Chosen

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: Witches and Reapers

The world Kai Smith has created for his characters is dark and unforgiving. Readers are shown a corrupt monarch who will do anything to further her goals and a man favored by the god of assassins attempting to thwart her. But by doing so, Tobin will give up all he has built for himself through the years.

Witches and Reapers is one of those books that could have had such intricate and complex characters but fell short when building their stories. The Queen is impulsive and given to anger easily. And while she strikes out and shows how intense of a character she can be, her dialog was immature at times. She also wasn't given enough page time to truly build up her intentions and capabilities. And while she did come across as domineering and cruel, her choices were impulsive and resulted in little to no competition. I would have liked to see more of a struggle for her, a harder rise to her position that made her all the stronger for it.

On the other side, Tobin is built up to be a talented assassin. And Kai Smith did an excellent job at intense and gruesome fight scenes. Set perfectly for the world he created, each one was brutal and showcased Tobin's skills. But outside of battle, Tobin struggled to make an impact. His story was extremely plot-driven and readers didn't get to see many of his inner thoughts.

Not a series I will continue. I needed more explanations and time spent on developing scenes and characters. This is an extremely fast moving plot and does not allow enough time to sink into the moment and connect with what characters are experiencing.

Before I say anything about this book, I'd like to give a huge Thank You to @authorkgodin for sending me this ARC of her book. I am beyond thankful! Okay, review time! This story hooked me right from the start. So many things in the beginning were intriguing and had me wanting to know everything about them. Let's start with the basics. The writing in this book was phenomenal. I absolutely loved K. Godin's writing style. The book was extremely well paced and the storytelling impeccable. Oh my goodness, the imagery! I could visualize every character, every town and scenery, every conflict. It was all so visual, and as a reader, I really appreciated that. There were moments of heart-pounding suspense and adventure that kept me turning pages to know what happened. I just felt very present in the story. Moving on to the characters, where do I even begin! I absolutely adored Skylahr. She was such a unique female main character both physically and emotionally. She has insecurities that were extremely relatable as well. Kalian, was so dreamy. He created this exquisite sexual tension between he and Skylahr which had amazing pay off. Three words: enemies to lovers! Can't not mention all of the amazing side character dynamics, I loved them all! I am extremely interested and intrigued to see where K. Godin takes Skylahr's story in future books. This is an adult high fantasy, 18+ for language and sexual content. Please preorder Legend of the Huntress by K. Godin which releases 4/2/22!

Legend of the Huntress is praised as an engaging read, though it might have benefited from additional rounds of editing. The book's complexity, with its numerous characters and locations within a single volume, can overwhelm readers. Splitting the narrative into two parts could have allowed for deeper exploration and development of each setting and character. Despite these critiques, fans of rich, magical worlds and the dynamic of shifting relationships from friends to enemies will appreciate the story's depth and imagination.

Did not finish.
While the initial set-up and character development was engaging, by the half-way mark my annoyance at mistakes (the nozzle of the gun?!?) and unrealities (because one lone person can ALWAYS take on 8 or 12 professional gunmen and always always kill all of them...) outweighed my dwindling interest in the characters. The character of the 5-y-old son, while initially engaging, soon seemed to be just a plot device rather than a living-breathing kid (who never chucks a wobbly, insists on his own way, has to pee at inconvenient times, spills food...), a plot device to introduce prophecies and provide some deus-ex-machina plotting (telling his mom that she and Will have to be together...because every 5 year old just wants his mother to be happy...?!?) so that we can get to Act II and the sexytimes. I wonder: does the author KNOW any five year olds? young single mothers traumatized by violence and being chased? soldiers who fought in wars? The initial promise of mulit-dimensional characters soon faded to cardboard cutouts with a lot of Destiny and Promise and Being Chosen-Ness Plus Psycic Stuff and Bad Men who are always Gunmen wearing Black.
Meh.
Skipped to the last chapter to see if I could re-engage...quit after two pages.
While this is better than other self-published blergh, I'm not going back for more from this author.