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Tempest
A storm is brewing, and an uprising is looming. Raised in a time of peace, Dasha is confident in her ability to maintain the prosperity of her people when it is time for her to join the Royal House as heir to the throne of Alyria. However, a cruel winter strikes tragedy upon her family, allowing for an invader from a long forgotten land to usurp her throne.
Dasha seeks sanctuary in the guild of Dragon Keepers where she learns to raise the beasts of the sky. Outside of her refuge, the nation is rallying behind the whispers and rumors of the lost heir to the throne. Together they must fight until lambs become lions and the reign of darkness is no more.
Dasha seeks sanctuary in the guild of Dragon Keepers where she learns to raise the beasts of the sky. Outside of her refuge, the nation is rallying behind the whispers and rumors of the lost heir to the throne. Together they must fight until lambs become lions and the reign of darkness is no more.
356 pages, Paperback
Published February 6, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 12, 2021
I was going to give 3 stars, but I’m giving a bonus for dragons!
The story and characters were wonderfully rich. I enjoyed going on this grand adventure with the MC and her many comrades. The world was well-planned, and the players felt real. I rarely get emotional while reading, but this book had me tearing up at one point.
My only complaint with this book was the pacing. Sometimes, events were over quickly, and then other story points took a disproportionately long time.
Great debut novel! Can’t wait to read what else this author writes!
The story and characters were wonderfully rich. I enjoyed going on this grand adventure with the MC and her many comrades. The world was well-planned, and the players felt real. I rarely get emotional while reading, but this book had me tearing up at one point.
My only complaint with this book was the pacing. Sometimes, events were over quickly, and then other story points took a disproportionately long time.
Great debut novel! Can’t wait to read what else this author writes!
February 15, 2021
Amazing, poetic, and beautiful writing style. The author really transforms her words into magic. The main character is fierce and strong. If you like fantasy I recommend!
September 9, 2021
Let me preface this with: this isn’t really my type of book. The first half felt like a fantasy rpg which I mostly enjoyed (besides a few character choices). The second half was mostly a war novel which I personally didn’t enjoy.
Things I liked:
The world-building, hands down, was my favorite part. I thought it was spectacular. You could tell that a lot of research and thought went into every single part of it.
A few of the more specific scenes: Klaus and his Night Terror, the death of the little boy Marco, Cyrus and Dasha before the final battle, scenes that showed the characters’ personalities.
Her uncle was Lazarus! Loved that. I knew he was alive and when her father said he knew him, I thought, “wouldn’t it be cool if Lazareth were the uncle?” I was, however, horrendously upset that her father didn’t TELL her this at that moment.
Things I didn’t like:
The beginning felt very … confusing? I was confused how the outsiders were able to get into the castle unnoticed AND get the guard on their side AND not a single person told the King or Queen? Queen’s handmaiden? King’s aide? No one thought it fit to tell them? It was mentioned that the castle had less people so anyone loyal to the Crown should have alerted them to newcomers, right? Especially if they had a good reign. It seems a bit far fetched.
Training was very long and a bit boring. I felt like Lumin had very little point to it. We already knew Dasha was rash and naive and Klaus was headstrong. We didn’t really learn much during these games and they weren’t that exciting… what I wished we had gotten in the training sequence was more character interaction and less of the actual training.
Character building in general was a bit lacking in places. The first half of the book was decent (more about one character in particular later) but the second half… it was hard to tell who was who. I knew a name and a job, sure, but I had know idea what their personality was like. So they all blended together.
I would have LOVED a time lapse between the first half and second half, even just 2-3 years. A few reasons for this: Dasha had a huge personality jump between the end of training and meeting her parents + gathering people for war. It was like she aged 3 years mentally but not physically. I think just a page of “3 years later” would have sufficed with a summary of what she did in those years, gathering followers. We could still get many of those scenes but we could also avoid some of the more boring ones.
Now… let me talk about what disappointed me most. Klaus. SIGH. After his Night Terror scene, I was curious about him. I was SO excited to get a morally grey character in this sea of black and white. But what we got was a horribly awful boy. Him hitting Cora made sense. Him abandoning Cora made sense. Even him trying to turn Dasha in made sense! There is where I felt it went overboard. He then tried to attack Dasha anytime he could, ultimately bringing about his death over the very stupid action of attacking on dragons. It seemed so stupid of him to do it… His death seemed like a cop out and his life seemed like it was just there to bring conflict to a section that had none. I wish he would have been more remorseful: I really wanted a grey character. But all I feel for the boy is hate and disappointment, not even pity.
All in all, I struggled with the book. I think Robbins has real talent in world-building and writing. Her book got SO much more well-written near the end. I think she just needed a little more characterization to make me feel for these characters she created.
Hoping her next book goes well!
Things I liked:
The world-building, hands down, was my favorite part. I thought it was spectacular. You could tell that a lot of research and thought went into every single part of it.
A few of the more specific scenes: Klaus and his Night Terror, the death of the little boy Marco, Cyrus and Dasha before the final battle, scenes that showed the characters’ personalities.
Her uncle was Lazarus! Loved that. I knew he was alive and when her father said he knew him, I thought, “wouldn’t it be cool if Lazareth were the uncle?” I was, however, horrendously upset that her father didn’t TELL her this at that moment.
Things I didn’t like:
The beginning felt very … confusing? I was confused how the outsiders were able to get into the castle unnoticed AND get the guard on their side AND not a single person told the King or Queen? Queen’s handmaiden? King’s aide? No one thought it fit to tell them? It was mentioned that the castle had less people so anyone loyal to the Crown should have alerted them to newcomers, right? Especially if they had a good reign. It seems a bit far fetched.
Training was very long and a bit boring. I felt like Lumin had very little point to it. We already knew Dasha was rash and naive and Klaus was headstrong. We didn’t really learn much during these games and they weren’t that exciting… what I wished we had gotten in the training sequence was more character interaction and less of the actual training.
Character building in general was a bit lacking in places. The first half of the book was decent (more about one character in particular later) but the second half… it was hard to tell who was who. I knew a name and a job, sure, but I had know idea what their personality was like. So they all blended together.
I would have LOVED a time lapse between the first half and second half, even just 2-3 years. A few reasons for this: Dasha had a huge personality jump between the end of training and meeting her parents + gathering people for war. It was like she aged 3 years mentally but not physically. I think just a page of “3 years later” would have sufficed with a summary of what she did in those years, gathering followers. We could still get many of those scenes but we could also avoid some of the more boring ones.
Now… let me talk about what disappointed me most. Klaus. SIGH. After his Night Terror scene, I was curious about him. I was SO excited to get a morally grey character in this sea of black and white. But what we got was a horribly awful boy. Him hitting Cora made sense. Him abandoning Cora made sense. Even him trying to turn Dasha in made sense! There is where I felt it went overboard. He then tried to attack Dasha anytime he could, ultimately bringing about his death over the very stupid action of attacking on dragons. It seemed so stupid of him to do it… His death seemed like a cop out and his life seemed like it was just there to bring conflict to a section that had none. I wish he would have been more remorseful: I really wanted a grey character. But all I feel for the boy is hate and disappointment, not even pity.
All in all, I struggled with the book. I think Robbins has real talent in world-building and writing. Her book got SO much more well-written near the end. I think she just needed a little more characterization to make me feel for these characters she created.
Hoping her next book goes well!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 24, 2021
This book was so refreshing!
Cali did a fabulous job of writing it!
Dasha/Tempest was an amazing character, she developed throughout and went through so much. I loved that the book had dragons in it. Some parts were sad..the way they were described..
Nothing about the book was boring.
Can't wait for her next book!!
Cali did a fabulous job of writing it!
Dasha/Tempest was an amazing character, she developed throughout and went through so much. I loved that the book had dragons in it. Some parts were sad..the way they were described..
Nothing about the book was boring.
Can't wait for her next book!!
December 9, 2023
It has dragons, mages, living dead, a usurper of the throne, dragon guild training, and other items that are a part of every fantasy. The heroine, Dasha, AKA Tempest, her life is never in any real danger. Yes she had to hide, and a battle going in the wrong direction could spell trouble, but not captured, no last minute rescues. I read better and I read much worse.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews