The Secrets of Yashire, Emerging from the Shadows

by Diamante Lavendar

The Secrets of Yashire: Emerging From the Shadows is a young adult fantasy adventure that occurs within the framework of a young girl’s subconscious mind. The main character, Brianna, finds herself thrown into a world called Yashire where she is forced to deal with circumstances that are threatening Yashire’s existence. Against her will, she is sent on a journey to restore unconditional love back to the land while also contending with the evil force in the land, Zolan.
Brianna is sent on her mission by Libban, Keeper of the Land. Along the way, Brianna travels with the mystical tiger, Angelos; a huge, whitish-tan tiger with thick black stripes who sings only the purest songs of love, and the wondrous little one-eyed bird named Abiba. During the journey, Brianna is also preparing to meet her soulmate—the one she longs to be with and the one who will bring complete healing back into her life.
Together they travel through fantastic lands filled with magical creatures that could only exist in the wildest of imaginations. Through her treacherous brushes with danger and heartwarming experiences of love and acceptance, Brianna discovers many things. It is here, amidst the powers and phantasms of the mind that Brianna receives life lessons and virtues to help her. Will one of her greatest triumphs be achieved as she learns to believe in herself? For only then can she truly see all of the wondrous things that life has to offer.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

162 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 18, 2013

About the author

I am an inspirational author and artist. I love all things creative! I write about overcoming hardship, finding hope in even the darkest moments, and the joy and purpose of living a Christian life. I believe that we are all here to bring love and light to the world in our unique way and that we all have a purpose to fulfill. You can find my comprehensive list of work on my website. I'd love to have you visit!

My most recent book, He Chose Me: Reflections On Living A Christian Life can be found here:
https://www.blurb.com/b/12030090-he-c...

Reviews

[Christa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating: 2 Stars

[This Book in One Sentence: A wayward 16-year-old girl finds herself in a wondrous land and must complete her path as the chosen one; along the way, she loses her memory, meets an assortment of odd creatures, and learns several life lessons.]

Disclaimers:

1. I received The Secrets of Yashire from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
2. This is by no means an attack on the author. She had an imaginative premise and was brave enough to publish this book on her own. 

I originally chose The Secrets of Yashire because it has a beautiful cover and was in the fantasy (or young adult? not sure) section of my NetGalley page.

I didn't know that The Secrets of Yashire was a CreateSpace work until I investigated its Goodsreads page more closely, particularly due to my complete disbelief that a book like this could be backed by any serious publisher. It wasn't.

I do believe that self-published books have merit, but for the most part, they're novels that aren't ready for the market. A writer has every right to make his or her work public. But don't expect glowing reviews or media attention because you're most likely waving around a first draft with underdeveloped characters and a black void for a plot.

Remember that I'm simply a chick who likes to read and has an opinion. It's just that: an opinion. You are welcome to yours, but personal attacks from those who disagree with me on self-publishing will not change my mind, nor will they give credit to that person's quality of character.

I wanted to honor my commitment, so I continued reading even when absolutely nothing happened 75% into this damn book. I had to force myself through Yashire and wanted nothing more than to hit myself with my iPad while doing so.

These are personal preferences talking; I think that someone younger could benefit from reading such a novel, if it were marketed to the middle-grade demographic.

You want the specifics? Here you go.

Short, Spoiler-Free Summary: >

The Secrets of Yashire centers around a girl named Brianna who lives with sparring parents and a perpetual sense of teenage melancholy. She parties, skips class, and deceives her loved ones like a professional liar.

But one day, something changes, and she is transported from this world to... somewhere beyond the scope of Brianna's imagination. To Yashire, a mystical land with centaurs, giant purple cats, gilled humanoids, and so many other strange creatures. Once there, she must embark on a series of quests to find her soulmate and to heal this once-peaceful land of its negativity and darkness.

The Skinny:

The writing style was flat and repetitive. The narration really didn't help. Brianna's thoughts are displayed in italics on almost every page, and this is basically just her talking to herself to tell (and not show) the readers what she's thinking and doing at all times. No one thinks like that.

"I'm happy I'm feeling better today. Yesterday sucked."

"Home sweet home."

"This is fun!"

Thoughts such as these are plastered on almost every page. Even more irritatingly, redundant dialogue often sprouts up immediately after Brianna's thought processes.

Brianna's companions are a vegetarian tiger who sings songs of love and a one-eyed bird who happens to be an extreme know-it-all. Multiple scenes consist of the tiger singing at her (LOVINGLY, of course) and the bird telling her another fact about Yashire but really just telling the readers to lazily give them more useless information.

Some of Yashire's residents were intriguing in their descriptions, but they quickly fell into cliches and stereotypes: native tribes, country farmers, a king and his royal subjects, etc. It's a fantastical world that's filled with not-so-fantastical personalities.

You can say that this creature is grand and huge and purple or green and alien-like and weird, but is it really all that wonderful when you've seen this character/culture typified so many times before? No matter what a character looks like, the personality will determine whether or not he or she is truly unique.

The ending consisted of the most disappointing conclusion that I've ever read. Like, ever.

I realize that Ms. Lavendar wanted to create something great. I can see the roots of such a world, but Yashire is not even halfway finished.

Now, there were a few valuable themes in this novel. Life lessons are discussed involving the importance of not taking someone for granted, having patience, etc. The Secrets of Yashire possesses a positive morale and features family-friendly content. Although I found the writing flat and overly simplistic, this could be a boon to younger readers. I think someone as young as 8 could understand and might appreciate this book.

If it were fixed up, sold to a traditional publishing house, and marketed towards a younger demographic, then this novel could have a real chance at success.

I think that The Secrets of Yashire could make a decent gift for a preteen or elementary-aged child; younger readers can escape into an easy-to-understand world with a positive message and cool vegetarian tigers. However, older readers might want to skip out on this one.

This review originally appeared on Lovable Reader/Fictional Darkness Blog

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was gifted this book for an honest review. I'm thankful to Diamanté for the opportunity to read this book. It's an easy read it flows perfectly, great plot and story line. She has created such a unique and magical world and yet it is far different from most magical stories I have read. There are so many creatures, and characters it easy to build the scenes inside you're mind. Unlike a lot of other fantasy stories that have much sadness, destruction, and chaos this story is built on morals and values. In Brianne's journey she is learning not only to become a better person for herself but for others as well. It's very heart warming and enlightening. My only complaint would be that there's not more to read, I want the next part of the story NOW! Lol :) I thoroughly enjoyed this read and would recommend it for many readers. It has good and evil, sadness and happiness, an entirely new world to discover, as well as many lessons that we can ALL learn from!

[jenn *mother of dragon & snake* · Rating 2 out of 5]

**I received this e-book from the author in exchange for an honest review**

You can also find my review on Amazon, Barns & Nobel, Shelfari and Books-A-Million.

Let me just start with my love for the premise. When I first read it I was all down for reading this and was looking for an awesome adventure in some distant world. And the only thing that The Secrets of Yashire: Emerging has going for it is pretty much that and the world building and that it had so much potential to be a great book. that and near the end is when it got better.

Therefore I'm giving it three stars.

So it has taken me a week to finish this book and mind you is only 152 pages long and I could only read a few pages at a time least I ended up banging my head on my desk at work. Some times I would just look at my phone and be like....



Thank you Robert for summing that up.

Okay so the main protagonist, Brianna... Oh girl please. *cough*Mary-Sue*cough* This story is about a girl who has a normal but stressing life. She drives a beater car, works as waitress, lives in a middle (maybe?) class family home downtown and her parents fight like it's world war four one day and the next be completely normal.


Isn't that how a normal family is anyways?

So one day Brianna and her best friend Angela skip school *LeGASP and go shopping around town. Mind you Brianna drives like a damn maniac and when Angela tells her to calm down...



So right after Brianna parks her car, they are walking across the street when Brianna drops her keys IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD and stops to pick them up. And do you know what happens?! She gets hit by a car.

And wakes up in Yashire.




Brianna however... Is a total Mary-Sue. She whines and complains. She travels with a white SINGING tiger named Angelos and a one eyed bird named Abiba (A-bee-bah?).

The tiger sings... No roaring or growling..

"My God! His voice sounds like a hundred birds singing!"

"His voice was deep and strong like a chorus of a thousand angels."

Like what?



But I digress... I can deal with a singing tiger.

Brianna is tasked by the Spirit of Truth with finding her soulmate and help heal the land of Yashire while she is fixing herself. (As she is broken?) So she goes on a quest to stop Zolan and rid the evil from Yashire and bring peace love and happiness back to the land.

So our special snowflake gets ONE DAY of weapon training (a dagger..) and gets some awesome fireballs (like mini bombs) and gets sent on her way with Angelos the singing tiger. But they can only travel at night as to not attract Zolan. Which confuses me greatly as evil is dark...

She meets the King of the purple and pink cats...



Meets rainbow fairies and bark faries (tree people)





So some other things that did irritate me about Brianna... She complains a lot.

"Uggh. This is horrible. I need to distract myself."

"This desert is disgusting. I can't wait to get out of here."

"You're lucky you can fly Abiba. Walking through this sand is a pain. This sand is a pain, isn't it Angelos?"

"Yeah! We can get out of this hellhole." The Sand

For real. Complaining once or twice is fine but EVERY-OTHER-SENTENCE.

And my favorite is when Brianna and Abiba talk like...

"That sounds awesome!" and "I told you they were awesome!"

On almost every other page.

Oh and don't forget the ever constant:



Other than that it was an alright book. Just not my cup of tea. I feel as if this should be more of a mid-teens kind of book. I still want to read the next one to see what happens.

[Seraphina (Seraphina's world Book Blog) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was gifted this book for an honest review. I am really grateful for this opportunity. I was reading this book on kindle app for my phone and it took me longer to wrap myself in characters and story. Main character Brianna is, after a car accident, thrown in the magical land Yashire as a chosen one to heal the land. On her journey she’ll be given quests in order to defeat the evil wizard Zolan and find her soulmate, but most importantly during this journey she will learn more about herself and the value of friendship.
If you’re looking for a book with a strong message on relationships this is the one. It’s not hard to relate with Brianna. She is a teenager who made some bad decisions - and who hasn’t? She is not a bad person, she is just looking for her place in the world. And for a short period of time she found it in Yashire. Although this was a quick read and I’m really looking forward to the sequel I have some complaints. In most cases it seems like the same person didn’t write monologs and the rest of the story. Monologs are not on the same quality level as the rest of story. I understand that Brianna is a teenager but I still think that there was space to create something more beside panic and “Will I be able”, “I have to find my soulmate” etc. Other reason why this is not 5 star book are the virtues she receives. She just appears and she receives it. No puzzle, no quest or something to prove herself worthy of those virtues.
Usually when I read a book I can picture the story in my head as a film. But this was not the case with this book. Instead I could picture it as a video game. If you’re a fan of Role-playing games or adventure video games you will understand what I am talking about. And if you’re a fan of Wizard of Oz you’ll love this book. I know I am and I did. So in the end I can say this book is something like Wizard of Oz meets Dungeons and Dragons with very good advices on relationships.

“Love is gentle. It is not harsh. Your loved ones need a gentle heart to wrap up with their own.”

[Sea · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm more than a little surprised that I'm the first person to give this book a 1-star review. I have plenty of criticism, so let me lead with the positives first.

The writing style is unique, considering the author alternates about 70-30 between third person narration and the MC Brianna's internal monologues. It's an idea I haven't seen frequently, so I give Lavendar props for trying something new.

That being said, the execution of it was pretty terrible. This unique idea turned into unnecessary redundancies and spastic infodumps that had me gritting my teeth the whole way through. Which was sad because this could have been a really powerful stylistic device had it been executed better.

Style aside, the writing itself was choppy, inconsistent, and frustrating. Very few sentences flowed well together, resulting in a jarring and incohesive read.

I wanted to DNF many, many times, particularly when I read things like:

Wow. I’ll have weapons. And I’ll be fighting a wizard. This is insane. I sure hope my memory comes back soon. Maybe when it comes back this will all end and everything will go back to normal.

Yeah, that's a real quote. Wack.

The characters weren't developed. They all had one particular trait that they stick to like glue. Poor Brianna was in a mysterious land surrounded by archetypes and archetypes alone. But she was boring, shallow, and self-centered too, so what else did I expect?

The plot consisted of Brianna wandering this random place in her head to find her soul mate, who she's never heard of before. According to her Special Snowflake prophecy, though, she needs to find him to save herself and Yashire.

And that ending. Does she find him? Of course not. Because that would mean the plot made sense, which wouldn't have agreed with any other aspect of this book.

So no. Just no.

Received for free on Netgalley. Honestly reviewed.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Secrets of Yashire: Emerging from the Shadows at first seems like another young adult fantasy genre read - until you realize that the action takes place in the protagonist's mind. Brianna is a sixteen-year-old with an adult's perspective on life and who is challenged with a life out of control and an effort to reign in the destructive impulses of her world.

She seems the least likely person to fall into a fantasy realm that tests her with tasks that include bringing unconditional love back into a kingdom - but this is what evolves in an unexpected journey that slowly moves readers from her relationships and special challenges to something more: a higher purpose, if you will.

Psychological insights peppered throughout provide clues to Brianna's state of mind as they set the stage for her philosophical, psychological and spiritual journey.

If the 'meat' of a young adult piece lies in its ability to realistically and engrossingly chart the move of a young adult to adult, then The Secrets of Yashire achieves this goal and more. As Brianna moves into higher-level thought processes, so readers follow and note her evolutionary process. One might expect complexity from this approach; but in fact The Secrets of Yashire is an easy read which will appeal to young adult fantasy readers; but delivers more than expected with philosophical and spiritual messages embedded into its events.

Don't expect a fast pace, here: Lavendar takes time to build up protagonist and setting and while some may chafe at the lack of staccato action, used to reads that gloss over depth in favor of entertainment, the fact is that the attention to relationships and growth is every bit as important as the fantasy that unwinds. Pre-teens and young adults alike who don't need a rushed pace will find it a compelling saga of a teen's journey through both inner and outer worlds that concludes not with a neat or trite wrap-up, but with further possibilities.

[Majanka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review originally published here: http://www.iheartreading.net/book-tou...

Diamante Lavendar creates a magical, colorful, engaging world in The Secrets of Yashire: Emerging from the Shadows. Brianna, the main characters, finds herself in the world of Yashire, where she is sent on a journey to restore unconditional love back to the land. She travels along with Angelos, a mystical tiger, who is pretty awesome, and a one-eyed bired called Abiba. And as they become fast friends and travel across this strange land, Brianna discovers more secrets than she bargained for, including some life lessons she’ll never forget.

I loved Abiba. What a quirky, cute, adorable bird. All the characters have their strength and weaknesses, and all of them come across as balanced. Brianna changes a lot from the start of the book until the end, and it’s all for the better. She grows smarter, she learns lessons that shape her life, like forgiveiness and love and believing in oneself. And on the backdrop of that is an original, well-crafted fantasy world filled with all kinds of creatures.

If I had to give any complaints, it would be the slow pacing at the start. Fortunately, the pacing picks up toward the middle of the book. After reading the ending, I’m eager to find out more about what happens in the next installment. If you like a YA fantasy that focuses on life lessons and talking animals, give this one a shot.

[Michelle Quintana · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was sent to me from Netgalley. It took me longer than usual to read this book. The writing style is different than what I am used to and I just couldn't get the flow. It started off as interesting but once Brianna showed up in Yashire, I could not get into it. The beginning of the book is young adult but the rest of the book seemed more like middle school than young adult. The author is very descriptive of Yashire's landscape it's inhabitants. The story starts off with Brianna at home and fighting a hang over. She plots with her best friend to skip school for the day. An accident occurs and when Brianna wakes up, she is in Yashire with no memory at first. She finally remembers just her name but not where she is from or how she got to Yashire. She is sent on a journey through Yashire because she is the chosen one to heal the land. On her journey, she is accompanied by Angelo, a singing tiger, and Abib, a one-eyed talking bird. While on her journey to heal the land, she is supposed to learn different virtues so she can find her soul-mate. I have a theory that Abib will transform into her soul mate since he is also waiting for his soul mate.

[Mindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantasy and Romance in the same book, happy sigh. I love both these genres and I enjoyed the mingling. The author kept enough realism to make this book a good read. I enjoyed seeing Brianna grow and learn about herself.

I give this book 4 out of 5 clouds.


This product or book may have been distributed for review; this in no way affects my opinions or reviews

[Melinda Brasher · Rating 2 out of 5]

*I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review*

The Secrets of Yashire, Emerging from the Shadows starts out like a modern-day YA novel, complete with somewhat adult situations. Then an accident transports the main character to a fantasy world where the story seems to target a much younger crowd, with the main character suddenly acting much younger and more innocent. It's an odd mix.

The writing is repetitive, often flogging the same point over and over with a direct thought echoed by dialogue and then a confirming repetition of dialogue by another character. Not always in that order. Here's an example:

"Is that what will happen? I'll feel completely different before I meet him?" Brianna asked.
"Yes. That is how you know you are ready." Abiba said.
"I wonder who I'll be by the time I meet him?" she asked.
"Someone totally different." Abiba chirped.
Someone totally different. I wonder who I'll be?

Another example (and bear in mind that we've had similar conversations or thoughts many times before):

"Brianna is here to heal the land," Abiba made conversation as they walked.
"You are here to heal the land?" The two creatures looked at Brianna, their eyes blinking rapidly.
"Yes," Brianna said. "I've been traveling through Yashire for a while now. I need to find my soul mate so that I can heal the land."
"Your soul mate?" The creatures asked.
"Yes. When I find my soul mate the land will be healed." Brianna answered.

Another form of repetition comes from Abiba telling Brianna what is going to happen and then later watching it happen. The reader doesn't need both.

Unrealistic inner thoughts—too formal and stilted, not like we'd actually think—plaster the pages.

The whole thing feels rather preachy, and the receiving of virtues could be deeper if Brianna had to actually practice the virtues more, instead of just hearing about them and accepting them. We all know that patience and honesty and gentleness are good qualities. Knowing isn't the battle. Putting it into practice is. If you tell a businessman, "To be successful, you should sell lots of things," he isn't going to be like, "Wow! I never thought of that. I'll sell lots of things. It makes sense." And then he isn't going to automatically know how to sell lots of things.

The book doesn't really end, so be prepared.

There aren't many typos or other distracting errors, except that the italics for inner thoughts start disappearing toward the end.

The novel does have some really colorful and imaginative creatures and vivid images. Old Miranda is especially cool-looking, and I enjoyed some of the other beings the main character meets along the way.

[Ally · Rating 1 out of 5]

NetGalley. Thanks for the copy.

There are bad books, and then there is this. I can't even tell you how much I suffered while reading this book. I just want to smack myself in the head twenty thousand times for not giving up. Did I hope it was going to get better? Yeah, I did. Did it actually get better? Nooooo, it did not.

What I really don't like about this...

One. Apparently, this is Young Adult. Young adults most certainly know some relatively large vocabulary words. It doesn't hurt to send people to the dictionary unless the author is using the thesaurus for every single f-ing adjective. (I'm so looking at you, Stephenie Meyer. Oh, what a nightmare that book is.) This is more fitting to be a Middle Grade novel. Hell, even younger than that. I guarantee a literate seven year old could read this.

Two. The repetition. I nearly cried when I saw how many damn times a single detail is said over and over again. Over and over again! Internal thoughts of Brianna says this activity is fun. Dialogue of Brianna says this activity is fun. All on the same page. Get over it!

Three. The goal of the character. I get that she has lost her memories (and maybe even her brain), but is she really looking for a bloody soulmate? Aye... I never really liked the books that go on adventures to look for a soulmate (love). I get that she is improving herself by gaining virtues, but... for real? I swear my IQ dropped ten points. (Show, not tell!)

Four. The villain. Seriously underdeveloped and is not worthy of even being called a villain. Doesn't even appear. And honestly, I'm considering to write a fanfic to throw main character, Brianna, at him. Romantically.

Five. Purple, big cats. I just don't like them. I prefer orange cats.

Six. Let's see. I already mentioned the writing style, the character's wants, the oddity of the book itself (why is it even labeled YA?), and those darn purple cats. Oh, have I mentioned the pacing? So. Freaking. Slow. A snail is faster than this book.

What I did like about this...

One thing only. The uniqueness is what brought me here in the first place. The world building has great promise, and I wish the author made the book shine... But, no.

Overall, The Secrets of Yashire is NOT the book I like at all. Not reading it again.

Rating: One out of Five

[Tim Stead · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yashire is not my usual fare, but I received a free copy in return for an honest review.

Yashire is the story of Brianna, a mildly out of control teenage girl - the sort that
parents worry about, but not the police. She drinks too much, parties too much, cuts school and seems to be drifting. She is involved in an accident and is thrown into a magical world.

For me this was the first problem with the book. The opening is decidedly YA. Kids in their early to mid teens would probably relate to Brianna, but the rest of the book, set in the magical land of Yashire, is more middle grade. It's almost as though Brianna lost five years when she got hit on the head.

The book desribes Brianna's journey through Yashire as she seeks to heal the land by healing herself, seeking out various virtues that will enable her to have a good relationship with her soul mate. It has a decidedly christian slant, though the virtues are more or less common sense. The land itself is well imagined, though lacks any obvious symbolism which might have added to the reading experience. It also seemed to me that her journey was largely unopposed. There are supposed to be great evil forces abroad, but Brianna and her companions - a tiger called Angelos who sings and reminded me in a strange way of Tigger, and a talking bird called Abiba - are assisted at every turn and any dangers are swiftly dispatched or easily avoided. They are all guided by 'The Spirit of Truth'.

Having said all that the writing itself was easy to read, although troubled by a few odd word choices and the occasional, rare, typo. I had no trouble getting through the book.

I'd have liked to see the reading age more defined, a little more conflict, and a little more for the adult reader - all good kids' books have this.

The book doesn't finish the story, and I assume a sequel will be forthcoming. My only hope is that Brianna's soul mate will somehow be undergoing a similar process elsewhere, or she could be in for a nasty surprise - but that would be back in the real world again...

[Alex McGilvery · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Secret of Yashire: Emerging from the Shadows is in the ‘ordinary person gets transported to another world’ genre of fantasy. Brianna is a teen girl who knows that she is out of control, but struggles to know how to turn her life around. When she is hit by a car she is transported to Yashire, where she is told she will heal the land by healing herself. Her quest is to ready herself to find her soul mate by collecting the virtues needed for a good relationship.

Leaving aside the issues I have with the concept of a single soul mate who is the only person born to make us complete, the virtues she collects are indeed what are needed for a good relationship of any kind. I would also note the book highlights that relationships take work and don’t happen magically. So the message of the book is good and it is worth reading for that reason alone.

Like most books with a message, the story suffers. This is something I struggle with myself so I know how hard it is to put the theme on the back shelf and let the story develop naturally. In this case the explanation of the virtues takes precedence over any struggle to achieve them. Brianna wanders through the land and is simply handed the virtues without any test or trial to achieve them. The changes in her are not earned. I would really like to see more conflict (not violence but the need to make tough choices). The harder she works, the more believable the shift in her life will be.

So the bottom line is if you want really good advice about relationships, this is a good book to read. If you want a story you can’t put down, not so much. It is the beginning of a series, so perhaps later volumes will be a little stronger on the plot.

[Jane Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

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The eye catching cover of this story describes its premise perfectly. Recounted through Brianna's thoughts and feelings; 'The Secrets of Yashire' is Brianna's journey of self discovery.
The imagery is vivid and easy to visualise, as you read. The characters are interesting, a tiger, a quirky bird and a host of other animals all play an important role in Brianna's journey.
As the first part of a series, it sets the scene well and allows the reader to see, how Brianna changes and develops, through her adventures and experiences.
The story's pacing is on the slow side and sometimes lacks the momentum the action in the plot demands. The relationships explored and the characters' behaviour, make this seem more of an older children's read, rather than young adult.
The ending is suitably gripping and makes you eager to find out what happens next.
I received a copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review.

Diamante Lavendar

[Kerr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Publish date: 26th August 2015


Full review can also be found on: Paein and Ms4Tune’s Book Blog

I'm very confused about the age group this book is aimed at. While reading it, I was sure it was a childrens' book. Having recently read the Lowthars's Blade trilogy and The Neverending Story, I could see the comparisons with ease. However there was a random swear word thrown in there, almost to drive it from children's to Teen/YA which is a shame. I feel that this would have been far more successful as a children's book.

It gets less stars as a YA story, because for it's target audience it's woefully under developed, even as a novella. And hopefully the semi-plotholes will be explained away later on. Though the blurb details the entire plot of the series, this book is actually only part one of the adventure and there is nothing to indicate anything of book 2.

On the whole I didn't think this was my type of book, despite the hunt for a soulmate. Several characters were some what annoying and it never fully pulled me in.
I'd recommend this book to an older reader who struggles with reading or complex stories. at 162 pages it's a short introduction into this world.

[Nicole (Reading Books With Coffee) · Rating 1 out of 5]

*I received The Secrets Of Yashire from netgalley.com in exchange for a fair and honest review

When I saw The Secrets Of Yashire on netgalley, I was really intrigued with it. I really like the overall premise of the book, but unfortunately, I didn't like it as much as I wanted to.

Certain things were repetitive. There were several times where you'd read something, and a paragraph or two later, you'd see the same thing almost verbatim.
It does move at a really slow pace, and sometimes I wished that there was some action in it, because it seemed to drag on. There was something weird about how she reacted to everything- sometimes she seemed disinterested and other times everything was awesome. I think she was 16 or 17 and it's labeled as YA, but she seemed a lot younger than she was supposed to do, and The Secrets Of Yashire would be better suited for a middle grade audience, I think.

I don't know if it's necessarily bad, but I do think it could use some work. Something about it reminded me of one of my NaNoWrimo drafts. I am hesitant to say it's bad, because I do think it has a lot of potential. A story told in the subconscious of a girl is such a cool idea, and the world seems a little bit different. I liked that patience and perseverance are really important, but everything as a whole didn't come together for me.

My Rating: 1 star. I didn't like The Secrets Of Yashire, and it's not my thing, but if experimental fantasy is your thing, this might be the book for you.

[Patrí · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are times when I don't want to look up the book in goodreads because I want to be surprised. I want to enjoy reading the book without knowing how many star ratings it has, or what people think about it. But oh boy, do I wish I had looked up this book before requesting an arc.

The Secrets of Yashire has a really interesting premise. For the most part, it's an okay book. But books don't just solely rely on a great plot. No matter how great the book's plot is, if its characters are boring, what good is it? The characters in this book are uninteresting. The main character, Brianna, is annoying!

"She went to the bed and pulled back the covers to reveal red satin sheets with silver embroidery.
Wow! Fancy sheets! I have never seen anything so elegant! At least I don't think I have.

Brianna is a character, with a voice as annoying as Anastasia Steele. She whines about her parents, but it doesn't sound like that. You just can't feel any sincere emotion from the character. She's always disinterested.

I can't finish this book. And I'm not sorry. I'm doing myself a huge favor.

Thanks as always netgalley!

[Jes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Check out my full review here!
*i was gifted this novel in exchange for an honest review*
https://jbelkbooks.wordpress.com/2015...

[Jesi · Rating 1 out of 5]

*** ARC received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review***

Anyone who has been a beta reader or editor knows a first draft when they see out. Diamante's The Secrets of Yashire isn't a completed draft. it needs more editing, formatting, and addition to the world before it is finished.

[MJ Nicholls]

Author Diamante Lavendar has a question for you: “What is your opinion on experimental writing, such as what I have done with The Secrets of Yashire?” Her pioneering novel occurs “within the framework of a young girl’s mind” (only within the framework, not the actual mind itself, so that must mean the layer of neural tissue suspended in cerebrospinal fluid—a technique that evaded even Joyce himself), and makes use of the protagonist’s italicised thoughts inserted between a third-person narrator, and later an eerie subconscious voice that expresses itself in a copperplate gothic bold with a colon after and before the close of the speech marks, thus: “:HI.:” This technique of placing colons within the framework of conventionally formatted dialogue is another of example of why The Secrets of Yashire is destined to become one of the most important works of experimental writing of our time. If you are willing to wise up to this reality and change, the future is Diamante. The future is Lavendar.

The voice spoke with great authority. She felt compelled to do what it said.
What if I don’t want to see?
The elevator doors opened. In front of her was a tunnel. It looked like it was underground. The air around was damp and cold.
“:WALK DOWN THE TUNNEL.:”
I’m scared. I don’t want to.
“:YOU MUST. I AM GOING TO SHOW YOU WHERE YOU WILL END UP IF YOU DON’T CHANGE. YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO YOU.:”
I don’t want to.
“:YOU MUST.:” (p.~6~)