Henrietta The Dragon Slayer by Beth Barany

Title:  Henrietta The Dragon Slayer

Author: Beth Barany

Publisher:  Firewolf Books

Published: June 7, 2011

Format: Kindle

Pages: 236

Source: Received from the author 

in exchange for an honest review

Read: November 15-18, 2012

In A Few Words: Adventurous

My Rating: 4 Stars

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Goodreads Synopsis:

**Grand Prize Winner of the 2012 California Book Fiction Challenge

Henrietta, the legendary Dragon Slayer of the Kingdom of Bleuve, can't stomach the thought of one more kill. Yet, in order to save her dying mentor, she must go on one last quest. But will misfit companions, seasickness, and an ego maniacal king derail the quest for the healing stone? And will she be able to cut past her conscience and kill the dragon?

Melissa's Musings:

Henrietta is a very private, solitary person. So she isn't too happy when she has to go on a quest to save her dying mentor and suddenly she has this very unique group of people tagging along. She thinks they'll just get in her way. And, some of the time, they do. But over time, she learns to love them all, in her own way. She opens up bit by bit and lets them in to her heart.

Henrietta is a very snarky, sarcastic character, which I enjoyed. She reminds me of the way that I wish I could be, if I weren't worried about what other people would think of me. She says what she thinks and doesn't spare feelings. Sometimes this really isn't appropriate, like the time she thinks that Paulette should snap out of it after losing her family. But a lot of the time Henrietta's manner is direct and to the point. I think this is what keeps the story moving along nicely. Henrietta is all about action and moving along, so this story rarely drags, if at all.

The magical touches are also really well done in the book. They're subtle and not overly flashy. It's just the right balance to keep you interested but not too much as to make you want to cringe. Since I'm really partial to characters who are witches, I would really like to see a spin off book with more of Paulette's story. Paulette, as a character does really well to bring out Henrietta's softer, more nurturing side. Plus Paulette has a bit of fire to her, literally and figuratively, so her character holds up really well on its' own.

It's nice to watch the growth of character on both Henrietta and Paulette's parts. Henrietta helps Paulette become more mature and causes her to think before she acts a little bit more. Paulette shows Henrietta that it's okay to care for people and to let them in.

There's also a tiny bit of a romance in the book between Henrietta and Franc. Definitely not insta-love which I appreciate. Their relationship really doesn't develop romantically until toward the end of the book so you're left wondering what will happen to them.

This is a standalone book but I think that it could work as a series as well. 

I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes adventures with a strong female character and magic.

Catalyst: The Passage of Hellsfire by Marc Johnson

Title: Catalyst (The Passage of Hellsfire #1)

Author: Marc Johnson 

Publisher: Longshot Publishing

Published: March 19. 2011

Format: E-book/Kindle

Pages: 295

Source: Received from the author

in exchange for an honest review

Read: November 4-7 2012

In  A Few Words: Action packed

My Rating: 3 Stars

Goodreads: Add This Book to Your TBR Shelf

Goodreads Synopsis:

For centuries, the kingdom of Alexandria has protected Northern Shala from the monstrous creatures lurking in the Wastelands. Now, a dark force threatens that fragile peace.

Far from home, Alexandria’s princess is abducted. When a young villager named Hellsfire stumbles upon her and her captors, he rushes in to rescue her, alone and unarmed. His fear and fury unleash an uncontrollable magical force that grants him the power to save the princess—and change the world.

Hellsfire has never craved nor dreamed of power. But such magic as he now possesses has not been seen in Northern Shala for a thousand years, since the devastation of the War of the Wizards and the creation of the Wastelands.

Now Hellsfire must leave all he’s ever known, and make a dangerous journey to learn to master this wild, ferocious power—power he knows he is not ready to wield. More difficult still, he needs to master his emotions. If he can’t, the power will consume him, Alexandria will fall, and darkness will eclipse the land, destroying everyone he loves.

In the dead of cold, the spark shall burn...

Melissa's Musings:

I must admit that I don't often read a lot of fantasy novels so I was a little hesitant to give it a try. 

The story starts out with Hellsfires' birth and the prophecy that he will do great things. There isn't a great deal of backstory given about his family or this prophecy, which I found to be disappointing. Then he comes into his powers, and his mother sends him on a journey to seek out the "angel" that prophecied his great skills. This angel is really a wizard named Stradus.

The good thing about this story is that there is a lot of action. Each chapter begins with a string of action and it's very consistent throughout. There are a few spots where the book drags on, but it usually picks up again within a few pages.

One thing I didn't care for was the main characters' name, Hellsfire. It felt very cliche to me, especially since his power and control laid in fire. I think it could have been something different. Or, if continuing down the unusual name route, the character shouldn't have named his love interest Krystal, since that isn't quite as unusual as the other characters like Sharald, King Furlong, and Stradus.

My favorite character was actually Cynder, the dragon. He kept the story light and filled with banter exchanges between himself and Hellsfire which I really enjoyed.

There are some inconsistencies and minor details that bothered me as I was reading. In one scene in the beginning of the story Hellsfire ends up burning a bully, Nathan, who has constantly teased him. Hellsfire then tells himself that he doesn't want to be around others for fear he might hurt them. And yet, right on the next page, he ends up traveling with a family. There are also several spots where Stradus, Hellsfire's teacher, says that there is much Hellsfire needs to know, but he can't tell him. These exchanges were infuriating because there were more than a few, and I felt that in leaving Hellsfire in the dark just seemed pointless. Stradus' job is to teach him, yet he's clearly keeping things from him? Doesn't quite make sense to me. Unfortunately there's not much light shed on his prophecy in this book, but maybe that will be fixed in the next book.

There is a lot of explanation of different kinds of mana and magic, so people who enjoy these themes will like that element. The addition of mana and the potions sort of made this book feel like an old adventure video game. There are also elves and dwarves with their own brands of magic as well.

Overall this is an enjoyable story, even with it's rough spots.