J. S. Chancellor

I was delighted to receive this through the Goodreads First Read program. I'm extremely new to the fantasy genre - I read urban fantasy often, mainly in series - but for straight-out fantasy, I'm as amateurish as they come. I had hoped this one wouldn't be too far out and over my head; thankfully due to writer's easy-to-follow style, I didn't have problems lagging behind. Even though the characters are from a much different world than I've read of, their personable and real traits made it easy to picture them as genuine and true.

The book grabbed my attention from the beginning with a clever hook and while action is never non-stop here, the characters are curious opposites. Garren and Ariana's relationship was one of the more catching plot devices I wanted to pursue. The strongest part of the book was the characters - the plot itself was also intriguing, but more of a set-up to more things to come, I think. The ending leaves on a huge cliffhanger, right on the very edge of a big event, leaving a small pause of dissappointment (I wanted to read the next part!)

With an easy pace, fun exploration of character, and a unique fantasy tale, I would recommend this one to fantasy readers - novice and newbies alike.… (mais)

I don't know where have I read that this book will be sitting in a shelf near Tolkien (?). Yeah, sure it will...

The setting is your typical good vs evil epic, a Heaven vs. Hell war with its kind of demon-like and angel-like creatures. Nothing new, but I liked the mythology the author has created for her world. So what happens in this book? We have Garren who is High Lord for the Ereubinians (the bad guys) and Ariana, an Adorian (the good guys) who is the lost orphan who knows nothing of her true destiny. They briefly meet and fall in love. The story is nothing surprising and it is quite clear what is going to happen in the end.

The novel shifts from Ereubus/Garren to Adoria/Ariana and so we are introduced to the peoples and history of these two realms and their main characters. We are supposed to feel that Garren is a truly evil guy and we are told of all the evil he has done and of his dark intentions once and again, but when we are inside his head or following him we see nothing of it. He didn't felt evil at all maybe a bit of a jerk but nothing more. Anyway, he is the more interesting character and with more depth and development than any of the rest. Ariana is meant to be the self-assured heroine who does not fit in her supposed role in society, but she felt like an spoiled brat who constantly makes stupid decisions. As for the rest of the characters, let me say that none of the Adorians had a very strong personality, they fitted typical roles such as the overprotective brother, the nice guy who is not getting the girl or the war veteran with the heart of gold. The Ereubinians were a bit more interesting but we don't see enough of them to have a better picture.

After having read more than half of the book, the weak characterization, some deus ex machina solutions that took me out of the story and the silly Ariana, I just didn't care enough for continuing with this story. Maybe Garren is somewhat interesting but him alone is not enough for keeping me reading for a hundred more pages when I am currently reading more interesting books. I may end this some other time but certainly not now.… (mais)

Jessica Slate is a kindred covenant. In other words, she's a high-ranking vampire and assassin who is as sassy as she is revered for her strength. Part of what makes her one of the best assassins is her willingness to kill any target without ever asking why. She's perfectly content thinking that the male voice she often hears in her mind is just a figment of her imagination. She doesn't question why she has no other choice but to be an assassin and take Icarus, an injection from the Powers That Be that keeps her alive.

This all changes when she's sent on an odd mission. Usually she's required to assassinate vampires who've committed treason against the High Coven, but this time the higher ups want her only to retrieve the target. When she finds him and roughs him up a little, he's adamant on letting her know that everything she knows is a lie.

As much as she doesn't want to believe it, a series of events quickly forces Jessica to understand that everything she thought she knew IS a lie, leaving her with lots of overwhelming questions and answers. What role does her mentor and on/off again lover Tristan play in the grand scheme of things? Who is Jacelynd and why does she feel like he's familiar?

While it's important that Jessica regains her memory for her own sake, she also must do so for the sake of humanity. Only if she remembers can she stop the apocalypse...for now.

The moment I started Icarus, I knew it was a book J.S. Chancellor had fun writing. The book starts with a cool introduction that lets readers peak into Chancellor's mind and learn more about the story's creation. Then there's a small paragraph that summarizes what Icarus is in Greek Mythology. Last, but not least, each chapter title is also the title of a song, so J.S. Chancellor notes in the beginning which song the chapter gets its title from. That way, when reading the chapter, you can listen to the corresponding song on the playlist. I thought that was a nice idea.

I really like how genre savvy Jessica is. In the beginning, she jokes around about cliches that run rampant in vampire fiction and tries to say that vampirism, in reality, is actually not like that stuff at all. For the most part, this is essentially a love triangle story. At some points, the relationship stuff made my heart soar, but other times I felt it could be a bit sappy. I loved how the characters at the end of the story definitely felt different from the characters at the beginning. The conflict nicely built up and came to a good close.

It's not a good idea to read this for the apocalypse part of the storyline, since that is something that is mostly only happening in the background. While at the same time it seems like Jessica cares about what happens to humanity, it also seems like the love triangle and Jessica regaining her memories is more important.

I really did like this book, namely because it's fun. Though there are very serious moments, I still feel like this book's purpose was never meant to be some literary masterpiece or a book that would be seen as entirely unique to other supernatural books. I smiled at the witty conversations and felt all warm and tingly at the moments of pure love. And hey, maybe that was Chancellor's purpose all along.… (mais)

I really like Son of Ereubus. It starts out great and the book flows really well from beginning to end. I never got bored or lost interest. I was disappointed when the end came because now I have to wait for the second book to come out.

I would recommend this book. I love the world that was created and the Author did well explaining the different races and gives you just enough history to make you want more. I loved the characters and the changes they make in the book and how they interact with each other and I can't wait to see what happens to them in the second book. I rate this book a 5.… (mais)