Dragons of Chiril -a review

The Dragons of Chiril by Donita K. Paul
Book #1 of the Chiril Chronicles

After having read all the books in the DragonKeeper Chronicles, and enjoying them, I thought it’d be interesting to read a book set in the same world but at a different time, place, and with different characters. I don’t make a habit of looking up authors whose stories I like to see what else they have released, so it’s nice that Ms. Paul re-released The Dragons of Chiril, so that people like me might become aware of the series.

Set in a distant continent from the tales of the Dragon Keeper Chronicles, The Dragons of Chiril follows the tale of Tipper, a young emerlindian. Spending most of her short life taking care of her large family estate in place of a father that has disappeared and a mother that is not quite there, Tipper had to resort to selling some of her father’s art pieces to keep the house afloat. Little did she know, her actions have had an effect on the stability of her world, and she must now go on a quest to reverse the effects her actions have had on her homeland, and save her father’s life, a man she had thought gone forever. Along for the ride is her sometimes guardian, sometimes friend, an over four-foot-tall parrot named Beccaroon, and five other unlikely wayfarers.

One sign of a good story is when the character is written in such a way that you find yourself both liking and being annoyed with her at times, just like you might with a real-life friend. Tipper was both likeable and annoying at times. The story itself was not predictable and a fun tale to follow. The sort of beginning to a chronicles that compels a person to want to continue reading.

One thing about Ms. Paul’s writings in the fantasy genre is that they are not as darkly dramatic as other fantasy stories, which can be either a plus or a negative, depending on what you are looking for. Even with characters that might have broken families or perilous quests to fulfill, she makes the tale amusing and light with just the right embument of seriousness to keep the airy tale tethered to the ground. I rather enjoy this manner of story telling, though I certainly would not want all of the fantasy tales I read to be like this. For Dragons of Chiril, it fits.

*I acquired this book from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers*

Out of a Far Country -review

Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son's Journey to God. A Broken Mother's Search for Hope by Christopher and Angela Yuan

Christopher Yuan was a Chinese-American born to Chinese immigrants that discovered at an early age that he was attracted to boys. In his early adult years, on a visit home from college, Christopher finally admitted to his parents he was gay, and his mother, Angela, gave him an ultimatum: choose homosexuality or choose his family. Christopher chose homosexuality. And so started a journey for the Yuans as they struggle through years of trial after trial. Angela Yuan struggles with her new-found faith in Christ while praying for her son, and Christopher falls into a life of that of a party boy.

This coauthored memoir tracks Christopher’s and Angela’s story of a prodigal son life, and was a captivating read. While it is a story about a homosexual son and his mother, it felt as if it could relate to any person, regardless of their sexual orientation. People of all sorts struggle with falling into “prodigal son” lifestyles at times, and to read the story of the Yuans was to catch a glimpse into the patient love of God. Of course, I’m a sucker for a well-written memoir that reads like a story. I was worried when I got this book that it might turn out to be horrible and unGodly, but it was not.

On a technical level, the way Christopher and Angela wove their separate memoirs into one was masterfully done. The book works by the son and mother writing alternating chapters, and they all work together. It was interesting to see the different ways the two reacted to the same situations throughout the journey of their lives. If Angela is talking of how she went to visit her son for one reason, Christopher would follow up flawlessly in the next chapter with how a visit from his mother irritated him. They wrote as if it was not a coauthored book, simply explaining their individual thoughts and evolution through time. Yet it worked.

*I acquired this book from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers*

Breath of Angel -Review

Breath of Angel by Karyn Henley
Book #1 of the Angeleon Circle

Melaia, a young priestess, was raised thinking she would have the simple life of being a priestess in the town where she was raised, never to travel or do anything more exciting than helping to heal people in need. But after witnessing a murder of an angel, creatures Melaia thought to be little more than myth, she finds herself drawn into a dangerous battle of life or death. It is an ancient struggle between two immortal brothers who destroyed the stairway to heaven, drawing the angels into their feud. Melaia must take refuge with the angels she thought to be myth in order to survive this feud, and soon finds that she has not fallen into the path of the feud by mere chance. Melaia must help end this feud, but at what cost to herself?

Breath of Angel looks to be a splendid start to a new fantasy series by Karyn Henley. It appears to be a Young Adults book, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It was an intricately written story, with characters that were more than one-dimensional place-fillers. Even in such a relatively short book, as far as High Fantasy-length books go anyways, it was easy to develop a feel for most of the main characters. I look forward to seeing how much more they will develop in the series to come.

*I acquired this book from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers*

Heart of Ice -review

Heart of Ice by Lis Wiehl (with April Henry)
Book #3 in Triple Threat Series

“‘But sociopaths don’t see other people as people. Something’s wrong with their wiring, … they don’t have any empathy, and they don’t feel fear. So they don’t feel guilty when they kill. If anything, they feel powerful.’”

Heart of Ice is a spiral down into the twisted mind of an ice-cold sociopath as she settles into the community of where the Triple Threat Club girls reside. Elizabeth Avery seems perfect on the outside, with a job as a fitness instructor, a wonderful boyfriend, and a keen sense of apparent-empathy. But Elizabeth Avery is no ordinary woman. She knows what she wants, and will do almost anything to get it. Elizabeth ruthlessly moves from one person to a next in her quest to achieve the perfect life. Along the way she encounters Cassidy Shaw, and the Triple Threat Club finds themselves investigating a string of crimes without knowing the criminal is within their mindst, and without knowing that they may all be in danger of getting in Elizabeth Avery’s way in her quest for perfection.

I found Heart of Ice to be an intriguing read, if only for the fact that it was interesting the way Wiehl could transform herself into the mindset of a sociopath. The parts of the book that were a close third-person narrative of Elizabeth Avery felt like a glimpse into the mind of a true sociopath. The artistry of that writing was quite superb. The plot line was a rather good one as well. Wiehl once again injected a sense of reality into the story by showing the main character (Allison, Nicole, and Cassidy) have lives outside of the intrigue of trying to solve the mysteries surrounding them in the book.

However, the problem I took with the lives of the character outside of the story is that there seems to be a pattern forming of at least one of the main characters having to deal with horrible trials of some sort in each book. Yes, people have trials in real life occur to them, but it seems a bit of over kill to have both a mystery and a trial in their lives to have to deal with in every Triple Threat book. I certainly hope it does not become standard for one of the main characters to have to deal with something horrible in their life in each book.

*I acquired this book from Booksneeze.com*

Wolf of Tebron -review

Wolf of Tebron by CS Lakin
Book #1 in Gates of Heaven series

Joran lives on the outskirts of a small town with his wife. He has a special ability to telepathically communicate with animals. We soon discover Joran’s wife has been captured by the moon, and he must go on a perilous journey to find her. Along the way he encounters a wolf that feels compelled to continue on the journey with him as they search for Joran’s wife.

I cannot understand why it is that I found this story so boring to read, except perhaps that I was not at all drawn in by Joran’s character. If a character is going to basically travel by himself in a story, it should be a decidedly interesting character and not a boring one. Other reviews of this story give high praise for the story being a unique fantasy and masterfully woven allegory.

One thing that kept me reading (and not in a good way) was a desire to find out what Joran’s wife had done to him to make him so bitter. I have nothing against mysteries in stories, but only so far as the mystery serves some purpose to the story. If it is not a mystery novel, and it is something the main character already knows the answer to, but I don’t, it seems like a forced mystery. It becomes annoying at that point in time.

On a positive note, the story had an interesting and easily discernable storyline. The language of the story was very colorful, with nice imagery. There also seemed to be a nice allegorical theme placed in the storyline which is perhaps one reason so many find the story such a fascinating read.

The Ale Boy's Feast -review

The Ale Boy's Feast by Jeffrey Overstreet
Book #4 (White Strand) in The Auralia Thread Series

The final book in the Auralia Thread series, I have been looking forward to reading this for a while. I was not disappointed by what I read.

Cal-raven is still missing, and so a select group of House Abascar citizens decide to make the perilous journey to search for the mythic city Cal-Raven had been searching for without him. Back in the Cent Regus undergrounds, the ale boy has found a river even further below the Cent REgus compound. Feeling a new source of hope, the Ale Boy feels compelled to help the rest of the prisoners escape through this hidden river. Far away, Scharr Ben Fray is making plans of his own at his childhood home as he acquires a dragon to carry him away on mysterious plans.

The story draws long-standing mysteries to an end, and destinies are achieved in this final tale of Auralia’s Threads. The great thing about this series is that it appeals to a wide age-range of readers. I started the series while in High School, and now have finally finished it. And my little brother, who is in middle school, enjoys the series as well. It was an intriguing tale from start to finish, and the finish was just as spectacular as the start.

After a long journey starting from the revealing of Auralia’s colors leading to the ends presented in this final tale, the characters have grown and evolved. They did not grow stagnant and unchanging by this, The Ale Boy’s Feast, the final tale. To anyone that has been a loyal follower to the series, I am saying now you will not be disappointed with the finish. To anyone just stumbling upon the series, do start from the beginning (Auralia’s Colors). It is a good series.

*I acquired this book from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers*

The Promise She Keeps -review

The Promise She Keeps by Erin Healy was a rather spectacular book. I have never read any of her collaborative works with Ted Dekker, but I can now understand why he might have wanted to work with her. Like Dekker, Healy can weave a tail of characters that come alive. She does not just write a story. She weaves a tapestry of brilliant intrigue and draws you into the lives of the characters that you feel connected to them.

The tale of the Promise She Keeps is the interwoven tale of three characters, Promise-a girl with a desire to sing, but living with a terminal illness-, Chase-an autistic man with an artistic hand-, and Porta-a woman who says she has sorceress powers. As Promise struggled with her illness, both Chase and Porta feel themselves drawn into Promises life. One with intentions to help Promise, and one with selfish intentions. As the three lives are twisted together, it seems someone’s life may be in danger of running out.

The story is certainly not a completely realistic tale, but the lesson to be learned in the story makes it worth it. I felt myself experiencing emotions of fear, anger, and joy while reading this story in a way very uncommon to me. Not often do I feel so entirely enraptured by a story. I would definitely recommend others read this book.

*I acquired this book from booksneeze.com*