Tuesday, January 31, 2017

#Review: The Crown's Dog (Golden Guard Trilogy, Book #1) by Elise Kova | @EliseKova #AirAwakens #Fantasy

The Crown's Dog
(Golden Guard #1)
Publication Date: November 22, 2016
Author: Elise Kova
Genre(s): Young Adult, High Fantasy
Audio Book Run Time: 5 hrs and 40 mins
Print Length: 194 pages

A coastal summer is turned upside down by a violent murder, and a quest for lost pirate treasure turns into a hunt for the killer. 

Jax Wendyll is the crown's dog. As punishment for the unspeakable crimes that tourment him to this day, his life has been conscripted to the Empire Solaris. However, in an Empire afflicted by peace, his duties are relegated to unquestioningly aiding the antics of the youngest prince, Baldair. 

Erion Le'Dan, a nobleman's son, expects a quiet summer visit to the Imperial Palace, his only agenda to visit with his unlikely friends. But Jax's discovery the legendary pirate Adela Lagmir’s old workroom inspires a hunt for her long lost treasure. 

The pursuit of Adela's truth takes the three men to the Imperial summer manor, built along the old pirate mainstays. When Adela’s trident is branded into a murdered servant, Prince Baldair’s summer amusement of treasure-hunting becomes a hunt to find the killer. But, as mysteries compound, the ghosts of Jax's past may not be the only things haunting them.

The Crown’s Dog is a prequel story about the founding of The Golden Guard. It features characters from Air Awakens and takes place in the Air Awakens world. While it is not required to read Air Awakens first, readers may get more enjoyment from doing so. For those interested, the Air Awakens is available for free on Kindle Unlimited, ebooks for purchase through Amazon, as well as physical copies through The Book Depository.

 I OWN THIS BOOK! But I also received an audio version from the author to review.

Winner read. Right off the bat. We get a deeper look into characters that we already know and love. Or I should say adore, because I know I adore them. Getting to see more of Jax, Erion, and Prince Baldair. We even have a run-in with the Fire Lord. As usual, Elise Kova gives us a reason to grin, chuckle, cry and everything possibly in between. Having read and loved the Air Awakens series (except Crystal Crowned, as I have to finished that one), I truly loved to come back and revisit this world and its characters. We get a good look at who Jax is before Vhalla really comes into the picture. I do believe we catch a small glimpse of her, but I'm not gonna tell you my suspicions because I don't want to spoil the tale.

I am quite the fan of pirates. I love how that detail works into the story. It is adventurous; Baldair is a teenager, so you can imagine how he gets, due to the prospect of solving a mystery and possibly finding hidden treasure. Who wouldn't be intrigued? Well, Erion, apparently. The bantering that transpires between the characters is so entertaining. You just feel for Jax and what he goes through. He's always looking back at his crimes and he doesn't care about much anymore.

MY RATING: 5 OF 5 STARS.
The audio version of this book is so diverting. The narrator, Zachary Johnson, does a really great job of bringing in the different accents of the Westerners and the Southerns to life. When I listen to an audiobook, I look for a very animated, motivated, style of narration. And Zachary Johnson definitely brings that to this book. Reading the e-book and having it narrated to me made my experience with this story so vivid. I could see the characters acting before my eyes. That's what I look for in a book, and Major Kova knows how to do that with her writing. And to think this is only the beginning of the Golden Guard. I strongly look forward to the next book in this prequel trilogy, and I highly recommend that you check out, as well as the Air Awakens series.


  

  
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