Welcome to my stop on Odriel’s Heirs Blog Tour from 2nd to 10th March 2022. I received this book to read and review as part of the Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) 2021 competition and the BBNYA tours organised by the The Write Reads Tour team. Odriel’s Heirs came 5th in the BBNYA 2021. All opinions are my own, unbiased and honest.
SYNOPSIS:
The brave, burning with fire, harnessed the Dragon’s Rage….
As the Dragon Heir, seventeen-year-old Kaia inherited the power of flame to protect her homeland from a godlike necromancer’s undead army. But after centuries of peace, the necromancer has faded to myth, and the Dragon Heir is feared by the people. Persecuted and cast out, Kaia struggles to embrace and control her seemingly useless gift while confined to her family’s farm.
But when the necromancer’s undead terrorize the land once again, Kaia runs away to join the battle.
With the help of her childhood rival, the handsome Shadow Heir, and a snarky, cursed cat, Kaia must figure out how to control both her fire and her confidence in time to save Okarria. If she fails, she will sacrifice her family, her new friends, and the enchanting world she has only just begun to see.
And time is running out.
MY FAVOURITE QUOTES:
“To keep the dead from our doorstep, I must ride out to meet them.” Kaia
“Don’t do anything stupid. Mother would fry me for letting you go.” Bram
Finally freed into the vast world, the weight of those unseen fetters lifted from her shoulders, and she did not dare look back.
“His mouth had quirked up into an almost smile. “Me too, Firefly.” Klaus
“I am the Dragon Heir. Of course I have courage,” she whispered. Kaia
MY REVIEW:
Odriel’s Heirs was my favourite young adult book that I read out of the BBNYA 2021 finalists. It is a magical novel, fast paced with beautiful descriptions. I loved the relationship development between the main characters, Kaia and Klaus, because it was so natural. Their banter was engaging and funny, which gave the book a humorous side.
The fantasy world had some original ideas and as someone who has read many fantasy books, I felt the book had unique world building, particularly with the concept of the three heirs. I thought that the background information and historical context could have benefitted from better explanations, as at times I found it confusing. The use of flashbacks to show Kaia’s previous experiences was really effective, as it allowed the reader to understand her past, without being told.
Shad, the talking cat was entertaining and was a useful source of information and humour. He worked well with the character dynamic of Kaia and Klaus as well. In their struggle to recruit allies and fight evil, Kaia, Klaus and Shad will have to fight harder and be braver than they ever have before.
I would recommend this book to someone who wants well developed characters that go on a chaotic, magical journey with a little bit of romance.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Hayley Reese Chow is the author of Odriel’s Heirs, the 2020 winner of the Florida Author Project. She also has short and flash fiction featured in Lite Lit One, The Drabble, Bewildering Stories, Teleport Magazine, and Rogue Blades Entertainment’s anthology, As You Wish.
Until recently though, she’s mostly done a lot of things that have nothing at all to do with writing. Her hat collection includes mother, wife, engineer, USAF veteran, reservist, four-time All American fencer, 100 mile ultramarathoner, triathlete, world traveler, book inhaler, and super nerd.
Hayley currently lives in Florida with two small wild boys, her long-suffering husband, and her miniature ragehound.
But at night, when the house is still, she writes.
WEBSITE: hayleyreesechow.com
TWITTER/INSTAGRAM: @HayleyReeseChow
ABOUT BBNYA:
BBNYA is a yearly competition where Book Bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors. If you are an author and wish to learn more about the BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website here or follow on twitter @bbnya_official.
The sign-ups will soon be open for the 2022 BBNYA competition, be it for authors to enter their books, or for bloggers wanting to be part of the new panel, so keep your eyes peeled!!
Thank you for reading my blog.
Mia
The Young Press 
Leave a comment