Wardbreaker

The Lillim Callina Chronicles #0.5

by J.A. Cipriano

This is an alternate cover edition for B015XBES6M

A city full of vampires. A dark ritual. A runaway determined to stay hidden.

Lillim Callina was still trying to figure out how to live like a normal girl when the vampires attacked. Now, this former demon hunter must decide if staying hidden is more important than saving her new home from the largest vampire infestation she has ever seen.

The only problem is, if she stops the vampires, the people hunting her just may find her, and they aren't too fond of deserters.

Wardbreaker is the first prequel in The Lillim Callina Chronicles, an urban fantasy series and takes place approximately one year before the first book, Kill it with Magic.

Genres: Fantasy, Vampires, Paranormal, Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Ebooks, Magic

189 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 6, 2015

About the author

When New York Times Bestselling author, J. A. Cipriano was in second grade, his teacher gave everyone in class a journal to write down whatever they wanted. Their first subject was to write about something they didn’t like. J. A. chose to write about why he didn’t like writing. His reasoning was simple. He had bad handwriting. Even then, he was destined to be an engineer due to his messy scrawl.

Unfortunately, he found through the course of this little adventure that he actually liked writing. That year was sort of the high point for his writing career because he won a writing contest for the state. He got to go to a big dinner and his teacher was all dressed up.

He kept writing little stories, year after year, and in sixth grade, won another contest. In seventh grade, he broke his arm and got the cast signed by both Dean Koontz and Stan Lee. It is, by far, the coolest cast he’s owned. That was about the time he found video games and anime. His writing turned mostly toward fanfiction until about ninth grade when he wrote his first novel, a small book about twenty thousand words called Revelations. In sophomore year, he wrote two more books to complete the trilogy because he saw Star Wars that year and learned trilogies were the cool thing to do.

He rewrote Revelations during his senior year, and his wife swears it is the best thing he’s written. J.A. is not so sure. Every time he reads it, he cringes, but then again, he hates everything he writes, so there is that.

It was about that time, he got heavily involved in a fanfiction writing group, but that isn’t one hundred percent accurate. It was a world based on a popular anime but everything was created especially for this world. It made it so that every story someone wrote was unique.

Imagine writing a Star Wars novel set 1,000 years after A New Hope, where everything that happened was a distant memory and you get the idea. You have the force, some distant memories of the past, and that’s pretty much it.

He wrote about a million words (863K to be exact) for them before he decided to do his own thing. He wrote another novel. He put it in a drawer. He wrote another one that eventually became the basis for The Hatter is Mad. His next novel was Kill It With Magic, his first real novel. It’s not bad, but it’s bumpy. This is unfortunate because the books get loads better as the series progresses.

Since then, he’s written six more novels, four of which are in the Lillim Callina Series, and one in the Abby Banks series. The other is stuck in a drawer for time undetermined. He’s writing his next book now which is about werewolves fighting mummies in Ancient Egypt. After that, he will move onto Abby Banks 2. The Spy Within will come out in June or July.

J.A. also has three chinchillas. Two of them are grey, and because of this, they are named Slate and Cadmium. The third is named Jet because he’s black, and Jet is old English for black. See, creative. He also has a cat named Turtle. This does pose problems for his two-year-old from time to time.

Reviews

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

She ran away, very far away, to another planet! Lillim isn’t from Earth, but she has been trained to be the best of the best, a demon hunter with the abilities to do magic and an appetite for Earth food that would make your grandma proud. Now on the run form the group who trained her, all Lillim wanted was to feel normal, but her appearance on Earth may have come when one small town needed her most.

Jean-Luc is special, he is gifted and there is nothing that means more to him than keeping his town safe form the vampire gangs roaming the streets a causing all hell to break loose. He even knows what Killim is and enlists her special talents to help him. Together, they are the dynamic duo fighting the supernatural evil that surrounds them, but Killim gets the feeling that Jean-Luc is hiding more than he is telling and the carved charms on his body seem to agree.

Wardbreaker by J. A. Cipriano sets a blistering, action-packed pace from start to finish, adding a touch of humor, a lot of supernaturals and is the perfect set up to more great reading in this series. There is nothing better than a little mystery surrounding the main characters, great teamwork between two people who barely know each other fighting for a cause they both believe in and bad guys that just don’t know when to quit! Low on angst, high on entertainment in a genre that most everyone loves to dabble in, if you don’t mind when heads roll, you may just find your next great series read right here, starting with this prequel!

I received this copy from A.J. Cipriano.

Series: The Lillim Callina Chronicles - Prequel
Publication Date: October 15, 2015
Publisher: J.A. Cipriano
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Print Length: 189 pages
Available from: Amazon
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com

[Amy Braun · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. The book was unique and packed with creative action. I really liked the quick pace and the way the characters reacted to every battle. That said, there was LOTS of action. Maybe a little too much. The entire story seemed like one long fight scene, especially at the end. Not necessarily a deal-breaker for me, but there were so many unanswered questions not many of them were answered. Maybe because this book was a prequel, but I would have rather had some things answered rather than have action take up most of the book. A lot of characters seemed to show up out of the blue and for some, I had to actually ask myself if they were mentioned or referred to before or not. That said, I liked Lilliam and Luc–– especially Luc if I'm being honest with myself. I would have loved to know more about him and his crazy cool powers. Ultimately, I don't know if I'm attached enough to anyone to keep going with the series. That's not to say it's bad–– the ending fight was really intense and had an action-movie feel to it, especially when it came to the unique villain–– but I don't think this is the series for me.

[Mandy Sickle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lillim is on the run fleeing from her own people hiding on Earth tired of taking orders. While she shouldn't have a hard to keeping a low profile she picked the wrong town to hide in as a group of vampires is breaking the rules and taking advantage of the town. Lillim meets Luc who needs her help to stop the vampires as a hunter he has a writ that allows him to kill them but to many in town for him to handle. He's not just a normal human either as he has these magical wards carved into his skin that activate with blood.

It's clear that Lillim that the town has some series issues and even though it's going to draw the attention she's trying to avoid she knows she can't just leave. Charging into a vampire nest with Luc they encounter ancient vampires who want Luc and are willing to let Lillim leave if she lets them get away with their plan. Ariel the Owl and leader of the vampires expect that Lillim would take a deal to let her finish what she started. Little did she know that Lillim doesn't just give up that easy. Will they survive this battle?

I love Lillim she's bad-ass who fights with a pair of magical Egyptian swords and magic. She may have spent her whole childhood training to protect the humans, slay the monsters but she won't just sit by the save herself when innocents are in danger. I like that she charges in fighting with her heart risking her own life to save the day. She's also super innocent when it comes to the human world taking great joy in fast food.

I picked up Wardbreaker recently so I could read it before the first one which has been on my kindle for a while. I read the short story Alone in the Dark it gives us a taste of one of the training encounters that Lillim had with her mother. Just enough to perk out interest so I had to start WardBreaker right away quickly falling in love with Lillim as a character. She's one of those you can easily connect with and cheer on as the book progress. She lives in the unique urban fantasy world, while the book has vampires they are nothing like I would have expected. I love the fast paced action packed story filled with twists that kept me on the edge of my seat. It was hard to put down I had to know how it was going to play out for Lillim as well as more about who Luc was. I can't wait to start the first one in the series as I enjoyed this one so much. Highly recommend my new favorite series.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

This one kept me from page one! This one kept me up all night! I can't wait for the next book!

This book pulls you into a world that you wouldn't expect; a world of action, vampires, shifters, comedy, and oh so much more. Thrust into a world where magic is used to defeat out of control vampires, and other things that go bump in the night; you will find yourself engrossed in this book, and completely unable to put it down.

I loved Lillim, she was a character that was very easy to fall in love with, she had spunk, she was smart, and she could put anyone in their place if she wanted to. Lillim put her heart into getting rid of a big part of the vampire problem. She doubted herself a couple of times, but didn't let that stop her, instead she pulled herself together and became a stronger, and an amazing individual that one could look up to. Not to mention she is a girl that can kick butt. I felt empowered by her motivation, because she never gave up, and those are people that you need to hear about, or read about, even if they are fictional characters.

At first I was a little worried about Luc, until I finally started to get to know him better. I got to know him as a good person, but a good person with secrets, and mysterious ones at that. I hope that soon I can find out just exactly what else I need to know about Luc.

Overall, there was never a dull moment, and this was a wonderful book that I would recommend to others.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've never tried urban fantasy before, dip your toe in with this one! This short book is at the very beginning of an action packed series involving magic, werewolves, vampires, and more. The story pulls you in and keeps you there, and you want more when it ends. The characters are engaging or disgusting, depending on whether they are on the side of good or not.
Recommended for fans of Harry Dresden, Atticus O'Sullivan, Mercy Thompson, and others.

[Andria Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. The characters were awesome and the plot was amazing. I got lost in the writing and didn't stop reading till I was finished. This book reminded me of the Underworld movies which I love. I will definitely be continuing with this series its been fun so far and I feel Kill It With Magic will be even better. Thanks J.A. Cipriano for the free copy to review! I am here to stay.

[J.B. Garner · Rating 3 out of 5]

From The Musings of a Starving Author:

It’s a curious literary meal to eat a prequel novel that was cooked up after six previous meals of a series. It’s not an unknown thing and I’ve devoured both delightful and disgusting attempts at such. Wardbreaker promised to be, judging from the previous two volumes of this series I had read, at the least a very wild group of flavors in my mouth. So, after what was a promising but somewhat confusing first meal and a more balanced second course, did the prequel continue on those trends or, like its volume number, tumble backward?

Before we find out, let’s recite the Starving Review creed:

I attempt to rate every book from the perspective of a fan of the genre.
I attempt to make every review as spoiler-free as possible.

Wardbreaker is, in many ways, the product of the chef’s continual literary refinement. While it retains the same key flavors of the manic-paced, over-the-top, urban fantasy as the previous volumes, this meal retains much of the literary consistency I noted in the more refined The Hatter Is Mad. Overall, that means a solid texture and consistent flavor for most of the meal. The dialogue is snappy and the descriptions are refined. It reads, outside of some odd editorial misses, as the work of an experienced author.

As with the previous meals I’ve reviewed of this series, characters and action are the best used spices in this book. The cast is intriguing and the protagonist, no doubt honed after so many volumes written, especially comes to life. As always, Mr. Cipriano puts together his usual, over-the-top, heavily anime-inspired action set pieces and executes them with aplomb.

The problems with this recipe are, well, the same as with the other meals I’ve reviewed. In this way, it is more akin with Kill It With Magic in that it eschews most exposition and back story (again, most of the crucial information about WHO Lillim is remains in the second (now third) book The Hatter Is Mad) for MORE ACTION. The pace is blisteringly fast with almost no stops to let the reader breathe and digest, making the curves of natural story progression more like a flatline. These aren’t good things, at least by my literary tastes, though they aren’t deal breakers either.

I’d say where these two problems intertwine is in the climax of the book. After all this action, the final climax is surprisingly flat (possibly from excessive action fatigue) and, as there is so little explanation of what the hell is going on (less so than the other two books), I was left with a large laundry list of dangling plot threads. Are there going to be more prequel novels to clear them up? I don’t know, but it definitely ends the book with a funny, flavorless taste I wasn’t expecting.

I’m really waffling here when it comes to my final verdict. Wardbreaker was a easy, breezy read in one sense, as the blistering pace tends to keep you reading until the end, expecting all those niggling questions to be answered, but they never really do. As a prequel, it doesn’t really add anything to my understanding of the series protagonist or the world, which means I’m not sure where it really fits in. It certainly isn’t a bad meal, not at all, and I was never ready to throw in the towel, reading it both in beta and in final form each within a night or two. Still, it’s not as good, in the end, as The Hatter Is Mad, sharing more of the confusing pedigree of Kill It With Magic, just more refined. In a more refined rating system, I’d rate it somewhere between the two, but more rounded down towards Kill, hence my final rating below. Obviously, if you’re a fan of The Lillim Callina Chronicles, you should definitely snap this up, and if you are a lover of non-stop, over-the-top action, I’d definitely suggest this series as a prime example of that genre. If you are looking for deeper exposition or a normally-paced bit of fiction, you won’t find that here.

FINAL VERDICT: *** (A prequel meal that is fed to you at a frantic pace, with no new information for the series as a whole!)

[Celeste · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmmmm…. Let me start by saying that I received this book from the author’s publisher/book agent(I’m not sure which exactly) in exchange for an honest review, and this free epub in no way colored my opinion. In fact, if the author wanted, he could have reviews for this whole series from me asap because that’s how much I loved this novelette.

Granted, I still don’t know what a wardbreaker is, but I was introduced to the charming Lillim Callina. I also have no idea why she is where she is during this story, but I don’t find myself worrying overmuch about that(I assume this will be revealed in the rest of the series full length books, or well I hope so at least). What I do know is Lillim is a Discoursi, a badass monster hunter not of this earth. I also know she’s run away from her Discoursi duties only to land smack dab into a situation that desperately needs a Discoursi(-an?). Vampires have taken over and it’s her job (you know, the one she quit) to put a stop to it. The reason she’s doing this is two fold. Reason one : Jean Luc. Reason two : She a softie and feels responsible for any lives lost while she’s not on the job.

I found Lillium to be a refreshingly honest protagonist. She’s funny, quirky, vulnerable and reminds me a great deal of Meda from Eliza Crewe’s Soul Eater trilogy.

I know I can’t expect a complete breakdown of character motivations in a book this short but there were little things that I didn’t completely understand. Jean Luc’s bad assery in relation to his unsure boyishness when talking to Lillium. There are also a few editing issues, a couple of typos, actions repeated and the like. While they are few and far between, they were present enough to reduce my enjoyment a tad, which is a pity because I would loved to have given this 5 stars.
Just as a last note, this does read like a graphic/manga novel, or well what I imagine those would read like having never read those, I was thoroughly entertained.

So if you like your books to have plenty of action, a snarky main protagonist, magic, vampires and shifters, give this a read.

3.5 stars for me which I'm rounding up to 4.

P.S. - I forgot to mention the host ghost. Now you know. =D

P.P.S - That was not a spoiler.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

The first chapter really grabbed my attention. Straight away I wanted to know more about who the main protagonist was and why she had come to Earth on the run. Plus the reference to magic made me even more interested in the story.

Lillum is the lead female character and I liked her a lot. She is a strong female heroine and knows how to kick some serious butt. She is a demon hunter who can use magic and her job is to keep the planet safe from supernatural evil. Jean-Luc is the lead male character and he was very intriguing. He asks Lillum for help in ridding his town of evil undead beings. Despite how he portrays himself to Lillum, he seems to be hiding some very important secrets. The two of them complement one another perfectly all the way through the book.

The book is well written, fast paced, and has non stop action though the entire story. The fight scenes are particularly well written. My only issues with the book were that there was some proofreading errors, and there was some annoying repetition of certain words, and that some of Lillum’s narrative didn’t seem to suit her character, such as she said some very human/Earth like things considering she is not from Earth and didn’t comprehend a lot of what the other characters were talking about.

All in all, this was a great read full of villainous vampires, werewolves and other supernatural creatures, full of magic and spells, and plenty of combat and action scenes. A recommended read.

[Bert]

This is another wonderful book by JA Cipriano. This is a prequel to the Lillim Callina Chronicles. I thoroughly enjoyed getting this insight into Lillim's life and back story. I really felt for both Lillim and Luc (and at times was with them in thinking stop with the riddles- just PLEASE tell me what you want!) :) The angst and frustration came through in JA Cipriano's wonderfully flowing style. I eagerly await the next installment of this fabulous series.

I read this book over the Holidays and it was engrossing enough to divert me from the stresses of family gatherings, while being light enough not to bog me down or be confusing after it had been set down for a time.

In full disclosure: I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wardbreaker (The Lillim Callina Chronicles 0.5) by J.A. Cipriano is a prequel but it is a full length novel! This book starts out introducing the reader to Lillim as a meek, shy girl getting picked on the a cashier but the next page she is kicking vamp ass! That is my kind of gal! She is a monster killer but on the run herself. She meets someone that needs her and well, she is a monster killer. A fun, action packed, kick ass ride all the way to the end. Lots of creatures and vamps along the way. This is just the prequel? Yippee!!!

[Tia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting storyline that helps readers understand how Lillim began her life on earth. There's a bit of mystery, lists of action and interesting tidbits. I like knowing how Lillim got to where's she's at now.

[Ceola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seemed long.
I got bored.
Started really great.
Don't remember when I started to loose interest.

[Frank Bertino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Read

I liked the story and the main characters.. lillim is a compelling intriguing character as is Luc. Lilliml's morality interferes with her escaping the never ending battles of protecting humanity from the evils of the underworld. She ends up helping Luc protect the people of his city (the city she planned to hide in). The book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. Lillim is provided for, but what happened to Luc. I look forward to the next book Kill it with Magic.

[Candylynnbluegmail.Com · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great paranormal hunter story!

If you are born and trained to do something, do you have to do it? What if you decided you did not want to do it anymore?

Lillim hunts paranormals and has been trained to do so since birth, but she’s tired of it. So, she runs away only to run into a vampire hunter who needs her help.

Things get more complicated from there as the eldest vampires have things in mind and Lillim is standing in their way.

[Rosemary Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very different story to the normal paranormal tale.
Lillian was from another planet, one which had monitored and controlled supernatural beings here on earth. She had run from her responsibilities, and run into Jean Luc who took her under his protection.
However, between a vampire infestation causing problems within the city and the secret of who Jean Luc actually was, causes all sorts of drama.
Yeah, it different from the normal.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Source* Kindle
*Genre* Fantasy
*Rating* 3.5

*Thoughts*

Wardbreaker is the first prequel in The Lillim Callina Chronicles, an urban fantasy series and takes place approximately one year before Kill it with Magic. Lillim Callina is a member of the Dioscuri. She ran away from her home to Earth. Lillim has been trained to be the best of the best, a demon hunter with the abilities to do magic. Her job is to fight monsters and keep people safe. Upon arriving on Earth, she meets Jean Luc who claims he's a monster hunter licensed by Dirge Meilan, an Earth Born Dioscuri who gave him a writ that is magically bound to the owner.

*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*

https://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/20...

[Teri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want more now. I want to know more about both Lillim and Luc. I will definitely be moving to book 1 in the series and see if it grabs me like book .5.

[Stanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

Lots of action and good plot make this book a good read, I enjoyed reading it and look forward to seeing how she makes it through the next in the series

[Stefanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

*I received a Free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.
Let's start with the positives. I think the world created here is intriguing. The story is about a girl who is not from earth (meaning we could go to space or maybe other dimensions?), that is high ranked in her magical clan called the Dioscuri, which their porpuse is to protect humans against mystical creatures (all the monsters we have grown to know). Think of someone like Buffy the Vampire Slayer who basically exists to hunt vampires, but in this case Lillim has to fight all kids of creatures using not only cool weapons, but also magic. There a many interesting characters in this book apart from the leading lady, we have Luc who's backstory is a little mysterious but has a very clear purpose in the story and won't stop until he gets his way, a ghost who is friends with Lillim (let's leave it at that, I don't want to post spoilers), and Danae who seems to be a strong female character, not a friend nor an enemy. It has several action sequences that are entertaining. As for the villain, is a scary one I think. With that lets go to the not so great parts of this book.

This book is probably targeted to middle school students, I don't think is a YA that could appeal to everyone like something like the Hunger Games did or even Harry Potter (which I'm not sure is considered YA because those stories start "childish" but then they get dark), anyways I say that mostly because of the writing. There are definitely some cheesy one liners that are just cringe worthy (do you like that burger, I'm lovin' it... Really?). In the narrative, it felt like the leading character Lillim was trying to be ironic and witty at times or have some sort of sense of humor of what was happening in her life, think of someone like Spider-Man who is very quick with his reposes, but in this case sometimes it worked and it even was funny at times, but when it didn't it was just bad. Again maybe is because this book hasn't found its voice or it is actually targeted to younger audiences than myself. As for the villain I'm confused, I never understood what was at stake, how high the danger was, what was the master plan (again I don't want to post spoilers), it felt like the villain was very powerful and invisible at times but then again why was it easy to defeat or I should say quick to defeat? Because of how it was described, I was confused if it was supposed to be a throw away villain or if it was meant to be like a main villain.

I think there are good stuff in this story and in the mythology created, but for me what I found interesting in the book lacked development. I wish the book had actually shown a little bit more about the Dioscuri (eg. who are they? where are they? where is Lillim from?) because that sounds very interesting. I feel like the why Lillim is where she is should had been better explained. If she kept saying, they'll find me if I use this and then she uses it and no one actually cares to come look for her it's kind of contradicting. I think the book should had been clearer about the big threat, the master plan, how menacing is the main villain, or if it was just meant to be a pawn or throw away villain. I know this is a series of books, maybe my questions are answered down the line, but if this is the book that is supposed to grip you, then for me it was missing a few thing. I understand that some things should be left unsaid for cliffhangers, but every book should still feel complete and the characters should be fully developed in order to care for them. The mystery of Luc and that situation should be enough of a big cliffhanger I don't think there has to be so many loose ends in a book. I know it sounds like there are more negatives than positives but I think is more like 50/50.

Who do I think should read this book? If you like the mortal instruments this could be your next series. So far I feel 13 is a good age for this book. Of course it's all subjective so if the story sounds appealing to you, you should always try at least the first book to see if it's for you. Reviews are a good source in deciding wether you should read a book or not, but if you really want to read or watch something, reviews shouldn't stop you.

Thanks to the author for the opportunity to read this book for free.
I give this book 2.88 stars.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, the vampire genre is new to me. Whole I did enjoy the book, I don't really have any interest in continuing the story.

At times, juvenile, it seems Lillum had a difficulty wuth her target audience. Is this Ya novel or an adult novel targeting a YA audience.

Perhaps, if Vampires are your thing, you may love this story. Givr it a try, you may never know, otherwise.

[chucklesthescot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lillim has left her people and come to hide in a small town in Earth, trying not to use her magic to stay that way. But when Luc, a monster hunting human starts dispensing justice in her area, she finds herself dragged into a conflict she can ill afford.

I liked this book. Luc is a great character, a good guy who wants to clear the vampires from his town and save his people. He has a few magical tricks of his own which lets him fight along with Lillim. Lillim herself is a bit of a cold character and I didn't warm to her in the same way, not until near the end of the story. The vampires in this book are in no way sparkly or nice-these are the proper evil monster version, but most seem to be unaffected by sunlight, which made things interesting.

There is a lot of action in this book, starting with several fights between our duo and the vampires. Then they go and enter a genuine house of horrors protected by Ents and werewolves, which was fun for a change. I also like the writing of the author, the way magic is used and the pacing of the story. I just felt it was lacking a little something to make me really love it but I will probably look at book one in the series.

[Jack Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wardbreaker was certainly a fast paced, action packed, urban fantasy and I'm giving it 3.5 stars. I thought that Wardbreaker was humorous, with good characters and storyline but I kept thinking that I was missing another book that would fill in the blanks about Lillim Callina's family; how she came to be a Hyas Tyee of the Dioscuri; Are the Dioscuri from another planet or dimension? How does Lillim know magic and why did she run away from home? With the constant battles, you wonder how Lillim's going to make it much past her teenage years. Anyway, while the book is quite entertaining, I would have enjoyed the story more if there had been a better introduction of Lillim. However, I'm looking forward to other books in the series to see if a relationship will develop between Lillim and Jean Luc, the Wardbreaker and perhaps come to find out what a Wardbreaker really is that put the head of the Owl clan of Vampires on his trail.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review
Jack Murphy

[Heather Hopkins · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received this book for the purpose of reviewing. Let me just say that I am a huge fan of the fantasy genre and am always looking for new fantasy reads. Unfortunately I could only get through the first couple of chapters of this book before I began just skimming the pages until the end. I am not sure what age audience this is directed towards but to me it reads very young. In fact my daughter who is 11 was sitting next to me while I read it and she was reading it over my shoulder. She said "this sounds interesting". For me, I just couldn't get into it. Very little world building and character building. The language and terminology was very young. Words like "supernatural baddies" and many others. She's eating a burger and Luc asks her how it is and she says something like "I'm lovin' it" (get it?). Lots of adjectives to describe the smallest details. I think if I were in the 12-15 year age range this review may have been a little different.

[Bec · Rating 4 out of 5]

After enjoying J.A Cipriano's Meet Abby Banks series, I thought I would give this one a go. Wardbreaker was the first book I have read in the Lillim Callina Chronicles and it didn't disappoint. I love Lilim and Luc and there was plenty of action and I loved the magic! In this book we meet some vampires and a succubus.

I still have a few questions - like why did Lilim run away from home? Where is home (e.g. where are the Dioscuri - they aren't from Earth)? What does being a Dioscuri really mean? We kind of know about vampires and ware beings but not the Dioscuri. Who is Luc really? It ended on a bit of a cliff hanger with Luc so I hope he pops up in another book. I'm hoping some of these questions become clearer as the series evolves. Overall I give this book 3.5 stars.

I received a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. The review below is my own honest opinion.

I give WardBreaker 3.5 stars. There is intrigue and mystery throughout the majority of the book. I did however hope for more of an insight in to just what being a wardbreaker meant. We know he isn't a normal human, but exactly what is he? The heroine of the story doesn't know what he is either. I also wanted to know what made the heroine go on the run to begin with.

I hope more will be revealed as the series goes on. An interesting start to a series sure to leave readers thinking.

[Llaph · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was interesting in spots, but some aspects seemed rather cliché for the genre/paranormal world. The idea of the ward breaker was intriguing, though the concept of vampires was not very surprising or too original.
In the beginning Lillim seemed to be a fish out of water when it came to the world, but she quickly adapted and it seemed like it had never been an issue at all. Despite the struggle and issues she had to deal with it seemed like everything went along too smoothly and too easily.
I liked the story, but it didn’t leave me with the hankering to run out and buy the first book in the series.

[Teri · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I rated the first story, the novella about Lillim higher than this read because I felt this book was less about Lillim than the wardbreaker. I find myself wanting to know more about him and not caring as much what happens next for her. A great story with lots of action and intrigue and definitely a good and fun read. You will find yourself laughing at the smart alec retortsas Lillin fumbles her way through learning about the place she has decided to hide out in. So what happens next? Yeah I gotta know too.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

If this had been a novella, it would have gotten five stars. Interesting heroine and world-building unique and doled out so slowly I always wanted to know more --- what's not to like?

The trouble is that the author seems to have padded out the story with endless action. I stopped reading at 84% because I realized I hadn't cared for a while. But the beginning was so good, the book still gets four stars.

[Dineall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast paced, actioned packed, urban fantasy. For the most part it delivered, good characters and storyline. That could make it a good 4-4.5 stars. BUT The part I didn't like was it felt like a continual gauntlet. Lillim might not have needed more downtime between fights but I sure did. I get there's a "mysterious backstory" but I would have loved flashbacks in between battles if only to catch my breath so I felt incomplete. So, 3.5 stars.