Pencheval is a Silver Lion – the best of the best warrior and fighter. He has earned a reputation for hunting down bandits. However, he is now seeking a simpler life of solitude and peace. This takes him to the Emerald Refuge, famed for its serenity throughout the entire kingdom. However, his peace doesn’t last long as soon the King seeks Pencheval out to investigate the disappearance of a patrol. All signs point to goblins.
This book was a fun story. Pencheval is an interesting character with some baggage. He is an effective warrior, but kind of a grumpy guy. The story held my interest and I was curious to see what would happen. The story ended pretty abruptly. I turned the page expecting more and there was no more. Maybe because I was reading on my Kindle instead of a physical book, but the ending left me hanging. It didn’t keep me suspended, though, in the way a good series will. Rather, it left me annoyed and frustrated that it was where the story came to an end.
There were sentences of this book all along that did not flow smoothly. They were split thoughts and too much info in one sentence. They felt like run-on sentences with improper use of the comma. I had to re-read in multiple instances to make sure that I understood what the author was trying to convey. It detracted from the story and made me take breaks because I would get frustrated. For example:
“Two more goblins tried to determine what the sacks they had taken from the farmhouse contained, only to choke on clouds of flour when they cut them open.”
“A goblin wearing an upturned copper teakettle for a helmet, bone-reinforced rawhide tunic, and wielding a steel short sword, pushed its way to the front of the mob and leered. ”
“A thick stitching of bear hides to prevent things the Stonemaster did not wish seen or heard from escaping was draped over it.”
“The simple but surprisingly hearty stew the tavern girl gave him and ale suited him well enough.”
These distractions made it very difficult for me to enjoy the story. It had a lot of potential, but it just didn’t read clearly enough for my taste. I wish that we had learned more about Pencheval’s backstory. There were glimpses, but not enough to help me really understand who he once was and how that developed him to be the character we met in the book. With some careful editing and a different wrap-up to this book before leading into the next, I think I would enjoy the read much more. As it is, this is not a book I would recommend at this time.
This book was given to us for free in exchange for an honest review.
Review by Patti H. for Truth About Books by A Fae