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The Quest

(Sanshlian #1)

Dani Hoots (Goodreads Author)

3.97 · Rating details · 39 ratings · 20 reviews

Eleven years ago, my life was ripped away from me. My father, my brother, my humanity. Everything. I was thrown into the Kamps, created to be a mindless machine. But I fought against it, not letting them take away my memories of the past.

And I succeeded.

It has been seven years since I was taken out of the Kamps and made into the Emperor's Shadow. Now I only take orders f ...more

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Kindle Edition, 274 pages

Published May 11th 2015 by Hear Me Roar Publishing

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Jun 16, 2017 Carrie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

As a child Arcadia was raised by her father until the day the empire came after him for rebelling against them. Arcadia's father was killed and her brother managed to escape but Arcadia was caught by the guards and taken to a place known as the Kamps where they try to break down the prisoners and steal their memories.

However, after four years in the Kamps the Emperor rescued Arcadia and brought her into his close trust where she became known as the Emperor's Shadow. A sometimes brutal killing m As a child Arcadia was raised by her father until the day the empire came after him for rebelling against them. Arcadia's father was killed and her brother managed to escape but Arcadia was caught by the guards and taken to a place known as the Kamps where they try to break down the prisoners and steal their memories.

However, after four years in the Kamps the Emperor rescued Arcadia and brought her into his close trust where she became known as the Emperor's Shadow. A sometimes brutal killing machine that was meant to protect the Emperor and the laws that he enforced Arcadia never expected that the latest assassination attempt would come from the brother she thought must have been long gone since he'd never made an attempt to rescue her himself.

Eleven years after that fateful day Arcadia and her brother have found themselves on opposite sides of the war. Arcadia is fiercely loyal to the Emperor since he had saved her but when her brother seems to believe that their father knew of a planet called Sanshll that can rewrite the past and possibly change the future that they both now know Arcadia can't help but want to find the truth.

The Quest is the first book of the Sanshlian series by Dani Hoots. The series falls into the science fiction category for the young adult/new adult age range and while normally this would lead in most books in this age range being romance mixed in there really wasn't much of that involved.

The main character Arcadia after being taken from her family made a life for herself and became the strong character she was on her own. But even with being saved by the Emperor and being loyal for years when her family member came back into the picture it raised the question of what is stronger her blood ties or loyalty.

The story about a hidden place to save the world was highly interesting to follow. There was plenty of action as loyalties are questioned and the characters go about their journey which made this sci-fi adventure one that kept my attention even though it's not a top pick for genre for me. Would definitely continue the story as this one left with quite the cliffhanger.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.wordpress.... ...more

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Dec 01, 2015 Bobbi Radford rated it it was amazing

This review was from my husband and yes it is his first review!

I am a big fan of Sci-Fi style books (primarily the Star Wars series) and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This is also the first (full) book that I've read electronically. I found it hard to put the book down, as it was a very exciting and good read. I would spend my lunch at work reading, and even clocked in late at times as I didn't want to put the book down!

The story line was well developed, and very believable in a futuristic a ...more

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Aug 21, 2015 Keith rated it it was amazing

I've always been fond of the "syfy family drama" genre. But this one went beyond that. Does that sound gushy? Well, it's true!! 'The Quest' by Dani Hoots is the story of a girl named Arcadia, who is torn between family and loyalty to the Emperor. It was interesting to see how a innocent but brave girl came to be in a strong position. I was rooting for her from the beginning, especially since everyone wanted rid of her. When her brother shows up they both go in search of a lost planet named "Sans ...more

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Oct 08, 2016 Dee/ bookworm rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The Quest by Dani Hoots was incredible! Most of the time when you get a science fiction/ fantasy book romance plays a key in it. This book was all science fiction with a hint of romance. The main character was a great heroine, she knew herself well enough to realize she had blood on her hands, and while not good, it was her job and she didn't justify herself. It was refreshing to read her "real" character insights.

I really, really can't wait for the next in the series, and I will warn you, ther ...more

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May 19, 2015 K. Peterson rated it it was amazing

This is an action packed scifi. It kept my attention from beginning to end. It left me wanting more.

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Apr 12, 2020 Rachel Stiehm rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was an adventure! It has elements of Star Wars, James Bond, and National Treasure. There were action packed scenes balanced with tender, thought-provoking scenes about Arcadia's next move. Arcadia was a well-crafted and complex character which added to her relationship with other characters and the plot. The last few pages ended the book with surprise and wonderment that left me excited for the ...more

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Dec 17, 2015 Tiffany Rains rated it it was amazing

Holy Hangover!!! I CANNOT wait for the next book in the series. Wow! This book had me riveted to the pages so much I couldn't even set it down at work (don't tell the boss lol). I loved this book and will read it again just to make sure I didn't miss anything. There were hints along the way for some of the twists and turns but not all of them. Dani has to have a lot of talent to go into this much detail and keep the story flowing along with all the unexpected happenings. I would definitely give ...more

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Jan 22, 2018 Nikki rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I love YA books, especially fantasy. I’ve never been a big fan of much sci-fi, especially aliens. However, I do like Star Wars, so I gave The Quest a chance. It was a bit hard to get started, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised! I love Arcadia. She’s a wonderful & complex character. When the story caught my attention, it held on, which is difficult. And the ending??? What a cliffhanger! Can’t wait to start the second book! Curious to see where the story goes.

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Oct 04, 2016 Chelsies Reading Escape marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: review-books

This sounds great. I wish I had a review copy.

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Nov 30, 2016 Katie Carson rated it did not like it · review of another edition

I was given a copy of The Quest by the author, Dani Hoots, in exchange for an honest review.

Eleven-years-ago, Arcadia lost everything when the empire killed her father and dragged her off to the Kamps to be tortured and used for experiments. While in a fight to the death, Arcadia managed to impress the visiting Emperor himself and won herself a place as his shadow- the Emperor’s secret assassin. But when her brother reappears after so many years, she no longer knows where her loyalty lies: to t I was given a copy of The Quest by the author, Dani Hoots, in exchange for an honest review.

Eleven-years-ago, Arcadia lost everything when the empire killed her father and dragged her off to the Kamps to be tortured and used for experiments. While in a fight to the death, Arcadia managed to impress the visiting Emperor himself and won herself a place as his shadow- the Emperor’s secret assassin. But when her brother reappears after so many years, she no longer knows where her loyalty lies: to the brother who abandoned her to the Kamps, or the ruthless Emperor who saved her from them.

The Quest starts us off with Arcadia and her brother, Rik, high above a planet with their father, watching as it is overtaken by Empire soldiers. To ease their fears, their father tells them a bedtime story, which launches them into a tale of a mysterious planet and a lost daughter to two powerful illusionists who is the galaxy’s hope for peace. As cute as it is to get a glimpse of our characters’ lives before the calamity sets in, the opening prologue here gives far, far too much away. The use of a “chosen one” prophecy is really overdone, and something needs to be twisted for the troupe to have any sort of effect. As that wasn’t the case, the prologue only stood as an outline of what to expect by the end of the book. As the book had no other hints to a “chosen one” narrative, leaving out the prologue would have added to the surprise and revelation at the end, when we find out who Arcadia really is. Instead, it was a giant red arrow pointing to the main character exclaiming, “Look out, we’ve got a super special snowflake over here.”

It was delightful to see a full story captured within a single book. The book ends on a cliffhanger and there is definitely more to the story, but the characters achieved in one book the goal they set out for themselves (finding the planet Sanshli), as opposed to outlining a goal that (in many fantasy/sci-fi books) takes a whole series to complete (E.g., Characters are out to get rid of the empire, but in Book 1 only find one component of a spell to destroy it). So it was a real breath of fresh air to find a book that finishes what it says it will.

Now, the element that ultimately brought my rating down for this book was the main character. I had problems with nearly every characterization, (from motivations that made no sense, to cartoonish reactions to situations, to alliances that made no sense with that’s been established in the characters’ pasts), but ultimately it was Arcadia herself that made this book incredibly difficult to get through. Though she’s presented as a “strong, female character,” her personality can be reduced to two elements: the fact that she’s a murderous, cold-blooded, feel nothing monster who seems to take pleasure in carrying out this role, and the sexy bootylicious babe that everyone wants to bang. Throughout the book, Arcadia boasts about the people she’s killed and doesn’t have a lick of remorse. Even when her actions are brought to her attention, and characters try to lead her to feel remorse, Arcadia shrugs it all off and takes it as “who she is,” which is extremely off-putting. Throughout the entire book, Arcadia did maybe a handful of things that could be considered sympathetic, and even then the only reason she did these things was to “fool the crew” into believing she was trustworthy. Her motivation relied entirely on the fact that she got “orders” from her Emperor, which made her come off as a mindless puppet without a single likeable or sympathetic aspect to her character. It was an attempt to come off as a “hard, badass female” but what we’re left with is the cartoonish equivalent to a 16-year-old waving around a Swiss army knife. The author spent so much time trying to prove their MC was a badass that the character lacked any sort of humanity.

And we come to the second big ticket element of our MC’s personality-- her attractiveness. Oh, don’t worry, Arcadia doesn’t waste time talking about how beautiful and sexy she is (she’s got to spend that time explaining how badass she is), but that’s why every other character with a dick has to make a move on her. Within the first chapter, she is objectified by 1) the Emperor, 2) the head general 3) some guy she has a sort of relationship with (who has to show up and see her canoodling with the other two for little to no reason). Every male (thankfully except her brother) makes a point to hit on her or make a move on her. (Meanwhile everyone else hates her guts. These very polarizing responses which got dull fast.) There’s nothing wrong with having a character who is sexual and is wanted by others, but this was another case of overkill. When you spend every chapter asserting your sexuality and dominance in your character, it loses its affect. Often saying something once is more powerful than repeating something ad nausea until the reader learns to tune it out.

Further, the motivations (Arcadia as well as everyone else’s) made no sense. All the decisions that are made in the beginning of the book to push things into action (the Emperor telling her to go with her brother, Rik waiting so long to find his sister, and why he bothered since her use doesn’t become apparent until later), felt so forced. Nothing flowed organically. Even Arcadia becoming the Emperor’s shadow made no sense. The empire kills her father, drags her from home and puts her in a place of torture, and then when the Emperor makes an appearance, she attempts to assassinate him. The Emperor (I guess?) is turned on by chicks throwing knives and hires her, even though she still attempts to kill him. And then, for some reason, Arcadia’s whole motivation flips and she becomes exceedingly loyal to the person who completely destroyed her whole life. There’s no explanation given for this besides “he saved her from the Kamps,” which, being that he was the reason she was there in the first place, didn’t make for a believable transformation.

As far as the writing goes, I was fairly disappointed. The author spends far more time telling than showing, which makes description thin. Instead of showing us the world and letting the story reveal itself, the author holds the reader by the hand and tells them everything. A little telling is fine, but as the writer spent the whole time telling us the backstory, telling us how characters felt, telling us what other characters thought at times, it really took away from the experience. I wanted to know what the ship looked like. I wanted to wonder what other characters really thought of Arcadia. Instead of letting the reader draw their own conclusions, the book drags you to the conclusions it wants you to draw.

In the last quarter of the book, Arcadia’s motivation completely changes, and with it, so does her character. She claims near the end (when it’s clear she’s not following orders anymore, nor is she incredibly sympathetic to the PAE and their struggles), she decides her reason for finding the lost planet was to rid herself of nightly dreams. It was at this point that Arcadia finally resembled something human. She wasn’t a mindless drone! She actually had her own thoughts! And though it didn’t make her sympathetic or likeable by any means, it at least gave me something as a reader to hold onto and use to relate to her. As well, during this final quarter we actually see some inner conflict, some turmoil. When Arcadia is injured, she has a moment of humanity and admits she doesn’t know who to side with. I felt like if we had more of that -- the inner conflict, the uncertainty, the utter humanity-- and less time talking about her kills or getting her into bed, this book would have had a much greater impact.

All in all 1/5 stars. Underdeveloped characters and poor writing made for a lackluster experience.
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Apr 30, 2020 Domi rated it liked it · review of another edition

Great cyberpunk story with a strong and very complex female lead in Arcadia. There's very good world building and the story makes sense. The characters are layered and have emotions/reactions that are realistic. I love the complexity of the lead, as a reader I was rooting for her from the beginning, yet she doesn't seem like a really nice person. In spite of that you get a connection with her, understand her motives (helped by the insight in her thought process throughout the book). The plot is ...more

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Apr 29, 2020 Karla Kay rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, science-fiction, science-fiction-fantasy, ya, netgalley

This book is an adventurous "space fantasy" with a world built in an intergalactic setting.

Plot: A sister and brother separated as children. She now defends the Emperor and fights for the empire her brother seeks to destroy.

The Author has created a well developed strong female lead with an intriguing arrogant and sarcastic nature. The characters connect well to the premise of the story.

I am rating this book 3.5 stars as it has more of a dynamic geared to the teen genre.
Which I feel that age ...more

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May 10, 2020 Carlynne Toomey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This was a great book by a new to me author, Dani Hoots. It starts out like most sci fi books and you think it is going to be another same old, same old and then it twists and turns into something completely different! I found the story world to be very believable and the characters well developed - two criteria that are absolutely essential for me in any book. If you like sci fi and want something a little different, I highly recommend this story!

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May 13, 2020 Nancy (The Avid Reader) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2020, read-may-2020, ya-bound-book-tours, young-adult, scifi, dani-hoots

Many years ago a young girl had her life ripped away from her while running from the Emperor one faithful night. Arcadia watches as her father is shot dead right in front of her eyes and her brother Rik runs away leaving her with her captors. Arcadia is taken to the Kamps to where she they teach her to be a killer.

A few years later Arcadia is seen by the Emperor himself and likes what he sees in her. The Emperor takes her away from the Kamps and secretly has her trained to be an assassin better ...more

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Sep 06, 2015 Alex McGilvery rated it liked it

Arcadia is the Emperor's shadow. She goes out to eliminate the people who plot rebellion and cause unrest. It has been two hundred years since the Imperialists wan the war, but there are still those who continue the fight. She gets home from her latest mission just in time for the semi annual formal ball for the rulers of the planets which make up the Empire.

Arcadia hates dressing up, but this time, that will be the least of her problems. Her long lost brother shows up and tries to kill the Empe ...more

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Dec 10, 2016 Gabrielle rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016-book-a-day-challenge

I actually reviewed this book on my booktube channel so you can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMGwF...

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review by the author. This review is spoiler free.

As a huge fan of everything scifi/space related, I was really excited to read this book. The premise sounded interesting (long lost siblings, a rebellion, and space travel is an instant "must read" in my opinion), and so I definitely wanted to give this one a try.

GOOD THING ...more

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Dec 26, 2015 Debra Morgan rated it really liked it

The story follows a brother and sister who were separated as children and now are on opposite sides in a bitter war. Now they must work together to find the mythical planet of Sanshli. Will Arcadia betray her brother Rik or will she help bring down the Empire she has served most of her life?

The author does a good job of developing the characters and maintaining a storyline. The book has a good premise and a surprise ending that I definitely wasn't expecting! The only bad thing I can say about it ...more

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Nov 29, 2016 Jo (Mixed Book Bag) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, netgalley, paranormal, science-fiction, series

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

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Feb 02, 2016 Tabatha rated it liked it

this book had a very slow beginning..... some of the descriptions were a tad confusing but over all there was a good story line! I didn't think I would like this book, however after finishing, I really want to know what happens next......... ...more

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Dec 27, 2020 Krystal marked it as dnf · review of another edition

I DNF'd this book and won't be leaving a rating as a result.

I picked this out of my Audible TBR while waiting for Aurora Burning to come through from my library. Honestly, The Aurora Cycle series is what this book strives to be and falls far short.

The premise of this book sounds great, but the actual story is somewhat ridiculous and unbelievable. Let's use The Aurora Cycle series as an example. In that series, authors Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff lay out why a bunch of teens would hold such i ...more

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About Dani Hoots

Dani Hoots

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Dani Hoots is a science fiction, fantasy, romance, and young adult author who loves anything with a story. She has a B.S. in Anthropology, a Masters of Urban and Environmental Planning, a Certificate in Novel Writing from Arizona State University, and a BS in Herbal Science from Bastyr University.

Currently she is working on a YA urban fantasy series called Daughter of Hades, a YA urban fantasy