Review: Oh my shjt this was good. This novel had everything a reader could want. A little romance but not OTT. Sparta type training. Constant movement. Great character development. Logical scene progression that flows effortlessly and a story line that is instantly compelling and riveting. Welcome to not sleeping.

I am now a fan of D. Owen from the 51st state, and you will be too. GET THIS!

I received this ARC for an honest review.

4.8/5

This was an interesting read, and the story itself is quite good, following the tale of a young Spear in training who is tasked with protecting the Realm, along with his friends.

The characters are likeable, and we see plenty of their training - both the good and the bad - as they learn to dispense justice and stand between right and wrong, good and evil.

However, characters were introduced just to remove them from the book and there was no connection to them, which was a bit disconcerting. We had a whole section dedicated to a young Spear who failed the poison test, but I couldn't remember her ever being mentioned before in the book. Same thing with another young man who had something traumatic happen to him. Whilst it was tragic, I felt no emotional connection to the event or the character because I hadn't had a bond to him through any of the other characters and he hadn't had any page time.

The story itself is good, but the writing needs more depth and development to get the emotional impact of the events that are happening.

Douglas owen creates a thrilling book dedicated to the mighty protagonist Thomasyn. His humble beginning being born in a brothel to the hard fought training that has honed him into the weapon he was pre-destined to become.

Douglas' world is intricately created, and is epic in scope. The society in which Thomasyn is an inhabitant, is full of mystery, and cloak & dagger themes, straight from a spy novel. He finds it difficult to balance being a savior, and enforcing rule that his morals may not agree with with.

The characters are lifelike and vivid, with realistic and interesting personalities that propel the book forward, rather than impede it's narrative progress.

With evocative action, coming of age, fantasy realm topics, people should become instant fans. I welcome this story and more like it in the future from Mr. OWEN