Monday, July 02, 2012

Review & Giveaway: Wings of Arian

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Wings of Arian
Devri Walls
Series:Wings of Arian, #1
Release date: April 24th, 2012
by Stonehouse Ink

 

Kiora thought she had never heard a lie until she was sixteen. But she was wrong. Her entire existence was based on nothing but. She thought that evil did not exist. Lie. That magic was not real. Lie. And that the land of Meros was all there was. One more lie.

With Aleric telling her that evil is knocking on the door and that she is the only one who can stop them she has a choice to make. Refuse, or start the wildest most painful ride of her life.
She reluctantly dips her toe into her new existence of magic and threads, dragons and shapeshifters, and the person who wants to take control of it all: the evil Dralazar.

However, this journey was never meant to be hers alone. She will be accompanied by a Protector. To her disbelief, and utter irritation they name the hotheaded, stubborn, non -magical, (albeit gorgeous) Prince Emane. They will have to trust each other with their lives, but right now Kiora would settle for a non hostile conversation.

And now it comes down to this, If you had never heard a lie, would you know when you heard one? Is knowing good from evil innate? Kiora finds herself having to decide who lives and who dies on those very questions.

*A copy was provided by Devri Walls for review purposes*

As fantasy is not my favorite genre I went into this with a bit of wariness. Wings of Arian is very much a fantasy with kingdoms, dragons, prophecies, and magic. While it failed to completely enrapture me, I blame this on personal taste rather than flaws in the book itself. Not saying it’s flawless either, but it is a good story with a lot of creativity, so readers who enjoy high fantasy would most likely find themselves much more in-tuned with this one than I did.

Kiora is the Solus. She’s the one who is supposed to save her people with her unyielding magical abilities that scare her as much as everyone she accidentally maims. She’s not perfect and she’s constantly doubting herself, including her abilities. I enjoyed her character, she’s likeable and easy to root for. Although I did have a hard time truly feeling her as we don’t get a lot of character building. We don’t get to know her on a personal level; her past and her personality are not developed enough for me to be able to really understand her, or her reason for ending up where she is at the moment – literally and emotionally. So, sadly, she does feel kind of flat in that respect, but her kind and caring manner makes it easy to care about her throughout the story. We also have Emane by her side to bring in some charming, oftentimes amusing, exchanges. Like Kiora, I didn’t find Emane especially well developed, but he does have a louder personality that is easier to connect with. As for their relationship, it’s a tad instant, but sweet and simple with a refreshing lack of angst.

When Kiora decides to embrace her calling as a Solus, we embark on a journey full of wonder and pain. There’s a lot of training to develop her magical abilities and even though they are very straightforward powers, I did find them creative and enchanting. I loved the remarkable possibilities these people have with their magic, as well as the creatures involved. Dragons, shape shifters and pegasus are only a few of the magical beasts we have the pleasure of meeting. The dragons being my personal favorite with an interesting history to boot. Of course, there’s an evil counterpart. Dralazar is the villain of this novel who is claimed as being the ultimate evil. If I’m being honest I don’t think I completely understood the whole reasoning behind Dralazar. What he’s trying to accomplish was lost on me so I never felt very intimidated by him. Though I will say the fight scenes are intense with a lot of bloodshed that makes the whole book feel more sinister, more serious. People die, betrayals are revealed; I eat this stuff right up!

For a debut novel the writing is good; it has an easy to follow pace with an interesting plot. I think a solid backstory, deeper characterization, with some unnecessary parts shaved off to save length would definitely have strengthened my enjoyment of this novel. Readers who enjoy high fantasy may want to give Wings of Arian a try as they would most certainly consume it with more passion than I did. 

3 Hot Espressos
 
 Devri Walls: lives in Kuna Idaho with her husband and two kids. She has worked as music teacher and currently, a preschool teacher. She majored in theater and her love of a story still drives her today. Thankfully, she has finally found an outlet for all the voices in her head. Her first novel, Wings of Arian, will be released on Amazon May of 2012.

This post was a part of:

Giveaway 1

Devri has generously offered an ecopy of Wings of Arian to one winner

Open internationally
Giveaway ends July 12th, 2012
Use the Rafflecopter below to enter
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway 2

You can also enter to win the blog tour grand prize of TWO one hundred dollars (100$) Amazon gift cards

Click here to enter at The Bookish Brunette!

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Giselle

Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

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20 Responses to “Review & Giveaway: Wings of Arian”

  1. Amy

    Great review chick!! I am reading it this week. (My stop for the tour is next Tuesday, talk about getting a bit behind on reading lol) I am not typically a fantasy person either, but I like them occasionally. It sounds like it’s a good book so I am sure I will enjoy it even if it’s not totally my thing.

  3. Nick

    I enjoy fantasy reads so I might actually like it more than you did. It sounds very creative and there are dragons so it’s got to be pretty fabulous. Too bad you didn’t get the reasoning behind the villain being evil though.
    Anyways, great honest review, Giselle ! 🙂

  4. Giselle

    Thanks ladies!
    @Nick: we do get an explanation sort of, I just don’t think I really got it so maybe you will! But if you love fantasy I’m sure you’ll get into it more.

  5. Danny

    I adore this cover sooo freaking much !!!!!! And I do love a good Fantasy. Especially lately, I found again my love for this genre. I truly would like to give it a shot :))

  6. Jennifer Messerschmidt

    I eat up betrayals and action as well. I enjoy fantasy but don’t find too many that interest me. I do love a good story about a girl that has to save the world with her magic. I eat that up! LOL Always looking to discover a new kingdom.

  9. Shooting Stars Mag

    Awesome review! I’m not big on fantasy either, so it doesn’t sound quite right for me, but I like the use of various magical creatures like dragons and whatnot. How fun!

    -Lauren

  12. Sam

    I think this may be more my type of book as I do like fantasy a touch more than you do. It’s a shame you weren’t blown away by it but I’m glad you could still appreciate the writing. Great review lovely! 🙂

  13. Addie R.

    Awesome review! Ever since I read Throne of Glass, I’ve been getting more interested in high fantasy, so I think I’ll enjoy this more than you did. Though it is a disappointment that the characters fell flat for you. Glad you enjoyed it:))

  14. Camille Picott

    I am very eager to read this book, even though the reviews I’ve read so far are middle of the road. I think it’s the cover that really grabs me. I already downloaded a sample on my Nook. I love high fantasy, so hopefully I’ll like this! Great review!

  15. Alexa

    This sounds pretty interesting, especially since I usually love fantasy novels! I see that there are a bunch of elements tossed in there – I’m actually quite curious to see how that all plays out.

  16. Mary @ BookSwarm

    Betrayals are good–so is death (in a book, of course). Sounds like a promising start to a writing career, even though there are some issues that need work.

  17. Molli @ Once Upon a Prologue

    I ADORE a good fantasy novel. I haven’t read any reviews of this one so far, but between the magic and the dragon angle, I’m ALREADY excited about it. It seems like a good, solid read that you found things to like about it, so I’m definitely excited to give it a chance!

  18. Aylee

    “Kingdoms, dragons, prophecies, and magic” Uh okay, those are literally my favourite things about fantasies, haha! Too bad you didn’t enjoy this more but I can understand that it’s simply not your thing.