Thursday, February 28, 2013

Caller of Light (by TJ Shaw)

Book Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
Release Date: November 26, 2012

TJ Shaw did say she has a DRAFT second novel in this unnamed series. 
Look for it!

Blurb

As a half-blood princess, CARINA MCKAY is considered an outsider. She’s not nobility, yet not a servant either. She’s not loved, but striving to find love. She’s not strong or respected, but more powerful and deserving of admiration than anyone knows. She’s an insignificant who lives in the background, but is destined to save the world.

KING MAREK DUNCAN has closed his heart to love after an arranged marriage withers to a bitter end. He seeks a mistress to continue his family line, and searches for the CALLER of LIGHT, the one who bonds mystical winged Critons to their riders.

Together, they unlock a love that binds them, a love that seals their souls to each other and gives them the strength to follow their hearts down the dangerous path the gods have ordained they follow. A love where legends are made of and legions follow into battle.


Review

Caller of Light by TJ Shaw is a fantasy romance. The kingdoms and setting are fictional.

This is a good book.

There are mythical creatures called Critons. Without going into a lot of detail, Critons are similar to dragons. There are Criton riders and the riders can be bonded to their Critons for life. This bond is a sacred thing and can only be done by the Caller of Light. That's a good fantasy element I enjoyed throughout.

There are a few action/battle scenes and, again, I liked them. Heroine gets to show her skills, Hero gets to show his love, and the reader gets to have their jaw hit the floor thinking, "That won't really happen, right?" I'm not telling. :)

There are three Points of View. That was a bit strange, but mostly we only see the Hero and Heroine's thoughts. I could've done without the antagonist's. He or she was a bit juvenile (sorry, can't say who) and I feel that person’s motivations lessened the story. (It took this novel from a 4 star to a 3.75 star.)

EVERY good fantasy/other world novel has customs the characters adhere to (Harry Potter, Hunger Games, etc.) and this novel does. LOVE that. Great element and these customs were used to show the progression of Hero and Heroine's relationship.

Someone please tell me if I missed it, but how is a Mistress different from a Queen? It doesn't seem they are treated differently. Is it less respectful to become a Mistress?

But the whole fact that there is a mistress is another great thing about the Caller of Light.

I wished the Caller of Light element was used more. I somehow got the impression the plot would keep growing and show the Caller of Light in action. That didn't happen so there seemed a bit missing. (I didn't read blurbs or reviews of this novel beforehand. My impression came from the text.)

But if a book two or series is published I would read it if the action and plot revolve around the fantasy element with the romance. It’s a good book; I liked it.



To learn more about TJ Shaw and her upcoming releases see her website.



This review provided by Kristin Anders




Published by The Wild Rose Press
Disclaimer: I received an ARC, but could not get it to work on my eReader, 
so bought the novel from Amazon. Money well spent.
No compensation was received in exchange for this review.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Kristin! Don't see you reviewing too much anymore. This novel looks like a fairy tale romance. We could all use one of those once in a while! Thanks for he review, :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Kristin!

    Thankyou for your review and for your time. I appreciate all you've done for me. You've been great!

    TJ

    ReplyDelete

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