The Dragon's Legacy by Deborah A. Wolf

The Dragon's Legacy by Deborah A. Wolf. Titan Books, 2017. Hardcover. 320 pages.

(can we talk about how fantastic this cover is? I'm in love!)

This review is a long time coming, and I actually meant to get it out weeks earlier, but alas, things happen. The good news is that it is finally here and I am thrilled to share my thoughts with all of you.

The Dragon's Legacy is a beast of a new addition to the world of epic fantasy and I was completely blown away by Deborah's Wolf's writing. I'm always looking for some refreshing new fantasy series to discover, and this one did not let me down.

The most remarkable aspect of this book is the worldbuilding. Wolf has created an immensely detailed, complex world that is fascinating to explore and learn about. I'll be honest here and admit that I was fairly confused in the beginning of this book and I was worried that I wouldn't want to continue on, but at some point I found myself completely captivated by everything about this book. It takes some time to get into, but once you start to really 'get' what's going on, it becomes hard to put down.

There is a fairly large cast of characters with somewhat confusing names, but I promise it's doable and completely worth it to follow them all (plus there is a cast list of the most important characters in the beginning of the book, which I found incredibly helpful!). The main character that we follow is Sulema, a young woman who is in the midst of training to be Ja'Akari warrior. However, she is interrupted by a strange visitor during her training who changes everything by telling her just whose daughter she really is, and thus the story really begins. I really enjoyed reading the beginning of Sulema's journey in this fantasy series. I found her difficult to connect with at first and I didn't really get a completely sense of who she was in the first half of the book, but by the end I really felt like I had a much better sense of who she was and what her personality was like. Sulema ended up being an extremely developed character that has a mix of courage, naivety, stubbornness that lent itself well to the story.

Another character we follow is Jian, a Daeborn boy, meaning he was born by a Sindanese and Dae match at a specific time of the year. As a result, he is sent off to a rather intense training 'camp' to become a warrior known as the Daechen. Jian did not have nearly the same amount of chapters as Sulema, but I still really enjoyed the snippets of his journey when we did. I would have liked to read more chapters of Jian, but at the same I am very satisfied with the amount of time his story received.

One of the my favorite elements of this book were the creatures known as the vash'ai, which are essentially large, extremely intelligent - and snarky - cats with equally large tusks. They're not the most cuddle-friendly, but they sure are fantastic. Vash'ai choose to bond themselves to chosen Zeerani warriors, though one of the problems in this book is that less vash'ai are choosing to do so, and less and less Zeerani are being born each year. I loved the bond between certain characters and their vash'ai, and I truly enjoyed the witty exchanges that are telepathically communicated between them.

I found Wolf to have a beautiful writing style with a great blend of poetry, philosophy, and distinctive writing. I thought there was a perfect balance of action, politics, social and cultural discussion, and emotion throughout the entire story. (Oh! And did I mention that it is the women of the Zeerani that are trained to fight, while the men must remain at home because they are important to the reproductive process? I thought that aspect was pretty great and a very, very welcome new outlook to this genre.)

Overall, I have given The Dragon's Legacy four-and-a-half stars! I definitely would recommend this to fans of high/epic fantasy and don't mind some more detailed and complex worldbuilding.

*I received a physical ARC of The Dragon's Legacy courtesy of Deborah A. Wolf, though this in now way affects my review.*

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The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski

The Last Wish Andrzej Sapkowski. Gollancz, 2008. Paperback. 288 pages.

I may not have ever played the video game The Witcher, but I have heard a lot about how great it is. I have also heard - multiple times - that the books they are based off of are incredible, and since I enjoy reading (go figure), I decided to I wanted to try them!

The Last Wish is recommended as the best book to start with for The Witcher series, so that is where I began. This book is formatted as a series of short stories or episodes featuring Geralt, the main character and a Witcher himself, as he goes on various adventures and battles various beings. These stories are not strictly connected by any strong plot line, but they are all still generally connected. Because of this format, and the stories themselves, I can easily see how this was converted into a video game.

The Last Wish carries with it an almost fairytale-like quality in how it is written, as it seems to combine some traditional legends and ideas with fresh, surprising ones. This book seems like such traditional fantasy with creatures such as djinns, harpies, vampires, the undead, and many others, but it also takes a bit of a spin on your classic fantasy and adds fresh takes and ideas. It is set in what is obviously some sort of European setting, which is fairly common in many high fantasy books, and the culture and mythology that it embodies is largely Slavic, from what I have gathered. 

I became extremely fond of Geralt's character throughout the many stories. He's a rather quiet, reserved man in nature, but don't mistake this for shyness or an aversion to being noticed. He's extremely resourceful, witty, and sharp, and he makes his opinions known when he feels it is necessary. Geralt also seems to carry a little bit of angst with him on his adventures, which certainly adds more depth to his character and, for me, amped-up the intrigue on who he is and what his backstory is. In general, I found the notion of a Witcher extremely interesting: they are not fully human and are trained through extreme measures to be killers of monsters, beasts, and strange mutant beings. They are not meant to be evil beings however, and they do in fact have a 'code' that they try to follow. Geralt, for instance, will only hunt and track monsters that are causing harm or chaos to people. 

I am not normally a big fan of short stories, but these stories were so captivating. I loved adventuring with Geralt as he explores various areas and comes across monsters, takes up contracts from people who want him to rid them of a nasty monster, and many other setups. And if you're wondering if this fantasy has any magic in it, it absolutely does. 

The writing was surprisingly readable and enjoyable for me, though I do think that the fact that it was translated from Polish resulted in a few awkward areas. There were definitely some bumpy areas that left a little to be desired, but knowing that it is a translated work and having read other translated works, I am fairly certain that that is the cause. 

Overall, I have given The Last Wish four-and-a-half stars! I will definitely be picking up more books in this series this year.

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Kings or Pawns by JJ Sherwood

Kings or Pawns by JJ Sherwood - Blog Tour + Author Giveaway!

Kings or Pawns by JJ Sherwood. Silver Helm, 2015. Ebook. 383 pages.

**I received a copy of Kings or Pawns courtesy of the author, JJ Sherwood, in exchange for an honest review.**

First off, I am thrilled to be  apart of JJ Sherwood's book tour for her fantasy trilogy The Kings! Book two, Heroes of Thieves, was released this past June, but for this review I'm starting at book number one. This is a really exciting book and an equally exciting tour! Plus, I am even more excited to announce a giveaway that the author is hosting via Rafflecopter, which is available at the end of this review. 

Kings or Pawns was an exceptionally delightful read. From the very first pages, it easy to see that Sherwood clearly put her heart and soul into making this book be the absolute best it can be, and it completely shows. It's also clear that Sherwood not only loves and respects the high fantasy genre, but also spent an immense amount of time and effort into constructing her world, her characters, and the plot itself in order to make them wonderfully fleshed and full of life. Kings or Pawns reads like a classic fantasy story while also maintaining a very distinct, unique, and innovative take within fantasy. This world is fresh and her characters are entirely her own - no overused tropes in sight! (Thank goodness.)

The beginning took me a little while to get into, but I felt that there was potential, so I stuck with and it quickly paid off. It takes me a while to learn the characters and new worlds of a fantasy story, but Sherwood tackles this in a deft and enjoyable manner that created a captivating atmosphere.

There is an abundance of political intrigue and it is awesome. Now, I'll be honest and say that sometimes high political fantasy books can make me feel a bit bogged down and like I have to slog my way through a confusing political world with excess information - not so in Kings or Pawns! I sincerely enjoyed everything related to the politics and high class drama within this story.

Strong, engaging characters are also ever-present throughout Kings or Pawns. The point of view switches between a few different characters, and you know what? I didn't feel annoyed by any of the character's points of view. I loved them all. Each one was as engaging as the last and I am in awe of how well Sherwood constructed each character's distinct personality. I typically end up annoyed by point of view switches because I end up liking one more than the other (who doesn't?), but not this time! Each character had a very distinct voice that made it clear who was speaking and fit their own character.

To continue on with the subject of characters, let's talk about Jikun. Jikun is an incredible main character. He's someone that I have great respect for and seems like an honorable man, but he's not perfect by a long shot. He breaks the rules and follows his own path, which makes him well-rounded and an alluring character to follow. One minute he's a resolute general leading his army, the next he's paying for a prostitute to entertaining him - something that is highly illegal in this particular world, I might add. I was really impressed with how realistic and three-dimensional Jikun is, along with the rest of the characters as well.

We also have Navon, Jikun's co-general, who is similar in the fact that he's a powerful, respectable man, but he also breaks the rule by studying necromancy, an act punishable by death. And then there's Hairem, our newly appointed and inexperienced king who was thrust into the position as a result of his father's death. He struggles with the responsibility and power of being king, as well as with the political negotiations that come with such a position - i.e. figuring out how to deal with his council and not allow himself to be unheard and run over by other powerful political figures that don't want to listen to him. There are so many sides to each person that I felt constantly entertained, and as much as I would love to spend more time on each character, I think I'm going to leave them to you, dear readers, to discover.

And finally, one last thing (out of a great many things) that I loved about Kings or Pawns was the villains. These enemies are easily hated, but not necessarily purely evil - or, maybe they are? There is intrigue on all sides, and although I easily felt disdain towards the characters I was supposed to, I was also impressed and intrigued by their intelligence and sly deviousness, which I believe is the mark of a well-written villain.

Besides the somewhat-cliffhanger ending (which remains vague, no spoilers here!), I can definitely see where potential for further expansion of this world in upcoming books lies. There are a few characters that I would have liked to see a bit more of, but I have a strong feeling that they will show up more in later books. In fact, I have the second book lined up on my Kindle right now and I plan to dive in within the next week!

I highly recommend this for any fans of high fantasy or political thrillers - or, quite frankly, anyone who's looking for an exciting read! Because of all the reasons mentioned above, I will be giving Kings or Pawns four-and-a-half stars!

Be sure to check out the Steps of Power website, which has the complete (and amazing) book tour, as well as much more book-related fun and information!

AND, most importantly, don't forget to enter the giveaway below for some signed copies and/or swag!*




a Rafflecopter giveaway
*This giveaway was created by the author; I am not associated with the prizes or its creation.

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Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey. Tor Fantasy, 2003. Paperback. 1015 pages.

I was a bit skeptical of Kushiel's Dart, largely due to the many reviews proclaiming it had too much BDSM and negatively portrayed the main female character (unfortunately, the cover didn't exactly help convince me otherwise). But I also saw reviews lauding it for its highly developed world building elements, the fantasy itself, and the strong characters created, so I decided to give it a go. Not to mention the fact that it is considered a classic and highly regarded fantasy novel - It can't be considered that for no reason, right?

Well, I loved it. This book is a masterpiece. Kushiel's Dart is slow-paced, but it will keep you hooked. I struggled through the first almost-hundred pages and wasn't sure if I was going to continue when suddenly I was just sucked in and I knew that I would be finishing. I ended up reading at least 100+ pages of this book a day and put most of my other books that I was currently reading on hold while I finished this one. Carey's prose is absolutely gorgeous and rather Tolkien-esque due to the in-depth, expansive descriptions and detailed fantasy world.

This is a dense, high fantasy novel that is completely deserving of being considered one of the classics of high fantasy. The world Carey created is immensely detailed and precise. In fact, there are such intricate political backgrounds and dealings that it is actually somewhat hard to follow - and it doesn't help that they are all rather complex French-inspired names, a language that I do not know well. Because of this, I thought I would be doomed since I am extremely bad at remembering all those minute political alliances and foreign names, but I found that it was not completely necessary to understand every single political reference mentioned. Only the main characters and players were necessary to follow, so it ended up working out extremely well. Kushiel's Dart really has it all: strong political intrigue, complex world building, strong religion and culture, and well-rounded, deeply three-dimensional dynamic character development that was truly exciting to follow. I really found myself connecting with many of the characters, and that is what really made this book come alive.

I felt that Phedre's journey from a young girl of the Night Court to the mature, confident Phedre at the end of the book was amazingly well done. She started out as a fairly confident girl, but she lacked a voice. She is quiet, observant, obedient, but she slowly develops into an even more confident woman who is also now independent, strong, and willing to speak her mind. When I first started this book, I felt that Phedre didn't have much of a personality, so I was worried that I would develop a strong interest for this book; fortunately, throughout the story she truly develops as a character, finding her own well-developed personality and even a great sense of  humor along the way.

Now, to the more controversial aspect of Kushiel's Dart: yes, there is a fair bit of graphic BDSM-type sex that may make you uncomfortable if you are not a fan of that, but it was worked in beautifully. It wasn't campy or cheap sex, it was sex that fit and made the storyline. In fact, I found the entire way in which sex and courtesans were trained and used in this world to be extremely positive and, well, healthy. We learn that each student has a safe word that is clearly explained to any potential client (it's included in the paperwork, actually), and everything seems to be done in a very safe manner.

Regarding Phedre in particular: Phedre was struck with Kushiel's Dart at birth, causing her to be one of the few that experiences pain and pleasure as the same feeling, which is where the more violent sexual nature comes in. But to me, this is who Phedre is and what she was born to do - this is huge part of the entire storyline. It's not just some mindless smut added in. The first few sex scenes described are more detailed, but after a while they became much tamer and Carey tended to starting 'fading out' with no major details mentioned. After reading this book, I actually feel slightly frustrated with those who saw this BDSM as something vulgar and unnecessary, as I really didn't see it that way it's an integral part of this society and this storyline. But, of course, everyone's opinions are different and I am always respectful of differing opinions - especially over such an intense book as this one.

Overall, Kushiel's Dart is getting the big five-stars from me for its gorgeous prose and fantastical elements. This is a book that I would highly recommend to anyone that enjoys a strong fantasy novel with equally strong female characters and plot.

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