Review- And interview- And giveaway- Basically awesomeness!!! (Don’t skip this post, in other words. Just. don’t.)

And bringing up the end to our four weeks of Ilyon ( 😥 ), is book 3 in the Ilyon Chronicles by Jaye L. Knight: Samara’s Peril!

This is gonna be a longer post, because I am lucky enough to be apart of the blog tour, so there’s blog tour stuff, along with ………………………… AN INTEREVIEW WITH JAYE!!! Yay! 😀 Which, you can find the rest of the tour here.

(My first three reviews are here, here, and here.)

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 When news arrives that Emperor Daican has been in contact with his chief war strategist, it signals potential doom for the country of Samara. Determined to intervene, the resistance in Landale, headed by Lady Anne, embark on a covert mission in hopes of unearthing further information. However, a shocking discovery leads to complications no one could have foreseen.

Armed with their newfound knowledge, they set out for Samara to warn the king. War is inevitable, and they must face two desperate battles—one on the walls of Samara’s great stronghold, and the other on the battlefield of Jace’s heart, where victory might only be achievable through great sacrifice.

 

Available now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iBooks!

Haven’t discovered the world of Ilyon yet? Find out more at the official Ilyon Chronicles website!

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What I thought:

Guys,  I DON’T LIKE CHANGE. CHANGE IS NOT OKAY. OKAY? OKAY.

Well, this book had a lot of change, and character stuff, and plot twists, and the whole shebang. It was aaaamazing, but, ACK.

I was expecting this book to be my favorite of the series so far … but it wasn’t. Don’t get me wrong, it was AWESOME, it’s just, well, I’m not actually quite sure. Reading reviews and ratings, it seems that people are split quite evenly about this book.

So, without giving any spoilers, this book was more Christian-y then the others, without a doubt. Like in the first few books, it was mostly about Christian persecution and getting away from/stopping it, whereas this one followed along closely with the Bible stuff.

I actually have mixed feelings about that. I don’t think that this is super spoilery since it was mentioned in the previous book, but if your paranoid about spoilers, then maybe just skip this paragraph. Actually, I’ll just do this: highlight the next paragraph down with the thing.

There’s a Jesus figure in this one. And, while I liked it, it felt like such a small section of the book (the next paragraph I’ll explain why), and that may contribute to the reason. He’s only in it a short bit, and it felt a little cliche from Truth, one of Jaye’s other books. Honestly, if this wasn’t handled correctly, I would’ve given it 4 stars. But, it was handled just well enough, and the mixture with the other stuff helped. 🙂

Anyways. Yes. (Sorry, this review MAY be a tad long…) This book seemed to be basically Jace’s book. Which. I. loved. While it doesn’t completely revolve around him, the first huge chunk of the book is about him, and, actually, so is most of the rest. There’s a plot twist that I didn’t see coming until that chapter that was … wow. It was just amazing, and I so wish I could squeal about, but I CAN’T. Anyways, yes. Jace was amazing. The plot twist(s) was amazing. This book is amazing. Jaye is amazing.

Characters:

You see that, folks? That’s called a character arc. And a big one, at that.

As said above in the long last paragraph (yes, that one that you all probably skipped or skim-read), there was a big plot twist – well, actually, like, 3 plot twists – that DRASTICALLY changed Jace. His character arc is like WOW. Through the roof, really! It’s so cool to read about it happening, and it gives you so many happy feels! XD Though, reading through reviews, a lot of people seem to like Jace best in this book … but I didn’t. Don’t get me wrong, he was BRILLIANT, it’s just that Resistance Jace will most likely always be my favorite – I got to know him then; I suffered with him then; and I fell in love with him then (but not in a creepy way!). ❤

Anywho. This whole wasn’t all about Jace, I PROMISE. there are other characters.

Like Lady Anne and Trask. *nudges both of them* *squeals* They’re both so adorable! But, you don’t have a whole lot of Trask-time in this one. BUT THERE IS SO MUCH LADY ANNE AHHHH!!! She is just so cool! One moment she’s all diplomatic, the next she’s completely kick-butt. AND SHE IS MY ILYON WRITING PERSON. ALONG WITH RONNY. YEAH. (Yeah … unless your on the GR fangroup, that will never make sense.)

And then you have Kyrin and Kaden. (Yes, I’m grouping them together. Again.) They’re so amazing! Kyrin is so supportive of her brothers and Jace, even when she’s scared, and it’s so cool to see how Elom works in her! And Kaden. *smiles* Ah, Kaden. He is a lot like me, yet different enough that I still love to read about him. 🙂

And then you have the Altair family. It’s amazing to read about books with family that is actually represented correctly (and I should know because I’m one of six kids). Each one has his own personality and opinion on everything, but they’re all so protective of each other, especially the older siblings.

Writing/Plot:

Need I still even need to bring up Jaye’s writing after the weeks of Ilyon? Oh well, I’ll still go over it again! 😉

Her writing isn’t just good – it’s descriptive without being overly so, AND IT DRAWS YOU IN, AND MAKES YOU FEEL THE PAIN AND LOVE AND SIBLING STUFF, AND LIKE YOU ACTUALLY JUST WATCHED SOMEONE GET STABBED WITH A SPEAR. *ahem* Sorry ’bout that. Actually, no. No I’m not.

And, as I said, I felt that the whole Christian thing felt kind of small compared to Jace’s … stuff (which, I guess if you skipped the “spoiler” paragraph, then you wouldn’t know about that. So. Yeah.). But, JACE’S STUFF. ACK. AH. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKK. Guys, seriously.

Problems:

There were a few things… but only that!

Jaye. took. my. heart. It was left behind when I started this series, and I don’t know if I’ll ever get it back.

In other things, the whole thing about how the story felt a little but like Truth in the one part. As in all of her books, there are writing/grammar errors – but only a few.

Though in a previous review, I mentioned how there wasn’t that much Jace. Well, not so in this book. Almost overly so, if you get what I mean.

Ummmmmmmmm………………….

Moving on.

Other/Summary:

So as I’ve already said, this book was the closest to the 4 stars, but I won’t say that it’s my least favorite. I mean, these books are so good,  I can’t even choose a least favorite. But while I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the others – that’s exactly how I felt with The King’s Scrolls. See here, this was from my review of said book from last week:

But the reread. It was soooo much better then! (I actually feel the same way with the two books prior.) And though I still prefer Resistance (even with its dragonlessness), this was even better the second time!!!!!!!!

~~ Said Me

Yep. Basically, I can’t wait to reread this one in print. Actually … as soon as I can, I’m gonna buy this!! *crosses off days on the calendar*

Lemme just say something real quick. I was gonna let Trevor – you remember my little brother, right? – read these books soon (meaning: I was going to read them to him sometime in the next few months), but this book bumped it up ’til next year when he’s 12. Mostly because this dealt with stronger stuff then the last.

There were a few kisses (some between Anne and Trask 😉 ) and another between a new romance (which, actually, there’s surprisingly a lot of controversy over that. one. kiss.), and just that sweet stuff. But then, there was some not-so-sweet stuff. There’s this guy *shivers* who “checks out” basically every girl, without even trying to hide it. As does his son. *shivers again* Really, it’s not too bad … just a word of caution. And there’s also mentions of rape, not just hints, actual talking about it. Though just to give you an idea, I’m gonna read it to my brother when he’s 12… Maybe skip or “modify” it a little bit, though.

Kidnappings. War. The whole shebang. There’s war, so there’s wounds, but once again, Jaye wows me with the ability to make it not too descriptive, while tearing your heart into one. million. little. torturous. pieces. There’s fights, torture, and nods to a man attacking a girl. Jace is still having inner torture. *screams*

No language. Yay!

So, you can maybe see why I’m having my brother wait for this book. But this stuff was actually one of the (many) reasons that I loved this book! Jaye didn’t just skip around the edges of hard topics, pretending everything is dragons and ryriks (which both can actually be very bad things). No. She dealt with these hard topics quite well, I feel.

But. Anyways. Yes, I’d DEFINITELY RECOMMEND THAT YOU READ THIS SERIES RIGHT NOW. NO, SERIOUSLY. BUY THE BEAUTIFUL BOOKS AND PET THEM AND LET JAYE STEAL YOUR LITTLE SOUL AND DON’T REGRET IT.

Ahem. Really, though.

But unlike the first three books, I’d actually recommend this to mid/older teenagers due to topics that are being discussed and Jace’s inner torment and stuff.

Five Stars ∗∗∗∗∗

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And now … onto the interview with Jaye L. Knight, herself! (I’m in bold, she’s in the other.)

Without giving SPOILERS (or … you could), which book in the Ilyon Chronicles has been your favorite? Writing/story-wise, that is.

Ooh, that’s tough. Based on how I’m feeling right at the moment, I’d probably say book four. The funny thing is, that one was SO frustrating to write! It took forever, and most of the time I was unhappy with it. However, now that it’s written, it’s my darling. I love the story so much. As for spoilers, haha. Well, one of the three main storylines revolves completely around Prince Daniel. 😉

Prince Daniel? Yay! (I am seriously SUPER happy!) What is the weirdest thing that has happened to you?

Probably getting Celiac disease. I mean, having to change your whole lifestyle because of things you can’t eat is pretty weird. 😛 It took a long time to get used to. Even after three years, I still crave Pizza Hut pizza and Combos pretzels.

Wow, that’s awful! I can’t imagine not having Pizza Hut… Moving on: Least favorite vegetable?

Either olives or mushrooms. Neither of them is probably a vegetable though. 😛 If not, then peppers.

Actually … None of them are vegetables. 😉 (My whole family are heath-obsessed and we garden. A lot.) What is your favorite color to wear?

BLUE!! Or black. 😉 Blue is my favorite color (I’m obsessed with it), but I like to wear black too.

I love to wear both of those, as well! And by your author pic, I could kinda guess! 😛 What website do you procrastinate the most on, or, when you are procrastinating, what do you do?

Pinterest. Yeah, definitely Pinterest. But at least it usually has to do with the story. That’s sort of like research, right?

Haha, yes, the site that is identical to a black hole! But I’m sure that it counts as research! And the final question is: is there a prank that you pulled on someone, or someone did to you, that really sticks out in your mind? If not, just write something random. 😉

Well, I’m not very good at pranks, but when I worked at Walmart years ago (my first job), I was part of a group who filled a coworker’s truck with balloons and then wound at least three giant rolls of shrink-wrap around the truck. It was her birthday, you see. 😉

I have ALWAYS wanted to do that! Maybe I could to my sister when she gets a car… Um, none of you heard that. Anyways, thanks for letting me interview you, Jaye!

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Author Bio:

Jaye L. Knight is an award-winning author, homeschool graduate, and shameless tea addict with a passion for Christian fantasy. Armed with an active imagination and love for adventure, Jaye weaves stories of truth, faith, and courage with the message that even in the deepest darkness, God’s love shines as a light to offer hope. She has been penning stories since the age of eight and resides in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.

You can connect with Jaye on her website, blog, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and Etsy.

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And, as promised in the title, THERE’S IS A GIVEAWAY.

For those of you who are good little readers, you should know that I said that I was going to buy Samara’s Peril the soonest chance that I got. Well, um, that was a lie. Yes, I do that sometimes. (Though I promise you that I have a little brother named Trevor! … Maybe.) I’m actually secretly hoping that I’ll win this giveaway! But, shh! Don’t let anyone know!

To go to the giveaway link (because pesky WordPress won’t let me put it in otherwise), clink on the amazing picture sporting all of the prizes!

Share in the excitement of the release and enter to win a themed giveaway pack! Prizes include an autographed copy of Samara’s Peril, a John 3:16 necklace by FaithWearDesigns, and a green wire dragon bookmark by Wirelings! (Giveaway is open to US residents only. Cannot be shipped internationally.)

Now don’t tell me that that doesn’t make you excited! Because it does, and you can’t deny it!!

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So, guys, that was my review! I hoped that you all enjoyed it, and didn’t just skim or skip over stuff! (Though this review was a whopper, and I don’t entirely blame you. Oh, wait, I do.) Ahem. Seriously, though, this is one of the best book series that I have ever read, and it is definitely worth your time! Leave a comment on how you liked my interview questions (or, you know, Jaye’s answers) and what you thought of my dragon of a review! Can’t wait to talk to you in the comments! XD