Book: Ties of Shadow by Alora Carter
Reviewed by Your_bookish_fantasy
Rating: 4.5/5
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๐ป๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ง๐๐๐จ ๐ ๐- TIES OF SHADOW
โ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ค-
๐ฃ ๐ก๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ Vanessa Moyen
(out of 5 stars, my rating scale is at the end)
๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.25/ 5
๐ก๏ธ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ถ/ 5 clean YA
โ๏ธ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น- >>>๐<<<
๐: ๐ถ๐ข๐ก๐๐ ๐ฆ ๐ ๐ก๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐: ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ฆ โ๏ธ: แตแตแตสฐสฐสฐ หขแตแตแตแตสธ แตแตแตแตหกแตโขโขโข ๐: ๐
๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ MฬถEฬถNฬถUฬถ ๐ณ -๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ !!
โ ๏ธ: PอIอTอCอHอ FอCอuอKอIอNอGอ BอLอAอCอKอ!
๐๐๐ช ๐๐๐๐ :
โข๐# 292 ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐
๐ง 8๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ 51๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐๐ฒ๐ (I ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ 1.45 ๐๐๐๐๐)
โข๐๐ผ๐ ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐? 1 day
โข# dual ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฉ / # ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
โข๐ฅ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ-11 April 2025 - 2 Dec 2025 for the audiobook
โข๐ฃ๐น๐ผ๐ or ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ driven? A MIX
โข๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ก๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ & ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐ป๐ผ- STANDALONE set in the same world -Tethered Hearts 8 books
โข๐๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ on ๐๐จ? โ
โข๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ- med
โข๐ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ? Sadly no
โข๐๐ป๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป? (Disability, plus size, mental health etc...) โ
MORAL STORY
โ๐โ๐โ๐ผ๐
๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐ค & ๐น๐๐ฅ๐ฃ๐๐ช๐๐๐ค
๐ฎ๐๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฐ ๐๐ซ๐ก ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฐ
โ๏ธโโฏ๐พ๐ ๐โด ๐๐ฝโฏ ๐๐ฝ๐โด๐โฏ
๐ฉโโค๏ธโ๐จ๐ต๐๐๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐๐๐
๐ฅ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง
๐๐ป๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ก
๐ก ๐๐ฃ๐๐ข๐๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ค๐ซ๐๐ง๐จ
โ ๏ธ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐...
๐บ๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐น๐ฌ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ ๐๐, ๐ณ๐ฐ๐บ๐ป๐ฌ๐ต ๐๐ ๐๐?
(๐โ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ก- ๐ต๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ด๐ข๐๐๐?)
Either would give you a great experience
๐ธ๐ฆ๐๐๐ ๐น๐ ๐ ๐ โ๐๐ง๐๐๐จ:
The narrator did a great job of this, she was very well cast! I truly enjoyed listening to the audio.
๐ ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐จ๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐:
This is a real YA read with no spice, itโs very romantic and a beautiful story with a touch of darkness to take it away from the cute side of YA.
The world building was absolutely fantastic! The setting fit the story and the audio narrator really brought the world to life . The magic system was especially good, and the way that the characters interpreted the magic and the prophecy was really intriguing.
The writing style was so easy to fall into and follow along. Itโs genuinely so cleverly written, heartwarming and romantic that it was an absolute pleasure to read and left me feeling warm and fuzzy afterwards. This was my first read by Alora Carter and now I am a very big fan of this author!
One of my fave parts of this book was how exceptional the animal companions were!
I love how one type of magic allowed the weirder to speak to the animals, and then that gave us some really funny animal sidekicks!
The author wrote this like an adult Disney story, with a morale at the end along with lessons throughout. The main theme was all about people pleasing and how itโs not actually a good thing to do, Never lose sight of who you are. This is a cautionary tale about the dangers of being a people pleaser and refusing to set healthy boundaries for ourselves. mixed with an undercurrent of โthings arenโt always as they seemโ so donโt judge a book by its cover, particularly when it came to good vs evil and how itโs easy to jump to a conclusion without all the facts. Stir in a dash of enchanting side characters, magic, mysteries and, of course, talking animals and you have this book!
โDarkness isnโt evil. Darkness is a cozy blanket, a safe place to rest. Itโs peace and quietness. Itโs cool water when the world grows too hot. Without the darkness, you cannot see the stars.โ
The โplot twistsโ were a little predictable so they never surprised me (for me at least). HOWEVER, that did not take away from my love of the book! It was a predictable but satisfying read so I still loved it!
๐งโโ๏ธ โ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐ค:
Fully fleshed out loveable characters with great stories and strong but genuine character growth!
Aelias biggest flaw is the fact that she is a people pleaserโฆ she always wants to keep people happy, no matter how cruel they can be to her, but she had amazing character growth!! It was genuinely enjoyable to see her grow out of the prejudices she was taught quickly, and to see her relationship with the Shade grow!
I have a side character or several that I love, but none quite so much as Jamison. THAT LITTLE BAT IS SO SASSY!
I love how the fate mates trope didnโt automatically mean easy ride with a sweet and simple life. It was almost like a real life couple where they each brought out only the best in each other, the lifted one another up and helped to push down dark thoughts and past trauma/memories.
๐ฅ ๐๐๐ช ๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ค๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐ค?
I canโt put my finger on it, it just didnโt hit the mark for my personal taste. I do usually read spicy books so perhaps thatโs what Iโm missing but there is a gap in my experience with this book, something that the story just didnโt quite fill. Perhaps more history on the kingdom would have been good, or more background from the FMC childhood to help pad it out a little and give us more connection to her.
โณ ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฃ๐-๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐?
Absolutely yes I would to both.
๐ชง๐ฝ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฅ๐ค:
This standalone is great for Disney fans, itโs a story of self love, kindness and helping others. Itโs not spicy, kissing only. It was a great audio experience bringing deeper meaning and depth to the plot. I highly recommend the audio.
๐น๐๐๐๐๐ค ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐ ;
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐
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๐๐ช โ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐ช๐ค๐ฅ๐๐๐ค:
โญ๏ธ DNF
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
I managed to finish it but it was rubbish. I won't keep a physical copy and won't recommend it, but it's a shame as the plot could have made a good book in another author's hands
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.5
It was OK. I wish I didn't start this one as it didn't do it for me as I struggled to read it. It had an interesting premise that fell flat but I had to see what happened in the end.
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
I don't regret reading it, and I will read the next one, but this one did have a few flaws. [These could be repetitive writing, gaps or plot holes, better character growth or world building, areas needing more detail]
Generally, the book lacked depth and became confusing. The plot resonated with me even though it annoyed me on the whole.
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.5
I'm glad I read it. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to the right people, but I wanted more! Sadly, it's easily forgettable with a few issues I just couldn't overlook/get past.
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
Good book! I loved it, but... I needed more! I really did enjoy it, but it had a few parts that needed more detail or added history/background or lore. But that's because the story or characters were memorable, and the plot was strong with brilliant twists. I would re-read if I needed to catch up for the next book and would recommend.
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ.5
Great book! I truly wish the story had been thought about more, or the author had been given more time as this book is so close to brilliance! I will likely read again and will definitely be recommending it to all!
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
WOW! Absolutely amazing book! Well written with great characters and a plot so memorable that it will stay with me. I will definitely read this again, I will be recommending it and sharing it with the whole world! Also- I NEED A PHYSICAL COPY!
๐ฅโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ๐ฅ
This is my God level tier. The book must be perfectly memorable. Even after reading 50+ more books, I will remember character names and emotions along with the plot. If there is a special edition, then I need to own it! If there is a conversation on books- I'm talking about this!
SPICE SCALE:
๐ถ๏ธโ segsual language and a little on-page action
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธโ a lot of segsual language and some on-page open door action, may be occurring a couple of times
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธโ a lot of explicit action and dirty talk, occurring frequently with 2/3 lurvers
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ โ super graphic and explicit, occurring 4 or more times, can be more grey and taboo themed.
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ โ Kinks and Fet!shism, explicit and super graphic. It is likely to be tushy play, toys, playrooms, and more dark / taboo fantasies and realities.