Name: Odriel's Heirs
ISBN: 9781652953302

Hayley Reese Chow

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.

Odriel's Heirs

Sandra Tammaru

Fast and entertaining, a pleasant read for a free evening and a gratifying ending which leaves room for more excitement

Kerri McDonald

This was a quick and engaging read that had me wrapped up in the world! I loved the world building, though I could have done with a touch more lore. I do love lore, though. I also loved the characters, especially Kaia! She was nuanced and compelling and it was very easy to feel empathy for her. She’s just so relatable!

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Odriels Heir

Author: Hayley Reese Chow

Book Series: Odriels Heirs Book 1

Rating: 3/5

Publication Date: February 23, 2020

Publisher: Indie Published

Pages: 197

Recommended Age: 15+ (violence, some mature scenes)

Synopsis: 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.

Review: For the most part this is a great fantasy. The story is intriguing, the world building is fantastic, and the writing was well done.


However, the character development lacked a bit for me. The main character wasn't very likable and while that can be done amazingly in some book I felt it lacked in this one.

Verdict: An excellent fantasy read!

Jolie

Fantasy is one of my favorite subjects to read. It is one genre that I will always read. So, when the author contacted me to read/review Odriel’s Heirs, I accepted. I am glad that I did. Odriel’s Heirs was a great read!!

The plotline for Odriel’s Heirs was fast-moving and well written. There were no dropped storylines or characters. There was a little lag right before the last battle, but it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book.

I loved the lore in Odriel’s Heirs. Zombies, necromancers, mages, and gods (good and bad) were featured. I did want to know more about the different Heirs and that first battle. But that is a minor thing. I liked that the author took the past events and used them as vital learning tools for Kaia. She also left teasers about the past. I am hoping that she expands more on that in the oncoming books.

I wasn’t a massive fan of Kaia for most of the book. I thought she was impulsive, self-centered, and full of rage. I couldn’t connect with her. But after a specific scene on a mountain, I started to see her character morph and I began to like her. By the end of the book, I was in awe of her. I can’t wait to see where her character goes.

I liked that Kaia was portrayed as a real person. She had real issues (bullying and self-esteem were the main ones featured). Kaia had to work to get to where she was. In one battle scene, she exhausted herself and almost collapsed. Even her changing feelings for Klaus were realistic.

I will say that I wasn’t a fan of how a specific relationship did a 180. I get that romance sells, but in this case, eh. There was too much bad history between those two that made a romantic relationship yucky in my eyes.

I wish that the author had explained what the Shadow Heirs abilities were earlier in the book. I figured it was something to do with shadows and assassins, but it wasn’t fully revealed until Klaus went to rescue Kaia after she was kidnapped.

The secondary characters in this book (villains and heroes) were wonderfully written. None of them seemed out of place in this world, and they all added an extra depth to the storyline.

The end of Odriel’s Heirs was great. I had figured out what happened to the Time Heir about halfway through the book. I knew that Kaia would come into her own during that last battle. But it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of reading those scenes. The last chapter, though, seemed too good to be true. And then came the epilogue. That made me super excited to read book 2!!

Mariya Tuchinskaya 

I found this to be a good coming of age story. I could sympathize with Kaia's insecurities and enjoyed reading about how she came into her own power. I'm also a sucker for love interests named Klaus and liked watching their relationship develop from bickering rivalry to true romance. There are definitely a lot of sweet moments between these two towards the end of the book.

Lastly, the animal companions really held my heart here. Shad the snarky cat had some of the best lines in the book. And Gus was such a sweet animal guardian for Kaia, really living up to being man's best friend.

I did feel that there was something missing in terms of world building here. Significant backstory regarding this world's history is nowhere to be found. I felt like a prequel of some kind would have been helpful to me as the reader to understand how some characters were connected and what was happening in this world at large.

Overall, I felt like this is a good coming of age story that fans of YA fantasy would enjoy.

Raven’s Books

Kaia is the next Dragon Heir. Her job is to keep The Lost, a hoard of the undead, away from the innocent people of Okarria. But when they try to invade in her home town, Kaia is determined to act. She begins a journey to meet her father and the Shadow Heir, Klaus. What she doesn't expect is to become a leader of an army, battling against the ultimate evil. With her friends in her side, and the spirit of the Dragon Heir guiding her, Kaia must find a way to defeat Nifras, or die trying...

A powerful and captivating story exploring personal growth and the hardships of trying to meet other people's expectations. I fell in love with this world and its characters. It's been a really long time since I liked an MC so much! Our girl is fierce and caring and through it all, she manages to find her fire.
The romance is been kept on the low, making me ask for more interactions and intimate scenes. It's connected to the main storyline in such a beautiful way and it's even imperative for the climax of the book.
The world itself is intriguing and unique, with myths and legends blurring the line between reality and fantasy. I particularly enjoyed the different species presented, the vivid descriptions helped me paint the characters with every detail in my head.

I so look forward to the next book!

Odriel's Heirs

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