Book Review: The Sky King (Skyriders, #2) by Polly Holyoke

The Sky King by Polly Holyoke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Exciting aerial action, magnificent winged horses, and a relatable young heroine!

The Sky King is the second book in the middle-grade fantasy adventure series, Skyriders, by author Polly Holyoke, and it is a wonderful follow-up to the debut novel. With exciting aerial action, magnificent winged horses, and a relatable young heroine, this new adventure had me glued to its pages and completely invested in the outcome.

Young Kiesandra “Kie” Torsun and her skysteed partner, N’Rah, have returned to their duties in the mail service after Prekalt’s victory over the Foul Ones. Still, rumors of rogue chimerae attacking isolated villages and fellow couriers prove all too true. As the Nexara, the physical link between humans and skysteeds, Kie is conflicted over her desire to safeguard her people and the danger to the skysteeds, whose involvement would be necessary to defeat the evil beasts. After a misstep in her relationship with N’Rah, she realizes she must convince humans and skysteeds alike that they must work together as equal partners for success. I could feel the love and respect between Kie and N’Rah throughout the story, and her relationship with the quirky N’Poda involved all my emotions.

The action sequences of the skyriders and skysteeds battling the chimerae and vultiren were exciting with edge-of-your-seat suspense. I also enjoyed Kie’s growing awareness of the magic available to her and look forward to this aspect expanding in future books.

The author’s writing style is engaging, and the storyline is suitable for a wide age range of readers, although younger children may be bothered by the monsters and off-page losses of skyriders and skysteeds in battle. This series would make a great read-aloud for the family, classroom, or after-school programming. While this is the second book in the series, new readers can easily pick up on the overall story.

I recommend THE SKY KING to middle-grade and older readers of fantasy and adventure stories.

View all my reviews

Book Blast & Giveaway: Greystone by B. L. Ryan

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. B L Ryan will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Scroll down to enter. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

All Mouse could remember about her father was sitting on his lap while he told her stories. She wished she could remember what he looked like. When she hangs a white pendant that belonged to her father in her bedroom window, this wish becomes the key to great adventure in another world. A gate appears with a dragon twirling in the air above a colourful garden on the other side of the gate. Zeeta, the royal dragon, greets Mouse and invites her into the garden. The garden is part of Sweet Water holding, home to Lady Jane, who is the seer for Prince Ruler Jared. As Mouse and Zeeta struggle to complete a quest, Mouse searches for her father. Their journey takes them across the plains of Norlanda and south to the Border Mountains. The seers have foretold that a far traveller will appear and lead Norlanda against its enemies. This does not seem likely, as Norlanda is prosperous and peaceful at this time. Meanwhile, dark forces gathered in the Border Mountains have recognized the presence of Mouse in the lines of destiny and have started to move towards her. How will the presence of a child, a far traveler from another world, affect the destiny of this world?

Click HERE to read for FREE on KU or purchase!

 

Read an Excerpt:

King Henry regarded Jared impatiently. 

“It has come to my attention that you and members of the Royal Guard have taken up with all manner of disreputable people. I have been told that you visit mead houses and the common rooms of guild holdings throughout Greystone City.”

“The Royal Guard are not responsible,” said Jared. 

“No, they are not!” His father slammed his hand on the table. 

The King’s scribe, sitting in the corner, jerked and dropped one of his ink brushes. It fell off the desk and rolled across the floor. He knelt and picked it up quietly. 

“I had hoped Captain Hawke would subdue your more eccentric tastes in companions!” 

“Are not the common folk my people?” Jared asked. “That is not the issue,” said the King, his voice rising with irritation. 

“You disappear with Zeeta for days at a time. It is time you acted as the future King of Norlanda.” 

“Father, how else can I know this Kingdom and its people?” 

“An excellent sentiment!” the King said. He pressed both hands on the table and leaned forward. “A grand tour would give you a chance to meet some of your other loyal subjects as well as suitable maidens.” 

Jared’s jaw tightened; his grey eyes narrowed. “I would meet only the maidens the Council deemed suitable,” he returned shortly. 

The King glared at him. “You have a life of great privilege and responsibility. By the grace of the Etu, your life belongs to this land and its people.” 

“By the grace of the Etu, I would not ask for such a life,” his son returned tersely. 

The King signaled the scribe to leave the room and came around the table to stand by his son. He tried to speak reasonably. It had been a long day. He was not feeling well, and he knew his temper was not helping. He placed a hand on his son’s shoulder.

About the Author:

Born in Saskatchewan, Betty has lived in several areas across Canada, from Ottawa to Vancouver Island while growing up. Her fondest memory as a child is of her father building a tent trailer and her mother sewing yards and yards of canvas for the tent. The family travelled across Canada and down the eastern seaboard of the United States for several summer vacations.
 
Betty worked as a drawing office assistant in Oxford, England, for almost two years before returning to Canada to work as a topographical clerk in Edmonton, Alberta. She pursued a BSc. in Agriculture with a major in Horticulture from the University of Alberta. While raising her children, Betty worked as an Office Manager for a non-profit society and took writing courses at night school and from the Institute of Children's Literature, Connecticut.
 
The garden has always been a source of inspiration and joy for Betty, as are all the beloved cats and dogs who have walked into her life. Betty believes stories are the foundation of our life. The stories we enjoy, the stories we tell ourselves, our children and others, reflect how we view the world around us. She enjoys writing fantasy for the youth genre because she feels there is still so much of the wonder of life, and the attitude that anything is possible, from this age group.
 
Greystone is her first novel. She is currently working on the sequel, Greystone: A New Beginning.

Click BELOW to enter a drawing for an Amazon/B&N gift card!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

New Dragon City by Mari Mancusi

New Dragon City by Mari Mancusi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A unique and imaginative post-apocalyptic and dystopian story for middle-grade readers.

When the apocalypse came, the cause turned out to be nothing like anyone ever imagined: DRAGONS. Where they came from, no one knew, but the results were unthinkable. Humans, used to being the apex predator, became prey. People died, and governments fell.

During the fall and winter seasons, the dragon herds returned from where they came to hibernate. The 100 or so survivors in New York City clung together, living in a former hotel in midtown, pooling their meager resources, scavenging what they could from the vacant businesses, stores, and apartments, always with an eye on the sky for when the dragons again awoke.

Each spring, the dragons returned, and once sighted, the humans hurriedly packed up their possessions to evacuate the vulnerable hotel structure. They retreated belowground into the subway system, where the tunnels had been blocked off and reinforced against the dragons. The main entrance was then sealed by a thick door, reclaimed from an old bank vault equipped with a timer set to open on November 1st when the dragons were sure to be gone.

Noah, his mother, and his father had survived the first three years of the dragon invasion on their own, holed up in a private underground bunker of his dad's design. They'd only returned to the city when their supplies finally ran out. Now two more years down the road, his mother had gone missing, and although everyone at the hotel had searched for her, no trace had ever been found.

Almost a month earlier than usual, the first dragon was sighted over the city. Noah and his best friend, Maya, were the ones to raise the alarm. They had been surprised while scavenging and had barely escaped being eaten or burned alive. But as the hotel group hastened to get their things together for the evacuation to the subways, Noah's father told him that he was staying on the surface to continue the search for his mother. His father had entrusted Noah to Maya's family for the summer underground.

When his father refused to allow him to remain behind as well, Noah and Maya hatched a plan to distract the adults during the evacuation to let Noah slip away from the group and hide until after the main entrance door timer was activated. But their plan was unnecessary, for just as the group was making its way down the subway stairs, a dragon disrupted the orderly operation, attempting to snatch Noah from the back of the line. Chaos ensued, and Noah was genuinely left outside when the big vault door slammed into place. Alone in the large city, Noah must track down his father and evade the notice of the dragons hunting for their dinner.

New Dragon City is one of the most unique and imaginative post-apocalyptic and dystopian stories I've read. While destruction by war, zombies, pestilence, and extreme climate change have all been done to death, an infestation of dragons feels like a fresh take on this theme.

I enjoyed immensely that the story is told from two points of view, that of the boy Noah and Asha, the young dragon. The parallels in their situations made the story much more interesting, entertaining, and emotion-filled. Both are still so young and are thrust into situations that would be tough on those older and more experienced. Noah is being tugged in different directions by his disagreeing parents. Asha, as the daughter of the dragon herd's queen, has restrictions on her actions and a heavy burden of responsibility for the herd. I liked that during their brief encounters with one another that they could eventually relax and relate and just be "kids."

The ruins of New York City are described in compelling detail, with familiar sights and locations sprinkled throughout. I had a clear picture of where everyone was and what it looked like. Unlike other books in this genre, I liked how organized these survivors had gotten and how well they seemed to get along and help each other. The survivors Noah meets away from the safety of the organized groups were scary and surprisingly creepy to me. I can't get that couple he encountered in the restaurant out of my mind.

Young readers will easily relate to the two very likable main characters. Their budding friendship and ability to get along despite the years of terror of the other's species will delight. They will soon be rooting for Noah and Asha to overcome their friends' and families' objections and anxieties.

I recommend NEW DRAGON CITY to middle-grade readers that enjoy novels with fantasy elements such as dragons and won't be disturbed by the post-apocalyptic setting, dragons hunting and trying to eat people, or people hunting and killing dragons.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author or publisher through NetGalley and TBR and Beyond Book Tours.


View all my reviews