Dancing On Their Tails: A Novel

When she's trying to survive by pretending to be a boy she meets up with Rhen, a prince who's onto a plot to destroy his family. It was described Read all my reviews on http: It was described as A Game of Thrones which is very dangerous as it sets the expectations very high without even having started the book.

I don't think it lives up to that claim. It is far less political perhaps this will be more in the later books , and more of a standard YA fantasy where two teenagers need to save the kingdom, both with a secret one of them actually is a girl, the other a prince. While I don't think it was the most memorable story, it was enjoyable to read.

This being said, the shadow thing that is roaming around is actually quite interesting, so I'm curious to find out where that is going. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! This took a bit to get into after reading the prequel first. I really liked Jin's character but she is too secretive for her own good. She needed to try to trust someone but even Rhen who saves her, opens up his secrets she is silent.

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It takes a while to understand her relation to spirits in this too. Rhen I really liked. He too, wore a mask to the world. But he is a deeply caring, brave person with lots of depth. There seem to be a couple things This took a bit to get into after reading the prequel first. There seem to be a couple things going on in this book and it was interesting to see how they each had their own agenda with the switching or perspectives. Jul 26, Melanie rated it liked it Shelves: The Shadow Soul was a good fantasy read. After reading the prequel I was really looking forward to continuing the series and this book did not disappoint.

I liked the characters and found the story fascinating. There were a few moments where the story didn't hold my attention, but the ending made up for that. I'm undecided on whether or not I will continue the series As she prepares for what should be one of the proudest moments in her life, she finds herself bound to darkness -- a shadow that moves from her waking dreams into her reality and steals everything from her. She is found by a prince of the new world who shuns his royal standing, preferring adventure.

He too is bound to the spirits, but unlike Jinji, his people fear such magic. Danger and secrets bind the two together as Jinji seeks answers and vengeance against the shadow that killed her people, while Prince Rhen tries to uncover a plot against his kingdom before it's too late. The chapters flip back and forth between the two characters' points of view. Davis takes the time to dig deep into the their thoughts and actions, such that, by the end of the book when the action and intrigue picks up the pace, their separate perspectives are so well woven.

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Even when the chapters duplicate scenes, the emotional weight from each perspective adds so much more to the moment. Considering what Jinji has lost, Davis does a good job of keeping Jinji focused on that pain, as would be expected after such tragedy, without letting her pain drag the story down. There are times when it seems like Jinji is losing that focus as she gets more and more wrapped up in Rhen's situation, but Davis brings it back and around to tie both their fates together.

However, when things do come together in the end, there are some pacing and detail issues that become lost due to the focus on Jinji and Rhen's perspectives alone.

The political issues and the war itself become lost in the periphery because of this, which would lead to disappointment to anyone who accepted the book's claim that it is like Game of Thrones in any way. Further, it is wonderful to have a female protagonist of colour, and her introduction and the introduction to her culture is beautifully detailed.

But the book stumbles in having that character's entire people obliterated shortly after and having the only other people of colour villainized. There are some issues with editing and pacing that are to be expected from a new author, but the story itself is sound and the characters are strong and endearing, so much so that when I finished reading The Shadow Soul, I promptly purchased the sequel, which is always a good sign!

On to the next novella!!! I would like to know more about Orthuri and it's customs, maybe I will discover some less barbaric customs in this book than were revealed in the prequel in the Kings treatment of his daughter and her personal guard. The cover's main element is a female depicted as a dark daunting shadow figure that appears to be brandishing a dagger of some sort.

So the cover seems to be promising plenty of action? Would the cover make me pick up the book from a bookstore shelf? I'd say yes, but in totally honesty I would be picking up the book on the assumption from the cover that my daughter may like the book. The cover makes me think the books may be like the Sarah J. Maas series Throne Of Glass. Jinji has awoken early and gone to her secret place out in the forest to enjoy the peace and quiet before the preparations begin for the ceremony.

She is still in a relaxed peaceful state when her best friend Leoa finds her. Jinji's mother has sent her to tell Jinji it is time to prepare. Leoa has brought the luxurious, white furs and skins.

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The two girls hear a scream and rush off to investigate. Leoa is the faster runner so ahead of Jinji. Jinji then see's the person who has killed her friend, it is Manuik! Manuick the very man who should be protecting her but there is something odd about his eyes. It's as if he is possessed..

The other point of view this book is told from is that of Prince Whylrhen the somewhat wayward third son of the King of Whyl. Rhen is a "spare" rather than a true "heir" to the Whyl throne. Rhen has the reputation of being a carefree, ladies man, the truth is however totally different from that. Rhen is doing what turns out to be more important than anyone could have thought it would be including himself. We follow Rhen meeting Jinji or rather Jin as Jinji has woven the spirits she can control and changed or masked her face to look like her deceased brother Janu.

Though she has woven the image of his face she cannot bear to sully his name by using it herself as a lie, so she shortens her own name and continues to be disguised as a boy named Jin throughout the majority of this book. Jin does not trust Rhen for some time and initially hides her "spirit weaving" from Rhen, she also keeps her spirit woven mask on so Rhen thinks she is male.

Having said that Rhen is highly reluctant to reveal that he is in fact a Prince. So they are both hiding things and keeping secrets from each other. Even when they become closer and Jin can she a fire element spirit weaving around Rhen as well as through travelling together, Jin keeps up the pretense of being male. Rhen does not discuss his "gift" either not trusting in it himself to speak to anyone or admit he has this affinity with fire. His "gift" ends up becoming extrmemly useful and in fact life saving at one point in the book.

Rhen chooses to kind of commandeer a ship. Captain Pygott, in charge of the ship allows Rhen to join the ship on it's trips as and when he wants. Rhen has used this regularly to escape his royal duties or "burdens" is perhaps more accurate as to how Rhen views the Royal part of his life. Captain Pygott has been a more "down to earth" accessible father figure to Rhen. Captain Pygott, Rhen and Jin and the rest of the crew learn the truth about the unmarked ships sailing in the seas near to Whyl. There is a fight between an unmarked ship that turns out to be Ourthurian , it is during a fight between the two ships that Jin accidentally reveals some of the extent of the spirit weaving gift she has.

I really could rattle on forever about this book, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book from beginning to end. For example at the end of a chapter told from the point of view of Rhen there will be a little cliff hanger or things you're just not quite told, then the point of view will switch to Jin's and some of the things that happened in Rhen's chapter may be re-told from her point of view but go on a little further in time. I loved the characters.

I specifically adored Jin, her constant battles with her inner demons, and her strong cultural beliefs that she cannot and will not forget her Arapapjo heritage and all it stands for. The relationship between Jin and Rhen begins as friends, and they then grow to confidantes and then an almost brotherly relationship. So did I enjoy this book? I adored the book and it's characters.

Would I recommend this book? Would I want to read more in this series? I intend to purchase, download and read the next novella "The Silver Key" straight away! Would I read other titles by this author? Yes once I've read all that's available in this series I'll be checking out Kaitlyn's other titles. Mar 14, Sarah rated it really liked it Shelves: Um yeah, what should I say It was a free ebook so I was glad to have something while I was traveling up and down the US east coast, but nonetheless, I feel like the story could have been more intruiging Feb 26, Gabriela rated it it was ok Shelves: Mixed feelings about this.

The Shadow Soul (A Dance of Dragons, #1) by Kaitlyn Davis

The plot is interesting and it flows nicely, the writing is decent and it has some good elements but I can't really recommend it because of the following factors: The three socieies were thinly disguised from real life ones, the Arpapajos are inspired by a Native American society, Rhen is a prince in a kingdom similar to a medieval European one and the Ourthuro seemed to be inspired in an African tribe.

The Ourthuros Kindle freebie. The Ourthuros are considered the villains in this story but the reason is never explained. Their characterization is reduced to black skin, being naked and tattoos and their behavior is very similar to all the negative stereotypes of black people. Having said that, there are some criticism to the colonial practices and prejudice that the Arpapajos suffered. There are some mentions to the dangers and vulnerability that Jinjin has to deal with because she is a woman. On the other hand, Rhen drugs women.

He thinks it's a necessary action to secure the kingdom via a reputation of womanizer. His behavior is never criticized and he never thinks the possible consequences of "ruining" these women in the society they live because he lives gold. I don't agree that it doesn't matter only because he doesn't "do the deed". Rhen is supposed to be charming and tormented but is poorly developed as a character.

Jinjin is far more interesting because she has a real conflict in the story. They are supposed to be friendly since the beginning but I only felt that the relatioship had some depth after Rhen shares his secret. I read the blurb for the next novel and, even if it seems there are some interesting parts, there aren't enough to convince me to read the sequel.

I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was pretty skeptical. But I set that skepticism aside when I read the blurb because despite the overly aggrandizing opening the rest of it sounded pretty good.

I will clear up one thing first: However, it is still a good story in its own right. The thing that really stood out to me is Jinji, the female main character. She sees her whole tribe wiped out by the man she loves who was possessed by what she calls the shadow and then is nearly killed in an attack later.

Both of these characters get page time in their respective points of view. The chapters tend to alternate but it never really feels confusing since both of them have very, very different voices. Rhen is more brash and loud but you can really tell he has the best interests of his family in his heart the whole time. Having them travel together was a good idea because it forced two very different personalities to get along, all the while holding back secrets from the other person. The world-building was good but it never really had that wow factor.

And it was nice to see Jinji struggle to keep some of her traditions alive, even if the rest of the people in the kingdom frown upon her culture. In essence, it reveals a lot of the modern attitudes toward native peoples and one of the great things about fantasy is that it can hold a mirror up to our own world for us to examine.

I must admit that despite all of the deserved praise of this book, there was one part that I had to struggle through immensely: The plot itself was not bad even if it was a little predictable because Kaitlyn Davis used pretty familiar fantasy tropes. However, the pacing was brutal in the beginning. Some authors could describe a peanut butter sandwich to you and it would be fascinating see: Rose, Kristin Cashore, George R. After that it was pretty exciting and I had to keep reading to find out what would happen next, but the beginning was quite hard to get through.

Would I recommend it to most fantasy-lovers? Probably because there were some interesting plot twists, particularly toward the end. I give this book 3. Just not interesting enough for me. Filled with hidden demons Yep, I'm already done with this book. There was just something about this storyline that kept me hooked.

Once I sat down to read it, I just couldn't stop. Kaitlyn Davis knows how to write a good story. She was able to create to distinct point of view that even if you removed the name you knew exactly who was narrating that passage. Jinji's narration was very mystical and spiritual. She felt very connected to nature and the elements around her.

You can just tell from the Filled with hidden demons Yep, I'm already done with this book. You can just tell from the way she speaks about the world around her. Of course having the abilities that she does could be part of the reason I felt like she was so connected to nature, but, no, there is more to it.

Rhen, on the other hand, was more like a city boy, looking at things through logic and reasoning. He is intelligent, clever enough to create a fake persona to hide his true workings as a spymaster. I loved how strongly their personalities came across through Kaitlyn Davis' writing.

Beautifully developed, their character growths were exciting to watch. I especially loved reading from Jinji's point of view. Her upbringing and "oldworlder" influenced was wonderful to read. Her people will forever be with her, guiding her through life, not stopping her. Rhen's background was also interesting to learn about. He was a third son of a king, not commonly in many fantasies. I enjoyed reading about how this affected him. Most people forgot about him, thought him almost worthless, even his own father. To see this family dynamic was interesting, but what was more intriguing was the way Rhen acted towards this treatment.

Rather than let resentment or anger build up, he seemed to almost flourish and enjoy the invisible power he was granted. He could be a spymaster as a prince because no one truly bothered to watch him. To them, he was the spoiled, lady-loving third son of the king. All in all, the story was a brilliant and engaging piece of literature that I would recommend to fantasy lovers.

However, I will warn you that it is a series so don't expect everything to end happily ever after in this first installment. I have to say I love Kaitlyn Davis and her books. Once again Kaitlyn is able to grab the reader with just a few words. Honestly I was also a little scared. This is about a girl who is raised in what we would call a Native American tribe.

That being said the only real Native American feel is at the beginning. And again, this book is completely different from the other so my discomfort was mis-founded, thankfully so! This story starts and the magic that surrounds Jinji is immediately seen. Jinji is an amazing girl of such strength. And there are surprises in this. More cliffhangers Kaitlyn, really?! And in her blog post she answers with this: Sorry about that last cliff-hanger.

Dances with Wolves

Well, no, not really. But, seriously, I love you guys. This was so good!!!! I already thought that the title and the cover was amazing so I was prepared. Obviously the two chapters were confusing as it introduced an entirely new world, new customs, and new religions, but it easily transitioned into the story, the setting artfully intergraded into the beginning plot.

This book is a split perspective which really added to the story. Dare I say it, I almost liked the boys perspective better. Rhen is amazing because he is a prince with a womanizing drunk This was so good!!!! Rhen is amazing because he is a prince with a womanizing drunk third brother image, but that is not even close. Despite what his family thinks, he is the "spymaster" able to use said image to get the information on a coming war that nobody but him believes is going to happen. Then there is Jinji, whose left without a home and taken in by Rhen, during his travels.

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