Amber & Dusk

Sylvie has always known she deserves more. Out in the permanent twilight of the Dusklands, her guardians called her power to create illusions a curse. But Sylvie knows it gives her a place in Coeur d'Or, the palais of the Amber Empress and her highborn legacies.
So Sylvie sets off toward the Amber City, a glittering jewel under a sun that never sets, to take what is hers.
But her hope for a better life is quickly dimmed. The empress invites her in only as part of a wicked wager among her powerful courtiers. Sylvie must assume a new name, Mirage, and begin to navigate secretive social circles and deadly games of intrigue in order to claim her spot. Soon it becomes apparent that nothing is as it appears and no one, including her cruel yet captivating sponsor, Sunder, will answer her questions. As Mirage strives to assume what should be her rightful place, she'll have to consider whether it is worth the price she must pay.

I would have never heard about Amber & Dusk if it wasn’t for the Amazon Vine program. I read the synopsis of the book and knew this book would feed my addiction to the Young Adult Fantasy genre, so I had to get it to read it. The minute I started reading it, I knew I would have a hard time putting it down. Now I’m going to anxiously wait for the second book in the series because I need to find out if Mirage aka Sylvie ends up winning over the people and becoming Empress. There’s also a particular character that won me over that I believe she should be with, but I’ll wait and see what happens.

Sylvie is trying to make her way to Amber City to finally find her place with everyone like her. She’s not your normal young lady. She can produce illusions, but she has no control over them. She’s trying to find out why she was sent to the Dusklands too and also fit in somewhere. She ends up getting to Amber City with the help of a young man named Lucas. He wants her to stay with him, but she knows she needs to be near everyone like her. She finds out though that Amber City is not what she thought. The Empress needs Sylvie to prove herself, and she ends up getting a sponsor and mentor. The sponsor who is one of the Suicide twins, Sunder, though doesn’t want her there. He’s sexy but painful. There’s also her mentor who she becomes friends with and helps her to learn the right etiquette.

I could go on and on about the story, but don’t want to spoil it. Forewarning though this is the first book, so it takes some time to build up the world and learn all about the characters. The suspense of the story is what keeps me intrigued because I wanted to find out who indeed Sylvie was in the story. She ends up getting a new name too in the book, named Mirage for her illusions. There’s a lot of discovery in this book and also finding who she can trust. I was captivated with the Suicide twins, Sunder and Bane. I loved Sunder and look forward to more of him in the next book. You’ll find out why if you read the book. I also loved the corruption of what is happening in Amber City. The Empress is not someone to mess with in this book, and I’m anxiously waiting to find out if Mirage gets a HEA in this series. She deserves it after everything she went through and continues to go through in this book. If you’re looking for a new YA fantasy series, then this book is for you.

Story Rating: 4 stars
Steaminess Rating: N/A
Standalone or part of series: Part of series.
Do I recommend this book? Yes.
Will I read other books from the author? Yes
Tropes/Elements: Magic; Corruption; Royalty; Fantasy

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FranJessca

Owner/Reviewer at A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog

I guess I should type a bio here. I'm FranJessca, or Fran for short. I'm the owner/reviewer behind A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog. I've been reading and reviewing books on my blog since leaving the Navy in 2011, and I will keep doing it as long as possible. My favorite genres will always be Romance & Fantasy, and I read every subgenre underneath those two genres. (Sorry, not a fan of nonfiction, so don't try to convince me to read it.)
My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)

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