Review: The Shade Amulet

The Shade Amulet by Andrea Pearson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Shade Amulet is the first book in Andrea Pearson’s Koven Chronicles. In truth, Andrea Pearson is an author to have appeared on my radar a few times, having grabbed my attention through my curiosity towards the Mosaic Chronicles. When the chance came about to read The Shade Amulet, however, I decided to jump into a different series by the author.

In truth, The Shade Amulet is more of a two-point-five-star rating for me. I rounded it up to three stars for one main reason – I feel as though most of my inability to understand the story is due to having not read the Mosaic Chronicles. Although this is clearly a standalone story, I felt as though there was something missing throughout.

You see, the world seems really interesting. There were many elements that intrigued me, but I never really understood them. It felt as though we were expected to understand the magic and the world, reading as though we’d do better if we had read the author’s other work. At no point does it say it is necessary to read the Mosaic Chronicles, yet enough references were made for me to feel as though I was lacking through having not read it. Thus, I feel as though my enjoyment of the story would have been increased had I read the Mosaic series first.

The story itself was simple, but attention grabbing. A lot happens throughout, and there are plenty of things open for the rest of the series. At times I felt as though there were too many things for such a short read, with certain things seeming forced into the story simply to meet a checklist (for example, an unnecessary love triangle), but for the most part I was intrigued by all that played out.

Whilst I am interested in seeing where the series goes next, I feel as though I will not do so until I have read the Mosaic Chronicles. For those who are a fan of Andrea Pearson, and have followed her work, I’m sure this will be another fun story in a well-known world.

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