The Chronicle of Three: Bloodline by Tabitha Caplinger

Zoe thought the loss of her parents would be the most difficult thing she’d ever have to endure. When she began seeing things she couldn’t explain in her new home of Torchcreek, Virginia, she was sure the grief was driving her mad. Instead Zoe discovers she is part of an ancient bloodline, one destined to defeat the powers of darkness from condemning the world. But Zoe, the daughter of the three, isn’t just another descendant–she’s the key to humanity’s salvation.

In this first installment of the Christian fantasy trilogy The Chronicle of the Three, Zoe Andrews learns that not all shadows are harmless interceptions of light. Some are a more sinister darkness that wants to torment the soul. 

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I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

This book lacked depth in a lot of its aspects such as the multiple cliches, bland characters, and underdeveloped plot. The plot really didn't go into much background of anything causing the focal point of this book to be "she's special because she's the chosen one and that's it." I cringed every time the words, "THE CHOSEN ONE" showed up. (and it was a lot) Throughout the book they were pretty much training to fight demons (who seemed pretty weak) without giving the readers a proper reason to hate and truly know the villains. Then when it came to the end, it was fairly anticlimactic. Yes, we finally get to see what makes Zoe so special. But, the way it was delivered felt cheesy and overpowering to the max.

A good villain can make an entire book. In this novel, we were given no information about the demons. So the fact that Zoe was able to kill several of them so quickly really erased all respect I had for them. They felt like disposable puppets. There was a very straight-forward "good and evil" side going on. Yes, I enjoyed the different point of views from Lucas, but we never really got to know the evil forces that were behind him. They were just known as pure evil and we got nothing much more than that.

The characters all seemed very one dimensional to me. They all spoke and acted as though they were the same person. There were moments where the actions of the characters felt forced and didn't flow naturally because these actions were there only to tell the reader "I have a unique personality!" It was when the focus wasn't on certain characters where their facades dropped and it felt like all of these characters were the same. We weren't given background of almost anyone and when we were, it felt weak.

In the summary of the book it's not told that we follow two main characters, Claire and Zoe, instead of just one. Claire seemed like a strong lead with an interesting past, but we're told nothing about it. It's always hinted at but then nothing comes of it. Then Zoe plays the naive new girl who suddenly has a knack for demon-hunting because she's the chosen one. We were given so little information about Zoe that it was as if she didn't even have a life before moving to this new place. At times she didn't even feel like the main character because she blended in with Daniel and Maggie so much. If these novels just revolved around Aunt Claire after this book I wouldn't be surprised. 

There were many underlying messages I enjoyed such as those feelings of worthlessness people have and how God is always there. I give props to Caplinger for including religion in this book because it can sometimes be difficult to bring your faith into writing. Faith really was the core of what Caplinger was trying to say but she tried throwing in some supernatural demons to make the story seem cooler. 

I am well aware that this is only the first book. But,questions appeared that were never answered. The world of shadows and demons felt poorly explained. Readers were only given information about relevant demons but nothing else. It felt like the prophecy and background of everythingwas barely touched upon. (Aunt Claire's past, why there are two daughters, what is the desert?, etc.)

3 stars

Red by Jennifer Anne Davis (2nd book of True Reign Series)

Sentenced to be executed.
Betrayed. Alone. 
Hung on the gallows. 
Rema thought her life was over, but she was wrong.

Saved by a rebel force she’d only ever heard rumors about, Rema finds herself in a forbidden place. She is finally safe—free from the king and Prince Lennek. But not everything is as it seems at the rebel fortress. Secrets are whispered, and loyalties are tested. Once Rema uncovers the truth of her heritage, will she flee? Or will she ascend to the throne, taking on the responsibility of an entire kingdom?

Now that Darmik knows Rema’s true identity, he’s on a quest to save her. But when an Emperion assassin arrives on Greenwood Island, Darmik knows he doesn’t have very long to find her. In a deadly game with high stakes, will Darmik remain loyal to his family? Or will he break away and join the rebels?

Kingdoms rise and fall. 
Heroes are born and made. 
But one thing remains the same—love conquers all.

This novel thoroughly irked me. Sure, it was enjoyable enough (though I can't tell exactly why) but there were so many problems I had with it.

In my personal opinion, Rema does not show the necessary skills to become queen. She is kind and beautiful, but has nothing else going for her. A main character should have the right mix of uniqueness to set them apart from the other characters while also making sure they're not overpowered and made to be wayyy better than everyone else. Rema is placed on a pedestal compared to all the other characters with no valuable traits to back it up. She should have earned the people's respect, but it was just handed to her.

The plot fairly dull and can be described as "everything revolves around Rema." Really, this series has been all about protecting Rema but it has given me no reason to want Rema to be protected. The pacing was all over the place randomly skipping weeks/days. There were also parts in the novel that just made me cringe that I had to put the book down.

We did get to see more of the side characters. But, I didn't really enjoy them that much. Savenek had the potential to be an interesting character, which he was, but that was quickly ruined. His personality did a complete flip for the worsebecause of sudden love for Rema. WHAT WAS UP WITH THAT SUDDEN HAREM?! 

The love triangle was not necessary AT ALL. It added nothing but extra drama. All the romance in this book seemed to be handled poorly. Not only was there an unnecessary love triangle, but in the midst of a freaking WAR, characters decide to get all up close and personal with each other. WHAT. I THOUGHT WE WERE PAST THIS.

I have very mixed feelings about the ending of this book. I liked the last 10% but in the last 2% I was just really irritated.