Review & Giveaway: Wings of Arian

Wings of Arian
Devri Walls
Series:Wings of Arian, #1
Release date: April 24th, 2012
by Stonehouse Ink

 

Kiora thought she had never heard a lie until she was sixteen. But she was wrong. Her entire existence was based on nothing but. She thought that evil did not exist. Lie. That magic was not real. Lie. And that the land of Meros was all there was. One more lie.

With Aleric telling her that evil is knocking on the door and that she is the only one who can stop them she has a choice to make. Refuse, or start the wildest most painful ride of her life.
She reluctantly dips her toe into her new existence of magic and threads, dragons and shapeshifters, and the person who wants to take control of it all: the evil Dralazar.

However, this journey was never meant to be hers alone. She will be accompanied by a Protector. To her disbelief, and utter irritation they name the hotheaded, stubborn, non -magical, (albeit gorgeous) Prince Emane. They will have to trust each other with their lives, but right now Kiora would settle for a non hostile conversation.

And now it comes down to this, If you had never heard a lie, would you know when you heard one? Is knowing good from evil innate? Kiora finds herself having to decide who lives and who dies on those very questions.

*A copy was provided by Devri Walls for review purposes*

As fantasy is not my favorite genre I went into this with a bit of wariness. Wings of Arian is very much a fantasy with kingdoms, dragons, prophecies, and magic. While it failed to completely enrapture me, I blame this on personal taste rather than flaws in the book itself. Not saying it's flawless either, but it is a good story with a lot of creativity, so readers who enjoy high fantasy would most likely find themselves much more in-tuned with this one than I did.

Kiora is the Solus. She's the one who is supposed to save her people with her unyielding magical abilities that scare her as much as everyone she accidentally maims. She's not perfect and she's constantly doubting herself, including her abilities. I enjoyed her character, she's likeable and easy to root for. Although I did have a hard time truly feeling her as we don't get a lot of character building. We don't get to know her on a personal level; her past and her personality are not developed enough for me to be able to really understand her, or her reason for ending up where she is at the moment - literally and emotionally. So, sadly, she does feel kind of flat in that respect, but her kind and caring manner makes it easy to care about her throughout the story. We also have Emane by her side to bring in some charming, oftentimes amusing, exchanges. Like Kiora, I didn't find Emane especially well developed, but he does have a louder personality that is easier to connect with. As for their relationship, it's a tad instant, but sweet and simple with a refreshing lack of angst.

When Kiora decides to embrace her calling as a Solus, we embark on a journey full of wonder and pain. There's a lot of training to develop her magical abilities and even though they are very straightforward powers, I did find them creative and enchanting. I loved the remarkable possibilities these people have with their magic, as well as the creatures involved. Dragons, shape shifters and pegasus are only a few of the magical beasts we have the pleasure of meeting. The dragons being my personal favorite with an interesting history to boot. Of course, there's an evil counterpart. Dralazar is the villain of this novel who is claimed as being the ultimate evil. If I'm being honest I don't think I completely understood the whole reasoning behind Dralazar. What he's trying to accomplish was lost on me so I never felt very intimidated by him. Though I will say the fight scenes are intense with a lot of bloodshed that makes the whole book feel more sinister, more serious. People die, betrayals are revealed; I eat this stuff right up!

For a debut novel the writing is good; it has an easy to follow pace with an interesting plot. I think a solid backstory, deeper characterization, with some unnecessary parts shaved off to save length would definitely have strengthened my enjoyment of this novel. Readers who enjoy high fantasy may want to give Wings of Arian a try as they would most certainly consume it with more passion than I did. 

3 Hot Espressos

 

Devri's Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

 Devri Walls: lives in Kuna Idaho with her husband and two kids. She has worked as music teacher and currently, a preschool teacher. She majored in theater and her love of a story still drives her today. Thankfully, she has finally found an outlet for all the voices in her head. Her first novel, Wings of Arian, will be released on Amazon May of 2012.

This post was a part of:

Guest post by Devri Walls

Hello lovelies! So today I have Devri visiting Xpresso Reads to share a fantastic and especially amusing excerpt of her debut novel, Wings of Arian.

Wings of Arian
Devri Walls
Series:Wings of Arian, #1
Release date: April 24th, 2012
by Stonehouse Ink

Goodreads / Purchase

Kiora thought she had never heard a lie until she was sixteen. But she was wrong. Her entire existence was based on nothing but. She thought that evil did not exist. Lie. That magic was not real. Lie. And that the land of Meros was all there was. One more lie.

With Aleric telling her that evil is knocking on the door and that she is the only one who can stop them she has a choice to make. Refuse, or start the wildest most painful ride of her life.
She reluctantly dips her toe into her new existence of magic and threads, dragons and shapeshifters, and the person who wants to take control of it all: the evil Dralazar.

However, this journey was never meant to be hers alone. She will be accompanied by a Protector. To her disbelief, and utter irritation they name the hotheaded, stubborn, non -magical, (albeit gorgeous) Prince Emane. They will have to trust each other with their lives, but right now Kiora would settle for a non hostile conversation.

And now it comes down to this, If you had never heard a lie, would you know when you heard one? Is knowing good from evil innate? Kiora finds herself having to decide who lives and who dies on those very questions.

Drop by on July 2nd for my blog tour stop!

Guest post by Devri Walls

Welcome to a teaser from Wings of Arian! Since it’s a bit long you wont be hearing much from me. I am sure you are all heartbroken! The one thing you need to know for this scene is that Kiora is the Solus, the one chosen to stop evil. And as such, she has the ability for magic. An ability her Protector, Emane, is lacking. I hope you find this scene as entertaining as I do!
__

Emane came to Kiora after dinner with two swords and handed her one.
“What is this for?” She asked as the weight of the sword jerked her arm to the ground.
“I have decided you need to learn how to fight,” he said, laying his blade across his hand, examining it.
“You have, have you?” She grunted trying to wrench the sword back up.
“Well, Aleric and I decided.” Emane shrugged, dropping the sword back to his side. “If I do get separated from you and you happen to run out of magic, you need to be able to defend yourself. I have already spoken to the Guardians and they have promised to make you a sword that is your size. But for now, we will practice with these.”
“Emane, I don't even know how to hold one of these things.”
“Lesson number one, it is called a sword.”
“Alright, a sword,” she said placing a hand on her hip. “Problem number two, I can’t lift it.”
“Try,” he said jerking his head towards her sword.
Rolling her eyes she grabbed the hilt, struggling under the weight of it, managing to pull it up a few inches before the weight dragged her back down to the ground. Emane burst out into laughter, taking it out of her hands.
“Well worth it!” he grinned, shouldering her sword. When she looked at him confused, Emane leaned forward as if telling her a secret, “I really just wanted to watch you not be able to do something.”
“Are you serious,” she sputtered. “You gave me that sword just to laugh at me? Did you even talk to Aleric?" Her face flushed.
“Of course I talked to Aleric.” Emane was trying to stifle his laughter but it wasn't working. “And I am going to teach you to fight.” He buried the swords into the ground so that they were standing straight up. “But we normally don't start with those. He pulled out two wooden swords he had stashed behind a tree. “Normally we start training with these,” he said, spinning them around in an arc before presenting her with the much smaller, much lighter wooden sword.
She snatched it out of his hand. “You really are a jerk you know.”
“Hmmm,” he said smirking, tossing his sword from one hand to the other. “I'm happy with jerk. It’s much nicer than what you used to call me.”
 “You're that too,” she half grinned.
“Nope, we have downgraded to jerk and I am keeping it.” He started circling around her. “First things first, you need to protect yourself. I will try to get past your guard. If you block me, you win. If I get past your guard, I win. And,” he drug out, “I will expect to be paid with a kiss.”
“What do I get if I win?” she asked.
Emane took advantage of the question and jabbed in quickly, connecting with her arm. “One kiss for me,” he winked, backing out again.
“That was cheating!” she objected. Emane swung around the blade, lightly connecting the flat side of the sword between her shoulder blades.
“Two kisses for me.”
“Oohhh,” Kiora growled. “You are an arrogant horse’s ass!” She took a protective stance and blocked the next blow.
“Nice job.” He danced around her and connected with her opposite shoulder. “Three kisses for the horse’s ass,” he gloated. “Come on, Kiora you have to move your feet.” His eyes glinted mischievously.
She started to move and circle, following his lead. She blocked blow after blow, but missed at least one out of every three. “Come on, Emane,” she complained, “take it easy on me. It’s my first day.”
“I am taking it easy on you,” he laughed. “You’re terrible!”
“Thanks a lot,” she said trying to force a glare at him. “You’re not exactly encouraging.” Kiora lifted her sword to block another shot.
Pushing his sword down over hers he leaned in, “I actually like the fact that you’re terrible, more kisses for me.”
Kiora heard a few snickers from behind her and noticed that the camp was turning up to watch the training session. Pushing back, Emane jabbed in and caught her in the stomach.
“HEY!” she yelled, doubling over.
“That’s at least 15 kisses, I am losing count.” Spinning in a wide lazy circle he asked the spectators, “Anyone want to keep track for me?”
“You… are such a ...”
“Uh uh,” he said shaking his finger at her, “we have little ears amongst us, watch your language.”
“JERK!” she yelled.
“That’s better.” Emane swung again and she soundly blocked. It went on like this for longer than she had wanted. The crowd cheered when she blocked a shot and they counted kisses when Emane made it past her guard. And they laughed at every joke he made, which only encouraged him on.
“Please,” she gasped. “I am dying, can’t we take a break?”
“Breaks are for girls!” He taunted her, dancing around her with the stupid, albeit gorgeous grin, plastered on his face.
“I am a girl, Emane.” He moved in to take another shot, which she barely blocked. “I mean it, Emane, I am going to cheat if we don't stop.” He raised his sword over his head. With a flick of her wrist she swept his feet out from under him. He reached for his sword, but with another flick of the wrist, the sword slid across the ground out of his reach. She dropped to her knees, putting her sword to his neck, “Do you yield?”
The crowd was in hysterics. Emane stretched his neck looking around. “How many kisses am I owed?” he shouted to the crowd.
“Seventy-two,” the answer came.
“Hmmm, seventy-two kisses,” he put both arms behind his head. “That should be enough. Yes, I yield.”
“Thank heavens!” Kiora collapsed on the ground next to Emane as the crowd cheered and laughed with approval.
Emane rolled over and leaned on his elbow, looking down at her through half open lids. “I think the Lady should pay up.” He leaned down and kissed her “One down, seventy-one more to go.” Emane jumped to his feet and offered her a hand up. “Alright folks, that’s it for today.” There were some moans and groans as the crowd dispersed.
“You are shameless, you know that?” she said, brushing off her pants.
“So you tell me.” He threw his arm over her shoulder. “Let's go get something to drink.”

 __

If you would like to read more, Wings of Arian is available on Amazon. You can also read an enormous sneak peak there as well, I believe my publisher included all the way to chapter three! Thanks so much to Giselle for having me over today! I could write a whole blog post on her awesome sauciness… but I think you all already know!

---

Thanks so much, Devri! YOUR awesome sauciness definitely shows in this excerpt and I'm especially looking forward to reading the whole thing! Emane sounds sexy!

 Devri's Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Devri Walls lives in Kuna Idaho with her husband and two kids. She has worked as a music teacher and currently, a preschool teacher. She majored in theater and her love of a story still drives her today. Thankfully, she has finally found an outlet for all the voices in her head. Her first novel, Wings of Arian, will be released on Amazon May of 2012.

Wings of Arian is only 2.99 for Kindle!

Grab it here

Cover Reveal: Wings of Arian & Between

Wings of Arian

Devri Walls

Release date: May, 2012

by Stonehouse Ink

Add it to your Goodreads

Kiora thought she had never heard a lie until she was sixteen. But she was wrong. Her entire existence was based on nothing but. She thought that evil did not exist. Lie. That magic was not real. Lie. And that the land of Meros was all there was. One more lie.

With Aleric telling her that evil is knocking on the door and that she is the only one who can stop them she has a choice to make. Refuse, or start the wildest most painful ride of her life.
She reluctantly dips her toe into her new existence of magic and threads, dragons and shapeshifters, and the person who wants to take control of it all: the evil Dralazar.

However, this journey was never meant to be hers alone. She will be accompanied by a Protector. To her disbelief, and utter irritation they name the hotheaded, stubborn, non -magical, (albeit gorgeous) Prince Emane. They will have to trust each other with their lives, but right now Kiora would settle for a non hostile conversation.

And now it comes down to this, If you had never heard a lie, would you know when you heard one? Is knowing good from evil innate? Kiora finds herself having to decide who lives and who dies on those very questions.

Between
A Heven and Hell Novella
Cambria Hebert
Release date: April 20th, 2012

Add it to your Goodreads

I grew up in a comfortable house with two parents and a white-picket fence. My brother, Sam, and I used to play with sticks in the backyard and pretend they were swords. There were always cookies on the table and milk in the fridge. Then, one day, things changed.

Sam changed.

Life was never the same again. Sam left. My parents abandoned him when he needed them most, and I was left to survive in a house that was merely a shell of what it used to be. Mom cried all the time and Dad expected me to fill the void my brother left behind. But mostly, all we did was pretend. We pretended that things weren’t messed up. We pretended that Sam never existed.

Until I changed, too.

Now, everything’s a mess and I’m so confused. It’s like there are two different people trapped inside one body—my body—and one of them wants out. I do things. Bad things and I don’t know how to stop. I’m not sure I want to. The only way I can be normal again is if I find Sam. He’ll know what to do.

He has too.

Previous books in The Heven and Hell series:

I love how different these are! Wings of Arian's cover is definitely sexy and powerful. This will be the first in a planned trilogy and it sounds awesome. Plus I got to know Devri on Twitter and she's fabulous. As for Between I really like the ominous shadow on the ground! Plus Cambria is also fabulous and I really enjoyed the other books in the series so far! You can read my review of Masquerade here.

Let us know what you think of these pretties! :)