The Core

Tetrad #1

by Ada R. Griffiths

The Standard of Kalam, a confederation of kingdoms bound by diplomacy, is governed by the Tetrad. Appointed by the Advisory Council, the four Tetrarchs that comprise the Tetrad are meant to ensure peace and prosperity across Kalam.

Then the relative tranquility of the past several years is threatened by unknown enemies hailing from the recently acquired Eastern Territories. In trying to outsmart and stop them, Tetrarch Tancredi is aided by his sister, new allies, and an old flame... but it will take all of them, and more, if they hope to save the Standard.

507 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 19, 2017

About the author

Ada R. Griffiths is a long time reader of everything under the sun. As long as the topic is interesting and the writing engaging, she is content to sit in her sunroom with only a book for company. Ada loves to swim and to dance ballet – though not at the same time – and she prefers spring and summer to the cold months of fall and winter. It is a good thing she lives in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Ada is happy to hear from her readers, who can contact her at adargriffiths@gmail.com.

Reviews

[Dev · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Look, this book isn't necessarily bad, but I don't feel like I can give a star rating higher than two when I skimmed through at least half of it. It's a well written book and it's obvious that a lot of thought went into the world and the characters, it just wasn't what I was expecting. Basically I was expecting an M/M fantasy romance novel with some politics in the background but it was ALL politics with like maybe three romantic scenes total between the main couple, one of which is the prologue that takes place seven years ago! I really tried to get into it but it seemed like every other paragraph there would be a huge info dump about some location or random person or historical event in the world and to me it just didn't flow well and wasn't interesting. Also I don't think most of it was entirely necessary because I skipped literally several pages in a row several times and I still don't feel like I lost any understanding of the 'main' plot. If you're really into political intrigue and meticulous world building you will probably like this book but it just wasn't for me.

[Clovernmax · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found it to be very very enjoyable. I really hope that there will be more books about Kalam. There are many strong characters in the book . I adored Leo and Allora and how they helped save Tancredi and Aslan from treasonous actions. Who would have expected two small familiars to have so much personality. It is a book I will read again.

[Misty · Rating 4 out of 5]

** 3.75 Stars **

[Lenni A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, Imma just copy and paste the blurb here:

"The Standard of Kalam, a confederation of kingdoms bound by diplomacy, is governed by the Tetrad. Appointed by the Advisory Council, the four Tetrarchs that comprise the Tetrad are meant to ensure peace and prosperity across Kalam. Then the relative tranquility of the past several years is threatened by unknown enemies hailing from the recently acquired Eastern Territories. In trying to outsmart and stop them, Tetrarch Tancredi is aided by his sister, new allies, and an old flame… but it will take all of them, and more, if they hope to save the Standard."

Hey! Remember all the scenes in the Star Wars prequels where you got to sit there and watch them discuss politics? Here's over 100,000 words of it. This book is written well but it had so much emphasis on politics that it had all the excitement of C-SPAN on the television when you can't find the remote. I seem to keep getting these books that feel more like homework than enjoyment these days... 3 out of 5.