Review: Talking trees, dragons and heartbreak. Oh my. READ THIS!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 15, 2013
This book was simply brilliant. Intense. Engrossing. Consuming. I could.not.put.it.down. and although I adore & have read everything R.K Ryals has written, this type of thing isn't usually my cup of tea, or even shot of vodka, if I must admit. So when I went into book one, Mark of the Mage, I wasn't expecting to love it. Well, call me crazy and slap me stupid. I absolutely went nuts for it and have been counting down the days til Tempest!"You'll learn, Kye, that ruling is as much about death and lies as it is about hope."Kye stood his ground. "People die for hope," he responded."They also die for stupidity," Cadeyrn pointed out."I would die for stupidity if it meant living in freedom," I said softly between them.I wasn't disappointed. I was reeled in, hook, line and sinker. You know it's a good book when you are cooking dinner with one hand and holding your kindle in the other! Ryals tells the story as if she's lived it. The descriptions rich and the wording from that era. She's a master story teller. I could picture every moment throughout the story. I didn't skim a word. I absorbed every last letter I needed to know everything. Like, RIGHT NOW! Then, wham....So many passages throughout this journey gave me goosebumps. There were moments I just had to sit back and simply think before I could go on. I was completely invested. I was anxious, heart broken, curious and anticipatory. Ryals didn't hold back, the punches came...and just kept on coming."In that moment, I learned something. I learned that sometimes moments aren't always big ones. Sometimes moments aren't loud or awe-inspiring. Sometimes, they're just enough."There were some beautiful moments to keep forever (the tree cave), and so many parts that touched my soul but the Ardus & wyvers was just as horrendous as I imagined, the battles we have come to expect when you have a lunatic running a kingdom were brutal, but truly, they weren't the only things to fear. We meet some new characters and learn that life and love is not kind when you are in a war for freedom."War is like fire," Cadeyrn said. "Sometimes it's simply a spark of disagreement. Sometimes it's a burning inferno impossible to extinguish. There's no turning back. You told me you'd rather love too much that to have never loved at all. Sometimes it's better to fight than to have never tried. There is never victory in war, but in the end, there can be peace with freedom from persecution."Can Stone, Kye, Oran, Lochlen and the gang make it to Sadeemia in one piece, and convince their kingdom help to save Medeisia? Will they overcome and prevail? You will have to read and find out."You are life, hope, and a chance at freedom. A symbol. Even if you do nothing more than speak to nature, you are a beacon for your people. That is all people need in war."