Steele Wolf By Chanda Hahn

Ack! So I've been on vacation for the past week and I haven't been able to do anything except fun vacation things lol.  I was super bummed to find out that Abbi Glines was in LA the day AFTER I was there. I probably would have stalked her.  I also stupidly left my kindle at home (what was I thinking?!)! So I got no reading done. I have the kindle app on my iphone, but it's such a tiny screen that it's hard to read anything.

Anyway, so here's my review of Steele Wolf by Chanda Hahn, I did manage to finish it before I left.

Steele Wolf starts where Iron Butterfly ends.  Thalia is back in her homeland, trying to fit in and pick up where she left off before being taken.  She finds this difficult because she is not the same person she was.  Her father is distant and ignores what happened to Thalia and dismisses her when she tries to tell him.  In an attempt to quell his daughter's new behavior her father sets up a Kreg Aruh (think Merida's situation in Brave), where suitors from all over the land come to fight for Thalia's hand.  Thalia, who doesn't like this, competes for her own hand and may have won if she hadn't been discovered. 

A series of events happen and Thalia is kidnapped and she discovers how she was first taken and who the Raven might be.  We also learn that Joss's sister has been kidnapped so Joss, Thalia, Kael and Hemi make the trek to Joss's home town of Skyfall to search for her. 

 I like that this book has more character information, but I still wish more physical description was used.  We know that Joss is blond, but are all Denai blond?  Thalia has dark hair, but so was Mona and her brother who we discover are evil.  I also kind of got lost in Skyfell. Maybe it was just me, but it could have been described a bit better. 

This series really wants to be good, but more detail need to be written out for the reader to fully comprehend the world this story takes place in.  If you are looking for a fun summer read, this is definitely something to pick up.  I got Iron Butterfly for free (on Amazon!) and I was loaned Steele Wolf by a friend.  I think I will have to buy the third one, but Steele Wolf was about $2, so I don't mind!

I did love that we learned more about Kael and how he's tied to Thalia.  It's kind of sad.  And while Chanda did a good job of explaining everything, we still don't know what he left behind (a wife, kids?).   What will ultimately happen to each of them? I'm assuming this will be answered in book three due out in August of this year (it can't come soon enough!).

 I get to pick up my kindle tomorrow (I forgot yesterday!) so I'll finish On an Edge of Glass and start on the summer reading list Erica posted yesterday.  Last summer was really busy for me, so this year I'm looking forward to laid back days of pool trips, sprinklers, ice cold sun tea, and of course, READING!

Iron Butterfly By Chanda Hahn

Iron Butterfly by Chandra Hahn. 

Firstly, this is the first book in a trilogy.  Book 2 is Steele Wolf and the third book is yet to be released, so I will review only Iron Butterfly and not the entire story.

Brief Summary

Thalia, was held in a torture prison, where the evil Septori performed medieval style torture on her.  It is unclear why or for how long until she escapes with the help of Kael, a worrier who fight the Septori guards and directs her to safety.  With no memories, Thalia is found by two Denai travelers on their way to the Denai capitol city of Haven where the younger of the two, Joss, is to be a student at the Denai School called the Citadel.
Thalia is brought before the Denai high council and found to be harmless and I put to work at the school.  A series of events leads her to become a student at the school and because of attacks against her from an unknown source, she begins combat training with the schools professors and eventually learns of her heritage. 

So many questions were raised in this book that were left unanswered.  Who are the Septori? Who are the Denai? Where and in what time does this story take place? Why was Thalia taken? Why is she so special? Who is Kael and why does she have this pull to him and why does he want her to hate him?
I understand that this is part one in a series, but as an author, you can’t leave so many questions unanswered and then open more in the last chapter-why does her family suddenly show up? Why do the Denai just let them take her? Why does her family clan hate the Denai so much? 
I was confused most of the book because I felt like I was already supposed to know the people who lived in this (unnamed) land.  I have no idea what everyone looks like and how Thalia is different from them physically (because it’s mentioned more than once that there are physical differences between Denai and other races). 

I felt that there wasn’t good flow throughout the story.  The author just told me what was happening instead of taking the time to create a story, setting the scene and showing me what was happening.  It was choppy and storylines seemed to be introduced out of convenience instead of necessity.  For example, Thalia had apparently been spending time in the stables with horses, but no mention was made of it until she had to meet Faraway the horse.  And then Faraway ends up being her guardian that she called upon, but then it’s not explained what a guardian is or why he was summoned, only that Thalia is the first person to call upon one in hundreds maybe thousands of years. 

This story is also written in the first person, but when new characters are introduced Thalia seems to know their names and who they are and what they do.  She also knows the names of buildings and places even though she has no memories and has never been to Haven before. 

Even with all the confusingness, I’m still drawn into this story.  I’m invested in Thalia and finding out who she really is and where she comes from, and what makes her so special.  I want to find out her relationship with Kael and Joss. 

I will continue to read the series and hopefully find out the answers to all the questions. 

Over all, it was well written, the ideas needed to be fleshed out a little, but the story is very intriguing and I can’t wait to continue with it.  

Thanks for reading!

Heather