Review: Shadows of Truth (League of Liars #2) by Astrid Scholte

Title: Shadows of Truth

Series: League of Liars #2

Previous book in this series: League of Liars

Author: Astrid Scholte

Genre: YA, high fantasy

Publication date: February 2024

Published by: Allen & Unwin

Source: Borrowed from library

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Synopsis: After their dramatic escape from Vardean prison, Cayder and his friends leap into the unknown, tumbling headlong out of Telene and into the strange and mysterious world beyond the veil.

Leta – who grew up believing a world of dark fairytales existed on the other side of the veil – finds that the truth is more magical, and terrifying, than she could ever have imagined. And it's the worst possible place to discover your boyfriend has been mortally wounded.

Meanwhile, Cayder and Elenora learn that both this world and their own are teetering on the brink of destruction. Still reeling from Elenora's betrayal, Cayder must overcome his feelings and work with her to prevent an apocalypse. They have to make it home, and to do so they will need the help of their old enemy, Dr Bueter – as well as old friends they thought were lost forever.

This page-turning sequel to League of Liars takes us beneath the surface of the familiar world of Telene, and into the shadowy realm that is the source of both its magic and its nightmares.

My rating: ★★★⯪☆

I was SO excited to finally read this book! I have been really looking forward to reading it since I read the first book in the series back in the Summer of 2023. Unfortunately, I didn’t end up loving it as much as I was hoping (I gave League of Liars 5 stars!), and I honestly don’t even know what it was about this book.

Review: The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte

Title: The Vanishing Deep

Author: Astrid Scholte

Genre: YA, high fantasy, sci-fi, thriller, mystery

Publication date: March 2020

Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Source: Purchased paperback

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Synopsis: Bestselling author Astrid Scholte, returns with a thrilling adventure in which the dead can be revived... for a price.

Seventeen-year-old Tempe was born into a world of water. When the Great Waves destroyed her planet five hundred years ago, its people had to learn to survive living on the water, but the ruins of the cities below still called. Tempe dives daily, scavenging the ruins of a bygone era, searching for anything of value to trade for Notes. It isn't food or clothing that she wants to buy, but her dead sister's life. For a price, the research facility on the island of Palindromena will revive the dearly departed for twenty-four hours before returning them to death. It isn't a heartfelt reunion that Tempe is after; she wants answers. Elysea died keeping a terrible secret, one that has ignited an unquenchable fury in Tempe: Her beloved sister was responsible for the death of their parents. Tempe wants to know why.

But once revived, Elysea has other plans. She doesn't want to spend her last day in a cold room accounting for a crime she insists she didn't commit. Elysea wants her freedom and one final glimpse at the life that was stolen from her. She persuades Tempe to break her out of the facility, and they embark on a dangerous journey to discover the truth about their parents' death and mend their broken bond. But they're pursued every step of the way by two Palindromena employees desperate to find them before Elysea's time is up--and before the secret behind the revival process and the true cost of restored life is revealed.

My rating: ★★★☆☆

To survive these twenty-four hours, I needed to become the storm, not succumb to it.

I have been loving reading Astrid Scholte’s books. I recently discovered them, and it is thanks to them that I have entered my high fantasy era. I used to not very much, but lately, that’s all I’ve been wanting. One thing I love about her books is that two of the three I read are standalones! That is SO rare for high fantasy! But also, they’re just so easy to read. A lot of high fantasy books have complicated names and words, but I appreciate that Astrid Scholte’s books have easy-to-pronounce words. What can I say, I am a simple girl. Lol.

Review: League of Liars by Astrid Scholte

Title: League of Liars

Series: The League of Liars #1

Author: Astrid Scholte

Genre: YA, high fantasy, mystery, thriller

Publication date: February 2022

Published by: Putnam

Source: Borrowed from library

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Synopsis: In this fantasy thriller, four teens charged with murder and the illegal use of magic band together to devise the ultimate jailbreak.

Ever since his mother was killed, seventeen-year-old Cayder Broduck has had one goal--to see illegal users of magic brought to justice. People who carelessly use extradimensional magic for their own self-interest, without a care to the damage it does to society or those around them, deserve to be punished as far as Cayder is concerned. Because magic always has a price. So when Cayder lands a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to apprentice under a premier public defender, he takes it. If he can learn all the tricks of public defense, the better he'll be able to dismantle defense arguments when he's a prosecutor. Then he'll finally be able to make sure justice is served.

But when he meets the three criminals he's supposed to defend, it no longer seems so black and white. They're teenagers, like him, and their stories are... complicated, like his. Vardean, the prison where Cayder's new clients are incarcerated, also happens to be at the very heart of the horrible tear in the veil between their world and another dimension--where all magic comes from.

My rating: ★★★★★

"They all have a story," Graymond said with a sweep of his arms, raising his voice over the racket. "Are you ready to listen?"

I loved this book more than I thought I would! I’m not much of a high fantasy reader, but there is just something about Astrid Scholte’s world-building that I just love. One thing I loved about Four Dead Queens, which was the first book I read by this author, was the world and how it was divided into four starkly different quadrants. And the world in League of Liars was equally as intriguing. There is this type of magic in this world called edem that lives in the shadows, and when used it can call forth things from the past or future. But the use of this magic is illegal because it’s unpredictable and usually always leads to disaster... of the death variety.

Review: Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte

Title: Four Dead Queens

Author: Astrid Scholte

Genre: YA, high fantasy, mystery

Publication date: February 2019

Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Source: Borrowed from library

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Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Keralie Corrington may seem harmless, but in fact, she's one of Quadara's most skilled thieves and a liar. Varin, on the other hand, is an honest, upstanding citizen of Quadara's most enlightened region, Eonia. Varin runs afoul of Keralie when she steals a package from him, putting his life in danger. When Varin attempts to retrieve the package, he and Keralie find themselves entangled in a conspiracy that leaves all four of Quadara's queens dead.

With no other choices and on the run from Keralie's former employer, the two decide to join forces, endeavoring to discover who has killed the queens and save their own lives in the process. When their reluctant partnership blooms into a tenuous romance, they must overcome their own dark secrets in hopes of a future together that seemed impossible just days before. But first they have to stay alive and untangle the secrets behind the nation's four dead queens.

An enthralling fast-paced murder mystery where competing agendas collide with deadly consequences, Four Dead Queens heralds the arrival of an exciting new YA talent.

My rating: ★★★★☆

Lately, I have been on a high fantasy kick and honestly, I think I have this book to blame 😆 It was just so good!