Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Mistwood (Mistwood #1)

by Leah Cypess (Goodreads Author)

3.54 of 5 stars 3.54 · rating details · 3,785 ratings · 611 reviews

The Shifter is an immortal creature bound by an ancient spell to protect the kings of Samorna. When the realm is peaceful, she retreats to the Mistwod.

But when she is needed she always comes.

Isabel remembers nothing. Nothing before the prince rode into her forest to take her back to the castle. Nothing about who she is supposed to be, or the powers she is supposed to have....more

Hardcover, 304 pages

Published April 27th 2010 by Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins (first published April 23rd 2010)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

2010 Debut Authors (Young Adult & Middle Grade Literature)

24th out of 301 books — 1,973 voters

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

YA Books of 2010 & 2011 I'm LIVING to read!!

107th out of 1,073 books — 6,107 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Jul 24, 2010 Kristi (The Story Siren) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own

Mistwood was such a beautifully written novel. If there was one thing that really blew me away it was the writing. It was exquisite, it really was. That alone will keep me seeking out more novels by Cypress.

However, I found the other elements of the story lacking. The plot was one big mystery. Both the reader and Isabel are in the dark for almost all of the novel. If I had to describe the plot in one word, I'd say confusing. I found that when you start a novel that takes place in a different wor...more Mistwood was such a beautifully written novel. If there was one thing that really blew me away it was the writing. It was exquisite, it really was. That alone will keep me seeking out more novels by Cypress.

However, I found the other elements of the story lacking. The plot was one big mystery. Both the reader and Isabel are in the dark for almost all of the novel. If I had to describe the plot in one word, I'd say confusing. I found that when you start a novel that takes place in a different world, you have to get in a few chapters before you really 'know' what's going on. Does that make sense? Well, that is what I was expecting to happen this time around, but I just found myself waiting for that moment of understanding or at least a smidgen of clarity.... I did finally get it, but it didn't come until the last few pages of the novel. I think that made the plot seem a little slow for me as well, because I had a hard time becoming invested in the story.

The characters were all a little to flat and two dimensional for my tastes. The one character that I did start to enjoy, was killed off! So much for that..... Isabel, despite her flaws, was a very perplexing character, but by the time I really understood her, I didn't care anymore. I wasn't particularly impressed with any of the characters even though I wanted to be.

Somehow I knew that two of the characters were going to fall for each other, but I didn't really see it happening, I just had this hankering. Um, yes, I did just say hankering. But once the proclamation of love is made.... it just seemed so insincere! Something was missing. Perhaps that was just me though. I do love reading a good love story and maybe that's what I was wanting to see from those two characters and it's completely possible that I just missed some of the foreshadowing on that...? Am I alone in that revelation?

The ending, while it was the one thing I think I enjoyed the most about the novel, just sort of ended. This huge bombshell is dropped on the reader and you don't even have a chance to digest it, and neither do the characters. It's just kind of put out there and then... the END.

I'm hoping possibly that this is part of a series...? I would be interested in reading more about this story and know that it could be something magnificent.

Overall, Miswood was beautifully written, but just lacked some of the qualities that I like to see in a great novel.(less)

8 likes · like · see review

Nov 08, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by Ashley B for TeensReadToo.com

Isabel is the Shifter. She is bound to protect the kings of Samorna at all costs. When she is not needed, she resides in her forest, Mistwood. When they need her, she goes to the castle.

When Prince Rokan comes for her in Mistwood, she does not remember why she had left Samorna many years ago. She also doesn't remember how to change forms. Isabel knows the prince needs her to be the Shifter. But she also knows that he is lying to her. The truth can change...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jun 28, 2010 Jillian -always aspiring- rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: disappointing-books, covers-i-love, titles-i-love, should-have-loved-it-but-didn-t, out-of-the-box-ideas, 2010-reads, reviewed

Mistwood isn’t quite what you might expect -- or, I’ll be honest here, it wasn’t what I was expecting.

I’ll be honest again: I’m a sucker for covers, and I loved this one. That was what moved me to pick this book up sooner rather than later, and the blurb on the cover flap was intriguing enough to pique my interest. However, the book isn’t filled with all the gripping mystery, wondrous magic, and dark allure that I expected: instead, it’s a story about discovery, trust, loyalty, betrayal, and qu...more Mistwood isn’t quite what you might expect -- or, I’ll be honest here, it wasn’t what I was expecting.

I’ll be honest again: I’m a sucker for covers, and I loved this one. That was what moved me to pick this book up sooner rather than later, and the blurb on the cover flap was intriguing enough to pique my interest. However, the book isn’t filled with all the gripping mystery, wondrous magic, and dark allure that I expected: instead, it’s a story about discovery, trust, loyalty, betrayal, and quite a bit of political intrigue. While all of that is good and well, I felt that the loyalty games actually took away from the plot and characters. It was forever a guessing game for me, having to wonder, “Okay, is this person telling the truth? He/she lied before. . . .” To be blunt -- many of the characters were just plain liars -- and not always for good reasons. (Maybe I’m being too harsh, but that’s the way it seemed to me. If I had known any of these characters in real life, I likely wouldn’t have trusted any of them.)

The sad thing is that the plot could have been great (something akin to a book I loved called Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta), but instead everything seemed shallow and unremarkable -- like the surface of the water when I had fully expected to be submerged into the depths below. It felt as if I had read the book before in some other form, and no plot point really made me think, “Wow, that’s something.” It bored me at some points when I felt it should have been one of those books that just took hold of me and didn’t let me go until I read the final page. This book didn’t offer that kind of reading experience for me, sadly.

As for the characters (beyond their loyalty and trust issues) -- I wanted to love Isabel and Rokan -- but I felt more exasperated or irritated with them at times than anything else. Sure, there were moments where things they said made me smile or surprised me -- but they were too few and far between. (The other characters were all right. I don't know. None of them really jumped off the page for me.) HOWEVER -- I am interested enough by the ending (especially by some of the things implied in the last chapter) -- to pick up the next book when it comes out. That’s saying something. (I just hope I really feel the deepening of the relationship/companionship between Isabel and Rokan in the next book since I wasn’t feeling it very much here.)

Overall -- yes, I was disappointed. No, I didn’t hate the book. Yes, I wish it had been better. Maybe if I give the book some space and try to reread it at a future date, I might feel differently about it. Maybe then I’ll even love it. Right now, though -- I’m still on the fence about all of it.(less)

21 likes · like · see review

Jun 17, 2012 Jasana rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: covers-i-like, fantasy, ghosts, read-in-2012, paranormal, series, young-adult, romance, magic, summer-reads-2012, meh

When I saw the cover, I knew I had to read this. The cover was just too pretty, and ghostly, and magic-y not to read. And the premise was the same. So, I put this book on hold at my local library. And when it came, I immediately dove into it.

I was expecting lots of fighting, and romance, and magic. So, before reading, I was like this:

But sadly it wasn't like that. There was just a lot of political and loyalty games. People lied too much. First they would be like, "Hey I'm on your side." Then, "N...more

6 likes · like · see review

Feb 22, 2013 Brad rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-favorites

Mistwood is a whirlwind of a fantasy adventure with fun characters and a tale for the ages. I couldn't put it down!

Mistwood starts with immediate action and never seizes to let up. I was instantly emerged into this world, exploring the epic fantasy parts of it with the castles and ghosts and everything brilliant about it. Mistwood has everything I love it in a fantasy novel: castles (love!), supernatural creatures, and an excellent protagonist that I could connect with.

Because Isabel is a really...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 17, 2011 Angie rated it 2 of 5 stars

When I read the summary for this book, I was interested in this new concept for a book. It sounded like something I had never read before so I decided to give it a read. I guess you can tell from my rating that it did not live up to my expectations, although the book wasn't necessarily bad.

I found the characters hard to connect with and sympathize for, especially the Shifter which is problematic since she was the main character. She was too distant and "expressionless" (this word is used to desc...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jun 05, 2012 Gemma rated it 3 of 5 stars

Within the first 20 pages of Mistwood, I found myself hooked and actually excited to read to the end and know how it would resolve. The premise of this Shifter creature who lives solely to protect her king and can shift into anything was pretty good.

Unfortunately, the rest of Mistwood seemed to lose momentum once it got going. It was still... okay, but ceased to be hugely captivating.

Basically, it's a book about politics and loyalty. The Shifter is supposed to be loyal to the King and the true...more Within the first 20 pages of Mistwood, I found myself hooked and actually excited to read to the end and know how it would resolve. The premise of this Shifter creature who lives solely to protect her king and can shift into anything was pretty good.

Unfortunately, the rest of Mistwood seemed to lose momentum once it got going. It was still... okay, but ceased to be hugely captivating.

Basically, it's a book about politics and loyalty. The Shifter is supposed to be loyal to the King and the true King. So along the way, there's a twist that prevents her from being entirely loyal to Rokan, her original king who she's devoted to protecting.

There's also some sort of assassination plot thrown in here, but I'm not exactly sure how/what it accomplished.

Past those initial 20 pages, I didn't really feel a sense of urgency in the book. Even when the action was happening, nothing ever felt desperate, or like there was something to lose. So I never felt concerned for anything that was happening; it all seemed irrelevant to the situation.

Perhaps the lack of intensity was due to Isabel, the Shifter, who supposedly feels nothing because she is not human and incapable of feeling. Okay, cool. But when she's the narrator... not so much. I think I'm gonna quote myself from a previous review here, but if there's no passion, then there's no point. You need the narrator to care, because if she doesn't, then there's no way that we will.

Of course, part of the story is that she was becoming more human as the story progressed, but I didn't feel that.

Also, the other characters had no personality, save for Clarisse, who got to be the story's b****. But there were other characters scattered throughout the book (Rokan, Daria, Albin, Ven) who were supposed to be interesting or intriguing or... whatever. The problem was that nobody ever was. They were all pretty boring. So I could never really care.

Overall, there was some very good premise here that was wasted by poor characterization and lack of passion. But I'd still say it was a decent book, especially for a first novel, just, you know... could have been way better.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 02, 2011 Lunamoth rated it 2 of 5 stars

the premise for this book was certainly interesting, However the book itself was a bit flat.

Isabela is the Shifter, an immortal being who can shift into any animal or make herself hard as stone at will, however we quickly learn in the book that she is incapable of shifting into animals.

This is the part where the book lost me, i was so excited to see this happen and it just didn't. It becomes apparent why she can't very late in the book and it was underwhelming to say the least.

While the story...more

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 10, 2011 Danya rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own

The Shifter is a being of legend. Wild, powerful, and able to take on any shape it chooses... and its purpose is to protect Samornian royalty. But for years now the Shifter has been gone, vanished into the wilds of Mistwood, and some have begun to believe it was indeed only a creature of myth.

That is, until the Samornian prince Rokan brings her back with him to the castle. Isabel has few memories of anything before the here and now, but she knows that as the Shifter it is her duty to guard Rokan...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jan 02, 2011 Jamie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 12-14, fantasy

I found this book to be dead boring and exactly why I hate fantasy books, generally. I read it less than a month ago and would be hard pressed to write a paragraph about it. Yawn.

3 likes · like · see review

Nov 29, 2011 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, mystery, teen

Isabel is an ancient shapeshifter who is committed to protecting the king and his family. She has been living in her forest, Mistwood, when the new king comes to ask for her help. Isabel struggles to protect him, because she is having trouble shifting and there are gaps in her memory. Little does she realize a past treachery may be the cause of her difficulty.[return][return]I picked this book up because it was being compared to The Attolia series and Graceling. The main character, Isabel, is a...more

like · see review

Nov 03, 2011 Harmony Beaufort rated it 3 of 5 stars

First of all, yay for more High Fantasy! Overall, I liked it. It wasn't anything amazing, but I enjoyed reading Isabel's story.

I wish it was longer, mostly because I wanted to be...plunged into this world of mist and shifters and politics. It wasn't invested in any of the characters or anything that was going on, which took away some of the enjoyment for me. I was kinda just reading "This happened" and then "This happened" without really feeling it.

Isabel was a great character, and I get why the...more

like · see review

Mar 12, 2013 Sarah Bowen rated it 3 of 5 stars

I have to say this book didn't exactly enthrall me at first. Fantasy is a hard genre to get right into. But once i sat down to read it, it wasn't so bad. The book tells the story of the Shifter, who when called, must protect the king. When Rokan first calls Isabel to serve him, she does so without question at first as she can't remember why she left the kingdom last time.

I found the characters of this story - Isabel aside - to be a little weak in areas. As other people have commented, this book...more

like · see review

Dec 23, 2012 Casareadinggirl rated it 1 of 5 stars

I didn't like this story for many reasons but the two main ones were:
1. The idea of the story of a shifter who protects royals sounds like a really amazing and intriguing idea but I feel Leah Cypress did not do it justice. The Shifter never really shifted and seemed weak and too human. When I picked up this book I was expecting an all-powerful being who could be merciless and kick-ass but I did not get that. I got a main character who irritated me with her emotional and physical weakness. I want...more I didn't like this story for many reasons but the two main ones were:
1. The idea of the story of a shifter who protects royals sounds like a really amazing and intriguing idea but I feel Leah Cypress did not do it justice. The Shifter never really shifted and seemed weak and too human. When I picked up this book I was expecting an all-powerful being who could be merciless and kick-ass but I did not get that. I got a main character who irritated me with her emotional and physical weakness. I wanted a heroine who in the beginning was emotionless and determined but gradually became more emotionally vulnerable and human but only enough to find love, instead I got a girl who sometimes seems like a ruthless killing machine and at other times was just a whining teenager who could not do anything but feel self-pity. The only part that really interested me got removed quickly and I just found myself anticipating the end of the book so I could move onto something better. The story had a lot of potential and could've been amazing but instead it just disappointed me.
2. It was VERY confusing!! There were so many characters and they all seemed to be bad in some way or another. The teams just kept on switching and in the end I really didn't know who was the bad guy and who was the good guy. The main character seemed to have a split personality sometimes cold and ruthless other times weak and emotional. I knew barely anything about the world they were in and I did not know the characters one bit because every time I felt like I understood a character they would take a complete 180 in their personalities and I'd feel like I had missed something. The love in the story was completely flat and superficial and I felt like I couldn't understand why it was there, maybe just to say there is romance because honestly it just seemed like the author just randomly wrote the love in completely out of context and forgot to tell us until it jumped at our faces screaming "BELIEVE ME!!!!!!!!!!"

Really the only thing I can honestly say was good in the story was its unearthed potential and the descriptions of appearances. Places like the Mistwood and people. That is probably the only reason this book even got one star.

P.S I am usually very easy to please when it comes to books as I don't really pay attention to how well it's written just the plot so it just goes to show that this book really should not have disappointed me so much(less)

like · see review

Sep 26, 2012 Alexis rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: People with nothing else to read

Shelves: fooled-by-a-pretty-cover, fantasy, disappointing

This book was very, very simple. Nothing spectacular about it, not writing nor story nor characters, nor even worldbuilding, which for a book with this description, kind of threw me off. I mean, the only background we get to Cypess' world is the whole Shifter thing, which, not to give anything away, completely crashes at the end and ruined the entire book. I can't even imagine what's in her next book, and I have no intention of finding out.

Elaboration on a few points: she killed off the only cha...more

like · see review

Aug 24, 2012 Jamie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: magic, kickass-heroine, okay-romance, princesses-and-princes, strange-abilities, other

Description
The Shifter is an immortal creature bound by an ancient spell to protect the kings of Samorna. When the realm is peaceful, she retreats to the Mistwod.

But when she is needed she always comes.

Isabel remembers nothing. Nothing before the prince rode into her forest to take her back to the castle. Nothing about who she is supposed to be, or the powers she is supposed to have.

Prince Rokan needs Isabel to be his Shifter. He needs her ability to shift to animal form, to wind, to mist. He ne...more

like · see review

Mar 04, 2012 Sabrina *The REAL Princess* rated it 2 of 5 stars

Ummm ... am I just dense or was this book super confusing? Is this just me? I ... have absolutely no idea what to say.

The plot was rather confusing. At times (like every single page of the book) I was just reading and it would be like the words went through one ear and out the other one. I have no idea how I got through the entire novel, I had absolutely no clue what was going on most of the time.

Even now, I am still pretty confused with what happened. It's a huge mystery and for once, I wasn't...more

5 likes · like · see review

Feb 19, 2012 Maggie Desmond-O'Brien rated it 4 of 5 stars

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book. Going in I had heard a lot of hype, but I’m also not a huge fan of this kind of fantasy fiction. I think it’s too easy to go wrong. And comparisons to Graceling by Kristin Cashore were obviously inevitable, and almost anything in the genre compared to Graceling is going to fall a bit short.

So, I was pleasantly surprised when it didn’t quite live up to the hype but made an enchanting, enjoyable read. Fans of the genre are sure to adore it, and even tho...more I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book. Going in I had heard a lot of hype, but I’m also not a huge fan of this kind of fantasy fiction. I think it’s too easy to go wrong. And comparisons to Graceling by Kristin Cashore were obviously inevitable, and almost anything in the genre compared to Graceling is going to fall a bit short.

So, I was pleasantly surprised when it didn’t quite live up to the hype but made an enchanting, enjoyable read. Fans of the genre are sure to adore it, and even those who don’t consider themselves fans will probably like it. Cypress did a fabulous job of foreshadowing and creating a character that we could believe in as a supernatural force and doing it with enough suspense that we would want to keep reading. Or, at least, I wanted to keep reading—this is another one where I climbed into the bathtub with it and didn’t get out till I’d finished.

A complaint I had, though, was the romance. I like romance maybe a little less than the next girl, but I still like romance. However, this is a book that would have definitely worked without it, and probably would have worked better. It felt contrived and tacked on to me, trying to force itself into a genre it doesn’t belong in. Authors, publishers, and other bookie people, us teen girls WILL read books without romance. We might not go into a Twi-hard frenzy over it, but I assure you we will read it and enjoy it just the same, and will probably be more loyal to you if we feel you were loyal to your story. (And it’s not just me—many of my friends aren’t huge romance fans, either. Really. It’s not just me!)

Anyway, I hit the really high points and the low one—now time for the good points that, while small, also helped make this book work. First of all, the impressive character development. Graceling to me was a plot book; this was a character book. That will definitely be essential in distancing itself from Kristin Cashore’s work, because unfortunately, there are a lot of parallels. If you look at a publishing timetable there is no way Leah Cypress could have intentionally plagiarized, however, readers will probably find a lot of the material familiar ground.

But as I said, there’s enough difference that it works. Another good point was the portrayal of a court. I wasn’t sold at first, but by the end, I thought it was great—speaking as a Tudor history buff who is OBSESSED with royal (especially English) courts.

So, this isn’t quite a run-out-and-buy-it-right-now kind of book, but if you end up running across it, it’s definitely worth picking up. I hope you’ll enjoy watching Isabel discover herself as much as I did here. (less)

like · see review

Jan 21, 2012 Liz rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: bland, meh, needs-an-editor-liek-whoa, young-adult, all-tell-no-show

I didn't really care for this book. It's not that there wasn't a good story or good characters, there were, it's that the potential for both was never realized.

I had an editor once who, upon reading through a short story I'd sent her, said, "Nice outline; where's the rest of the story?" That's how I felt after reading this book. Nothing was fleshed out, neither the characters nor the story itself. Everything felt flat, two dimensional. There was so much telling instead of showing; we're told how...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 14, 2011 Liyana rated it 5 of 5 stars

It's been a long time since I've had such pleasure reading a book. It's also been a long time since I was engrossed enough, interested enough to actually finish one. I was blown away from the first page.

Mistwood was exactly what I needed. Cypess continued to surprise me with every turn of the page, and the tension is never-ending. I kept trying to guess what would happen, and there's really nothing I like better than to be proven wrong, especially when it's done so artfully. It's rare for books...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 23, 2011 Vanille rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: no-longer-interested

Okay, now, I tried really hard to like this book. The premise raised a small, red flag in me -- I love shape-shifters, when they're done right. Here, they weren't.

This whole book, to sum it up, is vapid and shallow. It read like a romance novel without the romance: the same flat, hollow stereotyped characters we know and hate in some political intrigue that really was just a mass of confusion and frustration. No matter what happened, I didn't care about anyone in the story. There was no characte...more Okay, now, I tried really hard to like this book. The premise raised a small, red flag in me -- I love shape-shifters, when they're done right. Here, they weren't.

This whole book, to sum it up, is vapid and shallow. It read like a romance novel without the romance: the same flat, hollow stereotyped characters we know and hate in some political intrigue that really was just a mass of confusion and frustration. No matter what happened, I didn't care about anyone in the story. There was no characterization (except for a prince who likes horseback riding to feel free. Oh, come on.) And then romance (believe it or not, there was romance!) turned and reared its ugly head only on the last few pages of the story. If that was supposed to seem natural, or suspenseful, it failed miserably. It felt fake, staged, and unnecessary -- much like the rest of the story.

Character wise, the only one I liked throughout the whole thing was Ven, even if he was a stereotype himself. His curiosity for the Shifter felt far more real and believable than anyone else in the story. Though, he too suffered from characterization based upon his stereotype of being a sorcerer -- Shifter research, books, spells; that's all really. Oh, and his name is pretty cool.

The rest of the characters felt shallow and felt like placeholders, not real people. I'm supposed to be reading about some character's story, not this blundering mess of a thing called characters that should represent some horrible, yet somewhat realistic mirrored image of royalty, yet in the end was nothing of the sort.

Even Isabel, the main character, constantly only dwelled on pointless things. Every one of her emotions didn't compute with me (yes, I am a computer ^^). Staged and shallow. Those words fit her fine. But, at least her Shifter abilities, her fights (which were poorly written to boot), and her forest -- the Mistwood -- pleased me. I smiled. Only the Mistwood really made me happy. The idea of a creature born of mist and fog intrigued me.

That's it.

The concept of the Shifter, though interesting in how Cypress altered the idea of a shape-shifter, was overused far too many times as the main conflict. It was the center of Isabel's world (understandably) but so too was it the center of our (the readers') world. It was used too often to drive the plot forward, or back.

The writing ticked me off. The constant use of passive tense, "was this, was that", irked me to no end. Eventually, I started to reword the sentences to exclude the "was"s, and though it took me longer to read, it made it far more tolerable.
Also, the flow of it was very choppy. The energy of the piece, which should always be an upward rise to the Climax and then a downward nosedive to the Resolution, was all over the place. Suddenly we were at one place. Then, the next. No transition whatsoever. I realize this is third person, but transition is a must. It's not an excuse to just jump around every which way.

There was nothing notable analytically-wise, which left me seething, but shouldn't be much of a problem unless you like things I like (which is rare).

Overall: Okay, so, this story didn't do anything for me. I read it to read it, but got nothing from it. With stereotyped characters and a horribly overused concept that was always used to drive the plot forward, yet with a slightly intriguing premise, I will give Miswood two stars. It's not worth buying; get it from the library or just don't waste your time.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Nov 10, 2011 Jacob rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, reviewed

I think this book was ok. It was a quick read, I did it in one night, and I think that was about right. The book has less fighting and action and more emotional lovey-dovey stuff, but I kinda expected that going in since it is a young adult novel with a heroine trying to decide how she feels about "her prince" that she is bound to protect. That plot premise screams emotional journey/discovery, not kick-butt action/fighting. The plot itself was a bit predictable, and I pretty much had it all figu...more

like · see review

Oct 26, 2011 Lisa Chung rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: advisory-2011-2012

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Oct 15, 2011 Larissa rated it 3 of 5 stars

(actually 3.5)

I had heard about Mistwood awhile back from another blog and the description (and cover art) intrigued me. I bought it on my Kindle and read it over a vacation in California. I definitely liked the legend aspect of it, and the author had a twist ending that I could not see coming. The descriptions were very well written, I could picture the castle that most of the book takes place in very vividly.

What I did not enjoy so much is that there was not a ton of action throughout the book...more

like · see review

Aug 01, 2011 Alyssa rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'd read mixed reviews about this book, but I was excited to read it. It sounded different, no vampires and werewolves and faeries. Just a Shifter and a kingdom and a lot of court intrigue. I read a review where the person thought that the characters were flat...she has a point. None of them really change in the book, except maybe Isabel...but since she's half wild, she's not really consistent at all. I think my favorite part was all the court intrigue. Who's lying to who, who's a traitor, who's...more

like · see review

Jul 07, 2011 Becky rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, paranormal, young-adult

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Jul 05, 2011 Corinne rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

Isabel is a Shifter, a legendary and powerful being that is bound to whomever sits on the throne in Samorna. She is sworn to protect the king and when Prince Rokan comes to the Mistwood to claim her protection, she cannot deny him. Upon reaching the castle, though, she finds that she cannot change shape the way she used to - and emotions that have never clouded her thinking or reactions before are making her task challenging when it should be effortless. Intrigue within the court and political s...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 23, 2011 Carmin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Ok... So Mistwood was one of those books you go into with an idea of what would happen, how it would end. Who was who. And then Cypess changes everything. I loved this book because it was so different from so many other young adult books I have read. The writing was incredibly engaging and addictive. The plot was so intricate in some parts of the book I had to re-read to catch up.I love the idea that this book was a book that as one that dealt with Kings and royalty and society it never let you...more

like · see review

May 20, 2011 Cyp rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: dont-bother, ya, 2011-reads, 1-star, another-world, werewolf-or-shapeshifter, fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book, i must say, was rather disappointing. Monotonous and anti-climatic, slow-paced and uneventful, the reading process was really quite laborious.

The heroine in the book was courageous, that i must give her credit, even though she has no inkling where and who she was and uncertainty of the place and people around her and the doubts and suspiscions in her supposed allies' eyes, which was a thing she was very unfamiliar with were screwing with her emotions, she still continues to forge on...more

like · see review

May 09, 2011 Christine rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Shifter, a creature born of mists and magic, is sworn to protect the king and his family. She does this with great power, and without emotion, for she is not truly human. Or so the legends say.

Isabel doesn’t remember being The Shifter, though. She doesn’t remember anything at all. When Prince Rokan takes her from the Mistwood, binding her to him with a bracelet rumored to have first created her from the mists, she only knows that she wants to protect him.

But Rokan is hiding things from her,...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Question	10	29	Feb 27, 2013 10:37am
What's The Name o...: A girl who can turn into mist, a panther/some other type of wild cat, and is an amnesiac gets recruited to guard a boy who claims to be an heir to the throne?[s]	6	46	May 06, 2012 11:31am

combine
Other Editions (5)

More editions...

Genres

Fantasy

342 users

Young Adult

230 users

Fantasy > Magic

54 users

Fantasy > Paranormal

52 users

Romance

41 users

Young Adult > Young Adult Fantasy

26 users

Paranormal > Shapeshifters

25 users

Fantasy > Supernatural

22 users

Young Adult > Teen

22 users

Mystery

14 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

Brightly Woven
by Alexandra Bracken
Other
by Karen Kincy
Everlasting
by Angie Frazier
Magic Under Glass
by Jaclyn Dolamore
Under the Green Hill
by Laura L. Sullivan

About Leah Cypess

I wrote my first story in first grade. The narrator was an ice-cream cone in the process of being eaten. In fourth grade, I wrote my first book, about a girl who gets shipwrecked on a desert island with her faithful and heroic dog (a rip-off of both The Black Stallion and all the Lassie movies, very impressive).

However, I took a few detours along the way to becoming a full-time writer. After selli...more

More about Leah Cypess...

Books by Leah Cypess

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Mistwood

3 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Mistwood

“I don't want you to be the shifter. Rokan's voice was quiet , and her human sense of smell told her nothing about how he felt. I haven't wanted that for a long time. since before i knew it was possible for you to not be the shifter. a pause then - so quirtly that even she could barely hear him - since before i knew i loved you” — 22 people liked it

“Not all dangers are obvious.” — 16 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Mistwood
avg rating	preview: Mistwood Goodreads rating: 3.54 (3785 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6768411-mistwood?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1334259048l/6768411.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6768411-mistwood?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Mistwood by Leah Cypess[/url]

Mistwood (Mistwood #1)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website