DNF at 25%

There is potential for this story based on the glimmer of world-building we get, but that potential is squandered by the author creating their own language for the world and then never telling the reader what any of the words mean in laymen's terms. It's difficult to care about a story when you don't understand anything that's going on and I really tried to push through and just accept that I didn't understand the magic or belief systems.

The characters are boring as all get out, the main character most of all. Maia does nothing, says nothing, and repeats the same three mannerisms over and over. The dog has provided more to the story than she has thus far.

Beyond that, the writing is sub-par. Many actions or feelings were contradictory. A handful of words were repeated ad nauseum. And thus far most of the story has been exposition in the form of speech between side characters. This feels more like an early draft than a polished novel.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher’s for giving me the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the adventure!

The Banished of Muirwood Covenant of Muirwood Book 1 By Jeff Wheeler

418 Pages
Publisher: 47North
Release Date: August 18, 2015

Fiction, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Magic

Maia is a princess and the heir to the throne, yet her father keeps her a prisoner in the tower. He banished his wife to Muirwood and a keeps another woman with their children in the castle. Maia if forced into a journey by her father to save herself. She makes a few friends who help her on her journey.

The story is long, the characters are somewhat developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. Maia is young but bold and courageous. If you enjoy other fantasy series, especially others by Jeff Wheeler, you will like this book.

18 year old Maia is a exiled princess and heir to the throne. Her father needs all power and authority so she was left disinherited and was made to live as a servant in her own home. Maia has learned she has magic and must save her people. I loved the storyline but listened to this instead of reading it and got lost a little bit until I realised that she must have been in different realms and she was seeing different outcomes.

“The Banished of Muirwood” has been my favorite book of 2018 so far and it’s definitely one of my top reads ever—and I suppose that says a lot, right? The world that Jeff Wheeler brought to life had everything I love in it and more: from royalty to magic, to action and blood, to curses and chases, prophecies and more! This book was so much more than I expected and that is probably one of the reasons why I enjoyed and loved it so much. I found Maia’s story to be very unique and cruel from beginning to end; as her father banishes and turns her into one of his maids and as she is sent across the kingdoms, looking for answers from the high seer to help her save her kingdom, looking for answers from the high seer to help her save her kingdom and win her title and her father’s affection back—but it’s not as easy as it sounds while being chased by the dochte mandar because of a power she shouldn’t have as a woman. The plot twists, the action, the magic, and the intensity of Maia’s journey and the cruel glimpses of her past kept me glued to the pages and I honestly can’t seem to recommend this book enough!

Jeff Wheeler’s writing was fantastic, fast-paced and strong throughout the whole story, and he always left you wanting to know more and more about everything. Another thing that I loved was how he portrayed the different kinds of settings we get to visit as we cross through different kingdoms. What I loved the most about them was their atmosphere, the different and powerful events that took place on them, and how they helped shape the story. My favorite places to visit were: Comoros, Nares, and the town of Briec.

Through Maia’s journey to the city of Nares in search of the high seer, we get to meet multiple dislikeable and lovable characters. They all felt realistic and I loved the twists they all brought into Maia’s journey. Some of these characters were: Chancellor Walraven—who thought Maia how to read and about the power of the medium and the krystel—, the Kishion—an assassin for hire her father hired to protect her on her journey, Corriveaux—one of the dochte manda that’s chasing her down, Jon Tayt—a hunter who leads Maia through the mountains and different cities, along with his hound Argus, Feint Collier—a very interesting character that at first looks like no one but still managed to bring his own twists into the story, and a lot more that are connected to both: Maia’s future and past.

In the end, “The Banished of Muirwood” left its mark on me with its amazing story and set of characters. This book wasn’t perfect, but it was close to it and I enjoyed every second of it. I cannot wait to continue this series and see what happens next! If you’re looking for a good fast-paced fantasy book, you might want to give this one a try!

Love this series would recommend if you love fantasy

This was a good book in this series.I have read a few of his books now and this did not disappoint me at all.Full of a host of characters who were very good.Really absorbing read .Looking forward to th a next.