. It’s something else and I don’t understand it. I think it’s taking after more popular fantasy in some ways, but from a Christ influenced angle. But I don’t read the more popular fantasy, so I have little idea what I’m talking about.

The other thing that makes me uncomfortable is the darkness in the story. Because it is dark and violent at points. I know there are reasons to write darker stories, and that the dark can make the light shine brighter, but I don’t have to like it. It’s more than human darkness and it’s not confined to just a small part of the story. It’s not made fun of or laughed over. So, if you can’t take dark stories, I don’t recommend it.

Yet despite all the darkness, there are beautiful moments. There is hope. There is love. There are moments of happiness and heroes rescuing people. There are even the rare humorous moments. There is dancing, and friendship. There is self-sacrifice. I loved this part of it.

As far as magic in this book, there is a few kinds. There are the talents of the Children of the Blood Moon. They’re simply specially abilities they are born with. There is the magic of the healers, Also a born magic, and a self-sacrificing one. There is the magic of various creatures, plants, and beasts. And finally, there is evil. The evil is clear and obvious. That is one thing I like about Amber Eyes. The characters are complex. Characters who are fighting for good don’t always do right. Yet there is always at least a hint that it is wrong. There might be plenty of characters who think the end justifies the means (or plain don’t care if either are good), but that’s certainly not what the book is presenting as true.

I always try to learn something when I read a book. I didn’t get anything big out of Amber Eyes. I can’t even say what the theme is. But I did learn a few little things: A guy can never have too many sisters.  Be honest with your friends. Appearances can be very deceiving. Sword fighting is like dancing. (Really!) Don’t trust evil people, and liars. If you are forced to choose between two dreadful options, don’t blame yourself for the result. You didn’t cause it to happen.

So that’s the book. Read it if it sounds like the kind of book you would like. I can’t deny that it’s well written with well-drawn characters. And it did hook me enough that I will likely read Book Three when it comes out. If I had it now, I know I would. I doubt I would read it a second time, but I do want to know where the story ends.

 

About the Author

S.D. Grimm’s first love in writing is young adult fantasy and science fiction. She is represented by Julie Gwinn of the Seymour Agency and author of SCARLET MOON. She currently has four books under contract, including the remainder of her YA fantasy series Children of the Blood Moon. When she’s not writing or editing, Sarah enjoys reading (of course!), practicing kickboxing and Brazilian jiu jitsu, training dogs, and binge-watching shows with great characters. Her office is anywhere she can curl up with her laptop and at least one large-sized dog. You can learn more about her upcoming novels at www.sdgrimm.com.

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Facebook Launch Party

Calling all book readers! Join author S.D. Grimm as we chat about her fantasy novel Amber Eyes on January 30th from 8 PM to 11 PM EST (6 PM CDT and 5 PM PST).

Grab your favorite drink and snack and be prepared for a fun time of chatting with SD, games, and giveaways.

Special guests Nadine Brandes, Lindsay A. Franklin, and Sara Baysinger will also be sharing their books and joining in the fun.

RSVP Today

 

Giveaway

Want to dive into a new world? Enter to win a signed copy of both Amber Eyes and Scarlet Moon, a grimmlie dragon of the dragon on the cover (made by the author), a charm bracelet (made by her Captain America), and a $10 amazon gift card. (US only. Sorry!)

>>> Entry-Form <<<

 

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, January 22nd

Tuesday, January 23rd

Wednesday, January 24th

Thursday, January 25th

Friday, January 26th

Saturday, January 27th

Monday, January 29th

Tuesday, January 30th

Wednesday, January 31st

Thursday, February 1st

Friday, February 2nd

Saturday, February 3rd

Monday, February 5th

4 Comments

  1. Laura A. Grace

    I loved hearing your thoughts, Brie! I definitely took that a guy could never have too many sisters either. 😉

    Thanks so much for sharing and participating in the blog tour!

    • Brie Donning

      What’s not said in the book is the equal truth that a girl can never have too many brothers. Especially if you’re like Jayden and lost the only brothers you ever knew. The whereabouts of the fourth deliverer is one thing I’m looking forward to in the next book. He is Jayden’s brother and he’s hardly mentioned.

      • Laura A. Grace

        Haha! That’s a good point! I really loved her brothers and sad for how things happened in book one, though I forgot that one of her brothers escaped. (Or at least looked that way.)

        • Brie Donning

          Did one of her brothers escape? (My brother who read it more recently says he doesn’t think so)
          I wasn’t saying the fourth deliverer was one of the brothers she grew up with. Just that he’s out there somewhere and is her twin.

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