Trapped In Silver for Review

Hello everybody, and welcome back to The CW Torch. Today, I will be reviewing Trapped In Silver by Emily Sowden, which I received for free from OfTomes publishing in return for an honest review! I was extremely excited to start reading this book, because I had read New World Rising written by Jennifer Wilson, which was also published by OfTomes. I really enjoyed that book, so I was very excited to read another from OfTomes Publishing. I also knew that this was a debut novel from Emily Sowden, and I'm always looking for new author's to watch out for. I ended up giving Trapped In Silver a 3.75 out of 5 stars, because there were some things I loved about this book, and some things I had issues with. Here are the reasons why!

Synopsis:

We follow the story of sassy Ava, from the small town of Wetherdon. She has lived on the farm almost her entire life, with her father and adopted brother Roan. When her father mysteriously disappears, she is forced to help out with the family business. Which means traveling to the town center, and posing as a "boy" named Cedar, to sell their goods. After a night out on the town with her brother; she meets a boy named Ethan, and is thrust into a world where there are worse things than drunken men and carnivorous creatures. A group of animalistic men, called Beserkers hunt her down. She escapes with Ethan and his gang, but the monstrous Berserker leader creates an obsession with her. Ava is now forced to be a part of this unfamiliar land full of creatures, unlikely enemies, and the boy she doesn't know whether to kiss or kill. In this new world, she only thought existed in the stories her mother told her as a child. She begins to unravel the mystery behind her nightmares, and truths of a violent history of Demons and Berserkers.

Initial Thoughts:

• Initially, I thought Trapped In Silver was going to be a Fantasy novel, based on other reviews I glanced at before reading. It definitely started out as a Fantasy world, with the town Ava was living in. But, shortly after, it read more like a Paranormal novel to me, especially with all the Demons and Skinwalkers involved. Those creatures and a few other parts in the book, made it seem like I was reading a Paranormal series. Which I do not mind at all, because I love Paranormal novels. In fact, there were many parts of this book, that actually reminded me of Twilight in a way. I know a lot of people were getting A Court of Thorns and Roses vibes, but I was getting Twilight and Red Riding Hood (Live-Action Movie) vibes.

What I Liked:

• Straight away, I instantly felt a connection with Ava, our main protagonist. She was very sassy, hilarious, and didn't really give a two-cents about anything. In the beginning, she reminded me very much of Katniss Everdeen, from The Hunger Games trilogy. I also really enjoyed the parts when she posed as Cedar, she was very convincing as a male. It was crazy to me that no one in town, realized that she/he was Ava.

• Other than Ava, there were two other characters I really enjoyed in this book, those being Lavender and Ric. I really loved her relationship with both of these characters, and saw a lot of growth from Ava during her interaction with these two characters. I thought Lavender kind of provided that sisterly/motherly role for Ava, which is something she hasn't had in a long time, and probably needed. Especially with everything that's been going on in her life. I loved Ric, because he was the bit of comic relief in this story, that it definitely needed. His interactions with Ava provided some great witty banter throughout the story, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

• As far as the plot-line, since this was a very plot-centric novel. I loved the idea of the Demons and Skinwalkers being the "good guys," of the story. While the Berserkers were the bad guys, and the one's to watch out for. I thought that was an interesting take on these types of creatures, because we rarely see Demons and Skinwalkers being posed as good. I also enjoyed the mythological aspects of this world as well, and thought Emily did a very good job of explaining that part of this new world Ava was thrust into.

• There were so many great sections in this book, that I thought really kept me on the edge of my seat. For instance, the middle section of the novel. Ava and the gang, go to this place (which I won't say where it was for spoiler reasons), and learn a lot of things about certain people. I thought this section was extremely creepy and gripping, and I really saw Emily's writing grow and flourish during these chapters. The beginning of the novel was very slow, as we were getting introduced to this new world. But, once we got to the middle section of the book, I couldn’t wait to finish it, and figure out what the hell was going on with Ava.

What I Didn't Like:

Since, this was a debut work for this author, not every first book is going to be perfect. While I did enjoy the author's writing at times, there were some issues I had with it. Which is why it didn't get a four star rating from me, but it was very close. I am really excited to read the second novel, Lost In Darkness, when it comes out. To see how Emily Sowden's writing improves, and hopefully to get more growth of the characters as well.

• Although, I loved Ava in the beginning, for some reason she kind of loss interest in me towards the end. I didn't feel any sort of character development from her by the end of the book. I felt like she didn't really change, and thought she would've after everything that's happened to her. And after everything she's learned about herself. I really hope that in Lost In Darkness, we get to see more growth from her. Especially with the end of Trapped In Silver.

• There were many characters in this book who we met, throughout Ava's story. While there were so many characters, a part from Ava, there were only two others who I really felt a connection with. I thought most of the characters were kind of generic, and ones I've already read about before. I am a very character driven reader, more than I am plot-centric, so that was kind of disappointing as I was reading the story. I would've also liked to have seen more of Stephan, our main antagonist, and hope that we get more of him in the second book.

• I also didn't really grow an attachment to the main romance of this story, mainly because I just didn’t feel connected to Ethan for some reason. I thought the romance was very slow-burning, which I do like over insta-love, but I did wish we got a little bit more romance. Especially, since Ethan and Ava spent so much time together throughout the book.

• The last thing that kind of bothered me when reading this story, were the parts told in Ethan's point of view. I thought they were very short, and a little bit unnecessary, since there were so few parts told in his perspective. I thought if we got the entire story from Ava's POV, it would've read a little bit faster.

Conclusion:

All in all, I very much enjoyed this debut novel from Emily Sowden, and can't wait to read the second book of this series, to see where it goes. I enjoyed learning about this new world of Demons, Berserkers, and Skinwalkers, and loved this new perspective of Demons being good. There were many parts where I was literally on the edge of my seat, trying to figure out what Ava was. On a side note, there was a section towards the end that I really enjoyed, that was told in Ava's perspective, and thought that specific part was done brilliantly. I don't want to go into too much detail of what happens, because I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't read it yet. But, if you have read it, it's the end of chapter 45 (let me know and comment, if y'all know what I'm talking about)! While there were many parts I did enjoy, there were some issues I had with it, but they were pretty minor in the scheme of things. I realize not every debut novel is going to be perfect, and is going to have its flaws. So, I am very excited to see Emily Sowden's growth as a fantasy/paranormal writer. If you liked Twilight and Red Riding Hood (the live-action movie), and like slow-burning romance and the Supernatural world, then I think you would love this book.

Thank you again, OfTomes Publishing, for sending me this free ecopy of Trapped In Silver to review. I really enjoyed being a part of this month's read-along, and look forward to more. The second book of The Eldryn Chronicles, Lost in Darkness, is set to come out next February. so definitely check out Trapped In Silver before book two comes out!

TTFN,

Chynna Williams @ The CW Torch