Sylvie has always known she deserves more. Out in the permanent twilight of the Dusklands, her guardians called her power to create illusions a curse. But Sylvie knows it gives her a place in Coeur d’Or, the palais of the Amber Empress and her highborn legacies. So Sylvie sets off toward the Amber City, a glittering jewel under a sun that never sets, to take what is hers. But her hope for a … her hope for a better life is quickly dimmed. The empress invites her in only as part of a wicked wager among her powerful courtiers. Sylvie must assume a new name, Mirage, and begin to navigate secretive social circles and deadly games of intrigue in order to claim her spot. Soon it becomes apparent that nothing is as it appears and no one, including her cruel yet captivating sponsor, Sunder, will answer her questions. As Mirage strives to seize what should be her rightful place, she’ll have to consider whether it is worth the price she must pay.
An extraordinary, vividly rendered YA debut.
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This novel was difficult to judge, partly because of the characters and partly due to the pacing of the novel.
Sylvie embarks on this journey to find her roots and find acceptance in her power. She has many scars from the mental, emotional, and physical abuse she suffered at an orphanage, so this has left a dark stain on her soul, which is expected. However, when she finds herself in the Palais, she finds she has traded one toxic environment for another. what is bothersome about this is in the face of adversity, instead of thriving despite the toxic environment, Sylvie thrives because of it. Now maybe that was not Selene’s intent regarding her writing, but that is the tone the narrative took which is off-putting for a protagonist meant to be the heroine of the story.
Now, there are times where her humanity and compassion come through, but then there are times when Sylvie’s narrative is rather harsh, a bit narcissistic, and even cruel that it makes her off-putting. However, it is the perfect reflection of the environment she is in strips them of their names, giving them nicknames that reflect their abilities, stripping the court of their identities and their humanity. The Empress is tyrannical and uses her court as hostages and weapons for her needs.
It is not a bad story, and with the flowery and descriptive language, it does make for a decent read. However, it lacks a level of substance that would have otherwise kept the reader more engaged. It is easy to put the novel down and forget about it, and with the jarring pacing and predictable dynamics and reveal near the end, it ended up falling flat.
i want to buy this book and read it but i dont know how but its ight
I would have never heard about Amber & Dusk if it wasn’t for the Amazon Vine program. I read the synopsis of the book and knew this book would feed my addiction to the Young Adult Fantasy genre, so I had to get it to read it. The minute I started reading it, I knew I would have a hard time putting it down. Now I’m going to anxiously wait for the second book in the series because I need to find out if Mirage aka Sylvie ends up winning over the people and becoming Empress. There’s also a particular character that won me over that I believe she should be with, but I’ll wait and see what happens.
Sylvie is trying to make her way to Amber City to finally find her place with everyone like her. She’s not your normal young lady. She can produce illusions, but she has no control over them. She’s trying to find out why she was sent to the Dusklands too and also fit in somewhere. She ends up getting to Amber City with the help of a young man named Lucas. He wants her to stay with him, but she knows she needs to be near everyone like her. She finds out though that Amber City is not what she thought. The Empress needs Sylvie to prove herself, and she ends up getting a sponsor and mentor. The sponsor who is one of the Suicide twins, Sunder, though doesn’t want her there. He’s sexy but painful. There’s also her mentor who she becomes friends with and helps her to learn the right etiquette.
I could go on and on about the story, but don’t want to spoil it. Forewarning though this is the first book, so it takes some time to build up the world and learn all about the characters. The suspense of the story is what keeps me intrigued because I wanted to find out who indeed Sylvie was in the story. She ends up getting a new name too in the book, named Mirage for her illusions. There’s a lot of discovery in this book and also finding who she can trust. I was captivated with the Suicide twins, Sunder and Bane. I loved Sunder and look forward to more of him in the next book. You’ll find out why if you read the book. I also loved the corruption of what is happening in Amber City. The Empress is not someone to mess with in this book, and I’m anxiously waiting to find out if Mirage gets a HEA in this series. She deserves it after everything she went through and continues to go through in this book. If you’re looking for a new YA fantasy series, then this book is for you.
Story Rating: 4 stars
Steaminess Rating: N/A
Standalone or part of series: Part of series.
Do I recommend this book? Yes.
Will I read other books from the author? Yes
Tropes/Elements: Magic; Corruption; Royalty; Fantasy
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the Amazon Vine Program in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
“I will not sit idly by while the world changes around me. I don’t know whether my blood is a gift or a curse. And I don’t relish breaking the world in order to remake it the way I see it. But I will if I have to. Does that make me a monster?”
This book was actually a pretty good read. I read this after reading a pretty intense book, so it was a nice palette cleanser. It isn’t in my favorites, but was not bad either. It was one of those “meh” books.
Let’s go more in depth:
Amber & Dusk is a story following Sylvie, a girl who has great powers, who makes her way to the palace in order to claim her rightful place with the elite. Of course, things don’t quite go as planned as she faces many obstacles she knows, and does not know about. While in court, Sylvie makes many friends and enemies (or so they seem) and she becomes apart a master plan that puts her at forefront.
The Characters:
Sylvie – “I curled my hands into fists, and made myself a promise. If this world liked games, then I’d learn the rules.”
Sylvie was not that special of a character for me. I particularly did not love or hate her, she was just there. I do think however that she was one of the reasons this book is not one of my favorites. She has this attitude and perception that she deserves everything that this new world has to offer, like she is entitled to it. I understand why she thinks this way, but to have her bring it up one way or another over and over and over again became quite annoying.
Sunder – “You inconceivable fool. You have no idea the trouble you’ve created for me these past spans. You have single-handedly and unwittingly dismantled tides worth of planning, just by being you. You’ve nearly ruined everything.”
SUNDER WAS EVERYTHING. I really liked his character development. I could clearly picture him because of how nicely he was introduced. I was rooting for him the entire time, even though he did a lot of questionable things. Without him, this book would be awful.
Luca – I hope you find the world you’re looking for, Sylvie,” he said heavily. “I really do.”
I actually did not understand the purpose of making Luca a love interest. We see him at the start and he comes back periodically, but I mean other than that, he is quite a nuisance. He introduces a storyline that, in my opinion, could have been written without him in a better way. But, I could be biased since I think Sunder and Sylvie are perfect for each other.
Overall – I loved the relationships this book created. Sunder and Sylvie was definitely my favorite, and the only reason I am going to read book two when it comes out is because of them. I feel it could have done without some scenes and characters to keep the excitement going, but other than that, I do recommend this book.