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A review by eiion
The Rarkyn's Familiar by Nikky Lee
4.0
Thank you to BookSirens and Nikky Lee for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
The Rarkyn's Familiar centered around an unlikely friendship, formed by the bonds of magic and the looming threat of certain doom. Lyss and Skaar were such loveable characters, and it was really nice to see a book like this that focused on their platonic, friendly connection in a natural way.
I had a lot of fun reading this book. It has an easy to read writing style that slots right in with other YA and high fantasy authors, while still bringing its own sort of identity to the table. Paired with an intricate and well thought out world, I felt really immersed in it. This book didn't feel like any others I've read - it was so unique in its concept, in the plot, the magic system, and the way characters interacted with the world. Information was conveyed to us really organically; there weren't long backstory dumps or dumbed down explanations, the characters just talked in a way that was natural, easy to believe, and communicated to the audience really well what world we were dealing with. I genuinely can't praise the worldbuilding enough or the execution of its delivery to the reader. It was so complex, backed up in all the right places, and just felt so fresh and new.
For the first good 75% of the book, this had the makings to be a really fascinating new take on the fantasy genre. The last 25% or so didn't have the same magic as the first part(s). It felt a lot more generic, I noticed a change to the writing style a little bit, and I didn't love the way that Lyss' character development was portrayed to us, it felt a little detached and a bit too 'chosen one'-esque for my taste.
Despite that, I loved the concept too much to write this off. The world was just so stunning (I will never stop saying that), and I think that there's a lot of potential here for this is be both recovered and built on. I had a really great time reading it, and I think most fantasy lovers will too.
The Rarkyn's Familiar centered around an unlikely friendship, formed by the bonds of magic and the looming threat of certain doom. Lyss and Skaar were such loveable characters, and it was really nice to see a book like this that focused on their platonic, friendly connection in a natural way.
I had a lot of fun reading this book. It has an easy to read writing style that slots right in with other YA and high fantasy authors, while still bringing its own sort of identity to the table. Paired with an intricate and well thought out world, I felt really immersed in it. This book didn't feel like any others I've read - it was so unique in its concept, in the plot, the magic system, and the way characters interacted with the world. Information was conveyed to us really organically; there weren't long backstory dumps or dumbed down explanations, the characters just talked in a way that was natural, easy to believe, and communicated to the audience really well what world we were dealing with. I genuinely can't praise the worldbuilding enough or the execution of its delivery to the reader. It was so complex, backed up in all the right places, and just felt so fresh and new.
For the first good 75% of the book, this had the makings to be a really fascinating new take on the fantasy genre. The last 25% or so didn't have the same magic as the first part(s). It felt a lot more generic, I noticed a change to the writing style a little bit, and I didn't love the way that Lyss' character development was portrayed to us, it felt a little detached and a bit too 'chosen one'-esque for my taste.
Despite that, I loved the concept too much to write this off. The world was just so stunning (I will never stop saying that), and I think that there's a lot of potential here for this is be both recovered and built on. I had a really great time reading it, and I think most fantasy lovers will too.