When Dark Warriors invade her country, it is up to Princess Kamarie to seek out the legendary king’s warrior and request his aid. The feisty princess has spent her life dreaming of adventure and is thrilled to be tasked with such a quest. There’s only one thing that can dampen the princess’s excitement: Oraeyn. The squire views his task of protecting the princess on her journey as an inglorious … inglorious assignment and makes no attempt to hide his disappointment.
Despite a rocky start to their journey – in which Oraeyn throws the obnoxious princess in a river just to get her to call him by name – the travelers soon learn that they must depend upon one another if they are to locate the man they have been sent to find.
The adventure merely begins when they meet Brant: a warrior with a mysterious past. He joins their cause readily, his heart smoldering with a vendetta Kamarie cannot completely understand. But whether she trusts him or not, the hope of their world rests on the steel he wears at his side….
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It is a well-established fact that I believe Prydain is one of the greatest and most underrated fantasy sagas for children of all ages. I have never read anything quite like it. Until this book. It has serious Prydain vibes, while being an entirely original story set in a completely different land. The storytelling is simply lovely. There is a princess who dreams of a life of adventure while secretly training as a squire. Her father, the king, wishes not to be tasked with leading a nation but to return to his life on a farm where his neighbors only view him as a peer. The queen has her own secret, hidden so that her daughter might lead a normal life. An orphan with an unknown past seeks to complete his training as a squire and become a knight. A young boy just wants to be loved and doesn’t understand why others keep turning him away (there is a reason AND he does find people who accept him). A warrior with the bearing of a king has wished only for peace and a simple life. All of these and more are brought together when war is threatened. Also, there are dragons and they are absolutely wonderful. And so much more. The adventures were interesting and unique and the story resolves in ways you might see foreshadowed are still delightful. And there is room for so much more to come, which is wonderful since there are 3 more books in the series.
I received a free copy of this book from the narrator, who, as always, did a fabulous job differentiating between numerous voices. He also involved his family in the music which was delightful. I have reviewed it freely, and I highly recommend this book.
This is the first book I have read/listened to by this author and I look forward to listening to another. I am very curious where this story/series is headed. It started out with what seemed to be a couple main characters and then we kept picking more up along the way. Including an entire world of dragons and other magical creatures. Each character is not quite what they initially seem. There are some coincidences that make events happen easily, but I was not rolling my eyes, it’s more like fate had a hand in events. I think this style also makes it easier for younger audiences. With so many characters, there are a few tangents that are followed, so it is switching from location to location, but it was not difficult to keep track of. By the end of the book, each tangent has come to a kind of conclusion and it seems we will be left off with the characters all in certain roles and then in the next chapter everything changes. We are still left with the main threat in this story over, but it is very open (without many hints) to the next book. In some ways, I think the end ties up the tangents a little too nicely and easily, but again, this is listed as a children’s book, so if I keep that in mind, I think the ending is appropriate. It also makes this book sort of a stand-alone. The next book feels to me like it will be an entirely new story. I will not stop at this book however, I definitely wish to read the remainder in this series.——-
With this being a kids book, I like how the female characters are all strong and capable,. I do wish however the author didn’t state that a woman’s place was not to be a knight in battle. The king does come up with a solution that will still honor and recognize the strength of women, but I do wish it wasn’t stated as such. ——-
This is the tenth book I have listened to by this narrator ( Benjamin Fife ) and I would definitely listen to another. He uses various accents to great effects. They are smooth and natural. He has a wide array of character voices, both male and female, and they are all well done. His creature voices are also appropriate. He has a woman sing a couple songs in book. She had a very lovely voice. ——-
There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive violence, or swearing. ——-
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.
Story 4/5
Narration 5/5
So long story short, my amazing llama sister asked me if I would like to review this book. And I am so glad she asked me because I really enjoyed it. Now I’m usually into Christian fiction or Historical fiction but I really loved reading this book.
King’s Warrior is about this princess who is sent to find a man who can help save her kingdom. The kingdom is under the belief that they are about to go to war and the king sends his daughter to find the one man he believes can help them. During their journey they learn that the heir to the throne is within their little group and that the kingdom needs more help than one man. They need dragons.
It really is an interesting story. I couldn’t put the book down with all the mystery going on. Honestly, I couldn’t find any fault in this book either. No curse words, no gross stuff, nothing. (That really made me happy.) It’s a great book that you could read with the family, but there is one issue. The book is amazing, absolutely, but it is a little difficult to read. The writing process of this book is a little strange. Unlike most books, the perspective points (that means which person you seeing the story through) has everyone on one page. Every character’s perspective is together. You really have to focus to see which person is the one your seeing through.
But other than that, this book is great. And I just want to say…. Thank You Jenelle for sending it to us! (I’m definitely going to read the other books.) Hope you liked my review. -The Tiger Reader
Pros
It’s adventurous.
Intriguing story
(Really it’s a book that leaves you craving for more.)
Cons
It can be a little hard to read due to the writing style.
Brant is my favorite, but I’m a sucker for dark, strong, stoic warriors in fantasy fiction. In any fiction, really. Thought the author did a very nice job keeping up with such a large cast of characters, and in making them all their own individual people. The setting was very grand and sweeping on a high/epic fantasy scale. I think readers of Tolkien and the like would enjoy this book.