Tag Archives: warrior

Review: The Serpent Rider by Yxavel Magno Diño

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , ,
The Serpent Rider by Yxavel Magno Diño

The Serpent Rider
Yxavel Magno Diño
Bloomsbury
Published September 10, 2024

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About The Serpent Rider

In this middle grade debut inspired by Filipino folklore, a spunky, determined warrior must claim her destiny in order to save her sister, perfect for fans of Witchlings and The Owl House.

Tani dreams of fulfilling her destiny as a Serpent Rider, fighting alongside an elemental serpent to defend her village against monsters. More than anything, she wants to protect her little sister Ligaya, the village princess who’s tasked with memorizing their community’s history, including the tale of Great Bakunawa, the most powerful and feared sea serpent that swallowed six of the world’s seven moons.

After a devastating monster attack, Tani can no longer wait patiently for her bakunawa egg to hatch. She makes a desperate deal with a stranger who promises her a serpent of her own. But when her gamble puts her sister in major danger, Tani must find a way to save Ligaya before she’s lost forever. All the while, in the depths of the sea, Great Bakunawa is stirring, threatening to devour the last moon and plunge the night sky into eternal darkness . . .

This accessible, standalone novel is a perfect gateway for new fantasy readers to dive into enchanting worlds and embark on heart-pounding adventures.

My Review

It took me a couple of chapters to feel fully oriented to the story world and voice in the story, but that tiny investment was so worth it. One of the things that makes the story so accessible is Tani’s straightforward way of saying things. She gives succinct information that helps readers keep tabs on the story elements without slowing down the action.

The writing style feels very contemporary, but the story takes place in a fantasy setting. Some characters share a bond with a bakunawa, whose elemental magic aids them in battle. They encounter other mythological creatures on the journey to rescue Tani’s sister, but the voice remains direct and clear.

I liked that so many different mythological creatures appeared in the book. Some appeared to be enemies but were helpful, while others looked like allies and sabotaged the quest. That added mystery kept me on my toes as I read through the book.

I can definitely see readers who enjoy Witchlings or Katie Zhao’s Dragon Warrior series liking this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Inspired by Filipino folklore.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Contains mythical creatures with magical abilities.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Brief (cartoonish) battle violence. No graphic gore or anything.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove by Rati Mehrotra

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , ,

Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove
Rati Mehrotra
Wednesday Books
Published October 18, 2022

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About Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove

To learn what she can become, she must first discover who she is.

Katyani’s role in the kingdom of Chandela has always been clear: becoming an advisor and protector of the crown prince, Ayan, when he ascends to the throne. Bound to the Queen of Chandela through a forbidden soul bond that saved her when she was a child, Katyani has grown up in the royal family and become the best guardswoman the Garuda has ever seen.

But when a series of assassination attempts threatens the royals, the queen ships Katyani off to the gurukul of the famous Acharya Mahavir as an escort to Ayan and his cousin, Bhairav, to protect them as they hone the skills needed to be the next leaders of the kingdom. Nothing could annoy Katyani more than being stuck in a monastic school in the middle of a forest, except her run-ins with Daksh, the Acharya’s son, who can’t stop going on about the rules and whose gaze makes her feel like he can see into her soul.

But when the queen hurriedly summons Katyani and the princes back to Chandela before their training is complete, tragedy strikes, tearing Katyani from the only life she has ever known. Alone and betrayed in a land infested by monsters, Katyani must find answers from her past to save all she loves and forge her own destiny. Bonds can be broken, but debts must be repaid.

My Review

Okay, I stayed up WAY too late reading this book and then finished it the next morning as soon as I had a second to sit down. It’s a super immersive story packed with magic and intrigue. I loved the characters, especially Katyani and Daksh.

Outspoken and fierce, Katyani had me from the first page. I loved the complex relationship she shares with the royal family and of course with Daksh and the way so many things change as the story unravels. The plot moves quickly with high stakes– definitely the thing that kept me reading. That and the romantic tension between Katyani and her love. I really invested in that thread of the plot, and couldn’t stop until I knew how it resolved.

I’m seeing a lot of reviewers on Goodreads calling the setting of this book an alternate medieval India, which makes sense. The story world felt rich and easy to lose myself in.

I think readers who enjoyed THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN by Roshani Chokshi will love this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Characters are described as having brown skin and are Indian-coded.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
References to the Goddess. Some characters have spirit energy and magical ability. Characters battle monster or ghost-like enemies.

Violent Content
Situations of peril, battle scenes, and some brief torture.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of NIGHT OF THE RAVEN, DAWN OF THE DOVE in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Killing Fog by Jeff Wheeler

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

The Killing Fog
Jeff Wheeler
47North
Published March 1, 2020

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About The Killing Fog

The Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Kingfountain series conjures an epic, adventurous world of ancient myth and magic as a young woman’s battle with infinite evil begins.

Survivor of a combat school, the orphaned Bingmei belongs to a band of mercenaries employed by a local ruler. Now the nobleman, and collector of rare artifacts, has entrusted Bingmei and the skilled team with a treacherous assignment: brave the wilderness’s dangers to retrieve the treasures of a lost palace buried in a glacier valley. But upsetting its tombs has a price.

Echion, emperor of the Grave Kingdom, ruler of darkness, Dragon of Night, has long been entombed. Now Bingmei has unwittingly awakened him and is answerable to a legendary prophecy. Destroying the dark lord before he reclaims the kingdoms of the living is her inherited mission. Killing Bingmei before she fulfills it is Echion’s.

Thrust unprepared into the role of savior, urged on by a renegade prince, and possessing a magic that is her destiny, Bingmei knows what she must do. But what must she risk to honor her ancestors? Bingmei’s fateful choice is one that neither her friends nor her enemies can foretell, as Echion’s dark war for control unfolds.

My Review

One of the things that drew me into this story is Bingmei’s ability to smell someone’s intentions. It’s sort of like synesthesia, but with smells and emotions instead of taste and color. I liked that it gave her an edge but that it didn’t always function like a superpower– in fact it made it difficult for her to have relationships and she was still fooled or outwitted a few times, too.

On the other hand, one of the things I found interesting was that she spent so much time parsing other people’s emotions but didn’t often clue the reader in to hers. Lots of times I knew what she was thinking, but not so much what she was feeling, and sometimes that made it harder for me to connect with her as a character. Overall I enjoyed the book, though.

The plot seemed well-constructed and moved at a steady pace, constantly increasing the stakes. I really wanted to know what would happen.

Though the ending set some serious hooks for the next book, it also made so many things make sense and had its own sort of satisfying moments, too. (Sorry… trying not to give anything away!)

I’ve only read one other of Wheeler’s books – THE QUEEN’S POISONER – and I thought the writing was pretty similar in this book to that one. So I think if you’re a fan of his other books, you’ll want to check out this series, too.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Characters are Chinese (actually, I don’t know that that’s true… the story is inspired by Chinese history and mythology, but I don’t think it’s actually set in China.). Bingmei and a couple other characters have pale skin and white hair, which others refer to as the Winter Sickness.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Bingmei and others use magic artifacts and weapons. The weapons can cause a killing fog to form, which kills anyone it touches.

A ritual raises a powerful king from death. He has incredible magical power.

Violent Content
Lots of descriptions of battle and some graphic descriptions of injuries and fighting.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of THE KILLING FOG in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

The Never Tilting World
Rin Chupeco
HarperTeen
Published October 15, 2019

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About The Never Tilting World

Frozen meets Mad Max in this epic teen fantasy duology bursting with star-crossed romance, immortal heroines, and elemental magic, perfect for fans of Furyborn.

Generations of twin goddesses have long ruled Aeon. But seventeen years ago, one sister’s betrayal defied an ancient prophecy and split their world in two. The planet ceased to spin, and a Great Abyss now divides two realms: one cloaked in perpetual night, the other scorched by an unrelenting sun.

While one sister rules Aranth—a frozen city surrounded by a storm-wracked sea —her twin inhabits the sand-locked Golden City. Each goddess has raised a daughter, and each keeps her own secrets about her sister’s betrayal.

But when shadowy forces begin to call their daughters, Odessa and Haidee, back to the site of the Breaking, the two young goddesses —along with a powerful healer from Aranth, and a mouthy desert scavenger —set out on separate journeys across treacherous wastelands, desperate to heal their broken world. No matter the sacrifice it demands.

My Review

I started reading this book when I was tired, and that was a mistake on my part. The magic system is unusual, and I found it confusing at first. Once I understood the terminology and the way the gates worked and everything, then I felt more confident about understanding the story.

THE NEVER TILTING WORLD alternates between four different points of view: Tianlan, Odessa, Haidee, and Arjun. It’s actually pretty easy to keep them all straight since they all sound very different from one another. I liked all four characters, though Haidee was probably my favorite. I can’t help identifying with the compliant fixer girl! Ha.

I found the story world to be really imaginative and different. I like that it was unpredictable and unfamiliar, even though it took me some time to acclimate. (I might have figured it out more quickly if I hadn’t been tired when I started reading.)

I think THE NEVER TILTING WORLD would be a good read for fans of THE WAKING LAND or MEMORY OF FIRE by Callie Bates.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Tianlan and Odessa are lesbians.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Arjun swears, but I think he might be the only character who does. Strong profanity used fairly infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to sex. Kissing between two girls and some pretty intense making out.

Spiritual Content
Two goddesses rule the world. Some characters have magic. Sometimes magic comes with a price.

Violent Content
Some graphic descriptions of battle and situations of peril/death.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of THE NEVER TILTING WORLD in exchange for my honest review.

Review: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes #1)
Sabaa Tahir
Razorbill Press
Published April 28, 2015

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About An Ember in the Ashes

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

My Review

I feel like the last person in the world to finally read AN EMBER IN THE ASHES. I’ve had a copy for years, and still, it took me forever. Not for any reason to do with the book. I heard Sabaa Tahir speak in 2016 at YALLFEST, and have been a fan of hers since then. For some reason, it has just taken me FOREVER to read her books. Can I just pretend I’ve been waiting until the fourth book is published before starting the series so I can binge read them? (Actually, no, I can’t, because the fourth one doesn’t come out until next year.)

Anyway, I really enjoyed the setting of AN EMBER IN THE ASHES. I like the desert setting and the complex political landscape. It’s not as simple as the good guys are good and the bad guys are bad. I liked that a lot.

And the character development. Laia grows SO much from the first page of the book to the last, and I love that. I found it so easy to identify with her timidity and her commitment to rule-following and staying safe at the beginning of the story, but I cheered for her every step of her journey, too, as she got bolder and more fierce.

I love that the story feels like it has so many layers, too. Laia and Elias each have goals and plans. The resistance has a plan. The emperor has a plan. And the Augers (like fates) have a plan, too. It definitely makes the story feel larger-than-life and like there are so many places it can go.

I think readers who enjoyed the DIVERGENT series by Veronica Roth or THRONE OF GLASS by Sarah J. Mass will like AN EMBER IN THE ASHES.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Laia has bronze skin and dark hair and is from an oppressed and often enslaved people called Scholars.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Some references to sex.

Spiritual Content
One character uses magic to heal another. Augers relay prophesies about certain characters.

Violent Content – Trigger Warning
Soldiers execute family members of a suspected traitor and threaten to rape another. Laia becomes a slave to a cruel master who mutilates her slaves. Some graphic descriptions of those instances. A man tries to rape a woman after beating her.

Elias belongs to an elite unit of soldiers which uses extreme methods of discipline as part of training, including making soldiers watch/jeer at a younger trainee being whipped to death for trying to run away. He participates in some violent challenges which pit him against his peers.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.

Review: The Heir of Ariad by Niki Florica

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Clean Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

The Heir of Ariad
Niki Florica
Elm Hill Publishing
Published August 13, 2019

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Goodreads

About The Heir of Ariad

The weight of a vanished father’s legacy and the secrets of the past have forced Kyrian to carve a place among his people at the price of his own sweat and blood. Ariad is withering. The Skies seem a strange place to die of thirst, but no one can fetch the Rains against the tyrant king’s will, and no one but the Creator who has vanished into legend can kill an invisible king.

But there is a force at work beyond Kyrian’s sight. A powerful, masterful will. Suddenly there is blood on his hands, the Skies are filled with enemies, and the only way to escape a dark end is to flee the clouds forever. But there in the Lands waits a powerful prophecy, along with a powerful weapon, and now as Ariad withers to dust all hope may rest with the one young mortal who fled his home a fugitive and must return to it a king.

My Review

THE HEIR OF ARIAD pretty much hooked me as soon as I realized it was a retelling of the biblical story of Moses but set in an unusual fantasy world. Each chapter begins with a Bible verse linking to the next scenes. I thought framing the “chosen one” story as a retelling of the story of Moses was a clever idea. I haven’t seen that done before.

I also enjoyed the story world in which people are divided into races– referred to as colors like Green, Grey, and Silver– based on where they live. Kyrian and his people live on clouds. Other, lesser humans live on earth.

The plot does require some willing suspension of disbelief. Some of the things that happen don’t get explained right away– like why the king still holds such power over his people if he hasn’t been seen in twenty years. Other things don’t get explained at all. Characters sometimes held grudges long past what seemed to make sense to me. Sometimes the plot got bogged down in what felt like a side quest.

Over all, though, I really enjoyed the unique, rich story world, and Kyrian and his sister Salienne were easily my favorite characters. I’m glad I read the book. THE HEIR OF ARIAD makes a good pick for readers who are looking for a more classical Christian fantasy novel.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Main characters have pale skin.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Characters use swear-like expressions such as “Oh, skies.”

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Lots of biblical and Christian symbolism or allegory. There’s some reference to a Jesus-type character, an innocent man killed as a sacrifice for the sins of others. The original king of Ariad is said to be the Creator. Many characters still believe he’s the rightful king and he appears in different forms throughout the story.

Violent Content
One soldier holds another at knife point. A soldier torments an elderly man. A young man beats a soldier to death. Some description of the fight. Some descriptions of a group of children attacking another child and severely beating him. A monstrous creature attacks Kyrian and his allies. Tree-like creatures attack Kyrian and his ally.

Drug Content
Some references to adults drinking an alcohol-like substance.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog. I received a free copy of THE HEIR OF ARIAD in exchange for my honest review.