A review by geethr75
Toshie the Hero and the Orbs of Destiny by Eric Koziel

adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

 

I went into this book with no expectations, and I was extremely pleasantly surprised. The cover made me think this is a children’s book, but it really wasn’t. Despite some of the whimsical names, the story had adult protagonists. 

Toshie dies in the first scene, but she wakes up in a meadow in a strange land and is assigned the role of hero by the sun. Almost immediately, she runs into someone called Dedalus who wants the role of hero. He seems to know more about what is going on and Toshie is glad to hand over the hero role, but that’s not how it works, apparently. It has to be assigned and Dedalus can’t have it while Toshie is alive, and he can’t kill her because that would end up with him being cursed. 

Dedalus insists on taking Toshie to the dwarven king so she can be punished for taking the role that’s rightfully his, and Toshie goes along despite wanting to punch the wannabe hero. The King isn’t interested in anything but asks Toshie to rescue his daughter from a dragon. 

Toshie and Dedalus accompanied by a dwarven soldier called Biscuit With Cheese goes to the dragon’s lair to rescue Princess Tunasalad. The princess doesn’t want to be rescued, however, and the dragon, Yrlith is her lover, not her captor. The dragon bites off Dedalus’ head as he attacks her, but spares Toshie. It turns out Yrlith is not even a dragon, but a dragonkin. The Princess who goes by Sally convinces Biscuit With Cheese to take Dedalus’ head back to the king and convince him that Sally is dead. Toshie agrees to accompany Sally and Yrlith to somewhere safe. 

Except, safety isn’t easily had. The trio rescue a goblin called Brot who wants to be a Priest, their ship is attacked by pirates, Yrlith gets injured, Sally is attacked by a giant spider and they end up as prisoners of Dark Elves who send them back to Sally’s parents to steal a crimson orb. Navarin, the daughter of the Dark Elves’ queen is sent with them to keep an eye on them, which leads to further adventures. 

This was overall, a highly entertaining and fun read. I loved the character dynamics, the banter, and how Toshie changes over the course of the adventure. I will definitely be picking up Book 2!