Miist

Title: Miist by Kamilla Reid
Media source: Ebook
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Recommendation:  I would recommend this novel to young adult readers and adult readers alike.  It is a fantasy novel with adventure and suspense.

Miist comes to us from the mind of author Kamilla Reid.  It is a young adult fantasy novel that follows the escapades of Root and her companions: Lian and Dwyn as they quest for something Lost.  But are they ready for what they find?

Root is a young girl trying to survive in Shade Howl working for women known as the Aunts.  She hunts down items that could be of value.  One night she stumbles into the Aunts' home and overhears a conversation between the Aunts and someone known as The Badge.  The conversation is about youth who have been "called" by the Marrow Blind and needs to report for duty.  The only way to determine who has been called is the moonlight shining on your hand.  Root escapes into the night and thrusts her hand into the moonlight to discover she has been called.    Root and two others who received "the calling," Lian and Dwyn, are being charged with finding an item that is Lost.  They never suspect the adversity that are in store for them.

This was an enjoyable book to read.  I found the plot and characters interesting.  Reid creates a world of her own throughout this story and readers see that sometimes things may not be as they seem. The descriptions are well done and paint a lovely picture of each setting, or rather not so lovely when Root is in the slum area of Shade Howl.  Readers get a clear and concise idea of what the world Reid created looks like, and may even feel like.  When she describe the sentinels in one of the rooms of the citadel, of being in Ice Rock with no bodies but breathing, standing guard, there is this eerie feel about them. 

Some of the language used in the novel is hard to understand because there is no explanation on what things are such as Bone Grit, Greyshank, and Heat.  It took me a while to understand Heat, but there are other terminology that I didn't fully understand what they were.  It would have been helpful if the first chapter or when something is mentioned for the like Greyshank, that there was a small short couple word explanation.  As a writer, you don't want your readers to get caught up in wondering what something is, with Mist it is hard not to get mixed up with the wording.

The characters are very well-developed and complex.  As you read through the story you can see each character developing and becoming stronger.  I have to say Lian is one of my favorite characters in this book from the moment he is introduced.  He is the mild-mannered timid character that reflect my own personality.  I also enjoyed that his talent/pyre/magic was in the field of nature.  One of my favorite elements.  I have found some of our favorite characters are the one we see ourselves in, and readers will come to find out that Kamilla's characters are no different.  There is a character that reflects personality traits everyone holds. 

This was an excellent book to read and I look forward to any works from Kamilla in the future.  She does a great job creating a unique universe and people to inhabit it.  As you read through this book you want to know more about the characters and where their future will lead.  Great job.

I read this book as an ARC and that gives the book and characters a different feel.  It is as if being among the first to read the novel, I am helping to give life to Kamilla's world.  While I had the honor of reading it early,  the book is not scheduled to be released until October 3rd.  Not too far away!

** I have had the honor of receiving this novel as an advanced reader copy for an honest review **