Book Review: The King's Scrolls

The King's Scrolls by Jaye L. Knight

Recommended for: Ages 12 to Adult

Rating PG-13 (violence, injuries, and dangerous situations)

Following the harrowing events that brought them to Landale Forest, Jace and Kyrin have settled comfortably into their new lives and the mission of protecting those under the emperor’s persecution. The fast approach of winter brings with it the anticipation of a quiet few months ahead. That is until the arrival of four mysterious, dragon-riding cretes who seek aid in a mission of great importance—not only to their own people, but to all followers of Elôm.

Hidden in the vast mining valley north of Valcré, a faithful crete has spent years sharing his knowledge with the destitute miners and their families and is known to possess what may be Arcacia’s last surviving copies of the King’s Scrolls—the Word of Elôm. Joining the cretes, those in Landale must find the crete teacher and bring him to safety, but it is a race against time. Should Daican’s men find him first, execution and the destruction of the Scrolls is certain.

When disaster strikes, all seems lost. Could Elôm have a plan even in the enemy’s triumph?

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Remember back to last year when I said how amazing Resistance was? I still hold to all that, but you know what? It pales in comparison to the awesomeness of The King's Scrolls. Seriously, every book I've read by Jaye/Molly has been better than her previous book. And with Ilyon Chronicles...well, I think C. S. Lewis may have ceded first place. I can't recommend Ilyon highly enough. In case you were wondering, I am still a beta reader, but that has nothing to do with my being a part of this small but wonderful fandom. (And, yes, we do claim fandom status.)

Writing: 5/5

TKS is just as well written as Resistance. Jaye really gives the reader insight into the characters' thoughts. This book is a lot more emotionally painful than the last one (warning, if you cry over books, have a box of tissues ready), and she does an extremely good job of showing it to the reader. I've only cried over one book, and I've now read this one three times, and I was still on the verge of tears multiple times while reading it. I like the pacing. It's not zoom through the plot like my books are (I'm working hard to fix that), nor does it drag like (I'm sorry) Lord Of The Rings sometimes does. It's terrific. And even though the one I just read was an ARC, it was already free of typos. At least I didn't notice any, and they usually stick out to me.

Setting: 5/5

Arcacia is the same Arcacia it was before...only Daican is taking things further. The events of Resistance have made things even more dangerous for followers of Elôm. We get to see a little more of Ilyon in this book, mining towns where some new characters are introduced. Also, cretes are introduced in this book, which means the introduction of a new culture. It's certainly very different. I hope some of the characters someday get to go to a crete village EDIT: since writing this, I've learned they will go to a crete village sometime! because it sounds pretty cool, even if cretes are generally kind of unfriendly. And dragons! The dragons are amazing, and I love the way Jaye handled them. I love Gem especially. Jaye's worldbuilding is solid, and the reveals are steady and realistic as the characters learn more about the world around them. Also, some old settings are revisited, and of course camp is a part of it.

Plot: 5/5

The plot is pretty awesome, and terrible at the same time. Jaye's pretty mean to her characters. There were plot twists that left me gasping, events that made me just about cry, and tense situations that made me not want to put the book down. Something I really liked about this one was that Jace and Kyrin were together for pretty much the whole book. It was great. There is a separate storyline, that of Timothy and Aaron and Josan, but it converges with that of the old characters before the midpoint is reached. There's a lot more of Kyrin's family in this book, which I loved. Really great.

Character Development: 5/5

Lots of Jace and Kyrin. They have grown quite a bit since they were first introduced, but in a completely natural way. I loved seeing how their friendship deepened, and how much they care about one another, though I wouldn't call it a romance yet. And I love Jace more the more I read about him. I've always connected to Kyrin, and I still do, but I've come to really love Jace. He's such a great guy, but so tortured by his past. And tortured in other ways. He's collecting fangirls, and it's not hard to see why. I loved seeing more of Kaden with his love of flying. Besides the fact that I still just love twins. Kyrin and Kaden are the perfect set of twins. I was able to get to know Marcus and Liam a lot more in this book. It took me a while to like Marcus, but I do now. We also get to meet the rest of Kyrin's family. Some new characters are introduced: half-crete brothers Timothy and Aaron and the crete Josan, cretes Captain Darq, Talas, Leetra, and Falcor. All are quite well developed. Leetra is especially well developed. She can be kind of prickly, but she also goes through some tough things. They further fill out the cast and add just what the story needs. I still like Jace and Kyrin best, though. :)

The King's Scrolls is an excellent next installment in the Ilyon Chronicles, and is better than the first. I highly recommend it.

I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. I was under no obligation to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Blog Tour

Today is more than just a review, though. It's a part of the blog tour celebrating the release of The King's Scrolls! And so we have some extra goodies to go along with it.

Giveaway

Share in the excitement of the release and enter to win a themed Epic Winter giveaway! Prize pack includes an autographed copy of The King’s Scrolls, a CD by Future World Music (some of Jaye’s favorite writing music), a dragon bookmark, a stone hawk pendant (much like the ones mentioned in the book), and a few packages of Twining’s Winter Spice tea to sip while you read! (Giveaway is open to US residents only. Cannot be shipped internationally.)

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Find the rest of the blog tour here!

About the Author

Jaye L. Knight is a homeschool graduated indie author with a passion for writing Christian fantasy and clean new adult fiction. 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.