[Book Review] Beyond A Darkened Shore by Jessica Leake

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.

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"There is greatness in you, Ciara of Mide, beyond even what you have accomplished so far. It matters where your power comes from."

I am so happy that I picked this one up on a whim because it was so good! I didn't know too much about it other than what the synopsis provided and I am really glad I went into the story without a lot of information. It made the reading experience such a fun one. 

"Demon, they called me in their minds. Changeling. Cursed. And every time I took hold of someone's mind, I wondered if perhaps they were right."

Ciara, our main character, is such a strong badass warrior. She isn't the most experience fighter, but you wouldn't know that solely based on her confidence and determination to protect her people with her abilities. She is also heavily judged and hated by her people for the abilities she possesses, and even with all of that negativity she still wants to keep them safe and she often puts her life in danger for them despite it all. Leif, the secondary character and love interest is an amazing character. He is incredibly witty and charming while also being this brave warrior. He respects Ciara and her wishes throughout the story and as their journey together progresses he is quickly educated that she can handle herself and you can tell he becomes more and more impressed. This story is kind of enemies to lovers but it's very light on the "enemies" aspect. They're enemies in the technical term, but there is more bickering and flirting. They definitely are more enemies in the beginning but it doesn't last very long and I assume it's because this is a standalone fantasy novel so we had to move things along. I didn't mind this, but I do think they became civil fairly quickly. 

"Who knew you Northmen were so delicate?"

"We're as fragile as petals." 

I really enjoyed Jessica Leake's writing style. The story is set in Ireland and the imagery of Ireland in this book is absolutely stunning. The action scenes are easy to follow but also fast paced and exciting. I have issues forming pictures in my mind, especially if the action scenes are a bit muddy and hard to read, and I didn't have any issues when it came to forming pictures in my mind while reading Beyond A Darkened Shore. The relationship between Ciara and Leif develops naturally and is incredibly swoon worthy. Most of the time while I read books with romances I always find something I don't like about the romance. I am picky with romances because I don't like toxic or problematic romance tropes that are often used. Especially if the man (one of the men) in the romance is super masculine and "tough" because I hate toxic masculinity. However, I couldn't find anything wrong with Ciara and Leif's romance. I really loved their back and forth. It was funny, charming, romantic, and also it felt fresh and new. Also, this story revolves around Norse and Celtic mythology, and I think it was written really clearly. I wasn't too confused and it was incredibly digestible for someone like me who is still actively learning about different mythologies. 

My only real issue with Beyond a Darkened Shore was the pacing being a bit off. I started this book the day before it was due at the library so I had no choice but to push through but there were moments where if I put it down, I think I would struggle to pick it up again. I don't think it was super daunting or extreme, but I could understand the criticism with the pacing in the book. I never felt bored, but I also was being a bit timed when it came to finishing the book before I had to return it. 

"This is my fight Leif." He grinned. 

"I appreciate your efforts to emasculate me so early in our relationship, but you know I cannot resist a battle."  

Overall, I highly recommend this book! I love reading well written and fully formed standalone fantasy novels. I read Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young earlier this year and absolutely loved it, and this reminded me so much of it. Both are fantasy standalone novels around different mythologies. They're both well written and I think they end well. If you like one you'll probably like the other one and if you haven't read either I recommend both! 

Thanks for reading!