Kara Owl

First off I want to say that this was an excellent book. Kara Owl has a writing style that I enjoyed and the book was everything I'd look for in a fantasy novel. It had world-building and a unique culture, something that always catches my eye. I love when fantasy takes me to a new world with new races and cultures. There were family interactions, racial dynamics, rituals... there's a developed society in there. These characters are elves, but they didn't feel overdone at all; in fact, I forgot several times that they *were* elves because the characters were people, not stereotypes. The author put her own spin on the race to make them her own.

The writing style itself was also something I enjoyed. I'm always drawn to stories with multiple point-of-view characters and the author did a great job fleshing out the three siblings this story follows. (That in itself appealed to me- I love sibling stories!) Everything was very character driven and I do love me a character driven story. You truly do get into the heads of the POV characters and feel for them when plot happens. (And boy, does plot happen to them.)

But the names. Oh the names. Names, titles, and made up words everywhere. The characters all have fantasy names, which would be okay if they didn’t have several different titles/duties each, as well. These titles are never actually explained in the book. The main characters were fleshed out and easy to follow, but I found myself floundering a little to remember who some of the extra characters were and how they fit into the story. (This isn't necessarily anything to do with the writing style of the book. I had the same problem when reading "The Silmarillion". I tend to have a tough time keeping track of characters when they have long-ish created names.)

By the end of the book I had a pretty decent idea of what most of the titles referred to, but it was overwhelming at the start when it felt like every third sentence had a made up word. Don't get me wrong, I do love when authors do this because it adds to the world-building aspect. I can't help thinking, though, that if there had been some sort of aside explaining them (or possibly a glossary at the end- I think that might have been the best bet), that would have helped. Instead of struggling to remember who was who and what was what and being a bit jolted out of the story, I could have spent that time feeling a little closer to the characters earlier on.

That said, I really loved this book. I'm giving this 4 1/2 stars, but if there had been a good way of keeping track of who was what, this would have easily been five stars. I am quite definitely going to be reading more by Kara Owl.… (más)

This was a fantastic read! I can't wait to read more from this series. *Contains Spoilers*

The story of the Rialthus Family, a noble family of elves and the siblings coming of age and into rule. Their future holds many trials and tribulations for them and nothing will be simple. Romerin is supposed to be becoming Pater, however he is slain on his way to his coming of age testing. Ker learns of her brothers murder on her way to her own coming of age and thus adds to her anxiety. Now her twin, Toman will have to succeed. An event that was unforseen and that he was unprepared for. But the evil Vaerestrial wish to see differently, and take over the lands in addition to their already plentiful territories. Now trouble is afoot as the Vaerestrial tries to unseat the Rialthus. Ker and Toman are made pariah and forced to leave their homelands. Now they head off into their adventure to reclaim a missing family artifact to aid their quest to regain their rightful places.

*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review… (más)

Disclaimer:
I received this book from Early Reviewers in exchange for an honest review. Everything below is my honest opinion.

I loved this, and I can't wait to read the next book! Most of the time, elves are presented as being a united race (granted, I haven't read The Forgotten Realms series - maybe that's different), but in this, there's conflict and interest. The rituals and beliefs in this world are very interesting, and I want to learn more about the witch, the sword, everything really. Just to warn you, there is a sexual scene in this; I didn't mind it since it provided some plot, but if you don't like sex in your fantasy stories, you may want to skip over that part or read something else. I don't recommend the latter though; this book is completely worth the read. And I'll mention that there's a part somewhere in the middle of the book that took me entirely by surprise; ninety percent of the time I can guess what will happen, but this time I was wrong. That makes a well-written book in my opinion.

Edit:
Glancing at the other two reviews, I see that they disliked the new terms and such. Maybe it's just me, but I kind of expect such things in a fantasy book. True, there's no real explanation - you have to learn as you read further - but I didn't, personally, find it that difficult to keep up with it. Eventually it just clicks, and you have an "oh!" moment. For those who have difficulties with this, it may be helpful of the author to include a glossary at the end.… (más)

Blood of the Chosen is the story about a high elven family that has fallen on hard times. Romerin is set to become the head of the family and he would like to help his people escape the poverty that has been forced on them by the Vaerestriel. Kerwilian is meant to protect her brother, while her twin Toman has no defined role. All three of them struggle with injustices done to them while striving to follow their hearts.

I enjoyed this story and I am looking forward to the next in the series. What distracted me from the story was the fact that at times it was very difficult to understand the various elven roles and positions. There is no explanation and the reader is expected to pick things up as they go long.… (más)