Angoleth's Heir

by Meagan Poetschlag

Her Primordial Destiny. As long as she could remember, Soraya didn't fit in. Her life was peaceful and normal for any teenage girl of 18 years yet she felt out of place in her own world. She had strange urges and abilities she couldn't explain and they made her stand out when she couldn't control them. One day it all changed when a stranger named Ruinar yanked her away from her home and took her to a parallel world. Frightened and alone, she began to learn the truth about herself and face her true destiny. Was this really her home?

200 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2011

Reviews

[iamnotabookworm]

I got this as an ARC but have not been able to read it right away. This has been sleeping on my TBR. Finally, I can cross this off the list.

This is a story about dragon's. At first, it's not really obvious. The hint of dragons only came when the protagonist, Soraya, was taken back to her home--Angoleth. Soraya was taken to the land of humans when she was just an infant to protect her. She was given to a human couple his father has seen on Central Park. Yes, his father literally handed her over to a couple to take care of and to keep her safe. Luckily, the couple was childless and the wife was instantly taken with Soraya. They loved and nurtured Soraya until she got the surprise of her life when she turned eighteen. A guy, named Ruinar, visited Soraya to take her back to her birth parents and her home.

This is a coming of age story of a girl who was meant to be more. An heir to a kingdom and is the only person who can save her parents and the whole kingdom from falling fully into evil hands. But before she can do any saving, she has to accept and learn to be in her new skin. She has to train to be a warrior and defeat the evil that has poisoned and destroyed Angoleth. Aside from that, she has to know more about the kingdom that she is soon to inherit and its inhabitants that she will soon serve.

This story reminded me of Kimberly Loth's Dragon Kings series. The similarities lie in having a young person/creature to serve or rule a kingdom and of course, there are dragons in both stories. Both stories also tackle the age old idea of good versus evil. The difference of the two is that Dragon Kings have three kings while in this story, so far it only spoke of one heir to the kingdom.

The story is not new and having the main character of Soraya grew up in the human world, away from her birth parents and unaware of her true identity is also not unheard of. But the fact, that she is a powerful magnificent and mythical creature is what fascinates me and the story did not in any way gave a clue until Soraya was ready to go back home. That part of the story was what I really liked because I was so clueless as to what Soraya really is. I know that she is important, as described in the early part of the story but how vital she is to be in the affairs and fate of the kingdom of Angoleth was yet to be revealed.

Another thing I liked about the story was the sufficient background story of how Angoleth came to be and its characters. Ruinar and even the supporting characters like Almira, Tinnu and Cyra were also given enough information as how they are essential to the whole story to work.

I give this book 4/5 black books. As I have said, the story is not really extraordinary but I love how the unveiling of Soraya's identity was played out. It was done with finesse. The author made the readers comfortable first with the first few chapters of the book and then, out of nowhere, the curtains are raised and lo and behold, the real Soraya. It was done with absolute care and with the reader so clueless as to what is coming next. I know this book was about dragons but I was still surprised when the dragons came into the picture. For that, I praise the author's skill for handling that part of the story very cleverly. I am looking forward to the next installments of the series. Thank you, Megan Poetschlag for the copy.


Don't worry, I am even more afraid and confused than you, but I have to smile and pretend I know what's going on.
- Megan Poetschlag, Angoleth's Heir -

[Brett Salter]

“Angoleth's Heir” by Meagan Poetschlag
Review By Brett Salter

Opening Lines: “Beep! Beep! Beep! Soraya woke up to her alarm clock ringing obnoxiously in her ear. Groggily, she groaned and reached over to shut it off. She slammed her fist onto the snooze button and heard the clock crack and shatter from the force of her hitting it.”

Favorite Lines: "Sunrise turned the clouds pink and orange outside the window of Soraya’s room. For the first time, she did not want to get up but knew this was her only opportunity."

The Review:
“Angoleth's Heir” is a young adult novel for readers seeking adventure and magical realms. It's got uplifting themes about becoming an adult and utilizing your abilities to their fullest. As well as working together as a team to accomplish tasks that seem impossible (like a battle of good versus evil). Finding oneself and finding friendships and relationships in a strange world is a key theme that is perfect for the target audience this book aims at. As well as found family versus born family and how they are different but equally as important.

Let me start by saying thank you to the author for providing an ARC copy for my review. There is so much to this novel that really captures the essence of being a young woman on the verge of adulthood torn between two worlds and two lovers. It's a dichotomy that permeates this book in both the setting and the characters and is probably the most pervasive theme of the novel. Other than coming of age. Now, Romantasy is not really my cup of tea, so I will skip all the horny stuff and just focus on the characters, which I think Meagan did a remarkable job of bringing to life. But if you like that genre, this is a perfect example of it!

There are several characters in this book, but I want to focus on a select few. I'll start with Soraya, the first POV we get, and the main protagonist of the novel. She is eloquently described in both physical forms (well, all forms, really) and her account of the events is the one I trust most. However, as I will mention later, it is not my favorite. (hehehe) The first act of the book takes place mostly in New York, even though they do travel to Angoleth after a horrible scene on the streets of the city. Soraya is a good protagonist because we can definitely see her question the information she is fed. She takes many subtle changes of mind before she finally accepts her role as both a princess and a shape-shifting dragon. As most of us would. So, as I mentioned, her POV is the most reliable because she comes from a place we are all familiar with. The flawed Earth realm (The Common World), and her reactions to things are as WE would all react. With wonder and skepticism. Another thing I like about her is that she is written well as a fish out of water turned into a genuine badass by the end of the book. She goes through the struggles and eventually accepts and perfects her powers, but not in a heartbeat. It takes the whole novel for her to come to grips with this and wield it correctly. Her use of her shifting power to free her parents was something I'd never seen before and I really appreciated the creativity! So kudos to that development of the character!

Now, the "unreliable narrator" of the book is definitely Ruinar. In several spots of the book, Meagan will do a scene twice. Once from Soraya's POV and then immediately from Ruinar's. This is interesting for a couple of reasons. Historically, we are taught that when an author uses this trope, we should accept the first POV as 100% and question the second one. In this case, that is also true which makes me wonder if Ruinar is all there mentally. Especially once we are introduced to the second voice in Ruinar's head. The one of the dark magic attempting to take over. I found it very sly and talented the way this voice developed. At first, I just thought it was Ruinar talking to himself with an inner monologue as most of us do. Having that constant internal battle with oneself of what is right and what should have been done, what move we should have made, etc. But then, as the story progressed, that voice evolved into an actual character with its own demands, character beats, and agenda. This is also cool because using the dual-POV mirrors my original theme of duality, and this book focuses a lot on mind reading, so we get to see clearly into the characters' heads as if we are the ones that could read the minds!!

The last character I want to mention is the big bad, Gaelon. His subordinates are cool too, (R.I.P. Tinnu), but he's the one that brings the most interesting themes to the table (at least for me). And the subplot of Brandon's father and other humans trying to save the world from Angoleth interlopers is a discussion for another day. But Gaelon has it all, man. He's a huge frickin' ram-horned dragon that uses dark magic to attempt to take back his throne and destroy the bloodline of royalty in Angoleth. He rules his army from The Valley of Fear which is more appropriately named than you would think. His presence in the book is the physical representation of Ruinar's fear; the physical representation of Ruinar's doubt and the dark magic curse. When Soraya leaves to take him on, the reader gets a bad feeling in the pit of their stomach, and it is well deserved. She has no idea what she's taking on the first time! And I gotta say, the way he tricks her (don't want to spoil too much) was so well done by Meagan. I thought that was super cool! But back to Gaelon being the opposite of Ruinar's good intentions (more duality), Ruinar doesn't break his rule of no killing until he embraces the same dark magic that Gaelon uses and he kills Tinnu. At that point, he is no longer the opposite of Gaelon, he is the second coming of the evil dragon (rad makeover BTW). I genuinely thought he would end up killing another of my fave characters, Losslonn the last white unicorn.

So all this talk of dualities or opposites (the two worlds, Soraya and Ruinar, Gaelon and Ruinar, Brandon and Ruinar) is deep-dive stuff, but there are also some really interesting things going on on the surface of the book. I want to point out a few things really quickly. First, what I am calling "the shifting scene" was magnificent. The descriptive wording here and the imagery when Soraya does her first shapeshift were brilliant. In some books, we get very little in the way of describing a scene like this, but here, it is intense, it is vibrant, and it is something you feel. In some works, we're meant to gloss over the magic systems and just accept it. Not in the cards for "Angoleth's Heir". Bravo! Another little tidbit that I loved was the use of synesthesia in the novel. Again, kinda of playing on dichotomies here, but there were many instances where more than one of the five senses was described simultaneously. For instance, when characters use magic, there is a second sense used to describe it as well as just vision. Synesthesia at its finest. When they used portal magic, it had a certain smell. When they used dark magic, it had a taste to it. And Soraya and Ruinar obviously had smells associated with each of them which really gives you a feeling instead of just reading words on a page. I love that kind of prose because it shows a talented writer playing with words at a master level.

This is a terrific book! In my opinion! I don't "love" Romantasy (get it?), but I am definitely intrigued to see what happens to these characters after the events of book one. I think the characters and myself are going through similar motions and emotions right now. Grieving their fallen comrades. Wondering if everything is safe in Talver Forest. Hoping to get home (Brandon, Heidi, and even Ashton). And torn between two worlds/loves. I want to know where and with who Sorays ends up!! And so, I will 100% be reading the follow-up novel when it is released. On a personal note, I want to say that I know how hard Meagan worked to get this book released, and, being a fellow author, I know the road is hard, but the result is beyond freeing and self-satisfying. So, congratulations on a job well done! Soraya and Ruinar and the rest coming to life has been a success! Now get to work on the second book! LOL

One Last Thing: I like to add this "one last thing" section as an insight into how weird I am when I read books. This book has a lot of words, and I am not used to reading books over 500 pages. Now, we all know there are only so many words in the English language, but reading this novel, I really gravitated to two words that Meagen used a lot. The words "quiver" and "snarl". That makes sense, right? It's a book about adult feelings so "quiver" SHOULD be seen abundantly, but it is also a book about dragons, so "snarl" is one of the most fitting noises for the book. Anyway, as I read the book, whenever I came across either of those two words, I would do a full quiver of my body and make a little snarl sound to myself accordingly. Just thought it was a fun little game to play! Also, I was trying to do the name challenge on this book, and I found a couple I think might be correct. I think the names Nerak and TinaChris might be the names of someone the author knows? Like someone named Karen (Narek reversed) and Christina? Maybe someday there will be a character in Angoleth called Tterb? Or Ersalt?

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a Romantasy novel that gives plenty of character insight and builds on tension throughout the pages. The character decisions feel like you're making your own decisions, and the dialogue is out of this world! The worlds are lushly developed and both appear right in your mind when you close your eyes. A climactic battle that mirrors the growing feelings Soraya develops for the two main leads makes it a fun and streamlined read. For young readers considering this first novel, there are many trigger warnings I need to let you know about. The book is definitely aimed at an older audience as evidenced by the many many uses of foul language, the many sexually explicit situations (especially toward the end), the mention of a polyamorous character, and the attempted rape of our main character. There was also drug use mentioned and a few instances of blood and grievous head and body injury. And yes, sadly, there were even a few deaths of characters that I was sad to see go. (Arod, may you someday live on forever in the MLB Hall of Fame)

Final Review: 4.7 rose quartz communication stones out of 5

[April]

Note: This book was sent to me from the author in exchange for an honest review.

To sum up this book, it has a lot of potential but it really needs editing.

At first, I tried to ignore the grammatical errors and formatting of this book. Being an editor myself, this was really hard to do. As the book went on, it became extremely distracting. Another issue that I had was with how the dialogue is formatted. There are paragraphs with two or three characters speaking, as well as italicized thought dialogue, and it’s difficult to discern who is speaking. It had become clear to me that this book hasn’t been edited, and every book needs to be edited.

I looked into the publisher after seeing on the copyright page that this publisher does not do any editing whatsoever. PublishAmerica, now America Star Books, has a lot of negative Google results. When I typed the name into Google, it suggests “publish america scam,” so that gives you an idea. There are pages of reviews from authors who never got reimbursed for their book’s revenue, ones who had their books printed by PublishAmerica after their copyright to print had expired, high prices for authors buying their own books, and many other issues. I feel so bad for any author who fell into this hole, and Angoleth’s Heir is a book that could have benefitted so much from a better, more reputable publisher.

Now that I’m past that negative bit, there are obviously positives regarding the plot of this book. Soraya thought she was just a normal teen, until she was swept away to another world and discovered that she is actually a dragon. Angoleth is a world where dragons rule, and this is a concept that I really haven’t seen in any fantasy book I’ve read. Usually dragons are pets for humans or serving humans, used as weapons when people go to war. It was cool to see how dragons have been developed in this story, and the background of the different dragon types was also a bit I liked.

One great part was how Soraya reacts to her new life and the suddenness of it all. She is surprised, shocked, and isn’t initially accepting of this strange reality, rather than reacting with the usual YA trope of being thrown into a new world and not questioning much of anything, ready to take on any mission.

Overall, this book has so much potential and I am sad that the grammar and formatting issues were so distracting, and that this book didn’t get the proper editing it needed. I blame this solely on the publisher, as I don’t trust them one bit after my research and seeing how they purposefully don’t edit books. Because of how distracting the mistakes were to me, I just can’t rate this higher than two stars.

[K.E. Drake]

A cute dragon fantasy!

I was drawn into this story from the very beginning.

I liked Soraya and how she went from a girl who didn’t fit in to the leader she was meant to be.

Ruinar was great too. His backstory and character was such a good addition and super intriguing. I loved how his past tied into the present story.

The romance was sweet too. I loved Soraya and Ruinar together from the first meeting.

I also enjoyed the backstory of Angoleth and how it came to be the way it was now.

The reason I couldn’t give it full stars was because the pacing of the story was kind of slow and the writing style detailed. There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, those things helped bring the story to life and set it up for the sequel while still telling a lot of story in this first book.
It’s just that my brain has trouble focusing on the detail and worldbuilding side of things, and I have to keep myself from skimming or going back and rereading a bunch of things because I did. That’s just my personal quirk, though. The writing style was good and many people write their stories like that or prefer when they are written like that.

Another thing was that there was a scene that might be considered steamy. It had some sensual actions and detailed descriptions, but it was easy to skim through that while still following the story.

Overall, I thought it was a good book. I’m curious to see what happens in the next one!

[Meagan Poetschlag]

This smart young girl knew she was adopted, but she could never guess that she was a princess from a parallel world. This is book one of the Dragons of Angoleth series and it is full of fun surprises. I do not want to spoil anything, but it is a very interesting plot and the world of Angoleth is so wonderfully magical.

Soraya has a lot to learn when she discovered that she can shape shift into a dragon. She must learn quickly too, because her parents are being held prisoner by an evil, vengeful, and terrifying black dragon and only she can save them.

This book by itself is very mild but the series as a whole is definitely for mature readers and not YA. This book has something for everyone. It has action, adventure, a little romance, an epic fantasy world, amazing lovable characters, and lots of DRAGONS!!

[READER VIEWS]

“Angoleth’s Heir” (Dragons of Angoleth) by Meagan Poetschlag is a compelling and highly entertaining novel of magical realism that will soon become one of your favorites in the genre. Soraya is a New York City high school student with the usual ups and downs that come with the territory. But those highs and lows increase dramatically when she realizes she isn’t in complete command of an ability she hasn’t ever fully grasped. Emotions elevated, something within her wants to reveal itself, and like it or not, it wants to emerge. The only thing preventing her from transforming into something not quite human is a magical bracelet. But what if destiny has a different idea of her future? Maybe she isn’t meant to be human.

This is when an enchanting young man with crimson wings comes to her rescue. She is enamored by him. Her life takes an incredible turn when she instantly wakes up in what seems like another dimension on the other side of a portal. It is a parallel world called Angoleth, ruled by dragons and magic. But this magic is different. It’s dark and dangerous, and it wants to hurt those who live there.

Meagan Poetschlag has crafted an absorbing character-driven fantasy novel that you can become caught up in. The plot is riveting, and the characters, especially Soraya, are striking. The worldbuilding is immersive, and the situations are believable. This author has a detailed, emotional style that causes you to care about the characters and the conflicts going on, both internal and external. Illustrated by SueMei Mar, the artwork adds so much to the story as well.

I like how Soraya starts out being a high school student, and then her life is transformed in ways that would shake almost anyone. She’s trying to hold onto herself, maintain control, and figure out who she is, and what she’s meant to do in life, in light of the new darkness that surrounds her. She isn’t afraid to ask questions, even though they usually lead to even more questions. Her courage is one of her most endearing qualities. She could be an heir. She could be a hero. What is she?

The dragon aspect is really appealing, and if you love dragons, this story hits the spot. The romance is another added layer, and this author takes the fantasy romance to a higher level with the red-winged Ruinar, and those looking for a more mature, explicit relationship won’t be disappointed. This isn’t a children’s fairytale, just so you know. It’s meant for adults.

I like how the author grounds the story in the life of an everyday high school student, and then takes you to greater heights plot-wise. There are layers here, with wider, universal implications, so this novel has a lot going on besides basic good versus evil. If you’re ready to fall in love with a new fantasy romance series, make it “Angoleth’s Heir” (Dragons of Angoleth) by Meagan Poetschlag.

[Leigh Ann]

I LOVED the prologue. It's written so well, and immediately hooked me into the story. The dragons perspective is intriguing, with the author having a lot of knowledge on dragons.

After the prologue, meeting Soraya & Ruinar was fun. Diving immediately into their sex-driven teenage minds was a turn from the epilogue, but it was still easy to connect with them and their stories.

As much as I was enjoying the story, I did feel it could have been shorter. The majority of text was inside different characters' heads, and it did repeat a lot of the same thoughts as well. Then once I would read an action scene, it moved much quicker. If the action scenes were longer and all the text inside characters' heads were shorter, I feel this could have been that much better and even more un-put-down-able.

As much as I couldn't wait to keep reading and find out what happened to all the characters, dragon and human, this book is over 500 pages. There is a vastness to this story, it's easy to get lost in it and needing to know more, to keep reading. And then the next thing you know, it's the end of the book.

The author wrapped this book up perfectly. There is a conclusion. There are parts of the story left undone. There is not a cliffhanger, thank goodness. And the author did a great job ending the book leading you into the next one. That makes reading this as an ARC that much worse. Haha! I look forward to getting the next book to see the continuation of Angoleth, its inhabitants, the Common World, and more.

[Katie Dunn]

I like how descriptive it was. It gave me a great sense of what the kingdom looked like and the characters, especially the dragons. The dragon aspect was unique.They had really cool powers and they were the main leaders of angoleth. The dragons were also shifters that could change into other creatures, animals, or humans. Humans existed in angoleth but other creatures were the main groups of the land like unicorns, and griffins, etc. I enjoyed reading multiple povs so we could get a sense of the main characters thoughts and actions since so much was happening at once. It was a fun story.

[Mary Karla]

I am definitely intrigued to see what happens to these characters in the next book. The descriptive wording here and the imagery when Soraya does her first shapeshift were brilliant. Soraya has a lot to learn when she discovered that she can shape shift into a dragon. She must learn quickly too, because her parents are being held prisoner by an evil, vengeful, and terrifying black dragon and only she can save them.

[Teija Hemphill]

I really enjoyed this book and I am thankful for the ARC. I never thought a book about dragons would grab my attention the way this one did

[Keith LaSpaluto]

I found this to be an enjoyable read with an easy to follow storyline. The characters were well defined and the dragons were intriguing.