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authortristenwillis's review
3.0
This is not my usual genre however i found the book very intriguing and mysterious and that sucked me in pretty quickly. If you like fantasy and suspense then give this book a read. I'm curious to find out what happens to Christian in the books sequel.
xoxo_biz's review
3.0
I was sent this book to read and review before Beta reading the sequel. To be honest I found this book difficult to get into at first, but once he was out of Fall Valley it picked up a lot more. I felt the story has a lot of potential; I love the bare bones of it. However, I felt it was very confusing to follow. The action scenes happened too abruptly and it was difficult to decipher how much time had actually passed. There were a few times that they had decided to rest, but then something would happen and they'd have to keep moving, but the way it was described I couldn't tell if things were all happening in the same night/day or if it was finally the next day and they had been attacked again.
There are a lot of flashbacks that are weirdly placed or just not properly transitioned that really threw me off while I was reading. Eventually, they are answered at the end of the book, there were enough hints around them to draw your own conclusion which I appreciated. As a reader I like the validation of guessing the foreshadowing correctly. The only thing that seemed unclear was whether or not his father was abusive towards Christian. There were a few times that alluded to this, but we never got confirmation that this was the case.
I felt the scene with the Skathe trying to make a deal with Christian was very derivative of the Mirror of Erised in Harry Potter.
There are also a lot of unanswered questions, but I just watched K.C. Dunford's IG story about this and she said there are a lot of things that will be answered in the third and final book, so I think that open ended-ness is on purpose.
Lastly, I found the relationship between Christian and Ardella to be unsettling. He's a 13 year old boy and she's 17 (technically hundreds of years old--an Edward Cullen situation, almost). Christian's voice and actions were much older than that of a 13 year old; one could argue that his dark past could make up for some of this, but his character could pass as 16 or 17 and then there wouldn't have to be a weird uncomfortable age gap. Which I understand isn't going to be too big of a deal based on how this book ended, but still the foundation for a love between a 13 year old and a 17 year old is disturbing.
Overall, I love the concept and the story. The basis for the books is intriguing. I appreciate Gafford's character a lot. It is frustrating that he hardly explains anything to Christian, but eventually things do get answered. I feel like Gafford is almost a Hagrid like character to add some comic relief, but also vital to the operation at hand. I think it's amazing whenever anyone writes in the fantasy genre. They have to create their own world with creatures and made up places all on their own and then bring it to life for the reader. I think Dunford did an amazing job at creating her world and exposing us to it's dangers and the levels with in it. That is no easy task. I'm about to dive into the sequel for my Beta Read. I've heard readers get a better look at some of the other characters that were not as prevalent in the first book. I'm excited to see how things develop and where Christian ends up in five years time.
There are a lot of flashbacks that are weirdly placed or just not properly transitioned that really threw me off while I was reading. Eventually, they are answered at the end of the book, there were enough hints around them to draw your own conclusion which I appreciated. As a reader I like the validation of guessing the foreshadowing correctly. The only thing that seemed unclear was whether or not his father was abusive towards Christian. There were a few times that alluded to this, but we never got confirmation that this was the case.
I felt the scene with the Skathe trying to make a deal with Christian was very derivative of the Mirror of Erised in Harry Potter.
There are also a lot of unanswered questions, but I just watched K.C. Dunford's IG story about this and she said there are a lot of things that will be answered in the third and final book, so I think that open ended-ness is on purpose.
Lastly, I found the relationship between Christian and Ardella to be unsettling. He's a 13 year old boy and she's 17 (technically hundreds of years old--an Edward Cullen situation, almost). Christian's voice and actions were much older than that of a 13 year old; one could argue that his dark past could make up for some of this, but his character could pass as 16 or 17 and then there wouldn't have to be a weird uncomfortable age gap. Which I understand isn't going to be too big of a deal based on how this book ended, but still the foundation for a love between a 13 year old and a 17 year old is disturbing.
Overall, I love the concept and the story. The basis for the books is intriguing. I appreciate Gafford's character a lot. It is frustrating that he hardly explains anything to Christian, but eventually things do get answered. I feel like Gafford is almost a Hagrid like character to add some comic relief, but also vital to the operation at hand. I think it's amazing whenever anyone writes in the fantasy genre. They have to create their own world with creatures and made up places all on their own and then bring it to life for the reader. I think Dunford did an amazing job at creating her world and exposing us to it's dangers and the levels with in it. That is no easy task. I'm about to dive into the sequel for my Beta Read. I've heard readers get a better look at some of the other characters that were not as prevalent in the first book. I'm excited to see how things develop and where Christian ends up in five years time.
wesquive's review
5.0
I really enjoyed and liked this book. Christian's story is very unique, he is a very unique and different character. It was a roller coaster of emotions for me because I wanted just to keep reading and know more but at the same time I did not want the book to end. Loved how intriguing and the mystery element on it. Like I said I just wanted to keep reading and see what was going to happen next. The Author does a great job in presenting the characters, the story, very clear what is going on, just the right pace for me and, loved how we get to know Christian, how real he felt to me and absolutely loved the writing style.
carmby's review
4.0
Incredible debut book from K.C. Dunford. I am very particular about writing styles and this author is very talented. The feelings of and responses from the characters to their situations were very familiar to things I've felt, and it's refreshing to know what they are going through, even though it takes place in an entirely different world. I loved the new world in the book, and some of the evil forces and creatures were truly creepy. The main thing that bothered me about the book was the love interest, but it gets better in the end. Overall, very fun and easy read and I'm excited to continue on in Christian's adventure--especially because --**SPOILER ALERT**--he will be older in the next book.
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