Indie Book Corner: Fantasy of Flight: The Tainted Accords #2, by Kelly St. Clare

What a gorgeous cover!

 Slow start but amazing payoff!

Abridged for you lazies out there.

The Good

+Characters with hearts of gold.
+Olina/Frost character development
+Smooth writing/Easy reading.
+The return of some cool characters.
+Plenty of humor and heart.
+A superb second and third part of the story that I just could not put down.
+Romance and sexiness.
+Epic revelations!
+Positive book for women with many strong female characters.
+The Harness!!!

The Bad

-Very slow start
-Pit fights required much suspension of disbelief especially during Frost's fights
-The mystery of finding the killer becomes so drawn out that I lost interest in it during the pits part.

If you don't know already Fantasy of Flight is the sequel to Fantasy of Frost. Both books star a queen in the making, Olina and her dealings with two worlds: the fire world Osolis and the ice world Glacium. Spoilers below!!!! Book received for an honest review.

Review

Okay so let's just get the bad out of the way. I didn't like the time I spent in the pits so much. The setup was just fine but it was pretty slow and everything that I found appealing about the first book was just derailed. Finding Kedrick's killer was just an afterthought as were the characters we'd just grown accustomed to. It seemed like a whole other book but that's not my main gripe.

My main gripe with this part was the amount of head shaking I did at 80% of Frost's fights. You see, I'm a combat junkie and a huge fan of the Davids of the world beating the Goliaths but come on this was ridiculous. We're told over and over by Frost herself that these men are 2, 3, and 4 times her size and yet she's the dominant one in each and every one of these fights. No real strategy but dodge and kick real hard. No pressure points, joint locks, or holds believable for a person of her size to perform to beat guys of this size. Even speed only goes so far against this much of a size difference. We're also not told she has super strength or anything like that so my conclusion is that these guys are made of glass or she was just lying about how tough they are. She's a great fighter sure, but she wasn't the underdog as much as she should've been and that hurt this part in my eyes. I could believe her crazy combat victories before because the advantage of speed with a weapon is very different than the advantage of speed with bare hands

By the end of the pits I had at least grown to like the characters but I was glad to leave. Then...

We get to the superb second third of the book. From here on out the book really shines and I now have a new appreciation for the part with the pits, really because it sets up the next part so nicely. This is the part of the book that blends what I liked about the first book with the new stuff introduced in this one and it’s a joy to watch the two parts merge. Here we got to see Olina try to balance her new arena/pits persona with the Tatuma Olina persona. We see her old friends and her new friends interact and attempt to get along and are given some truly heartfelt and humorous moments here. This part also reignited my interest in locating Kedrick's killer that had begun to wane since a little after the middle of the first book and almost vanished during the first part.

Olina and Jovan's relationship reaches new heights here as I believe they have exhausted every emotion possible towards one another and all that reaches its apex. Jovan is a really cool part of this series.

There's also a lot of huge reveals here that took me by surprise and I'm excited by how they'll affect the next book in the series, Fantasy of Fire that's due to release next January. I'll just say that the flight in the title really does come into play hehe.

So all that leaves is Olina/Frost I guess and I must say that despite her many times annoying me, I have grown to like her a lot as a character. Her rashness and sometimes selfish actions do always have a good reason behind them and ultimately define her as a hero because of her will to be a force for good and a champion for those without champions. I've begun to see her for what she really is and what she really brings to the table. She is strong-willed, confident yet sometimes self-conscious, analytical, naive yet willing to learn and participate, open minded despite her conservative upbringing, and extremely big hearted despite the horrors done to her and witnessed. Good or bad this is her and she definitely sticks to her guns! And her narration seems to be improving as she opens up more to the world. I like this effect.

There's much more to say but I won't draw this out. I ended up liking all the characters from the pits so much that I was actually sad to see them go. That surprised me. I like Alzona's crusade for helping those downtrodden and thought she was a very subtle and positive character. Kudos to Ms. St. Clare for putting her in and not overusing her. And the rest of the pit fighters, even Sin, showed some great depth to them. So while not my favorite part, the pit did have some really cool moments.

Overall I believe this is a better book than the first one but the beginning nearly drags it down for me. I love the second and third parts of it so much though that I still think it’s worthy of 5 stars. Not perfection but a damn good time!

Book Links:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24866809-fantasy-of-flight
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Fantasy-Flight-Tainted-Accords-Book-ebook/dp/B00TXWVMHQ
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fantasy-Flight-Tainted-Accords-Book-ebook/dp/B00TXWVMHQ

Indie Book Corner: Fantasy of Frost: The Tainted Accords #1, by Kelly St. Clare

 *click cover for free download today 4/13/15*

*click cover for free download today 4/13/15*

A good introduction to a promising Fantasy series.

My Likes

+        Interesting and entertaining cast

+        Intriguing protagonist

+        Many mysteries

+        Imaginative customs for the Solati and Bruma.  They are like introvert vs. extroverts

+        Olina kicks ass

+        Olina is selfless

+        Narration fits Olina's personality

+        Detailed and methodical action

+        The author sticks to continuity really well.  (Ex. Character injuries heal realistically.)

My Dislikes

-        Plot slows down in the middle.

-        I sometimes found Olina's stubbornness and rebelliousness annoying.

-        The ending comes out of nowhere.

-        Not much is resolved by the end.

I was given this copy of the book in exchange for a review.

Full Review

FoF begins right at the start with its characters.  We're introduced to Olina, our protagonist, and the world of her people, the Solati, and the visiting delegates from Bruma.  We're also introduced to Olina's love interest, Kedrick, A Bruma prince who proves to be charming, kind, inquisitive, and madly in love with Olina.  Olina is the centerpiece of the story and Kedrick is the fulcrum upon which it all balances.  Olina proves herself to be a very interesting character with a lot of intrigue surrounding her and her past.  The story is narrated through her own first person POV.  One thing about the Solati is that they are reserved and subtle in almost all of their actions and decisions.  They find openness and familiarity very uncouth.  Because of this Olina has a very measured way of talking and it follows through with her thoughts during her POV narration.  Her thoughts are very matter of fact and measured which fits with her Solati upbringing.  That's very good attention to detail on the author's part.

Characters

Olina

Olina is a very fascinating character and lives an interesting life.  She is a Solati princess and next in line to be queen, called Tatuma by the Solati.  She lives her whole life dedicated to the goal of being a capable and strong Tatuma after her mother Avanna.  Olina has a lot of strangeness to her including the fact that she spends a lot of time helping out at an orphanage despite it being frowned upon.  She finds some comfort and solace here with these kids, more than her normal life affords her.  Another strangeness of hers is the fact that she sneaks out and trains in combat arts with an old soldier.  This is a huge secret for her but she enjoys the training and has confidence in her fighting abilities.  Olina's biggest strangeness though is the fact that she has to wear a veil at all times around others.  She doesn't know why but it's always been this way.  The only time she's taken it off resulted in the murder of an innocent child because the child had seen her face.  But beyond her strangeness Olina is strong-willed to a large degree.  She works hard to accomplish her goals and does everything possible to see them through.  Her demands and attitude annoyed me at times but there was no question that her strength of character and will were nearly unmatched.

Olina and Kedrick

They share a world crossing love but are each a part of a race that finds the other repulsive.  The Solati sly, reserved, and measured while the Bruma are brazen, brash, and impulsive.  That cultural divide is strong on both sides and yet these two find solace in one another.  They're are both kind, strong, quick-witted, and open-minded.  There is something about Olina that attracts Kedrick despite the fact that he can't see her face and Olina is experiencing feelings for Kedrick that she never thought possible in herself.  They both change in small and profound ways because of their devotion for one another but it's a sad sort of love because you know that everything is working against their union including the very rules of their cultures.

The Tatuma Avanna

Cold and cruel.  She's an ice queen that ironically lives on the fire world.  I'm surprised she hasn't melted yet.  Her ice doesn't come from her body temperature or any sort of powers but instead from her temperament.  She treats Olina like a bag of s*** each and every chance she gets.  She is less of a mother and more of a dictator.

The World

Olina's people, the Solati, live on a dangerous world called Osolis that's engulfed by flames.  Their own homeland is only a few 'rotations' from being burned away and so the Solati migrate when the heat and fire becomes threatening and build their houses and other buildings with a fire resistant wood called Kaur.  They depend on the cold from the ice World, Glacium, to keep temperatures regulated in their own homeland just as Glacium depends on their heat to keep its world from completely freezing.  There are Kaur forests and boiling lakes throughout Osolis.  The Solati wear lightweight fabrics and breezy clothing like togas to keep cool.  The Solati of Osolis are typically a subtle and measured race with customs that one could call prim.  The Solati also have strange naming conventions for their people.  Solati children are all born with have an O at the start of their names but when they get married the drop the O.  So if Olina ever gets married for instance she'd become Lina.  Just don't call her that before she's married or you'll be committing a very major faux pas unless you're closely related to her.  And let's say Olina gets married and becomes Lina, if her husband ever dies then as a widow she's now Alina since widowers get an A to start their names.  I tend to like quirky customs like this and think it's really cool.

The Bruma on the other hand live on the world of Glacium, an ice world that's the total opposite of Osolis.  Large sleds are the main transport of Glacium and most of the Bruma's houses and structures are wrought with solid stone.  Furs cover everything from people to beds in large piles and alcohol is the beverage of choice for adults for the warm and mirth it provides.  The Bruma of Glacium are a large race, even the women who tower over the average Solati.  The Bruma are prone to speaking their minds and are very hot-blooded and vulgar.  Sex isn't shied away from in Bruma culture and even open talk of it is embraced.  Though preferring to dress in warm furs and leather the Bruma women sometimes like to dress very scantily clad during festivals to the delight of the men.

The Plot

The plot points in Fantasy of Frost each hinge on a major event.  Because I can't talk about these main events without spoiling anything I'll try to be as vague as possible while giving a decent synopsis.  I said I'll try, keep that in mind.  Okay so the beginning of the book is dedicated to us getting to know Olina, her problems, her world, and the characters around her.  All of this leads to the first major event of the book, someone dies, and this changes everything.  From then on we're taken to a new place and must piece together the mystery of the person who died.  All the while new questions spring forth such as Olina's connection with her veil.  Well the decent synopsis part failed because I can't figure out how to say more without spoiling it.

Final Opinions

I really enjoyed Olina's journey in Fantasy of Frost.  I feel that she's tested so many of her own limits during her ordeals that she's become a much stronger person and that's compelling to read about.  I think the worlds of Osolis and Glacium as well as the customs of the people of both worlds very intriguing and worth exploring more.  I also really enjoyed all the other characters and the humor and warmth they brought to the story.  These are characters that really helped change Olina and they are characters that the lonely and broken need to recover.  I do feel that more resolution could have been provided at the end of the book.  None of my questions were answered and a lot was left hanging.  I also feel that the way it ended came out of far left field but at least it promises more to come.  I'm looking forward to the next book and continuing Olina's journey, just remember not to call her Lina.

You can visit Kelly at http://www.kellystclare.com/ and find some fun little snippets to hold you over until the release of Fantasy of Flight: Taint Accords #2, on May 24, 2015.

You can also pre-order Fantasy of Flight at Amazon.com by clicking the cover image below.