*Received review copy from the author in exchange for an honest review*
From Goodreads: History repeats itself like a song. The verses may vary, but the melody is always the same. The eastern empire of Aukasia has a new leader, a man who means to bring war to all the land. Yet, even in all his bloody ambition, he does not realize that he is but the puppet of a greater evil. Only the Kalyra - The Children of the Crystal Star - can stand against what's coming. Only they can protect the world of Valcoria from the mad hatred of the fallen god, Aedar. A new verse of the song has begun. The last verse...
I have to admit my bad on this one. I’ve had it FOREVER and had it on a shelf and promptly forgot about it. Yeesh. Bad on me. My goal is to not leave books that long, especially ones that the author took the time to send me, so my very sincere apologies to Jason King.
I think the story has loads of potential, as does King as an author. I enjoyed the premise quite a lot, which is that the land has a new leader, who is apparently hell-bent on ruining his country. Not a very smart guy, trying to ruin everything he’s worked to gain… Poor guy though. He’s just in the clutches of someone even worse and he doesn’t know it.
I though the characters were quite well-done and for the most part, people that were relatable. Plot-wise, it was a little slow in parts, but that’s not generally a huge deal. Some stories need a little slow in there.
I did have a little trouble following sometimes. The POV changed a lot, and you know how I really don’t like that all that much. It can be done superbly (Under the Never Sky, for example), but I didn’t think this one quite met the mark.
For being a self-published book, Valcoria was remarkably free of errors and things that normally make me run screaming. From what I understand, Jason’s wife does his editing. She deserves a prize, because she’s done a fantastic job. Kudos, Mrs. King!
Overall, while I enjoyed the story, the alternating POV was a little too much for me. I’m giving this one a ‘Hmmm’ rating.
Content Advisory:
Language: Mild
Sexuality: Mild
Violence: Moderate
Mature Themes: ambition, evil
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