Book Tour || SPARK TO SHADOW by Atima Kim

I’m super excited today to be sharing my review and favourite quotes of “Spark to Shadow” by Atima Kim. This just so happens to be… my very first Blog Tour!!! So I must firstly start by saying a massive thank you to TBR and Beyond Tours for selecting me. And also to Atima Kim for writing Spark to Shadow and allowing me the pleasure of reading it. Find the full tour schedule here

Synopsis

Witch. Warrior. Dragon Rider.

Long ago, the covens of the east made a pact to bring peace to the continent. To unite the clans and create a new era of witches, starting with the next generation of matrons.

Fang is the first witch of her generation to reach her debut, as the next matron of her coven she has the unique honor of being the first one to fulfill the pact.

For the first time in centuries, a Miangese witch will take a foreign consort. Luckily, Fang already has someone in mind. Taken in by the Sun coven in the mountain kingdom of Anda, Fang is more than happy to entertain the alluring young lords of the ruby clan as they compete to win her affections, not knowing her choice has already been made.

Or so she thought. Until a chance encounter brings to light the existence of something Fang previously thought to be quite rare, a male witch. The meeting of this young shadow witch— a boy who Fang now owes a debt— starts a chain of events that will make Fang question everything she thought she knew about her Andan allies. In an effort to help him escape his oppressors, Fang and the shadow witch discover a dark presence that is slowly poisoning the innocent citizens of mortal Anda, and a dangerous weapon that could threaten the very peace of the pact that Fang is bound to uphold.

As she, her friends, and her new shadow witch companion work to fight against these looming forces, Fang’s feelings towards her own choices slowly start to shift. She must decide what is more important to her, who she wants by her side, and most of all- what she’s willing to give up in order to be the leader her people need.

Book Links: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Goodreads

Title: Spark to Shadow by Atima Kim
Date of Publication: February 2nd 2021
Length: 468 pages (e-book)
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Audience: Young Adult
Favorite Quote: “ In Miang, we’d consider the scar a badge of honour, it’s evidence that you lived through something other’s might not have”
Content Warnings: 
Series: I believe the author is working on another 3 in this series…

Review

A witch was her own best weapon.

Spark to Shadow is a fast paced, enjoyable and actioned packed YA Fantasy Romance. I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading this Asian inspired fantasy (own voices), and was super happy that I read it during May which is AAPI Heritage Month. Learning that it is also Self Published!! Amazing!! I’m a huge advocate for reading Indie authors and books like this are exactly why I go on about indie authors so much.

If you’re interested in reading more Indie authors, check out my Indie Readathon Anouncement for the month of July.

In Miang, we’d consider the scar a badge of honour, it’s evidence that you lived through something other’s might not have

The first thing that struck a chord with me was the sisterhood between Fang and her coven, Pim and Nita. Right from the very start the friendship and support between them was a standout for me. The banter between them I was also here for. It felt so genuine and made my heart happy. Secondly, was Fang’s morals. Her sense of justice and what was right coupled with her infallible resolve to make it so, impressed me to no end.

I loved that the main character was Thai!!! You never see that in books unless it is a non fiction or memoir. The differences between the Thai covens (Miang) and Korean (Anda) were vast and made it so much fun to read. Fang and her coven definitely experience culture shock when visiting Anda and thought it was important to see this in fiction such as this. The phrase “We are not a monolith” came to mind and I was grateful that this was mentioned. Yes both cultures are Asian, not the same. This goes for any region. I just like that it was stated as this isn’t always the way with fiction.

I am the fire, your the smoke. Can’t have one without the other, now can I?

All hail the pretty little lordlings of the ruby clan

Reading this book I learnt something about myself. I love the bachelorette competition trope. I’m not usually one for a love triangle either but it really worked for me in this novel. I would also like to mention that Fang is from a sex and sex worker positive culture!! Is there anything in Atima’s writting I didn’t like? ….There was a little slump in the middle, but that was only in comparisson to the rest of the book. Then it got EVEN BETTER.

I haven’t even scratched the surface of all of my thoughts on Spark to Shadow and there are so many highlighted notes in my kindle it’s looks like the baby got hold of it.

The world building, character development, plot and pacing were all so well done. It’s hard to believe this wasn’t created with a massive publishing team behind it.

I believe Atima Kim is working on another 3 books in this series so keep an eye out for the Matrons of Miang series.

You feel sad sometimes so that you can also feel happy. You can feel anger so that you can also feel peace. You feel alone so that eventually you can feel loved

OVERALL THOUGHTS: If you love YA Fantasy Romance with a Bachelorette competition vibe, love triangles, magic, witches, baddass FMC’s with a kickass enseble cast, cheeky MMCs and DRAGONS you can’t go wrong with “Spark to Shadow”

MY RATING

About The Author

Atima has been coming up with stories for as long as she can remember. As soon as she learned how to read and write she was putting pen to paper and dreaming up new worlds and adventure. Her life has always been on the page and as she grew up and her interests changed so did her writing. She loves creating places to escape, and more than anything she loves writing about love. She was born in the Midwestern US, to a Thai mother and American father. Her home has always been a mix of languages and cultures, and remains so today. She likee to draw on the places and people and culture that influence her life as inspiration in her writing and she hopes to join the ranks of other Asian American authors representing diverse cultures and voices in the writing community through her books.

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram