The Division: Ember's Quest

by Kevin Penelerick

Unknown Binding

About the author

Kevin M. Penelerick is an author living in the mountains of North Idaho. He writes about many things, but mostly enjoys exploring stories about what the world could be or one day might have been.

When not writing, you’ll find him adventuring with his amazing wife, Genee’ Jo, or trying to keep up with the many animals running around their beautiful slice of the world.

He might also be working on his little art gallery in the woods called A Door in the Forest, you can check it out on Facebook!

Reviews

[Kiko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ember is the rightful heir to the throne. And when the king was poisoned, she was tasked by her father to go to the Valley of Voo and find the cure to this illness. This is Ember's quest.

The book started pretty rough, lots of characters were introduced in succession that sometimes I forgot who's who. As the story progressed, I came to enjoy the story and the magic system. However, there were times I had to put the book down because of the writing style. For example, the character was pacing around the room, and it was described as "her migration across the room having gone unnoticed". I didn't like how some women were represented in this book; even the main character said to herself that "she's only a girl", that she can't do the quest without a knight in shining armor. There are many possible ways to show the character's weakness, but being a woman is not a weakness. Furthermore, *trigger warning* there was sexual assault (attempted rape) in this book. According to this book, it seems that when a man saves a woman from distress, she owes him so much that the savior can do whatever he wants to her. It would've been great if this scene was removed from the story, it is unnecessary in my opinion. The book has a potential to be 5 star read but because of the things I've mentioned about the writing, it sank to 3 stars.

Let's talk about the magic and the plot. These things, I enjoyed the most. Elementals, shapeshifters, and earth mage? I adore these things. The plot was done so well even though the first half of the book was bland, the second half was absolutely rewarding. Sometimes, it gets a bit repetitive where each chapter literally starts either at dawn, noon, or dusk, just describing how the sun shines/sun sets/or moon shines. It doesn't bother me but I just noticed it halfway through the book. The worldbuilding was good, and I can think of some inspirations from it. I really enjoyed following the journey of Ember because every once in a while, I get to meet new creatures, as simple as insects flying around, or dead animals lying on the ground.

In summary, the book is awesome if you won't count the writing style (which put me off so bad). I'm really looking forward for the sequel because the ending of this book somewhat hyped me up.

[Dani Savante · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ember´s Quest is the beginning of a promising series full of fantasy, adventure and magic.
The story is addressed to young readers, the narrative is perfect for a light and easy read and the characters and scenery are attractive and very well described. The book is divided into several short chapters but with great content.
The story narrates the journey of a young woman who is in search of her father’s salvation. During her travels she will go through difficulties and she will meet dangers and strange creatures.
I really liked this story and I was surprised by the quality of the content. I was captivated first by its colorful and attractive cover and once I started reading, I couldn’t stop until I turned over the last page. I would like to recommend it, it is great.

[Sasha Volesky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book going in and while it did what it was supposed to felt underwhelmed by the events.

I love the mystery and the map of the world and I want to learn more about how the magic system of the creatures works and why they are so desperate to brake the barrier.

The characters felt underdeveloped all with 1 or 2 personality traits such as Ember being stubborn with a raging temper, which wasn’t presented in a way that made it seem like a main trait of hers. The books writing seemed very advance at times however the dialogue seemed somewhat stiff. The events moved very quickly however unsatisfactorily. *minor spoilers* It wasn’t wrapped up as to what happened to Katerra and just ended 2/3 through the book with no more mention.

Overall it was an okay read and I’m hoping the next books help bring it up and close off the loose ends.

[Mark Junk · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Division book 1 was a fun read. It checked all the boxes for a good YA book. It was a fast read but not rushed. I like that the author put pronunciations in the story instead of a glossary in the back. I was not a fan of the immediate animosity between two of the male characters, it felt forced and was not needed in the book. It could have been easily cut as it did not move the story along. I did enjoy the ending, it was done in such a way that I wanted to immediately read more. Over all, I quite enjoyed this book.