BLOG TOUR-Book Review + Author Interview: Samara’s Peril (Ilyon Chronicles: Book 3)

Hey ya’ll!!! Today I’m posting as part of a blog tour for Jaye L. Knight’s new book Samara’s Peril!!!!! It is the third book in the series, Ilyon Chronicles, and absolutely one of my favorite series ever. You can see my book reviews for Resistance (Ilyon Chronicles: Book 1), The King’s Scrolls (Ilyon Chronicles: Book 2), and Half Blood (Ilyon Chronicles: Prequel Novella). A few of these were some of the first book reviews I ever posted on here.

Book Description:

When news arrives that Emperor Daican has been in contact with his chief war strategist, it signals potential doom for the country of Samara. Determined to intervene, the resistance in Landale, headed by Lady Anne, embark on a covert mission in hopes of unearthing further information. However, a shocking discovery leads to complications no one could have foreseen.

Armed with their newfound knowledge, they set out for Samara to warn the king. War is inevitable, and they must face two desperate battles—one on the walls of Samara’s great stronghold, and the other on the battlefield of Jace’s heart, where victory might only be achievable through great sacrifice.

Available now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iBooks!

Add to Goodreads

Author Bio:

Jaye L. Knight is an award-winning author, homeschool graduate, and shameless tea addict with a passion for Christian fantasy. Armed with an active imagination and love for adventure, Jaye weaves stories of truth, faith, and courage with the message that even in the deepest darkness, God’s love shines as a light to offer hope. She has been penning stories since the age of eight and resides in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.

You can connect with Jaye on her website, blog, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and Etsy.

To see more people posting for the blog tour, click here.

My Review:

Rating: 5/5 stars.

I don’t know if I can convey to you how great this book, this series, is. It is absolutely amazing. I have loved every moment of reading this book, and I can not wait to see how this story progresses.

Finding out that Daican is planning something big against the country Samara, a group from the resistance led by Lady Anne goes on a undercover mission to get more specific information. There they discover something shocking that complicates things. But with the gathered information, they hope to head out to warn the king of Samara. There they will face a bigger battle than they’ve ever known, but maybe even more important, another battle is being fought in Jace’s own heart. One that could lose his life.

One of the best things about these books is the characters. There is such a great amount of amazing characters. Though a few may be similar, none of them are exactly the same. In this particular book there was so so so much character development with Jace. He has to fight so much darkness and heartbreaking fears. Kyrin is so amazing. She has this inner strength and bravery that is beautiful to see. I loved how Jace and Kyrin’s friendship is developing into something more. Anne had more of a part in this book, and it was fantastic. I love how she can give a harsh or scolding remark without sounding mean. She knows how to bring down people too full of themselves. Holden plays such a vital part in this book that I never expected. It has made me come to love him so much more. The brothers, Timothy and Aaron, I need more of them! Rachel, Elanor, and Charles were all great, new characters. I absolutely must know more about Elian and Balen. The Altair family is so fun and just enjoyable to see them all interacting together. Rayad, Warin, Trask, Aric, and Trev are all other characters that I love so much.

Let’s just talk more about Jace for a moment. He’s pretty much the central character in this book which I am absolutely happy with because he is my favorite character. Oh my goodness! In this book Jace stressed me out more than any of the earlier books. He is so broken and torn up inside. He has never been so lost before. His struggles were so real and frightening for him, I got very worried. He is going to be the death of me.

This felt so real. I connected with with the characters as soon as I began to read and I was just swept away into an amazing world where my heart was broken again and again.

The plot was exciting, intense, and totally not what I was expecting. The shocking reveal was very shocking. I literally screamed into pillow for like a minute. The battles were real, exciting, and so stressful. I mean with dragons and firedrakes and your favorite characters’ lives threatened with death, how could it not be?

It was surprising how allegorical this book was from its predecessors. It was something altogether neat and beautiful to see. I loved the parallels to Christianity, but it never really seemed like too much. It was smoothly blended into the story. This is not at all preachy like some books can be. The religion compliments the story and helps the characters answer some questions that many in our own world ask. It strengthens it without sounding unnatural.

I love this world. It’s fantasy, but not too much. The characters are so precious. The writing is amazing. And this series is going to kill me. Just go read it, alright? You shouldn’t need anymore convincing.

Interview:

Where is your favorite place to write? Why?

Outside. That is, if it’s warm, of course. In Wisconsin, that’s no guarantee. But I love the outdoors, so I like to be outside as much as I can. In the summertime, I write out on the porch a lot.

For you, what is the hardest part about everything involved in writing and publishing a book? How do you overcome it?

It’s probably the actual writing part that’s the hardest. I’ve been prone to bad bouts of writer’s block. The best way I’ve found to overcome it is, no matter how much I might hate and cringe at what I write, to just push through and put something down on the page. It can be just awful, but at least it can help me get past whatever part is hanging me up. Problem is, I’m also quite a procrastinator at times, so that makes it difficult as well.

What are you most excited about in Samara’s Peril?

All the many questions and issues that are finally answered and resolved. This book is a real turning point in the series, especially for a certain beloved character. 🙂 This book will answer most of the questions I get all the time.

What is your favorite part of the world of Ilyon?

I love the different societies. I had a lot of fun brainstorming what each of my different races were like. Even though the story has been centered in one country for the most part, the second half of the series explores more of Ilyon, and readers will get to experience more of the different cultures. I’d have to say my favorite of all of them is the crete culture. It’s kind of a mix of Native American, elves, and some of my own ideas. I’d love to be a crete and live in a crete city. They do have dragons, after all.

Giveaway:

Share in the excitement of the release and enter to win a themed giveaway pack! Prizes include an autographed copy of Samara’s Peril, a John 3:16 necklace by FaithWearDesigns, and a green wire dragon bookmark by Wirelings! (Giveaway is open to US residents only. Cannot be shipped internationally.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

-G. Paige