Blog Tour: Wings of Arian Review

Wings of Arian (The Solus Trilogy #1) by Devri Walls -- April 24th 2012 

Kiora thought she had never heard a lie until she was sixteen. But she was wrong. Her entire existence was based on nothing but. She thought that evil did not exist. Lie. That magic was not real. Lie. And that the land of Meros was all there was. One more lie.

With Aleric telling her that evil is knocking on the door and that she is the only one who can stop them she has a choice to make. Refuse, or start the wildest most painful ride of her life.
She reluctantly dips her toe into her new existence of magic and threads, dragons and shapeshifters, and the person who wants to take control of it all: the evil Dralazar.

However, this journey was never meant to be hers alone. She will be accompanied by a Protector. To her disbelief, and utter irritation they name the hotheaded, stubborn, non -magical, (albeit gorgeous) Prince Emane. They will have to trust each other with their lives, but right now Kiora would settle for a non hostile conversation.

And now it comes down to this, If you had never heard a lie, would you know when you heard one? Is knowing good from evil innate? Kiora finds herself having to decide who lives and who dies on those very questions.

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13517384-wings-of-arian

Purchase Links: 

--Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Wings-Trilogy-Paranormal-Fantasy-ebook/dp/B007WMYJ7E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1336615334&sr=8-1

--Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/wings-of-arian-devri-walls/1111487501?ean=2940014764483

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Wings of Tavea (The Solus Trilogy #2) by Devri Walls  -- November, 2012

Kiora is rapidly learning that evil and lies come in shades of black and white and swirling greys, but nothing could have prepared her for the shock of leaving Meros.

Kiora and her protector Emane step through the pass into a world they never knew existed but were always meant to save, only to find it far worse than they could have ever imagined. Good has been forced into hiding for its own survival, while the rest of the land bows to the Shadow, a force that pushes any remaining thoughts of Dralazar from Kiora’s mind. This land is full of new creatures, each more dangerous than the last. Her visions have taken on a deadly twist, and magic, or what comes of it, was never so real. And then there is Alcander: a Tavean, their guide, and an entirely different kind of trouble.

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15832246-wings-of-tavea

Purchase Links: 

--Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Wings-Tavea-Devri-Walls/dp/1938426592/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1350669928&sr=8-3&keywords=wings+of+tavea

--Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/wings-of-tavea?keyword=wings+of+tavea&store=allproducts

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Author Bio & Links:

Devri Walls lives in Kuna Idaho with her husband and two kids. She has worked as a music teacher and currently, a preschool teacher. She majored in theater and her love of a story still drives her today. Thankfully, she has finally found an outlet for all the voices in her head. Her first novel, Wings of Arian, is available on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and Apple. The second book in the Solus trilogy, Wings of Tavea is scheduled for release Nov 2012.

--Author Website: http://www.writingmyfuture.com/

--Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5768569.Devri_Walls

--Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DevriWalls

--Twitter: https://twitter.com/DevriWalls

Review of Wings of Arian:

Wings of Arian is an interesting addition to YA fantasy. Our heroine, Kiora, isn't like many other YA fantasy heroines. She can't swing a sword, yet she's not a damsel in distress either, which is nice. That said, Kiora and I did have our issues, which will be discussed below, but I appreciated having a heroine who wasn't cookie cutter.

Let's go ahead and get the less-than-pleasant portion of this review over with: my issues with Kiora. I liked Kiora in the beginning and the end, but things got a bit rocky in the middle. Initially, Kiora's people have been entirely shielded from evil, to the point that at 16, she has never heard a lie. So when she is forced to witness evil for the first time, I feel for her, since I can hardly imagine dealing with that. But let's be realistic. Kiora cries a lot. And runs off in a huff without letting anyone explain. After a while I got annoyed with her constant over-reactions. Plus there is one point where she becomes debilitatingly depressed over the death of her enemies. Maybe it's because I'm extremely competitive, but I couldn't fathom that part of the story. Or maybe I'm just a very violent young woman. Either way, I think this issue stems more from my personality than from any fault of Devri Walls. And by the end of the book, Kiora became tougher and hardened, which probably isn't a good thing, but it made me connect with her more.

Now on to the good stuff! I totally fell in love with Kiora's protector, Emane. He is so awesome! He's really caring and loving, with i love in real life, but tends to fall flat for me in books. But her loving and caring side is nicely balanced with a great sense of humour and a fiery temper. He and Kiora make such a great teams and I'm so proud of him for being so awesome in general!

I also enjoyed the portrayal of the villain Dralazar. He is multidimensional, which is super important to me. I hate cardboard villains! I loved how suave and manipulative he was. Beyond that, I loved how things weren't exactly as they seems on the good side either (oooh, so hard not to spoiler).

I really enjoyed the world Devri Walls created. Magic and dragons and shifters and the Wings and the gate and old magic! All awesome. The enjoyable world helped to get me through the rough patches between Kiora and I. Plus I even teared up at one point (I probably would have cried if I hadn't been reading in public.

Overall, the excellent world building made up for the rocky patches I endured with Kiora and I enjoyed Wings of Arian overall. A great book if you enjoy fantasy with sensitive, but not useless, heroines.

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