Review: Beyond a Darkened Shore by Jessica Leake

Hey all, Dani here.

So today’s review is another one of those backlist reviews that I’ve been meaning to write for quite some time. I went on Goodreads to see when I read this book…August 2018, so a year and a half ago, which is ridiculous. Thankfully I had written a few sentences worth of review on that site, but I’m still just going to go ahead and apologize for this not being as high quality of a review as my usual ones.

But considering how I felt about this book, perhaps it is about time for a re-read to refresh my memory. That might be a nice experience.

Anyway, let’s go ahead and jump into the review.

Book Details

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 435

Publisher: Harper Teen

Publication Date: April 10, 2018

ISBN: 0062666266 (ISBN13: 9780062666260)

Summary

The ancient land of Éirinn is mired in war. Ciara, Princess of Mide, has never known a time when Éirinn’s kingdoms were not battling for power, or Northmen were not plundering their shores.

The people of Mide have thankfully always been safe because of Ciara’s unearthly ability to control her enemies’ minds and actions. But lately, a mysterious crow has been appearing to Ciara, whispering warnings of an even darker threat. Although her clansmen dismiss her visions as pagan nonsense, Ciara fears this coming evil will destroy not just Éirinn, but the entire world.

Then the crow leads Ciara to Leif, a young Northman leader. Leif should be Ciara’s enemy, but when Ciara discovers that he, too, shares her prophetic visions, she knows he’s something more. Leif is mounting an impressive army, and with Ciara’s strength in battle the two might have a chance to save their world.

With evil rising around them, they’ll do what it takes to defend the land they love…even if it means making the greatest sacrifice of all.

My Thoughts

Rating: 5 stars

Oh my goodness…I loved this book so much. All the myths and legends in it were outstanding, and I thought the main characters were absolutely compelling. I don’t know how many times I would come to the end of a chapter and have to look up from the book just to process and think to myself “wow, that was a great chapter.” I definitely can’t wait to read more from Jessica Leake in the future.

Actually Jessica Leake had another book come out in 2019 and the cover design was similar enough to link the two books, though they take place in different locals and feature different characters. The books are not listed as being part of the same series, but perhaps they could be companions. Even if they aren’t, I already own the book and would like to read it soon.

Man, my couple sentences of Goodreads review sell me on this book…and I’ve already read it once. I just sadly have read so many books in the past couple years that I don’t remember everything from all of them. I do know that looking at the book makes me feel happy, so I know that I enjoyed my reading experience. It’s also why books like this have survived a few shelf weeds for my book unhauls.

I do remember that I enjoyed the writing style, and that I thought the magic was done in an interesting way. It was as if my mind and thoughts had been captivated and I was compelled to keep reading. It definitely had sort of a historical fantasy feel to it.

All I can say is that I enjoyed this book, and I’m of the mindset that I need to read it again…hopefully sometime in the near future.

Where to Get a Copy

You can grab your own copy of this book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local independent bookstore through IndieBound.

You can also check with your local library.