City of Sound and Light

Spark Series Book 1

Young Adult - Fantasy - General
389 Pages
Reviewed on 11/12/2020
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

    Book Review

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

City of Sound and Light is a work of fiction in the fantasy, dystopian, and thriller/adventure sub-genres, and was penned by author Dave Walker. Written as the first novel in the Spark Series, the work is intended for young adult readers, but would also be suitable for the high end of the middle grade reading age too. We find ourselves following the events which befall protagonist Tera-Reyna, who lives in a world where sparks, fairy-like companions, are utilized for connection and communication. But when Tera stumbles across a spark without its human and learns a terrible secret about future events, she finds herself drawn into a chilling and deadly investigation. Soon, the fate of society rests in her hands alone.

Author Dave Walker has done a fantastic job with this truly unique young adult work, which manages to weave a convincing, serious, and suspenseful political thriller into the magical dystopian setting of Misso and the Median League. My heart was certainly in my throat for many thrilling moments in the plot, and one of the things which I appreciated was how close and empathetic we can be with Tera thanks to the intimate narration, emotive speech, and thought presentation by the author. Ignored and overlooked, as many young people are, rooting for Tera in this story inspires a kind of empowerment for the audience and gets you doubly invested in the outcome of her adventure. Overall, I would highly recommend City of Sound and Light as a promising start to an accomplished new YA series, filled with original, engrossing ideas.