Book Review: Amber Sky by Amy Braun- plus a giveaway!

Anyone who follows this blog knows that I love Amy Braun’s work. I’ve previously reviewed the Cursed series here, but have since fallen behind, since she’s frightfully prolific. So when I got a chance to read the prequel to her Dark Sky series, I jumped at it. Amber Sky provides the background story for Nash, who I assume is one of the main characters in the main series, and let me tell you, it’s one heckuva background.

After a catastrophic storm, followed by attacks from frightful creatures called Hellions- huge bloodsuckers who swoop in to attack from an airship- humanity has been decimated and forced underground. Teenage Nash lives in a series of subterranean passages with the Dogs, a gang of marauders who like to fight each other in an arena for fun. Nash is a great fighter, which has its pros and cons. He’s getting by until he’s forced on an unpleasant mission, where he meets Sawyer, another important character of the main series.

Like all of Braun’s books, Amber Sky is nonstop action adventure. The story opens with a bang, in the middle of one of Nash’s arena fights, and the pace barely slows all the way to the end. As always, the fight scenes are incredibly detailed and exciting. While Nash is an engaging character, and clearly a good guy in spite of his difficulties, the real star of this book is the dystopian world he lives in. Braun’s descriptions are so vivid, I sometimes felt like I was there, which didn’t make me particularly happy, since it’s truly awful. But it’s a great backdrop for some heart-pounding adventure, delivered in spades, as always. I also enjoyed getting to know Sawyer, whose personality is an interesting counterpoint to Nash’s.

All the quibbles are mostly my fault. I probably would have enjoyed this story even more if I had read Crimson Sky and Midnight Sky first. (Aren’t the cover for this series amazing? I love ’em all!) I find prequels are usually more fun if you know the characters already. It was also a bit short for my taste, reminding me why I don’t usually read novellas. I could feel the ending coming and was thinking, “No! Not yet, I’m not ready!” Obviously, the solution to my problem is to read the other books. I’ve already moved them closer to the top of my TBR pile.

To celebrate the release of Amber Sky, there’s a great giveaway going on this month. Naturally, it’s Halloween-themed, and the prizes are, an ebook of Amber Sky a paperback copy of That Hoodoo, Voodoo, That You Do, and swag. Click the link to enter!

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