Review: Really is the best of this series
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 23, 2014
I write this review after having completed book 4 and started book 5.  I do note that this and book 3 are getting negative reviews and frankly, I don't think they're deserved.  Missing proofreader?  Absolutely.  Tons of grammatical errors?  Certainly.  Improper use of verbs and nouns?  Definitely.  So drop a star off and be done with it.  Three stars is harsh, because the thing is this author definitely has the gift of storytelling.  It catches you, and makes you want to find out what happens next - and that's hard to consistently do in a series.Book one introduces Flare, who is of royal descent.  Without spoiling the story, Flare ends up leaving his kingdom to join the Guardians, who are sworn knights of a neighboring country.  The Guardians are then placed in a live-or-die situation that defines that happens next.I did have a few issues with the story.  First, the beginning part with his kingdom is totally glossed over: there's an early scene with an escort that you hope will be explained later, and it's somewhat alluded to but you really have to take a leap of faith as to what's going on.  There are no ramifications to Flare leaving the kingdom, at least not that I can tell, and he never goes back to revisit any of the people who helped him become a Guardian (with the exception of one person that he competed against).  In other words, it felt as though the author was trying to hurry up and get to the Guardians section and spend as little time as possible fully developing Flare early on.  We also never get a sense of consequence for what he's doing.Second, there are character interactions late in the story that feel random and contrived.  There's a death, and though we see a reaction to that death, it's totally blown off in later books of the series.  We don't get that sense that the death was life defining.  Trying desperately not to spoil things, but the actions in later books contradict the emotion that the author was attempting to evoke with the death in this book; goes to a lack of continuity and story flow.Lastly, there are too many sub characters. The author had so much difficulty developing Flare that it spilled over into the development of the other characters.  It's extremely challenging putting a face to each person and how they fit into the larger picture.  You know certain characters are warriors, certain others can use magic, some are female and some are male.  Beyond that, you just don't feel invested in the rest of the team.  It's as though their sole purpose is to have Flare not be a vigilante.There is an underlying plot that is reasonably well developed, and it is this plot that makes the reader want to continue with the series.  It's never blatant, never given away, just enough that you hunger for more.  If the author were to work on their character development and continuity, they would have a tremendous story on their hands. Regardless, it's worth the read if you can overlook the above.