Monday, March 22, 2021

Review: Odriel’s Heirs by Hayley Reese Chow


 

Genre: Young Adult/Coming of Age/Sword & Sorcery/Fantasy/Adventure

Description:

“The brave, burning with fire, harnessed the Dragon's Rage...

As the Dragon Heir, seventeen-year-old Kaia inherited the power of flame to protect her homeland from a godlike necromancer's undead army. But after centuries of peace, the necromancer has faded to myth, and the Dragon Heir is feared by the people. Persecuted and cast out, Kaia struggles to embrace and control her seemingly useless gift while confined to her family's farm.

But when the necromancer's undead terrorize the land once again, Kaia runs away to join the battle.

With the help of her childhood rival, the handsome Shadow Heir, and a snarky, cursed cat, Kaia must figure out how to control both her fire and her confidence in time to save Okarria. If she fails, she will sacrifice her family, her new friends, and the enchanting world she has only just begun to see.

And time is running out.”

Author:

“Hayley Reese Chow is the author of Odriel's Heirs, the 2020 winner of the Florida Author Project. She also has short and flash fiction featured in Lite Lit One, The Drabble, Bewildering Stories, Teleport Magazine, and Rogue Blades Entertainment's omnibus, AS YOU WISH!

Until recently though, she's mostly done a lot of things that have nothing at all to do with writing. Her hat collection includes mother, wife, engineer, USAF veteran, reservist, four-time All American fencer, 100 mile ultramarathoner, triathlete, world traveler, voracious reader, and super nerd. Hayley currently lives in Florida with two small wild boys, her long-suffering husband, and her miniature ragehound.

But at night, when the house is still, she writes.”

To find more about Ms. Chow’s other stories and see what she's working on next, check out her website.

Appraisal:

Kaia Dashul is the Dragon Heir, she alone has the power of fire. When an undead army attacks her homeland, she sets out to locate the sloppy necromancer who is creating the Lost Armies. She is joined by her beloved pet ragehound Gus, Klaus Thane the Shadow Heir who has the power of invisibility, and a snarky cursed cat.

And so the adventure begins. Kaia and Klaus search for clues and allies for the coming war. As discoveries are made plans have to adapt. Kaia and Klaus are also learning to work together as they are both on their own journey to self-discovery as well. Emotions and tension run high during skirmishes and losses take their toll on our young heroes. The descriptions of landscapes and native life is beautifully written. The battles are captivating as we are right in the middle of the action watching it play out through Kaia’s eyes.

I was left with one burning question after the ultimate battle though. Then the final scene I was taken back because I had completely forgotten about that slime ball. I also can’t believe that one dark sorcerer is so flippin’ hard to kill. The slippery rat bass-tid.

If you enjoy epic fantasy with sword and sorcery, battles between good and evil with snappy dialogue, you will enjoy this novel.  

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

FYI:

Odriel's Heirs is listed free on Amazon at the time I wrote this review. Idriel's Children is book 2 in the Odriel’s Heirs series.

Format/Typo Issues:

I noted several small proofing misses.

Rating: **** Four Stars

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

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