Review: Son of Ereubus by J.S. Chancellor

Published Date: November 1st, 2011
Finished Date: September 14th, 2011
Publishers: Rhemalda Publishing
Format: Paperback
Pages: 292
Series: Guardians of Legend Book One

Blurb from Goodreads: Since time immemorial, man has lived in fear of losing his soul to the darkness of Saint Ereubus. For generations, the Ereubinians have wielded that power and ruled like gods. Three thousand years ago, Man irresolutely placed his faith in a mythical world. That world, Adoria, now holds Man's final hope. As the last stronghold of Man is threatened, the fates of three strangers become forever intertwined and everything they once believed will be irrevocably changed as they discover that their time has run out.

My Review

I loved the synopsis of this book, and after I read it, I immediately scrambled about to get it.

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That was my face when I saw the The End. Like..That's it? It wasn't even a proper ending. Ok, I shall continue harping about the ending later.

It had an action-filled plot, endearing characters, but written in a complicated writing style at times.

This review would be boring, cause the book didn't enthrall me, neither did it repel. Altogether rather lukewarm, really.

Ariana goes off into the woods to avoid the festivities going on in the town to mourn the day her mother died a few years back on that day. However while out in the wilderness, she met with an entire hunting party of the widely feared, cruel, soul-sucking Eidolon people (I don't know what their called..Eidolonians? No..Arh).

Garren, the High Commander of Eidolon, was leading that hunting party when he spotted her (for lack of a better word, prey), and started hunting her down. And nothing, nothing ever outruns him. But Ariana almost did, if not for that root that tripped her and made her sprain her ankle.

Everything began here. Garren straddled her hip and he had her at sword's point, but he just couldn't seem to deal the final blow looking into those eyes that blazed with determination and strength. So here's the thing: he gave her his cloak and let her go. And to fool his generals so that they wouldn't all go hunting her down like any wild game, he cut himself to show that a scuffle did ensue but that he killed the girl in the end.

My man, that one.

Anyway, from there, Ariana struggled to walk to somewhere where she could live and heal her wounds, when all of a sudden, an arrow whizzes thru the air and embeds into her side. Luckily for her, that arrow belonged to Michael, Archorigen of Adoria. In short, the king of the good guys.

But over there, she's having vision-like dreams of Garren, and she found out that she wasn't entirely human. And more bizarre stuff keeps popping up. But the tip of the shit pile is that her best and closest friend has been kidnapped by the Eidolon army and is kept there as a Breeder (true to its name, she's there to reproduce. Sounds kinda crass).

How can one girl break into the world swarming with cruel bastards that will sooner suck her soul than negotiate terms of release, and get her friend out all in one piece? What is her strange connection with Garren that ignites strange feelings in her and gives her such visions? What in the world is she, if she is not fully human? And why did her father keep her identity a secret from everyone, including her?

As I've said, the plot was suspenseful and was never dull. Something's always happening, and it kept me on the edge of my seat.

The only dull point that I can point out is that her writing seemed kind of complicated at parts, which made the scenes confusing. I couldn't follow thru when this happens, and so I breeze thru them most of the time. But other than that, the selective third person POV was handled perfectly.

Oh, I loved the humor in this one. Tho they were few and far between, every time one comes along, I would almost certainly smile or chuckle to myself.

Example: Jareth gestured to his little friend. "I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce you. This is Cryx. He's my faithful companion, useless in the most important of assignments, but comforting in the least of them. He tends to have a bit of a temper, so he'l pitch a fit if you don't pet him..."

Not really an explicit joke, more of a dry sentence that was funny. Hm, I didn't phrase that right.. But yes, I found the book funny. And with that medieval-like talking going on, it sounds to me like some hybrid form of poetic humor. Which is amazing.

I absolutely adored the entire cast. Ariana was strong, brave, independent, loyal, beautitful, kind, and compassionate; Michael was a loving, protective brother, an understanding friend, and a worthy leader; Garren was sweet, also very protective of Ariana, a man with strong faith, will, determination, courage, and character; Jareth was a charming angel boy, he stayed by Ariana's side and became her confidant when she felt very alone when she first arrived at Adoria, and he's always there with a smile. The Braeden - Adorians who sever off their wings when they were young to live amonst humans to protect them - also caught my attention. Most of them were battle-seasoned warriors, and they were all unexpectedly loyal to Michael. Atagonists were mighty evil, that was very well done too.

The ending leaves much to be desired. It was abrupt and uncalled for. It seemed more like the book was getting overtly thick, therefore they had to cut it off there. Which sucks. Cause now, I'm on some sort of cliffhanger with a fatal drop before me, and I have to wait for 2 more months for that "fishing hook" to hook me back away from that steep drop.

My review's getting wacky and weird, and it's a sign for me to stop. Doesn't bode well for this review if I continue..Who know's what other crap I'll write.:O

Anyway, book was above average. Loved the storyline, loved the cast, loved the scenery and world building, loved the development of the interactions between the characters, but got confused at some parts of the book, and the ending was dissatisfactory.

4 - 4.5 stars.

My Rating:

P.S. The next book, BLOOD OF ADORIA, will be out come November 1st, 2011. Look out for it!