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In this sweeping fantasy adventure, an elven druid undertakes a journey of self-discovery and faces an ancient enemy that threatens to throw her world into chaos. For millennia the land of Amarra was guarded by five Druid Orders: Jade, Ice, Spirit, Sky, and Sun. But the clans splintered long ago, and without their protection, Amarra is struggling in the face of blighted crops, monstrous aberrations, and pitiless pirate raids. As the daughter of Amarra's High Druid, Kiana Paletine is certain that if the Orders were reestablished, peace and plenty would follow. But no one agrees--not even her own father. Tired of the politics and eager to make a difference in the world, Kiana sets out to enlist the help of her estranged sister, Ravaini. Soon a series of visions begins to haunt her, and Kiana learns of an ancient druidic artifact called the Shiver Seed. This powerful relic has fallen into the hands of the malevolent Deep Ones, who seek to use the Seed for their own nefarious purposes. If Kiana can find the lost Ice Druids, she may be able to retake the Seed and save the clans--but if the druids fall to the Deep Ones, all of Amarra will be in danger.
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I had high hopes for this book; the cover is lovely, the blurb sounded interesting, and it's in a genre I usually enjoy. Unfortunately it turned out to not be quite my thing, though it does have its good aspects (I particularly enjoyed some of the details around how the druids' magic worked). The world seemed unfocused and overstuffed to me, with not enough time to truly explore all of its threads and storylines. The prose was wordy and sometimes a bit overwrought, and often told the audience information when showing might work better.
Ultimately, I would describe this as a first offering by an author who shows a lot of promise, but may need more experience and editing to better polish future works.
(I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)