{Indie Spotlight Review} A GIFT OF POISON by Kate Avery Ellison

Review by Elisa

A GIFT OF POISON
by Kate Avery Ellison
Paperback: 286 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (October 24, 2014)
Language: English
FREE WITH KINDLE UNLIMITED
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As the orphaned niece of a cruel lord, Briand is the scapegoat of the castle. She has few friends and even fewer options, and every day is a struggle to stay ahead of trouble caused by malicious guards and irritable castle servants. Briand is set to be banished to the wildlands, a death sentence, when she when she accidentally unlocks a hidden power and involves herself in a rebel plot and her life abruptly changes. Imprisoned in the company of a band of rebels, Briand must do what seems impossible: call up sleeping dragons in the north. But the fearsome Prince's assassins called Seekers are looking for her, Briand doesn't know if she can trust the mysterious, enigmatic rebel leader Kael, and there might be a traitor in the rebels' midst.

The Overview

Kate Avery Ellison surprised me with this one. It popped up as a Kindle library recommendation and I randomly decided to read it, even though I wasn’t sure if I even would. But I didn’t ignore it like I expected; I was actually captivated right away, even though it was a simple read. For me, this was a great book to pull me out of my real world for a couple days in a delightful high fantasy.

What I Loved

• The main character was unloved and rash, pulling me to her, but still so brave, strong, and lovable.
• I loved the predictable progression of the story. It was a very classic journey--both through the finely sculpted high fantasy world and for the journey our heroine went through in her character growth.
• The ability to speak to fantastical creatures, like dragons!
• The betrayal--I loved how although I knew this was happening the whole time, I still kept second guessing my hunch.
• The relationship between the girl who befriended our heroine Briand--so gracious, sacrificial, and forgiving.
• The world--it was beautifully created and has the ability to become so much more.
• Although there wasn’t really any romance, there was a touch of potential romance to keep me interested and wondering.
• The most clean read I’ve read in a long time: no cussing, nothing sexual besides one guy being inappropriate, and the violence wasn’t very graphic.

What I Disliked

• The way everyone was jerks to our heroine for such a long time. Geez, guys. Leave her alone already.
• Kael really should intervene a little more, although I liked his character a lot.
• There is barely a touch of steampunk--it really could use more.
• There is barely a touch on the fantastical creatures and magic--this could really be capitalized.
• I felt like the exciting end to the story was much too rushed. Although the story wrapped itself up, it still felt like the final crux hit like a gunshot--there are gone.
• Note: other reviewers felt like everything but the end was too slow.

The Best Part

In general, just seeing the framework fall into place for this series was pretty cool. I loved seeing Briand, our heroine, be accepted and grow into her potential, as cheesy as that might sound.

Conclusion:

This book reminds me of a mix between Queen’s Thief and Leviathan. It is perfect for a tween or teen who likes high fantasy stories and clean reads. I’m not too sure the rest of the series is for me to read, I think something amazing could blossom from this series.

Content

Sexuality- Mild

Language- None

Violence - Mild or Moderate?

Ethereally and unequivocally penned by Elisa (@AverageAdvocate) at www.AverageAdvocate.com “Inspiring the average American to change the world.”

She also dabbles in fiction hidden amongst others occasionally at www.LesNomsDePlume.com. She also really needs a new picture, because she hasn’t had red hair in like, forever.