Unfortunately, after years of trying, I have decided to DNF Idriel's Children.

There is nothing against the author, I have just come to the realisation that the story and writing were not for me.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it was a great plot for a scifi novel, I enjoyed the characters and had enjoyed the first book in the series.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the author. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Idriel’s Children

Author: Hayley Reese Chow

Book Series: Odriel’s Heirs Book 2

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For...: young adult readers, fantasy

Publication Date: July 19, 2021

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 14+ (violence, gore)

Explanation of CWs: Moderate amounts of violence and gore.

Publisher: Indie Published

Pages: 201

Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Aza inherited the power of shadow to rid the land of evil as Odriel’s cold-blooded assassin. With her growing strength, Aza discovers the Shadow Plane—a realm of wraiths where screams haunt the winds, calling to her. Although her father forbids her from entering the dark realm, Aza can’t ignore the beckoning whispers.

When a dangerous new breed of monster attacks, Aza believes the Shadow Plane holds the answers they need to defeat them. With the unwanted help of a snarky cat and a cursed beast, Aza seeks out the monastic Wraith-Called for answers. But the deeper Aza delves into the dark realm, the further she drifts from the world she knows.

As Aza uncovers evils new and old, she must decide if the ends really do justify the means… and how many lives she’s willing to pay.

Review: For the most part I enjoyed the book. The writing is very well done and the story is well plotted. The characters are well developed and the world building is great. It’s a good book for people who like the same chosen one tropey style books.

However, I did feel like this book is very trope-y and predictable. There’s not a lot that doesn’t go on in other books and I felt like the book, while great, didn’t have a special spark that made it unique. The pacing is also slow.

Verdict: It’s good.

Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC of Idriel’s Children

I didn’t realize this was a sequel when I snatched it up on Netgalley but after reading the description it seemed like they were two different stories so I plunged right in to book #2.

Aza, daughter of the hero from book 1, is a able to travel to the Shadow Plane, despite its many dangers she journeys far with a talking cat, a were-bear that turns into a man once a month and her brother’s annoying best friend, to find people that can help her more easily access it in hopes of stopping the mysterious monster attacks.

This one started off really good but petered out in my opinion. It really slowed down and the villain, the child of the villain in book one, was pretty one dimensional and I didn’t really see any of the character development I was looking for. Unfortunately, I ended up skimming most of the second half so I don’t recommend this one 😭

Well, this one is still suffering from the ridiculous name-mashing (otterillo?) as the last book. There wasn't much worldbuilding. The setting was forgettable. Aza is kind of irritating. The characters are all one-dimensional. There are some interesting premises and potential, but I like this book less than I did the first one, and I'm not super interested in reading the next one.

Idriel’s Children is book # 2 in the Odriel's Heirs series and all I want to do now is to read book #1 to find out more about this fantasy kingdom and wait for the next adventure in the series with a spectacular antagonist.

In the story with magus, necromancers, maldibors, and Heirs, the author has created a fantasy world that is quite dazzling. The first part of the story establishes the basic plot that continues from book #1. We get to know that Aza’s parents are Odriel’s Heirs who were instrumental in killing the evil Idriel. But dark forces are on the rise again and with Aza’s parents off to another part of their world, it is left to Aza and her brother Zephyr to help the Maldibors who come calling and request help. Aza is the Heir with the powers of invisibility shadow while Zephyr has inherited his mother’s power of fire. Both of them are ready to help but Aza has her own plans in motion.

This is a YA story so obviously, 16 yr old Aza behaves exactly like how all the teenagers behave. She is stubborn and adamant to a fault and refuses help from her long-time Maldibor friend, Makeo. However, Makeo, Shad the cursed cat, and Witt Croser refuses to leave her alone and accompanies Aza on her journey to understand the voices inside the Shadow plane. The familiar theme of doing everything wrong followed by the realization and then being the savior of the day also runs in this too but I loved it even though I wanted Aza to show some maturity after the first tumble.

There are elements in the story that was particularly fascinating as Aza transports herself to another plane and the mysteries hidden in there were intriguing, to say the least. Aza is herself a kick-ass character, she believes herself to be heartless but her rudeness hides her worry for her friends and I loved that about her. The genuine friendship and love between Makeo and Aza are evident even when she tries to hold herself in without letting her emotions go. Makeo’s calm and solid demeanor offers the perfect foil to all the reckless decisions by Aza. It is however Shad and Witt that had me smiling in the story, Witt especially is just the perfect funny, optimistic, and loyal friend whose positive charm balances the grim setting of the story.

The second part of the book did slow down in pacing but the final part makes up for it, so much that I wanted that climax to be a bit more detailed. The war kind of felt rushed.

Perfect for fans of fantasy, Idriel’s Children can be read as a stand-alone, and the author has left a delicious epilogue getting the readers to crave for the next book in the series. Honestly that few glimpses of the antagonist were too good and I am looking forward to seeing more of her cruelty in the next one.

Kick-ass 4 stars ☔☔☔☔

Many thanks to Net Galley, Victory Editing Group, and the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.

This review is published in my blog https://rainnbooks.com/, Goodreads, Amazon India, Medium.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

Interesting take on an overused topic but I felt like it was a bit underwhelming. Could've explored on the fantasy elements better.

I was reading this book and the first book at the same time because the author contacted me to review this one.
She told me it did not matter whether I read the first one or not it would not matter but I like a challenge.

One thing I noticed was that Aza's mum, Kaia story was more interesting than her.
The first book managed to rope me in from the first line the second manged to do it after five chapters.

The pacing was all over the place. I felt that the beginning was slow and then it picked up for a while, then the middle dragged on and the end felt rushed.

I enjoyed seeing the father-daughter dynamics between Aza and Klaus. I was always smiling when reading about them.

The plot was fairly good and the author did I great job.

The cover was also beautiful.

All in all, this is a book I would recommend to many people. I might even buy it even though I have some misier attitudes.

I received an advanced reader copy from the author. I thank her heartily for the opportunity.

Thank you NetGalley for having this book available to review. I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you so much Hayley for writing this book (and the beauty is that you do not even have to read the first book to understand what is going on in this book). I squealed when I saw this title on NetGalley.

This book gave me all the feels and it slayed me especially Aza/Keo, Kaia/Klaus (my loves). Ugh, I ugly cried at some parts because Aza sometimes gets in her own way with her thinking that "the Shadow walks alone" (like her dad is not the perfect example of that not being true ;p). The creatures terrified me because you never knew who was good and who was under the influence of the necromancers and the new brand of the Lost *shudders*.

The world building is perfection and I love the differences between the Shadow Plane and what it represents in this book and the earthly plane. I love every bit of this book.
Highly recommend this book.
500 out of 5 stars.

An enjoyable read that follows the daughter of the heroes in the first novel. Evil has reared its ugly head once again, but more dangerous than before and an old enemy returns with new allies. Aza inherited her father’s shadow abilities and seeks more knowledge about them. She is a loner and believes shadows walk alone. She is a fighter and cares deeply about people, even if she doesn’t show it. To protect those she loves, she keeps her distance and puts on airs of disinterest. An attack makes Aza and her friends travel to find answers about the Shadow Plane and these new monsters. But it is a dangerous journey, and each destination has them heading towards another, where Aza keeps drifting between the real world and the shadow plane. Will they find the true mastermind behind the evil and stop them before it’s too late?
I received this novel from net galley and the publisher. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.