A Dream Within A Dream: The Antidote Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

https://fantasticflyingbookclub.blogspot.com/2018/12/tour-schedule-antidote-by-shelley.html

The Antidote
Author: Shelley Sackier
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: February 5, 2019
Publisher: HarperTeen

Description:

Magic is not allowed, under any circumstances — even if it could save someone’s life. Instead, there are herbal remedies and traditional techniques that have been painstakingly recorded in lieu of using the mystical arts. Fee knows this, so she keeps her magic a secret.

Except her best friend, Xavi, is deathly ill. He’s also the crown prince. Saving him is important, not only for her, but for the entire kingdom.

Fee’s desperation to save her friend means she can barely contain the magic inside her. And after the tiniest of slips, Fee is thrust into a dark and secretive world that is as alluring as it is dangerous.

If she gives in, it could mean she can save Xavi. But it also means that those who wish to snuff out magic might just snuff her out in the process.

The Antidote is a fresh and exciting new young adult fantasy novel that will have fans of the genre wanting more. The plot was much more intricate and mysterious than the description sounds, which was a huge plus for me. I'll admit that it did take me a little while to get really into the book - like fifteen chapters or so - that's when the pace picks up and big things start happening with the characters. After that point, I was devouring each page to see what was going to happen next and what Fee was going to come up against.

Speaking of characters, Fee was a great main character. I loved watching her mature, change, and grow into herself throughout the story. She's realistic and complex, so it made it easy for me to identify with her from early in the book. The other characters, especially the other major ones, were also well rounded and interesting. I liked watching their relationships with Fee and each other grow and change during the story. The only thing that sort of bothered me was the author's use of the third person point of view. I almost always prefer the first person POV because it allows the reader a much deeper connection with the narrator, and no other writing styles can quite get that for me. If this had been written in the first person from Fee's perspective, I think I would've liked this story even more than I already did. That's my own personal opinion and doesn't reflect on the story itself or the writing - others are going to feel differently than me and that's fine. I just wanted to share my honest thoughts. Overall, this was a strong addition to the YA fantasy genre and I definitely recommend it to fans who enjoy magic, friendship, love, and fantasy in general.

Shelley Sackier grew up in a small farming community in Northern Wisconsin continually searching for ways to grow warm. Realizing she would never be able to enjoy ice cream like real people should, she left the state and lived the blissful life of a traveling musician.

Discovering her stories needed more space than two verses a bridge and a chorus could provide, she began storytelling in earnest. And then in Virginia. Which is where she lives now and continues to write.

Her first novel, DEAR OPL (Sourcebooks 2015), is a tale about a snarky, overweight thirteen-year-old, who suffers from loss everywhere in her life except on her body.

Her next novel, The Freemason's Daughter (HarperCollins, 2017) is a story about a 16 yr old Scottish girl living in 1715 who's raised entirely by six burly Scotsman--and they're all smugglers. The Antidote (HarperCollins February 2019) is a YA novel about magic and medicine, and the witches who wield them both.

To learn more about Shelley, visit shelleysackier.com where she blogs weekly about living on a small farm atop a mountain in the Blue Ridge and how it’s easiest to handle most of it with homegrown food, a breathless adoration for tractors, and a large dose of single malt scotch.