Hey guys! I'm so excited to be a part of the A Shifting of Stars Blog Tour! My post will start off with my review and then an interview with the author herself!
A Shifting of Stars by Kathy Kimbray (Review)
Self-Published
Release Date: May 28th 2019
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Retail Price: $13.99 USD
Purchase From: Amazon
Add it on Goodreads
Rating:
 |
| 4.5 Stars |
A squandering emperor. A handsome stranger. A reluctant heroine.
And the ancient magic that will capsize a kingdom.
Seventeen-year-old Meadow Sircha watched her mother die from the wilting sickness.
Tormented by the knowledge that the emperor failed to import the medicine that would have saved her,
Tormented by the knowledge that the emperor failed to import the medicine that would have saved her,
she speaks out at a gathering of villagers, inciting them to boycott his prized gladiator tournament.
But doing so comes at a steep cost.
Arrested as punishment for her impulsive tongue, Meadow finds herself caught up in the kind of
danger she’s always tried to avoid. After a chance meeting with an enigmatic boy,
she’s propelled on a perilous trek across the outer lands.
But she soon unearths a staggering secret: one that will shift her world—and the kingdom—forever.
danger she’s always tried to avoid. After a chance meeting with an enigmatic boy,
she’s propelled on a perilous trek across the outer lands.
But she soon unearths a staggering secret: one that will shift her world—and the kingdom—forever.
Filled with longing and heart, surprise and wonder, A SHIFTING OF STARS is perfect for fans of
AN EMBER IN THE ASHES, RED QUEEN and SHADOW AND BONE.
AN EMBER IN THE ASHES, RED QUEEN and SHADOW AND BONE.
Wow. This book was beautifully written and it definitely took me on an emotional roller coaster. A Shifting of Stars is oozing with lyrical language that makes you fall in love with the story. Kimbray uses the most wonderful metaphors and language features when describing the environment, and it really helps you envisage the world of Erraforge.
The story is a bit slow at the start, and it was a little hard for me to get into. However, the book soon continuously surprised me. At first there aren't many twists and turns, the novel just takes a different direction to what I expected. I was constantly guessing what would happen next, assuming it would be a predictable plot line, but it really isn't. My misinterpretation of the blurb mislead me and I was pleasantly surprised in its doing so. As the novel continued on, there was more of a shock factor and I was eagerly flipping each page for more (well, not literally as I was reading it as an eBook, but you get the picture!) A Shifting of Stars constantly kept me guessing and I loved it.
Meadow herself is an interesting character as she is driven solely by grief. She's actually incredibly quick on her feet in my opinion, but she does fail to see the larger picture at times. She's also incredibly courageous and I find her inspiring in that sense. I do believe we see her come into her own, as she seems to become more confident in her decisions and takes charge more often throughout the novel. I would love to see how her character develops even more throughout the sequel.
There is a little bit of romance in the novel, but it was refreshing to see that it wasn't the main focus of the novel. I am a huge sucker for romance, but it felt right that the romance was understated in this novel, as poor Meadow has more pressing issues rather than romance to deal with. That being said I am kind of hoping for more development in this area in the sequel as well, solely because I'd like to see where it goes, and once again, I'm a sucker for romance.
Overall, A Shifting of Stars really surprised me, and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. The ending is brilliant and leaves you yearning for more. I'm super excited for the sequel and can't wait to see where the story will go next!
An Interview with Kathy Kimbray
Mel: What inspired you to write A Shifting of Stars?
Kathy: It started with a couple of ideas that I really wanted to include in a fantasy novel. The more I
thought about them, the more I wanted to see where they could go. After that, I did a lot of
plotting and brainstorming. And the story and characters began to come together, so I went
ahead and started writing the book!
Mel: What was your favourite scene to write?
Kathy: I really enjoyed writing the Victoreglia scene! I write in order and I knew that it was going to
be a big moment near the end of the book, but as much as I wanted to skip ahead and write
it, I told myself to wait. (So quite possibly having to wait until I wrote the scene also made it
more enjoyable?!)
Mel: What was the hardest part of building the world of Erraforge in the novel?
Kathy: There were a lot of challenging aspects to building Erraforge! Before I started writing the
first draft, I spent time chronicling Erraforge’s history. Who was the first ruler of the land and
how did that come to pass? How did Ladislas come to be the current emperor? From there,
I built a class structure based on that history, and looked at how different emperors brought
different values to the forefront during their reigns. I also made files in Scrivener with
pictures and written descriptions to detail the look/feel/architecture of different areas within
Centriet and the wider Erraforgian kingdom. I think the most difficult part was bringing this
information together with Meadow and her story and this particular point in Erraforge’s
timeline.
Mel: How are you and the main character, Meadow, alike?
Kathy: Interesting question! I think we both worry about things before they have happened, know
what it’s like to lose someone close to us and are willing to stick our necks out for people
we care about.
Mel: What do you want readers to take from your novel?
Kathy: Hopefully readers will be entertained and surprised! I had my own specific themes in mind
when I wrote the book, i.e. grief, relationships, quiet strength etc., but I love that people can
read the same story and get something different out of it. But in the end I hope readers are
glad they picked up the book!
About Kathy Kimbray
Kathy Kimbray is a YA author from Australia.
After graduating from the University of Technology, Sydney, with a degree in Media Arts and Production, she went on to complete postgraduate studies in education and spent many years as a primary school teacher.
Now a full-time novelist, Kathy is lucky to be able to tell stories every day.
Aside from writing, Kathy is an avid reader, dancer, language learner, musical theater enthusiast and fan of terrible reality TV. She lives with her husband in Sydney, and dreams of one day owning that elusive chateau in France.
You can find Kathy here:
Author website — https://www.kathykimbray.com/
Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/kathykimbray/
Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKathyKimbray
Twitter — https://twitter.com/kathykimbray
Giveaway!
A part of this incredible blog tour is an international (yes you read that right, international) giveaway! Two lucky winners will be drawn at random, with one winner winning a signed paperback copy of A Shifting of Stars, and the second winner will receive an Amazon gift card worth $10 USD!
Enter the giveaway here!
Tour
Want more? There's a Twitter chat on July 13th for everyone to join (details below.)
For more fun tour stuff you can keep up with everyone's posts by following the twitter tags #ShiftingStarsTour or you can refer to Shealea's Tour Launch post here!
A huge thank you to Kathy Kimbray for answering my questions and also to Shealea (Shut Up, Shealea) herself, for hosting this amazing blog tour and allowing me to be a part of it. Also a massive thank you to the both of them for providing me with a review copy of this book.
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