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Arden
“I'm the one they are looking for.” Arden is the daughter of vampires. Ever since she lost her adoptive vampire mother to a fire, though, she has been living on a tightrope. The rest of the vampires like her, but they don’t know that she has been secretly rescuing the human slaves out of the vampire castle. If they ever found out, she will be torn into pieces. And Arden's trouble doesn't end there. On the land of Winoley, the demon god Hesper awakes in every three hundred years. Each time, two young children, chosen by the gods, must to be brought to the capital Trinity. And Hesper shall choose one from the two to be sacrificed. If all went well, the demon will return to sleep. But if the people made a mistake, Winoley will be drowned in fires. With Hesper’s next awakening three years away, Winoley thought it had everything prepared — that is, until one of the two chosen girls ran away and committed suicide. The world falls into a frenetical search for a successor. Arden knows that she is the successor they are searching for. But she is neither planning to let her identity be discovered, nor to succumb to her fate. Instead, the young girl secretly heads to the capital, plotting to make a dangerous bargain with the almighty gods...
346 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 3, 2019
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491 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 1, 2019
Well, this book is not what I expected it to be. But it has been a mind-blowing read.
Here is the most impressive thing about this novel — as you read on, following the characters as they try to solve the mystery in the novel, you’ll think you have all the pieces of the puzzles; then the author just drop one more piece of information and YOUR ENTIRE THEORY HAS TO BE OVERTURNED. And you come up with a new scenario that’s plausible and good, you think you’ve solved it, and the book will twist you into another scenario. And again. And again. And again. And again. It was an amazing ride.
So the book starts a bit dark and mysterious (the following is in the first two chapters so it’s not really a spoiler). We’re introduced to a girl named Arden, as she observes what’s happening outside her house. "The harmonic town [is seething] with depression and madness," she muses, and searching desperately for a certain girl “they had never met.” We see that Arden appears to be living alone, but the corpse of an old woman lies in a coffin inside her house (yes, you read that right. The corpse of a crone rests right in the middle of her house).
When the increasingly desperate town people start breaking into her house, looking for that certain girl, Arden chuckles darkly to herself. “You can’t find what you’re looking for when you’re looking for the wrong thing,” she murmurs to herself.
Okay, I’m definitely intrigued by the main heroine. I’m reading on.
The second chapter introduces an important side character, Issac, a young boy held captive by the vampires. One of the vampires has intended to give him an “unforgettable” punishment for trying to escape, but we see a young sweet girl coaxing the vampire out of doing so. Later that night, the girl in white comes back to the dungeon, offering to help Issac escape — on the condition that he works for her for two years. When Issac hesitates, the girl, who’s no longer trying to pretend to be sweet when the vampires aren’t around, simply swirls around to leave. “Wait! I guarantee! I swear! I, I, I—” and viola, the naive young boy bends to her ultimatum.
The most important to notice here, though, is that on their way escaping from the vampire castle, the young girl separates with Issac. “I will take a small detour, in case our smells are tracked, and get two new mounts. I’ll meet you by the Oxtell River… Don’t worry, Sher knows where to go. All right?”
And then the girl turns around, heading back to the vampire castle from the very way they had come.
Why is she heading back? I’ll keep that as a secret :D, I can tell you, though, that an hour later Issac indeed finds the girl by the river. We have no idea how she made it there in time.
So this is a foreshadowing for one of the major twists later in the book. And, boy, isn’t this book full of twists! I think I counted anywhere from 20-30 plot twists in total. The only problem I have is that a few subplots aren't developed/explained fully. They don't distract from the most important main plots, though. And the ending is just BRILLIANT. If you’re into mysteries, this is a must-read!
Here is the most impressive thing about this novel — as you read on, following the characters as they try to solve the mystery in the novel, you’ll think you have all the pieces of the puzzles; then the author just drop one more piece of information and YOUR ENTIRE THEORY HAS TO BE OVERTURNED. And you come up with a new scenario that’s plausible and good, you think you’ve solved it, and the book will twist you into another scenario. And again. And again. And again. And again. It was an amazing ride.
So the book starts a bit dark and mysterious (the following is in the first two chapters so it’s not really a spoiler). We’re introduced to a girl named Arden, as she observes what’s happening outside her house. "The harmonic town [is seething] with depression and madness," she muses, and searching desperately for a certain girl “they had never met.” We see that Arden appears to be living alone, but the corpse of an old woman lies in a coffin inside her house (yes, you read that right. The corpse of a crone rests right in the middle of her house).
When the increasingly desperate town people start breaking into her house, looking for that certain girl, Arden chuckles darkly to herself. “You can’t find what you’re looking for when you’re looking for the wrong thing,” she murmurs to herself.
Okay, I’m definitely intrigued by the main heroine. I’m reading on.
The second chapter introduces an important side character, Issac, a young boy held captive by the vampires. One of the vampires has intended to give him an “unforgettable” punishment for trying to escape, but we see a young sweet girl coaxing the vampire out of doing so. Later that night, the girl in white comes back to the dungeon, offering to help Issac escape — on the condition that he works for her for two years. When Issac hesitates, the girl, who’s no longer trying to pretend to be sweet when the vampires aren’t around, simply swirls around to leave. “Wait! I guarantee! I swear! I, I, I—” and viola, the naive young boy bends to her ultimatum.
The most important to notice here, though, is that on their way escaping from the vampire castle, the young girl separates with Issac. “I will take a small detour, in case our smells are tracked, and get two new mounts. I’ll meet you by the Oxtell River… Don’t worry, Sher knows where to go. All right?”
And then the girl turns around, heading back to the vampire castle from the very way they had come.
Why is she heading back? I’ll keep that as a secret :D, I can tell you, though, that an hour later Issac indeed finds the girl by the river. We have no idea how she made it there in time.
So this is a foreshadowing for one of the major twists later in the book. And, boy, isn’t this book full of twists! I think I counted anywhere from 20-30 plot twists in total. The only problem I have is that a few subplots aren't developed/explained fully. They don't distract from the most important main plots, though. And the ending is just BRILLIANT. If you’re into mysteries, this is a must-read!
October 25, 2019
A dark-haired, white-clad girl with beautiful dark blue eyes, her face forever beaming with smile. Such a nice, gentle, sweet girl. No wonder even the cruelest vampire likes her, right?
No ! ! !
Arden’s sweet smile is but a mask of deception. Adopted by her vampire mother as an infant and grew up surrounded by these deadly creatures, the young girl has learned how to navigate the vampire world with her lovely smile. Ah, yes, a lovely smile indeed. Such a lovely, deceptive smile she has that, after her vampire mother passed away, the other vampires have come to see her as an adoptive child.
But unbeknownst to them, their young, adoptive human daughter doesn’t like vampires at all. For years, at the risk of her own life, Arden has been running an organized group called Firesetters that smuggle the captured human slaves (read: vampire food) out of the castle.
Those who she has saved hail her as a hero. But here is the thing — she never tries to save all the humans. Arden is too practical, too unsentimental, too grown-up-beyond-her-age, to even consider that. She saves someone only if it won’t endanger herself. Otherwise, she could calmly stand by and watch, without blinking an eye, the vampires torturing a human to death. Call her cold, call her smart, call her selfish. But it’s this selfishness that helped her survive.
So, yes, she is not your standard hero. She isn’t a black-moral person, but she definitely doesn’t have a pure white morality either. It’s a fascinating, strange, layered and conflicted grey morality that she has.
Arden is a Liar with capital L. A habitual liar. She lies to the vampires. She lies to Issac. She habitually lies to everybody because lies help her survive. But she doesn’t lie to herself; in front of those who have seen her true colors, like Theowart, she is frank and unabashed about who she is.
And she is freaking smart. Sometimes she uses that smartness to save people. Sometimes she manipulates. Not the kind of person you’d want to be close to in real life, but as a fictional character, Arden is simply CAPTIVATING. Once I got into the first few chapters, I couldn’t stop reading.
Arden is now one of my favorite characters. She’s like Katniss Everdeen, but darker and more devious (and more sweet-looking too — on the surface at least. Wait till you get to know her. This is a girl who literally always hides a dagger in her sleeve). Overall, a great read!
Irier
No ! ! !
Arden’s sweet smile is but a mask of deception. Adopted by her vampire mother as an infant and grew up surrounded by these deadly creatures, the young girl has learned how to navigate the vampire world with her lovely smile. Ah, yes, a lovely smile indeed. Such a lovely, deceptive smile she has that, after her vampire mother passed away, the other vampires have come to see her as an adoptive child.
But unbeknownst to them, their young, adoptive human daughter doesn’t like vampires at all. For years, at the risk of her own life, Arden has been running an organized group called Firesetters that smuggle the captured human slaves (read: vampire food) out of the castle.
Those who she has saved hail her as a hero. But here is the thing — she never tries to save all the humans. Arden is too practical, too unsentimental, too grown-up-beyond-her-age, to even consider that. She saves someone only if it won’t endanger herself. Otherwise, she could calmly stand by and watch, without blinking an eye, the vampires torturing a human to death. Call her cold, call her smart, call her selfish. But it’s this selfishness that helped her survive.
So, yes, she is not your standard hero. She isn’t a black-moral person, but she definitely doesn’t have a pure white morality either. It’s a fascinating, strange, layered and conflicted grey morality that she has.
Arden is a Liar with capital L. A habitual liar. She lies to the vampires. She lies to Issac. She habitually lies to everybody because lies help her survive. But she doesn’t lie to herself; in front of those who have seen her true colors, like Theowart, she is frank and unabashed about who she is.
And she is freaking smart. Sometimes she uses that smartness to save people. Sometimes she manipulates. Not the kind of person you’d want to be close to in real life, but as a fictional character, Arden is simply CAPTIVATING. Once I got into the first few chapters, I couldn’t stop reading.
Arden is now one of my favorite characters. She’s like Katniss Everdeen, but darker and more devious (and more sweet-looking too — on the surface at least. Wait till you get to know her. This is a girl who literally always hides a dagger in her sleeve). Overall, a great read!
Irier
November 20, 2019
DNF at 6%. I really need to quit signing up for giveaways from independent authors. If incorrect spelling/grammar didn't bother me so much I may have actually enjoyed this book a little more. I think the author had a wonderful idea and with a whole lot of editing, this could have been a dynamite story. The spelling wasn't even the most irritating part, though. In the two chapters I read, I could not even tell what was going on due to how jumbled the descriptions were. Also, I could not tell what kind of narrative style this book had. It was either omniscient or limited third person, but jumping from character to character depending on the chapter. Either way, the narrative style did not work for me.
One thing I do want to note is that I did love the metaphors this author used in their writing. I think if more focus is given to editing, this could be an excellent read. Maybe edit and then republish?
One thing I do want to note is that I did love the metaphors this author used in their writing. I think if more focus is given to editing, this could be an excellent read. Maybe edit and then republish?
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews