Saturday, October 21, 2017

Week 42 Reviews: Fate of Flames, Siege of Shadows


From Goodreads:
Four girls with the power to control the elements and save the world from a terrible evil must come together in the first epic novel in a brand-new series.

When Phantoms—massive beasts made from nightmares and darkness—suddenly appeared and began terrorizing the world, four girls, the Effigies, each gained a unique power to control one of the classical elements: earth, air, fire, and water. Since then, four girls across the world have continually fought against the Phantoms, fulfilling their cosmic duty. And when one Effigy dies, another girl gains her power as a replacement.

But now, with technologies in place to protect the world's major cities from Phantom attacks, the Effigies have stopped defending humanity and, instead, have become international celebrities, with their heroic feats ranked, televised, and talked about in online fandoms.

Until the day that New York City's protection against the Phantoms fails, a man seems to be able to control them by sheer force of will, and Maia, a high school student, unexpectedly becomes the Fire Effigy.

Now Maia has been thrown into battle with three girls who want nothing to do with one another. But with the first human villain that the girls have ever faced, and an army of Phantoms preparing for attack, there isn’t much time for the Effigies to learn how to work together.

Can the girls take control of their destinies before the world is destroyed forever?

From Goodreads:
There's nowhere to hide. 

Not when you're an Effigy. No matter where they go, Maia and the other Effigies can't escape the eyes of the press—especially not after failing to capture Saul, whose power to control the monstrous Phantoms has left the world in a state of panic. It's been two months since Saul's disappearance, and there's still no sign of him, leaving the public to wonder whether the Sect—and the Effigies—are capable of protecting anyone. 

When Saul suddenly surfaces in the middle of the Sahara desert, the Sect sends Maia and her friends out after him. But instead of Saul, they discover a dying soldier engineered with Effigy-like abilities. Even worse, there may be more soldiers like him out there, and it looks like the Effigies are their prime targets. 

Yet the looming danger of Saul and this mysterious new army doesn't overshadow Maia's fear of the Sect, who ordered the death of the previous Fire Effigy, Natalya. With enemies on all sides and the world turning against them, the Effigies have to put their trust in each other—easier said than done when secrets threaten to tear them apart.

My Review:
It was so awesome to read these books! I loved the characters, they were so interesting but with flaws! The world was fascinating, dark, and you'd think things would be over, but no, look, life is going on like it always does elsewhere. It's a weird feeling, in books and in movies!

Maia was a fan of the Effigies. But when she became one, she didn't immediately shout it out to the world. Especially since she's the new Fire Effigy-and her family, including her twin sister, died in a house fire. Which would make anyone hesitant to be around it again!

Being an Effigy isn't what it seemed, though. And since she came in at a time of turmoil with Saul and his powers and story, made things even more chaotic. I didn't like the Sect, or how it was organized. To have a council that seemed to pass down power in families, with no checks and balances of power...I was really distrustful of it!

That ending of Siege of Shadows was just epically evil! Such a cliffhanger, almost literally, because she went off one! That hurt, after everything that had happened, and it was pretty unexpected! So glad that it can't end there!

I enjoyed these books so much, and I can't wait for the 3rd and final book of this trilogy!

Author: Sarah Raughley
Series: Effigies #1, 2
Read: October 19th,
Source: Ebook.bike, Edelweiss
Reason Why: Sounded really good, and they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2017 Books!
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Published: November 22nd 2016
Expected Publication: November 21st 2017

Fate of Flames:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars









Siege of Shadows:
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars

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