The Sun and Its Shade (The Night and Its Moon, 2)

Unfortunately, access to a publisher does not make the sequel any better than the first installment. This book suffers from a lot of the same issues—repetitive sentences, awkwardly flowery language, no plot, unnatural characterization, irrelevant info dumping—any of which might be forgivable on their own, but combine to constantly distract from the story. The only reason it gets 2 stars is because the seeds of an interesting story are present, but they are so overshadowed in garbage writing and a desperate need for harsh editing that they have not been given room to blossom. As I received an ARC, I feel that reading this for free was fine as the story was mildly entertaining (as was getting to laugh at some of the phrases used), but the writing is just not up to basic industry standards and is not worth $18.

I got an arc of this and tried my hardest to read this book in the name of posting an honest review. But I couldn’t. I thought the author would have taken the constructive criticism she received in the last book and used it to make this book even better than the first one. And that just didn’t happen. At all. ::spoilers ahead:: Both Amaris and Nox are extremely unlikable characters for me. I couldn’t feel any kind of connection to them other than annoyance. Which is absolutely not how you should feel when reading a book (unless they’re a villain then I guess it’s ok? It’s not ok here). Both were childish characters that were written in almost the exact same voice. If not for the male characters in any given scene I wouldn’t know who was actually talking. They’re the same exact character except for a few changes. Amaris continues to not think about Nox at all and Nox continues to pine for Amaris. Amaris still thinks she knows more than anyone else despite being raised in an orphanage and then a cave and literally doesn’t know anything. Nox thinks about Amaris constantly and has a huge disdain for anyone male (except for Malik and Ash because all men; except maybe just these two Amiright?). Amaris gets angry for the stupidest things. She is super angry at Gadriel because he didn’t even call her his friend despite all they’ve been through and then proceeds to give him the silent treatment. Literal silent treatment. She stares at a wall instead of talking to him and when he grabs her she spits in his face. Because he didn’t….call her his friend. What? Nox similarly becomes hyper focused on an axe she killed one monster with (this reminds me of Ledge but ledge was written way better than this book). Then complains when she loses said axe like she can’t just get another one anywhere. It was a wood cutting axe. In the same chapter she starts to complain that it’s raining. That she wants out of the rain. Let’s find a cave! A cave to get warm in. Because it’s raining. AN ENTIRE CHAPTER OF HER BITCHING BECAUSE ITS RAINING. This is where I stopped. I couldn’t do it. I have never been more infuriated with two characters in my entire life and I wasn’t punishing myself more by continuing to read it. Not only that but it’s horribly wordy. In some cases that works for the story. Here is absolutely does not. Piper uses fifty odd words and phrases to describe something when you only needed one sentence. There’s an entire half page description of a Jorōgumo. It was UNNECESSARY. Needless to say I stopped at around 42%. I couldn’t go on and I’m not reading the next book. I’ve seen other reviews of the rest of the book and I’m glad I stopped. I probably would have thrown my kindle across the room when I read that Amaris was immaculately conceived from a woman of color and that Nox was the heir to both kingdoms and yet the mat...

This series is fantastic. The story line wasn’t something I could anticipate and that made it even better. I am already waiting on book 3. Powerful main characters, magic, adventure, relationships. I highly recommend!

Sheesh, this book is amazing. I was unable to put it down. Its amazing. It brought me tears, laughter, happiness and sadness. I cannot wait for book 3!!!!!!!!! I've been in a cloud ever since I finished it. Like I'm unsure what to do with my life until the next one is released.

Piper weaves relationships with the skill of a master painter. I have seldom encountered such deft explorations of the inner passions of the characters. And her plotting is exquisitely beautiful, bringing us alternately to joy and despair, but never letting us go. The tale is far from over and I can't wait to see how this author navigates the treacherous shoals ahead.