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beary_bookwormish's review against another edition
4.0
Ms Paul always writes a captivating book and this is no exception.
marmeelovesbook's review against another edition
4.0
This was my first adventure reading Donita K Paul with her Christian Fantasy Book [b:The Dragons of Chiril: A Novel|9964976|The Dragons of Chiril A Novel|Donita K. Paul|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51%2BWOmFxQWL._SL75_.jpg|14858966] and I doubt it will be my last. This book was chock full of great characters, interesting storylines and adventurous settings to keep the imagination of the reader stirred for sure. I think readers of all ages would really enjoy this fantasy tale.
Our main character Tipper is a girl whose father has disappeared unexplained many years ago. Her mother Lady Peg Schope is seemingly mentally incompetent claiming to always be talking to her absent husband. This leaves Tipper to have to fend for their household to keep things running. As a result, Tipper has sold many pieces of her Father’s artwork in order to make ends meet as her father; Verrin Schope was a well known artist. Unfortunately, three of Verrin Schope’s sculptures (all sold) hold the key to his disappearance in the form of a portal and with their separation a necessary journey to reunite these sculptures becomes most necessary to help save Tipper’s father as well as the world.
Every great fantasy novel always has a noble quest to save the world and this one is no different. My favorite part of this novel is truly the characters, the rag-tag band of travelers that unite to conquer this problem. Assembled in this group are Tipper of course, her always disappearing father Verrin Schope (you’ll have to read the book to see why), Beccarroon, grand parrot and guardian left to watch over Tipper, Beaulomondore, a local artist, Wizard Fenworth (who appears fairly bumbling, but is smarter than meets the eye) and sidekick librarian Librettowit (well named as he is very witty), and of course a handsome prince- love those guys. Together they are in a race against time to save Verrin Schope as well as repair the portal which is starting to crumble things around the countryside- not good. Of course there are dragons in this book which help the travelers out in many ways- transportation for one, as well as the minor dragons have special gifts and talents such as healing, and mood lifting, etc.
I like the way this story moved along, yes there were the good guys and the bad guys and the epic struggle that always takes place with that, but I loved other aspects to the storyline as well, such as the family dynamics that come into play at the end of the novel- which I don’t want to spoil, but I really appreciated that nuance to the story, sometimes the biggest battles that need to be overcome are with our own family. Also important to note is the character of “Wulder” which is the great creator. Much of his wisdom is woven into the story as a guiding force. This is not done in a hit you over the head with it overly preachy kind of way, but naturally done in the fabric of the story.
This book did have a “prequel” feeling to it for me as a first time reader and I can’t help but feel that I will gain more and get a broader feel for these characters if I continue on in this series and read the next book. (Ah, but I’m sure that’s the whole point.) It’s always fun for me to read a “new-author-to me” and I’ll put Donita K. Paul in as a great new fantasy writer.
Disclosure- A free review copy was graciously provided to me through the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
[b:The Dragons of Chiril: A Novel|9964976|The Dragons of Chiril A Novel|Donita K. Paul|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51%2BWOmFxQWL._SL75_.jpg|14858966]
Our main character Tipper is a girl whose father has disappeared unexplained many years ago. Her mother Lady Peg Schope is seemingly mentally incompetent claiming to always be talking to her absent husband. This leaves Tipper to have to fend for their household to keep things running. As a result, Tipper has sold many pieces of her Father’s artwork in order to make ends meet as her father; Verrin Schope was a well known artist. Unfortunately, three of Verrin Schope’s sculptures (all sold) hold the key to his disappearance in the form of a portal and with their separation a necessary journey to reunite these sculptures becomes most necessary to help save Tipper’s father as well as the world.
Every great fantasy novel always has a noble quest to save the world and this one is no different. My favorite part of this novel is truly the characters, the rag-tag band of travelers that unite to conquer this problem. Assembled in this group are Tipper of course, her always disappearing father Verrin Schope (you’ll have to read the book to see why), Beccarroon, grand parrot and guardian left to watch over Tipper, Beaulomondore, a local artist, Wizard Fenworth (who appears fairly bumbling, but is smarter than meets the eye) and sidekick librarian Librettowit (well named as he is very witty), and of course a handsome prince- love those guys. Together they are in a race against time to save Verrin Schope as well as repair the portal which is starting to crumble things around the countryside- not good. Of course there are dragons in this book which help the travelers out in many ways- transportation for one, as well as the minor dragons have special gifts and talents such as healing, and mood lifting, etc.
I like the way this story moved along, yes there were the good guys and the bad guys and the epic struggle that always takes place with that, but I loved other aspects to the storyline as well, such as the family dynamics that come into play at the end of the novel- which I don’t want to spoil, but I really appreciated that nuance to the story, sometimes the biggest battles that need to be overcome are with our own family. Also important to note is the character of “Wulder” which is the great creator. Much of his wisdom is woven into the story as a guiding force. This is not done in a hit you over the head with it overly preachy kind of way, but naturally done in the fabric of the story.
This book did have a “prequel” feeling to it for me as a first time reader and I can’t help but feel that I will gain more and get a broader feel for these characters if I continue on in this series and read the next book. (Ah, but I’m sure that’s the whole point.) It’s always fun for me to read a “new-author-to me” and I’ll put Donita K. Paul in as a great new fantasy writer.
Disclosure- A free review copy was graciously provided to me through the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
[b:The Dragons of Chiril: A Novel|9964976|The Dragons of Chiril A Novel|Donita K. Paul|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51%2BWOmFxQWL._SL75_.jpg|14858966]
randomly_kait's review against another edition
4.0
***I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.***
I have not read any books by Donita K. Paul before this, but now she is one of my favorite authors!
Wow. This book was totally and completely amazing! It is a book that readers of any age will enjoy, and I will suggest it to anyone and everyone. It has everything you could want in a book, and the fact that it stillmanages to remind us of the importance of our Heavenly Father, makes it even better.
I loved all of the characters, especially Tipper. They all had their own quirks, which is what makes them so wonderful, and I loved seeing how they grew throughout the book. And the story itself is one that will suck you in from page one. (I stayed up until about 3 a.m. to finish it.) The endng was satisfying, yet it left just enough open for a sequel.
I have not read any books by Donita K. Paul before this, but now she is one of my favorite authors!
Wow. This book was totally and completely amazing! It is a book that readers of any age will enjoy, and I will suggest it to anyone and everyone. It has everything you could want in a book, and the fact that it stillmanages to remind us of the importance of our Heavenly Father, makes it even better.
I loved all of the characters, especially Tipper. They all had their own quirks, which is what makes them so wonderful, and I loved seeing how they grew throughout the book. And the story itself is one that will suck you in from page one. (I stayed up until about 3 a.m. to finish it.) The endng was satisfying, yet it left just enough open for a sequel.
jasmyn9's review against another edition
4.0
Tipper's father, Verrin Schope, has been missing for a long time. When he returns in a most unexpected manner, followed by a magician and his librarian, things start to get a little strange. Verrin Schope is an artist, and three of his sculptures are much more important than anyone could ever guess. In order to save the world (and himself) the statues must be reunited once again. Tracking down the three statues, which have been sold over the years Verrin was missing, proves to be harder than it was originally thought. The journey to recover the statues is what drives the story forward through a very interesting series of events.
I enjoyed reading Dragons of the Valley, and while this book preceeds the story, knowing part of the outcome did not detract from the story at all. Seeing where my favorite characters came from and how they met was great. I did not enjoy the characters quite as much as I did in Dragons of the Valley. They did not develop and grow in a way that I found satisfying, but this being the first book in the series it may have just been setting them up to do so.
A very typical good vs bad storyline, with a few twists to make it interesting. The bad guys were a little too obviously bad. A few more in depth surprises would have helped the story a bit.
3.5/5
serenam's review against another edition
5.0
Another great book by Donita K. Paul! After reading her DragonKeeper Chronicles, I was very excited to discover this series, which follows a young emerlindian and other characters through events that occurred well before those in the DragonKeeper series, and on a different continent. However, a few familiar faces come into play, tying the two series together nicely.
I recommend this book to all fans of the DragonKeeper Chronicles, as well as those who may not be familiar with Donita K. Paul but enjoy fantasy novels and/or Christian fiction. Donita's work really is suitable for all ages; I am in my 20's and love everything of hers that I've read so far.
I recommend this book to all fans of the DragonKeeper Chronicles, as well as those who may not be familiar with Donita K. Paul but enjoy fantasy novels and/or Christian fiction. Donita's work really is suitable for all ages; I am in my 20's and love everything of hers that I've read so far.
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