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Ilyon Chronicles #1
Resistance
“Don’t you know? Animals like you have no soul.”
Could God ever love a half-blood all of society looks upon with such fear and disdain? Jace once believed so, but when a tragic loss shatters the only peace he’s ever known, his faith crumbles as the nagging doubts he’s tried to put behind him descend on his grieving heart. With them come the haunting memories of the bloodstained past he longs to forget, but can never escape.
Taken from home at a young age and raised to serve the emperor, Kyrin Altair lives every day under a dangerous pretense of loyalty. After her unique observation skills and perfect memory place her into direct service to the emperor, Kyrin finds herself in further jeopardy as it becomes increasingly difficult to hide her belief in Elôm, the one true God.
Following the emperor’s declaration to enforce the worship of false gods under the penalty of death, many lives are endangered. But there are those willing to risk everything to take a stand and offer aid to the persecuted. With their lives traveling paths they never could have imagined, Jace and Kyrin must fight to overcome their own fears and conflicts with society as they become part of the resistance.
(Christian Fantasy/Clean New Adult/No Magic)
Could God ever love a half-blood all of society looks upon with such fear and disdain? Jace once believed so, but when a tragic loss shatters the only peace he’s ever known, his faith crumbles as the nagging doubts he’s tried to put behind him descend on his grieving heart. With them come the haunting memories of the bloodstained past he longs to forget, but can never escape.
Taken from home at a young age and raised to serve the emperor, Kyrin Altair lives every day under a dangerous pretense of loyalty. After her unique observation skills and perfect memory place her into direct service to the emperor, Kyrin finds herself in further jeopardy as it becomes increasingly difficult to hide her belief in Elôm, the one true God.
Following the emperor’s declaration to enforce the worship of false gods under the penalty of death, many lives are endangered. But there are those willing to risk everything to take a stand and offer aid to the persecuted. With their lives traveling paths they never could have imagined, Jace and Kyrin must fight to overcome their own fears and conflicts with society as they become part of the resistance.
(Christian Fantasy/Clean New Adult/No Magic)
524 pages, Paperback
First published May 19, 2014
About the author
Jaye L. Knight
10 books608 followersJaye L. Knight is an award-winning author and shameless tea addict with a passion for Christian fantasy. 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 writes from her home in the Northwoods of Wisconsin where she lives with her three furbaby kitties, Arthur (as in King Arthur), Timothy, and Lucy. When not writing fantasy, she can also be found dabbling in contemporary romance novels under the pen name Jaye Elliot.
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May 6, 2017
WHEW.
Well . . . that was one heck of a ride and I enjoyed it muchly. I did have a few quibbles; but overall, I am Very Pleased Indeed with this story and the way it turned out, and very grateful to all the wonderful peoples who recommended it to me! (Especially one special person . . . you know who you are . . . <3)
I'm going to basically do a "what I liked/what I didn't like" style review, even though I've never tried that kind before; because I think it fits this story best. So here we go:
What I Liked:
- The characters!!! There were a ton of them, that's for sure; but they were all so vivid and well-fleshed-out, it was super easy to care about each one. Especially:
-JACE. *clutches heart* DAT BOI IS MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE. I don't care what anybody else says--he is Officially Mine, folks. He is a precious cinnamon roll who deserves to be protected from all the things. I just want to wrap him in a wool blanket and feed him hot chocolate and let him play with kittens all day long, or something. HE NEEDS SOME LOVE, OKAY???? And his PTSD was excellently written, and made me want to cry . . . which is no mean feat, because I don't cry over books. *sniffles*
- Kyrin!! I Very Much Approve of this female lead, folks :-) She's strong, and capable, and compassionate, and knows exactly who she is. And she's pretty darn handy with a bow and arrow, too *beams proudly* Fine job, Ms. Knight. A+.
- Rayad. I really loved him as a mentor figure; he was wise, and good, but he had some prejudices of his own and didn't actually know ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING, nor did he pretend to . . . Good stuff. Very realistic.
- Trask. He makes me grin :-)
- Kaden! He was suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper relatable for me, actually. Rebellious? WE GOTCHA REBELLIOUS. But he was so sweet and generous, too, and brave. And humble, actually. The kind of guy who's fun to hang out with, ya know what I mean?
- The descriptions/worldbuilding. Next to the characterization, I think this was the best part of the novel, actually. It was extremely vivid, and what's even more important, extremely clear. It's so easy to get lost in a confusing mish-mash of details when you're trying to create a whole new world like this; but the author didn't do that! She described everything carefully and succinctly, told you what you needed to know, and then moved on. Every time she told me what something looked like/sounded like/felt like, my reaction was, "Okay . . . yes . . . I SAW that." And I'm pretty terrible at grasping sensory details in the stuff I read, I can tell you that--so the fact that I didn't really feel lost at any point in this book is quite a testament to Ms. Knight's skill as a writer.
- The shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip. <3 <3 <3 (Also, super glad the author didn't try to use up all the romantic potential in this one story. Save some for the end, y'know? Me likes the slow burn. :-P)
- The allegorical aspect--especially the religious persecution. It was challenging, but in a good way. It made me think more about my own faith, and ask myself what I'd do in that situation, whether or not I'd find that courage; and that's always a worthwhile and necessary exercise.
Especially for me, at this particular moment in my life . . . So, yes. Very much appreciated. *nods*
- The plot twists. Pretty nerve-wracking, and we likes that, precious :-)
What I didn't like:
- Okay, so I'm just gonna say right now, I am EXTREMELY uncomfortable with this whole "irredeemable race/inherent evil" notion that we've got going on with the ryriks in this story. I'm not willing to accept the idea that ANY race of intelligent beings created by a wise and loving God could be either soulless or without hope of redemption. Now, I do kind of get the feeling that Ms. Knight is planning to disprove this concept in the remainder of the series--which would make sense, given that this is only Book 1 of what, 6 books? And Jace's character arc is only just beginning, etc., etc. HOWEVAH. There's definitely this running thread throughout "Resistance" that "Jace is only 'good' because he's half human instead of full-blooded ryrik"; and that's just not okay, if that is indeed what the author is trying to tell us. On the other hand, most of that seems to be coming from Rayad; and maybe Rayad is just a slightly prejudiced old man who doesn't actually know everything. We'll see. I'm reserving judgment for the rest of the series :-)
- Even though I absolutely appreciated the strong faith shown by Kyrin and the other characters, I DID feel that the religious conflict in this story wasn't explained too well? I don't feel like I have a good grasp of WHY the worship of Elom is different from the worship of What's-His-Face and What's-Her-Face (y'know, the moon people); other than the fact that the one system has only one God and the other has several. Why, exactly, are they so unalterably opposed to each other? Why are the followers of Elom seen as so subversive and dangerous by the rest of society? Are they threatening its class structure? Gender roles? Cherished social traditions? Major modes of entertainment?
I definitely understand this is an allegory about Christianity and persecution. But here's what bothers me--large-scale persecution doesn't happen without a reason. There always has to be a REASON why the non-believers hate the Christians; sure, it can be a stupid reason, but there has to be a reason. Otherwise, you're just kind of encouraging the notion that "everybody who doesn't believe in Jesus hates us because . . . they just DO"; and that's problematic, because it allows us an excuse for not cooperating with, and not trying to build relationships with, those who don't worship the same God we do.
Again, this may well be explained throughout the rest of the series; so I'm going to try and be patient and reserve judgment on that :-) (And I don't mean to be critical, guys. I'm just trying to explain how I felt about this book. Discussion in the comments is always welcome.)
Content? Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm . . . intense violence? But definitely not as intense as I'd been expecting, to be honest; and nowhere near as bad as some [real-life] stuff I've read. (Early Christian martyr testimony *cough, COUGH*) I think your average mature teen (15+) should be able to handle this just fine; although, if you're personally sensitive to violence, you MIGHT want to give it a miss. It definitely wasn't gratuitous, though, and it was all there for the sake of proving a point, not just for "oh, look how violent we can be." Ms. Knight showed a lot of restraint, I thought.
Conclusion:
This is an amazing fantasy novel with some pretty phenomenal characters and a strong message. Would absolutely recommend to a friend (just as my friends recommended it to me :-) ) And I can't wait for the next book so I can SEE WHAT HAPPENS WITH MY PRECIOUS SHIP *scurries off to order it on Amazon Kindle*
Well . . . that was one heck of a ride and I enjoyed it muchly. I did have a few quibbles; but overall, I am Very Pleased Indeed with this story and the way it turned out, and very grateful to all the wonderful peoples who recommended it to me! (Especially one special person . . . you know who you are . . . <3)
I'm going to basically do a "what I liked/what I didn't like" style review, even though I've never tried that kind before; because I think it fits this story best. So here we go:
What I Liked:
- The characters!!! There were a ton of them, that's for sure; but they were all so vivid and well-fleshed-out, it was super easy to care about each one. Especially:
-JACE. *clutches heart* DAT BOI IS MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE. I don't care what anybody else says--he is Officially Mine, folks. He is a precious cinnamon roll who deserves to be protected from all the things. I just want to wrap him in a wool blanket and feed him hot chocolate and let him play with kittens all day long, or something. HE NEEDS SOME LOVE, OKAY???? And his PTSD was excellently written, and made me want to cry . . . which is no mean feat, because I don't cry over books. *sniffles*
- Kyrin!! I Very Much Approve of this female lead, folks :-) She's strong, and capable, and compassionate, and knows exactly who she is. And she's pretty darn handy with a bow and arrow, too *beams proudly* Fine job, Ms. Knight. A+.
- Rayad. I really loved him as a mentor figure; he was wise, and good, but he had some prejudices of his own and didn't actually know ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING, nor did he pretend to . . . Good stuff. Very realistic.
- Trask. He makes me grin :-)
- Kaden! He was suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper relatable for me, actually. Rebellious? WE GOTCHA REBELLIOUS. But he was so sweet and generous, too, and brave. And humble, actually. The kind of guy who's fun to hang out with, ya know what I mean?
- The descriptions/worldbuilding. Next to the characterization, I think this was the best part of the novel, actually. It was extremely vivid, and what's even more important, extremely clear. It's so easy to get lost in a confusing mish-mash of details when you're trying to create a whole new world like this; but the author didn't do that! She described everything carefully and succinctly, told you what you needed to know, and then moved on. Every time she told me what something looked like/sounded like/felt like, my reaction was, "Okay . . . yes . . . I SAW that." And I'm pretty terrible at grasping sensory details in the stuff I read, I can tell you that--so the fact that I didn't really feel lost at any point in this book is quite a testament to Ms. Knight's skill as a writer.
- The shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip. <3 <3 <3 (Also, super glad the author didn't try to use up all the romantic potential in this one story. Save some for the end, y'know? Me likes the slow burn. :-P)
- The allegorical aspect--especially the religious persecution. It was challenging, but in a good way. It made me think more about my own faith, and ask myself what I'd do in that situation, whether or not I'd find that courage; and that's always a worthwhile and necessary exercise.
Especially for me, at this particular moment in my life . . . So, yes. Very much appreciated. *nods*
- The plot twists. Pretty nerve-wracking, and we likes that, precious :-)
What I didn't like:
- Okay, so I'm just gonna say right now, I am EXTREMELY uncomfortable with this whole "irredeemable race/inherent evil" notion that we've got going on with the ryriks in this story. I'm not willing to accept the idea that ANY race of intelligent beings created by a wise and loving God could be either soulless or without hope of redemption. Now, I do kind of get the feeling that Ms. Knight is planning to disprove this concept in the remainder of the series--which would make sense, given that this is only Book 1 of what, 6 books? And Jace's character arc is only just beginning, etc., etc. HOWEVAH. There's definitely this running thread throughout "Resistance" that "Jace is only 'good' because he's half human instead of full-blooded ryrik"; and that's just not okay, if that is indeed what the author is trying to tell us. On the other hand, most of that seems to be coming from Rayad; and maybe Rayad is just a slightly prejudiced old man who doesn't actually know everything. We'll see. I'm reserving judgment for the rest of the series :-)
- Even though I absolutely appreciated the strong faith shown by Kyrin and the other characters, I DID feel that the religious conflict in this story wasn't explained too well? I don't feel like I have a good grasp of WHY the worship of Elom is different from the worship of What's-His-Face and What's-Her-Face (y'know, the moon people); other than the fact that the one system has only one God and the other has several. Why, exactly, are they so unalterably opposed to each other? Why are the followers of Elom seen as so subversive and dangerous by the rest of society? Are they threatening its class structure? Gender roles? Cherished social traditions? Major modes of entertainment?
I definitely understand this is an allegory about Christianity and persecution. But here's what bothers me--large-scale persecution doesn't happen without a reason. There always has to be a REASON why the non-believers hate the Christians; sure, it can be a stupid reason, but there has to be a reason. Otherwise, you're just kind of encouraging the notion that "everybody who doesn't believe in Jesus hates us because . . . they just DO"; and that's problematic, because it allows us an excuse for not cooperating with, and not trying to build relationships with, those who don't worship the same God we do.
Again, this may well be explained throughout the rest of the series; so I'm going to try and be patient and reserve judgment on that :-) (And I don't mean to be critical, guys. I'm just trying to explain how I felt about this book. Discussion in the comments is always welcome.)
Content? Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm . . . intense violence? But definitely not as intense as I'd been expecting, to be honest; and nowhere near as bad as some [real-life] stuff I've read. (Early Christian martyr testimony *cough, COUGH*) I think your average mature teen (15+) should be able to handle this just fine; although, if you're personally sensitive to violence, you MIGHT want to give it a miss. It definitely wasn't gratuitous, though, and it was all there for the sake of proving a point, not just for "oh, look how violent we can be." Ms. Knight showed a lot of restraint, I thought.
Conclusion:
This is an amazing fantasy novel with some pretty phenomenal characters and a strong message. Would absolutely recommend to a friend (just as my friends recommended it to me :-) ) And I can't wait for the next book so I can SEE WHAT HAPPENS WITH MY PRECIOUS SHIP *scurries off to order it on Amazon Kindle*
September 2, 2015
FIVE STARS! I would give it SIX if that was an option. (Goodreads, please take note!)
When I started Resistance, I was seriously skeptical.
For one, I've never thought I really enjoyed fantasy. I'm usually one to read realistic fiction and nonfiction. Now, I have never had really bad experiences with fantasy...it's just not my thing. Or so I thought.
My main "problem" (well, not AT ALL with this book) with Christian fantasy is that so many times they mix our real God into the made-up world it and do not do it well, sometimes even unpurposefully seeming to mock God in the process...e.g. "Quick, let's pray for God to send his angels to rescue us from the dragon's mouth!" And I wasn't really interested in reading that kind of book.
But Resistance was waaayyy different. God's name is Elôm, and has the same characteristics as our God, but there is nothing that would make me even slightly uncomfortable about having God (under a different name) in it. It just works.
Second, it's about 500 pages long...I didn't know if I really wanted to get into a "long" book during the school year and potentially not finish it. But in reality, I finished it within a week. I literally could NOT put it down.
Third, "it's an adult book. It has to be a little dry." By the end of the first page, I was hooked. So much for boring. All I wanted to do the week I read it was just that -- read.
What I loved about Resistance was...well, I loved everything actually.
I loved the reality and believability of all of the characters. There weren't any empty characters. By their descriptions and actions, you knew them for who they were, and it was amazing.
I love how Jaye writes. Occasionally, there was a word that I didn't know and when I looked it up, it was used perfectly. The imagery was fantastic. The vocabulary was very well used. I could picture everything.
I loved the brother/sister relationship between Kyrin and Kaden. It was...just perfect and sweet and real at the same time.
I loved the adoptive father/son relationship between Rayad and Jace. It just was great.
I loved the friendship between Kyrin and Jace. That you could tell it was heading eventually toward romance, but wasn't pushy in terms of time. Their friendship was built solidly on caring for each other. And I loved it.
In this book, the main characters must stand up for their beliefs. In Ilyon however, worship of any other than Aertus and Vilai (the moon gods) is forbidden. What will happen to the believers when faced with the decision between false worship or execution?
Kyrin Altar has much to face. Will she stand firm under major pressure, or cave? What will happen to Kaden Altair? Will he ever see his sister again?
What about Jace? When faced with the accusation of being a soulless killer, will he live up to that expectation or defy it?
All throughout Resistance, I was kept on the literal edge of my seat. I can't wait to read The King's Scrolls, and even more by Jaye L. Knight.
(Wow, this was the longest review I have ever written. That was fun.)
When I started Resistance, I was seriously skeptical.
For one, I've never thought I really enjoyed fantasy. I'm usually one to read realistic fiction and nonfiction. Now, I have never had really bad experiences with fantasy...it's just not my thing. Or so I thought.
My main "problem" (well, not AT ALL with this book) with Christian fantasy is that so many times they mix our real God into the made-up world it and do not do it well, sometimes even unpurposefully seeming to mock God in the process...e.g. "Quick, let's pray for God to send his angels to rescue us from the dragon's mouth!" And I wasn't really interested in reading that kind of book.
But Resistance was waaayyy different. God's name is Elôm, and has the same characteristics as our God, but there is nothing that would make me even slightly uncomfortable about having God (under a different name) in it. It just works.
Second, it's about 500 pages long...I didn't know if I really wanted to get into a "long" book during the school year and potentially not finish it. But in reality, I finished it within a week. I literally could NOT put it down.
Third, "it's an adult book. It has to be a little dry." By the end of the first page, I was hooked. So much for boring. All I wanted to do the week I read it was just that -- read.
What I loved about Resistance was...well, I loved everything actually.
I loved the reality and believability of all of the characters. There weren't any empty characters. By their descriptions and actions, you knew them for who they were, and it was amazing.
I love how Jaye writes. Occasionally, there was a word that I didn't know and when I looked it up, it was used perfectly. The imagery was fantastic. The vocabulary was very well used. I could picture everything.
I loved the brother/sister relationship between Kyrin and Kaden. It was...just perfect and sweet and real at the same time.
I loved the adoptive father/son relationship between Rayad and Jace. It just was great.
I loved the friendship between Kyrin and Jace. That you could tell it was heading eventually toward romance, but wasn't pushy in terms of time. Their friendship was built solidly on caring for each other. And I loved it.
In this book, the main characters must stand up for their beliefs. In Ilyon however, worship of any other than Aertus and Vilai (the moon gods) is forbidden. What will happen to the believers when faced with the decision between false worship or execution?
Kyrin Altar has much to face. Will she stand firm under major pressure, or cave? What will happen to Kaden Altair? Will he ever see his sister again?
What about Jace? When faced with the accusation of being a soulless killer, will he live up to that expectation or defy it?
All throughout Resistance, I was kept on the literal edge of my seat. I can't wait to read The King's Scrolls, and even more by Jaye L. Knight.
(Wow, this was the longest review I have ever written. That was fun.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 13, 2016
Oh my ... where to even start? It brought me to tears, made my skin tingle in delight, had my mind racing, and made my heart sigh.
Resistance tells the stories of a fascinating array of characters; the most prominent being Kyrin Altair and Jace. Kyrin, along with her twin brother Kaden, train in Tarvin Hall to serve the emperor. Jace is of a feared race, an outcast to society. Both of them have this in common: they serve King Elom; which is a dangerous thing to do in the darkening days of Ilyon. Believers of Elom labor to keep their faith a secret ... but evil is at work. In the end, who will bow, and who will resist?
The setting of Resistance is an unusual, captivating mix of Ancient Rome-like times, fantasy concepts, and a futuristic touch —with the Christian allegory ever present. The collection of different “fantasy” races was intriguing. From the ruthless, supposedly soulless ryriks, to the regal, peace-loving talcrins, I was delighted by this creativity! Can’t wait to meet more of the races, such as the cretes and the giants (dorlanders)!
This story was deep. Deep, emotionally-stirring, thought-provoking, and hitting very close to home. I often found myself thinking, "What would I do in that situation?" Because I have much in common with Kyrin and Jace. A faith that has faced persecution around the world and across the centuries, for one. And it’s a faith worth fighting for! Resistance displayed that ... with scenes that pierced my heart. No, I will not bow down to your gods; I serve King Elom, and Him alone! Yes, it was deep. It felt real.
The love story, well ... it’s not exactly a love story ... but, I believe it will be, later on! *smiles* Anyway, the relationship was so sweet. It came about with real compassion, selflessness, and care. –Truly beautiful to watch unfold.
Oh, and did I mention that I love Kaden? Really, he’s the epitome of “big brotherly-ness”. He definitely ranks as a favorite character, along with Kyrin and Jace. But I liked all the characters —the good ones, I mean. Rayad, Trev, Endathlorsam, Liam, William, Trask, Anne ... Ah, I just want to read more of them!
Resistance was surprising, with breathtaking twists and turns. It was bittersweet and love-filled, with scenes that made me want to cry and smile all at once. It was interesting, with its amazing settings and happenings. It was heart-rending. It was beautiful. It was worth it. Definitely not your fluffy romance story —but I loved it. I absolutely can’t wait to read the next book to the ILYON CHRONICLES! And the next, and the next. I hear there is six books to the series, yay! ^_^
There was some violence, in order to enhance the story. I would caution younger children (10 and under). But otherwise, it's definitely not all gruesome and gore, just a bit of violence to make the situation more real.
All in all, a stunning story. Even after the last page, the impact remains.
I received a copy of Resistance from the author in exchange for my honest review.
Resistance tells the stories of a fascinating array of characters; the most prominent being Kyrin Altair and Jace. Kyrin, along with her twin brother Kaden, train in Tarvin Hall to serve the emperor. Jace is of a feared race, an outcast to society. Both of them have this in common: they serve King Elom; which is a dangerous thing to do in the darkening days of Ilyon. Believers of Elom labor to keep their faith a secret ... but evil is at work. In the end, who will bow, and who will resist?
The setting of Resistance is an unusual, captivating mix of Ancient Rome-like times, fantasy concepts, and a futuristic touch —with the Christian allegory ever present. The collection of different “fantasy” races was intriguing. From the ruthless, supposedly soulless ryriks, to the regal, peace-loving talcrins, I was delighted by this creativity! Can’t wait to meet more of the races, such as the cretes and the giants (dorlanders)!
This story was deep. Deep, emotionally-stirring, thought-provoking, and hitting very close to home. I often found myself thinking, "What would I do in that situation?" Because I have much in common with Kyrin and Jace. A faith that has faced persecution around the world and across the centuries, for one. And it’s a faith worth fighting for! Resistance displayed that ... with scenes that pierced my heart. No, I will not bow down to your gods; I serve King Elom, and Him alone! Yes, it was deep. It felt real.
The love story, well ... it’s not exactly a love story ... but, I believe it will be, later on! *smiles* Anyway, the relationship was so sweet. It came about with real compassion, selflessness, and care. –Truly beautiful to watch unfold.
Oh, and did I mention that I love Kaden? Really, he’s the epitome of “big brotherly-ness”. He definitely ranks as a favorite character, along with Kyrin and Jace. But I liked all the characters —the good ones, I mean. Rayad, Trev, Endathlorsam, Liam, William, Trask, Anne ... Ah, I just want to read more of them!
Resistance was surprising, with breathtaking twists and turns. It was bittersweet and love-filled, with scenes that made me want to cry and smile all at once. It was interesting, with its amazing settings and happenings. It was heart-rending. It was beautiful. It was worth it. Definitely not your fluffy romance story —but I loved it. I absolutely can’t wait to read the next book to the ILYON CHRONICLES! And the next, and the next. I hear there is six books to the series, yay! ^_^
There was some violence, in order to enhance the story. I would caution younger children (10 and under). But otherwise, it's definitely not all gruesome and gore, just a bit of violence to make the situation more real.
All in all, a stunning story. Even after the last page, the impact remains.
I received a copy of Resistance from the author in exchange for my honest review.
April 14, 2023
WOW, what a wonderful surprise! I read my friend Celestria's favorite books and this was a 5 star read for me! :) A great start to a Christian Fantasy series! Even if you are not someone who loves fantasy, ya'll would LOVE this because it's more of a fantasical "world", set in medieval times then fantasy elements in the story so it's easy to understand with great characters! The reason I loved this so much is the Christian allegory was TOP TIER! I felt Daniel/Shadrach/Meshach/Abednego vibes - these people are NOT going to bow down to false gods - we are here for this story ya'll!
In this story, we follow Kyrin and her twin brother, Kaden, as they are training in Tarvyn Hall. They are beleivers in Elom (allegory to God) but they have to keep their belief hidden. Things get crazy when Kyrin is forced to go work for the Emperor Daican to read people. The Emperor wants everyone to worship these false gods and anyone who doesn't will be sentenced to death.
Then we have Jace - half human, half animal - does he have a soul? People doubt it and have always looked upon him with fear and contempt because the half animal in him has always been very dangerous and a vicious kind. But Jace is a believer in Elom and is trying to hold on to what little faith he is starting to have left as he feels it crumbling from all the hardship he has been through. He works under Rayad - a father / mentor figure for him - a wanted man but a main of faith who helps him and they grow close during the next few years together. Things get crazy for Jace and our character perspectives start to mesh together as they begin to form their resistance together.......
As I said, the best part of this was the Christian Allegory and the characters ya'll. SO GOOD.
Overall, book 1 in the Ilyon Chronicles is one of my favorite books of 2023 and can't wait to get into the rest of the series!
In this story, we follow Kyrin and her twin brother, Kaden, as they are training in Tarvyn Hall. They are beleivers in Elom (allegory to God) but they have to keep their belief hidden. Things get crazy when Kyrin is forced to go work for the Emperor Daican to read people. The Emperor wants everyone to worship these false gods and anyone who doesn't will be sentenced to death.
Then we have Jace - half human, half animal - does he have a soul? People doubt it and have always looked upon him with fear and contempt because the half animal in him has always been very dangerous and a vicious kind. But Jace is a believer in Elom and is trying to hold on to what little faith he is starting to have left as he feels it crumbling from all the hardship he has been through. He works under Rayad - a father / mentor figure for him - a wanted man but a main of faith who helps him and they grow close during the next few years together. Things get crazy for Jace and our character perspectives start to mesh together as they begin to form their resistance together.......
As I said, the best part of this was the Christian Allegory and the characters ya'll. SO GOOD.
Overall, book 1 in the Ilyon Chronicles is one of my favorite books of 2023 and can't wait to get into the rest of the series!
December 30, 2018
Just realized that this is my final read of 2018! What a book to finish off with!!
this book has it all! a captivating storyline, a mesmerizing cover, and wonderful, in-depth characters! before i go any further, let me give you the overview:
-Language: none. very happy about that!
-Romance: there is a side relationship between two people, but not with the main characters- Jace and Kyrin. Jace has a strong urge to protect Kyrin and he thinks about her often. I can just FEEL that they will get together in the future books, but that wasn't the case in Resistance! Loved their friendly relationship that formed between them.
-Violence: this is something I'd be cautious about. As this is a book featuring a lot of persecution, there is much detail. There is nothing gory and too detailed I couldn't read it, but a person nearly loses his eye, a finger is nearly cut off, and people are killed for their faith.
Blood/Gore: bloody detail in the scenes mentioned above.
This story is super inspiring to me! I loved every character (even Holden in the end). Well, minus the emperor and his men. Ugh. BOO DAICAN. And his creepy daughter. Even then, they were well drawn out!!
I fell in love with Jace from the start. He's been through everything, and he experienced nightmares and believed the lie that he was an 'animal'. I loved how Kyrin was pretty much the only one who could get past his well-built wall. It was hard to see him struggle with his past and the memories that haunted him. He nearly lost his faith in Elôm- but he proved himself a fighter.
Honestly, there was nothing that I DIDN'T like in this book! It was sad to see people getting persecuted, and reminded me of people around the world who are persecuted daily for their faith. It was so cool to see Kyrin and her brother hold so tightly to their faith.
It was hard to see Jace struggle with his past and the memories that haunted him. He nearly lost his faith in Elôm, but Kyrin helped him through.
Such a POWERFUL and BRILLIANT story that Jaye wrote!! *scurries off to buy the rest of the series*
100% recommend to lovers of Christian, clean fiction full of ADVENTURE, EVIL, and OVERCOMING IT.
younger readers be cautioned for the violence. ages 14+
now I understand why everyone loved this!!! GREAT JOB JAYE!!!
soli deo gloria
this book has it all! a captivating storyline, a mesmerizing cover, and wonderful, in-depth characters! before i go any further, let me give you the overview:
-Language: none. very happy about that!
-Romance: there is a side relationship between two people, but not with the main characters- Jace and Kyrin. Jace has a strong urge to protect Kyrin and he thinks about her often. I can just FEEL that they will get together in the future books, but that wasn't the case in Resistance! Loved their friendly relationship that formed between them.
-Violence: this is something I'd be cautious about. As this is a book featuring a lot of persecution, there is much detail. There is nothing gory and too detailed I couldn't read it, but a person nearly loses his eye, a finger is nearly cut off, and people are killed for their faith.
Blood/Gore: bloody detail in the scenes mentioned above.
This story is super inspiring to me! I loved every character (even Holden in the end). Well, minus the emperor and his men. Ugh. BOO DAICAN. And his creepy daughter. Even then, they were well drawn out!!
I fell in love with Jace from the start. He's been through everything, and he experienced nightmares and believed the lie that he was an 'animal'. I loved how Kyrin was pretty much the only one who could get past his well-built wall. It was hard to see him struggle with his past and the memories that haunted him. He nearly lost his faith in Elôm- but he proved himself a fighter.
Honestly, there was nothing that I DIDN'T like in this book! It was sad to see people getting persecuted, and reminded me of people around the world who are persecuted daily for their faith. It was so cool to see Kyrin and her brother hold so tightly to their faith.
It was hard to see Jace struggle with his past and the memories that haunted him. He nearly lost his faith in Elôm, but Kyrin helped him through.
Such a POWERFUL and BRILLIANT story that Jaye wrote!! *scurries off to buy the rest of the series*
100% recommend to lovers of Christian, clean fiction full of ADVENTURE, EVIL, and OVERCOMING IT.
younger readers be cautioned for the violence. ages 14+
now I understand why everyone loved this!!! GREAT JOB JAYE!!!
soli deo gloria
July 4, 2017
Haha, just realized it's been *exactly* a year since I last read this. XD
New review to come . . . sometime. :)
Exceptional! Probably the best indie fiction I have ever read. I loved the story, the characters, all of it. The characters were so well written and developed. You adored the "good" characters and hated the "bad" guys. I was hooked from the very beginning. It kept me on the edge of my seat, and I couldn't put it down! So amazing! Well done Jaye!
New review to come . . . sometime. :)
Exceptional! Probably the best indie fiction I have ever read. I loved the story, the characters, all of it. The characters were so well written and developed. You adored the "good" characters and hated the "bad" guys. I was hooked from the very beginning. It kept me on the edge of my seat, and I couldn't put it down! So amazing! Well done Jaye!
December 1, 2022
Persecution. When I hear that word I think of either a Historical fiction set in Rome or WWII, maybe a contemporary set in China or the Middle East, perhaps even sci-fi, especially dystopias. Fantasy is certainly not what comes to mind.
I knew when Jaye, who previously wrote under the name Molly Evangeline, announced this series that I would love it. I have enjoyed every single one of her books I have read, and when she contacted me to ask if I wanted to review Resistance, I jumped at the opportunity.
None of my high expectations were disappointed. Instead, they were blown away.
The two main characters were Kyrin and Jace, and I'm not sure which one I preferred. Kyrin has the inability to forget anything – which places her in a position to work directly for the Emperor, and Jace is half ryrik – the most violent race in Ilyon, rumored to be the first to fall from grace. She is faced with keeping her faith in Elóm, which is what God is called in this world, secret, since her country is hostile to it. Jace and Rayad, the man who rescued him from the life as a gladiator, are on the run from the same government for belief in the same Elóm. Jace, however, is struggling with his belief, since it is a commonly held belief that ryriks have no souls, and therefore cannot be saved.
I may love Kyrin a little bit more, however. She's a twin, you see, and she and her brother, Kaden, are one of the best twinsets I've ever read about. They each have the other's back. He's so fiercely protective of her, while she tries her best to keep him out of trouble. I've said it before, but I don't mind saying it again. I love twins.
And then there was the worldbuilding. I loved Dolennar, the world of her Makilien Trilogy, but Ilyon was so fresh and unique. Most worlds, Dolennar included, are built on a Medieval Europe pattern, but Ilyon tastes more of Rome and China, and I don't see nearly enough of that. Instead of a few races that you mostly get to know on a general level, each of the peoples of Ilyon are fresh, new, and varied. Sure, we haven't met all of them, but I can tell that Jaye has put much work into developing them.
Characters and world aside, it was the message, the heart of the story that blew me away. I've read plenty of books about persecution, but very few are set in my favored genre of fantasy. And even fewer tell it with the power and grace that Jaye achieves in this book.
Plot? I've said with her trilogy that she's a master at plot twists, and while there weren't many plot twists in this book (though I'm sure that will change in future installments), this merging of fantasy and persecution left me at complete loss as to how everything might turn out. I don't think I was ever surprised, but there were plenty of times when I couldn't see how Jaye could bring them out of a difficulty. (And the only reason I knew she would was that it's the first book of a six volume series)
I'm at the edge of my seat in anticipation for the next book, but I'm afraid I'll have to wait at least another year for it.
Note: While it is a clean book, and violence is well-handled, the book is marketed towards older teens and those in their lower twenties, and I certainly wouldn't protest that decision. It deals with some pretty tough topics.
I knew when Jaye, who previously wrote under the name Molly Evangeline, announced this series that I would love it. I have enjoyed every single one of her books I have read, and when she contacted me to ask if I wanted to review Resistance, I jumped at the opportunity.
None of my high expectations were disappointed. Instead, they were blown away.
The two main characters were Kyrin and Jace, and I'm not sure which one I preferred. Kyrin has the inability to forget anything – which places her in a position to work directly for the Emperor, and Jace is half ryrik – the most violent race in Ilyon, rumored to be the first to fall from grace. She is faced with keeping her faith in Elóm, which is what God is called in this world, secret, since her country is hostile to it. Jace and Rayad, the man who rescued him from the life as a gladiator, are on the run from the same government for belief in the same Elóm. Jace, however, is struggling with his belief, since it is a commonly held belief that ryriks have no souls, and therefore cannot be saved.
I may love Kyrin a little bit more, however. She's a twin, you see, and she and her brother, Kaden, are one of the best twinsets I've ever read about. They each have the other's back. He's so fiercely protective of her, while she tries her best to keep him out of trouble. I've said it before, but I don't mind saying it again. I love twins.
And then there was the worldbuilding. I loved Dolennar, the world of her Makilien Trilogy, but Ilyon was so fresh and unique. Most worlds, Dolennar included, are built on a Medieval Europe pattern, but Ilyon tastes more of Rome and China, and I don't see nearly enough of that. Instead of a few races that you mostly get to know on a general level, each of the peoples of Ilyon are fresh, new, and varied. Sure, we haven't met all of them, but I can tell that Jaye has put much work into developing them.
Characters and world aside, it was the message, the heart of the story that blew me away. I've read plenty of books about persecution, but very few are set in my favored genre of fantasy. And even fewer tell it with the power and grace that Jaye achieves in this book.
Plot? I've said with her trilogy that she's a master at plot twists, and while there weren't many plot twists in this book (though I'm sure that will change in future installments), this merging of fantasy and persecution left me at complete loss as to how everything might turn out. I don't think I was ever surprised, but there were plenty of times when I couldn't see how Jaye could bring them out of a difficulty. (And the only reason I knew she would was that it's the first book of a six volume series)
I'm at the edge of my seat in anticipation for the next book, but I'm afraid I'll have to wait at least another year for it.
Note: While it is a clean book, and violence is well-handled, the book is marketed towards older teens and those in their lower twenties, and I certainly wouldn't protest that decision. It deals with some pretty tough topics.
October 6, 2019
A fantastic read. This an adventure fantasy story with a heart. Once I started it, I could hardly put it down. There are lots of plot twists and action here, but I especially liked the main male character Jace and found his journey very compelling. He is despised by society in general as he is half ryrik (or monster) and therefore considered an animal. To make matters worse, he is a slave. He encounters a wanted man, Rayad, who is also a man of faith and thereafter his life changes for the better. Without giving too much away, this is a story of people with the courage of their beliefs against a hostile government as well as a story of personal redemption. God is called Elôm and those who serve him pray to him and seek to follow him but this is written about carefully, it does not take over or detract from the narrative but informs it. This is clean fantasy but it does have a violent edge with scenes of cruelty. Resistance is a well written and engaging and I'm glad I've read it.
September 2, 2019
ahhh this was amaaaazingggg RTC
Reread: it wasn't as good as the first time but still really good!
Reread: it wasn't as good as the first time but still really good!
September 10, 2020
Ohhh myyy gooooshhhh. I may or may not do a review of this later. For now, I will just say it was SO GOOD😍
April 23, 2021
Resistance was FANTASTIC!! Thank you, Summer, for the recommendation. It was amazing and I can't wait to continue the series!!
April 4, 2024
I really enjoyed this book. The one thing I really appreciated about this story was the character development. It was interesting to explore the depth of emotions and experiences through each of the characters. This is a epic high stake Christian Fantasy book and I loved that. I also loved that there was a grim darkness to it that made scenes intense and full of consequence. The faith was also well balanced and realistically portrayed in connection to the framework of the story. Great time! I'm excited to continue the series💜
CW: torture, martyrdom, violence, war and bullying, body harm
CW: torture, martyrdom, violence, war and bullying, body harm
July 30, 2018
FINALLY GUYS. FINALLY. I HAVE BEEN WAITING TO READ THIS SINCE I DISCOVERED THE BLOGGING WORLD (about ... oh idk one and a half years ago??) and the pressure this book was under to live up to hype was tremendous for ME. I am satisfied to announce that, while it wasn't EXACTLY what I had in mind, it blew me away.
The world building is marvelous - all the necessary info tossed in there in between with no info dumping whatsoever nor the holding back vital stats. It gave me vibes of Ted Dekker's Lost Books because of forest setting, and DragonKeeper Chronicles because of the fantasy races, and Red Queen because of rebellions and court drama, and Burning Glass because the girl is called to serve as an 'observer' to the king. Love the fantasy races, the portrayal of prejudice and hate, the cities, the rebellion, the court life and the confusing emperor.
Plot wise ...it was slightly slower than I expected, but nomatter. There were fights and dangerous secrets, escapes and resuces, fugitives, prisoners, rebellions, close calls ... all realistic and intense and heart stopping, in my personal opinion. Some of the happenings did border on predictable when looking back, but IT WAS DONE SO EXCITING-LY that I didn't even notice ha!
Characters are A+. I can fully understand why everyone adores Jace. (He's almost a male version of Celeste in Disowned.) He's this mix of sweet and kind and serious and reserved and tortured and hated and struggling and fierce and GAH SO MUCH POTENTIAL. I LOVE HIM. I FEEL FOR HIM SO MUCH. He's unique, so I believe you all will ADORE HIM too.
Kyrin ... I relate to her quite a bit, ESPECIALLY in how she relates to Jace. WANTS to be nice but has no idea HOW. She's so admirable from the outside, but reading her pov you can really understand how unsure and scared she is. Brave kid, really. I ADORE THE SIBLING RELATIONS BETWEEN HER AND HER TWIN BRO KADEN (plus her other brothers).
Side characters - SO WELL DONE. It is like I can totally visualize all of them having IMPORTANT roles in the future. I won't bother to name or list them all, but there are so many of them that I love and want to see more of ^.^ also Rayad is the best adoptive father ever ;D
The struggles the characters go through is so realistic and makes you really HURT for them. I love the fantasy representation of people persecuted for believing in God - I have read so many TRUE stories of this happening irl and that's why this book strikes a cord with me.
In essence - a beautiful world, a thrilling plot line, touching characters, marvelous friendships, realistic struggles, and resonating themes make this book a captivating start to what is sure to be an awesome series!
Content: some violence, including whipping, fight scenes where people die, beating as a form of torture, the threat of certain bad guy going to gouge out a person's eye, etc.
Recommended to all fantasy lovers, especially my Christian friends!!
The world building is marvelous - all the necessary info tossed in there in between with no info dumping whatsoever nor the holding back vital stats. It gave me vibes of Ted Dekker's Lost Books because of forest setting, and DragonKeeper Chronicles because of the fantasy races, and Red Queen because of rebellions and court drama, and Burning Glass because the girl is called to serve as an 'observer' to the king. Love the fantasy races, the portrayal of prejudice and hate, the cities, the rebellion, the court life and the confusing emperor.
Plot wise ...it was slightly slower than I expected, but nomatter. There were fights and dangerous secrets, escapes and resuces, fugitives, prisoners, rebellions, close calls ... all realistic and intense and heart stopping, in my personal opinion. Some of the happenings did border on predictable when looking back, but IT WAS DONE SO EXCITING-LY that I didn't even notice ha!
Characters are A+. I can fully understand why everyone adores Jace. (He's almost a male version of Celeste in Disowned.) He's this mix of sweet and kind and serious and reserved and tortured and hated and struggling and fierce and GAH SO MUCH POTENTIAL. I LOVE HIM. I FEEL FOR HIM SO MUCH. He's unique, so I believe you all will ADORE HIM too.
Kyrin ... I relate to her quite a bit, ESPECIALLY in how she relates to Jace. WANTS to be nice but has no idea HOW. She's so admirable from the outside, but reading her pov you can really understand how unsure and scared she is. Brave kid, really. I ADORE THE SIBLING RELATIONS BETWEEN HER AND HER TWIN BRO KADEN (plus her other brothers).
Side characters - SO WELL DONE. It is like I can totally visualize all of them having IMPORTANT roles in the future. I won't bother to name or list them all, but there are so many of them that I love and want to see more of ^.^ also Rayad is the best adoptive father ever ;D
The struggles the characters go through is so realistic and makes you really HURT for them. I love the fantasy representation of people persecuted for believing in God - I have read so many TRUE stories of this happening irl and that's why this book strikes a cord with me.
In essence - a beautiful world, a thrilling plot line, touching characters, marvelous friendships, realistic struggles, and resonating themes make this book a captivating start to what is sure to be an awesome series!
Content: some violence, including whipping, fight scenes where people die, beating as a form of torture, the threat of certain bad guy going to gouge out a person's eye, etc.
Recommended to all fantasy lovers, especially my Christian friends!!
January 4, 2019
First book I finish in 2019, and it's a five star. :D
Oh.
My.
WORD.
I don't even have words. I loved this book so much. The plot and characters really came alive and felt so real. The relationship and healing between Jace and Kyrin was so sweet and refreshing. I look forward to seeing their friendship grow over the next books. And the twin relationship between Kyrin and Kaden was so awesome to see.
Definitely adding to my list of my favorite books! :D <3
Oh.
My.
WORD.
I don't even have words. I loved this book so much. The plot and characters really came alive and felt so real. The relationship and healing between Jace and Kyrin was so sweet and refreshing. I look forward to seeing their friendship grow over the next books. And the twin relationship between Kyrin and Kaden was so awesome to see.
Definitely adding to my list of my favorite books! :D <3
February 8, 2019
This was a reread, but I loved it just as much as I did last year!
JACE was perfect, of course, and I loved him - but then again, who doesn’t? KYRIN is a role model for me, willing to step out of her comfort zone to do what she feels is right. And KADEN . . . gah, I just love his sibling relationship with Kyrin.
I mean, I just love this book. The plot is phenomenal and the characters are lovable and the world is amazingly built and - you know what? Just read it. You’ll see for yourself.
JACE was perfect, of course, and I loved him - but then again, who doesn’t? KYRIN is a role model for me, willing to step out of her comfort zone to do what she feels is right. And KADEN . . . gah, I just love his sibling relationship with Kyrin.
I mean, I just love this book. The plot is phenomenal and the characters are lovable and the world is amazingly built and - you know what? Just read it. You’ll see for yourself.
January 14, 2022
4.5 stars
Okay, I really enjoyed this book! Though I did want way more Jace than was in the book...but Kyrin grew on me.
I really liked the story and the hopeful message weaved in. No one's too far gone, our faith and freedom are worth fighting for, and choices are never easy. Definitely just a few of the things I got out of this read.
Jace was one of my favorites! I'm always drawn to the characters with super hard backstories, I don't know why...his struggle was so real and just....I ached for him!
I loved Rayad, and everything he did for Jace!
Kyrin did grow on me...crazy as this sounds I'm not usually much on female lead characters, I know weird. But she did have some good points such as her courage and determination. I liked that she was stubborn but not annoyingly so like some main character females.
Kaden, I loved him! His bravery, his protective nature toward his twin! Yes! Reminds me of my brothers!
Trask, Tane, Sam, Warin, and many other side characters were great as well, nicely rounding out the story.
So, would I recommend this book? Definitely! It is a clean fantasy read with no magic or any other weirdness. There are mentions of gods but our main characters are bravely standing against them! Trusting in the One true God! I love this book! I was only slightly disappointed with the ending...probably cause I was envisioning it ending a little different...but since this is only the first book in the series I can't be too disappointed. And I'll be reading the rest of the series once I've made it through the stack of books I already own...lol...
~Kayti
Okay, I really enjoyed this book! Though I did want way more Jace than was in the book...but Kyrin grew on me.
I really liked the story and the hopeful message weaved in. No one's too far gone, our faith and freedom are worth fighting for, and choices are never easy. Definitely just a few of the things I got out of this read.
Jace was one of my favorites! I'm always drawn to the characters with super hard backstories, I don't know why...his struggle was so real and just....I ached for him!
I loved Rayad, and everything he did for Jace!
Kyrin did grow on me...crazy as this sounds I'm not usually much on female lead characters, I know weird. But she did have some good points such as her courage and determination. I liked that she was stubborn but not annoyingly so like some main character females.
Kaden, I loved him! His bravery, his protective nature toward his twin! Yes! Reminds me of my brothers!
Trask, Tane, Sam, Warin, and many other side characters were great as well, nicely rounding out the story.
So, would I recommend this book? Definitely! It is a clean fantasy read with no magic or any other weirdness. There are mentions of gods but our main characters are bravely standing against them! Trusting in the One true God! I love this book! I was only slightly disappointed with the ending...probably cause I was envisioning it ending a little different...but since this is only the first book in the series I can't be too disappointed. And I'll be reading the rest of the series once I've made it through the stack of books I already own...lol...
~Kayti
December 31, 2023
4.5 stars!
Thoroughly enjoyed this story, and am excited to dive in to the rest of the series!
Thoroughly enjoyed this story, and am excited to dive in to the rest of the series!
March 21, 2016
Oh goodness. Where do I even start this review? This book kept me up way too late this weekend! ;) But it was so good! It was the kind of book that you just couldn't set down because it just pulled you in. The characters were amazing! Kaden was by far my favorite, but Kyrin and Jace were close second. And I absolutely loved the twins' relationship! I'm not sure why, but I always really enjoy books with twins and the sibling relationship.
The whole setting and the non-magical fantasy was just. . .wow. In a very short amount of time, Nicole Sager, Tricia Mingerink, and now Jaye L. Knight have completely changed my view on fantasy. (It used to be my least favorite genre to read.)
The land of Ilyon was fascinating, and the different races within Ilyon were really interesting. This book put me through an emotional roller-coaster.
The POV switching between the characters had me a little confused as I was reading, but once I got used to it, it was definitely interesting to be able to be in more then one place at the same time. So. . .yeah. It was all so amazing!! And the speech at the end was a perfect ending. Not a nightmarish cliffhanger, but it still really peaked your interest for the next book. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. But please tell me that Kaden lives though the other books??
The whole setting and the non-magical fantasy was just. . .wow. In a very short amount of time, Nicole Sager, Tricia Mingerink, and now Jaye L. Knight have completely changed my view on fantasy. (It used to be my least favorite genre to read.)
The land of Ilyon was fascinating, and the different races within Ilyon were really interesting. This book put me through an emotional roller-coaster.
The POV switching between the characters had me a little confused as I was reading, but once I got used to it, it was definitely interesting to be able to be in more then one place at the same time. So. . .yeah. It was all so amazing!! And the speech at the end was a perfect ending. Not a nightmarish cliffhanger, but it still really peaked your interest for the next book. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. But please tell me that Kaden lives though the other books??
April 11, 2016
Resistance.... How can I even begin to explain how wonderful this book is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jaye L. Knight did a WONDERFUL job!!!! It's a fantasy. The main characters are Kyrin, her twin brother Kaden, and Jace a broken young man who used to be a gladiator. I love this book and there is like nothing I don't like about it!! I picked it up, and at times it was very hard to put down. It's a very adventurous book and a great story!!!!!!! I wanted to write a totally epic review, but I'm just not good at that. So all I can say is that I adore this book, can't wait to read the next one, and recommend it to everyone 13 and up. It has a small amount of intense moments and I guess it depends on what the person can handle.
THANK YOU JAYE L. KNIGHT FOR WRITING THIS BOOK!!!!! I AM HOPING THAT YOU WRITE MANY, MANY MORE BOOKS TO THIS SERIES!!!!!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!!
THANK YOU JAYE L. KNIGHT FOR WRITING THIS BOOK!!!!! I AM HOPING THAT YOU WRITE MANY, MANY MORE BOOKS TO THIS SERIES!!!!!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!!
July 13, 2024
This was such a great start to what I think is going to be a series that I will absolutely love! I’m a newbie to reading epic fantasy and was able to connect and follow the story from the beginning. The faith content and character development were so good! I found the story and characters to be realistic and relatable, especially in the ways characters would actively seek Elom for guidance and wisdom while also wrestling with him during difficult situations and times of uncertainty. Jaye L. Knight is an incredibly talented writer with her way of intertwining topics and situations while pulling you into this non-magical fantasy world.
I look forward to continuing this series and seeing where it will go😊
𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
Violence, Executions, Torture, Bullying, Martyrdom, Body Harm, War, *No language or explicit scenes
I look forward to continuing this series and seeing where it will go😊
𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
Violence, Executions, Torture, Bullying, Martyrdom, Body Harm, War, *No language or explicit scenes
May 29, 2021
So I've decided that I'm not going to review this book yet. I'm going to wait until after I reread it because... wow! But I will say, this is definitely one of my favorite fantasy series. :)
August 27, 2020
3.5 Stars
Spoiler Free TLDR:
The characters and the dynamics between them is the greatest strength of the story. Character building is almost the sole focus for almost half of the book, but the plot is enjoyable once it picks up. If you do not enjoy typical Y.A. writing style (e.g. The Selection series, The Hunger Games) or a slower pacing, you will not enjoy this book. This book as well is a Religious (Christian?) Fantasy Fiction, and you will be constantly reminded of that fact throughout the book. If that's not your cup of tea, you will definitely not like this book.
---
Thoughts and Spoilers Below...
Plot: 3.5/5
-Slow building plot. It was around the 40% mark when the plot actually started gaining traction. Not necessarily a bad thing, as the focus was on building the characters. Once the plot picked up though, it was fairly reasonably paced and enjoyable.
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Writing: 3.5/5 Stars
Pros:
-Kyrin's POV serves as a good foil to Jace's. Kyrin throughout the book shows signs of youth and innocence, whole hearted devotion to Elôm, desire for closeness, and her family bonds,. Jace is pessimistic and struggles with his humanity, struggles with his belief in Elôm, is a lone wolf, and we see his tension of living among the Resistance.
Cons:
-Basic Y.A. Style (Stilted short sentences)
-Simile/Metaphors at least every other page
-Minor punctuation errors
-Third Person Writing a bit distracting at times
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World Building: 4/5
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Main Characters: 4/5
-Jace: I have nothing more to say other than the fact that I absolutely love Jace and his Character Arc. He grows from a skittish abused misanthrope to a charming and absolutely loveable character.
-Kyrin: She's a likable character, but is a bit of a Mary Sue/Damsel-In-Distress. She has some growth, but not much that is terribly remarkable.
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Side Character(s): 3/5
-This book would've been 10 times better, if it didn't have an absolutely convoluted cast of characters. There were about 43 side characters I counted, and, unfortunately, the author could've done some remarkable growth and built amazing characters if she would've only focused on a handful to develop. There are some charming characters (Rayad, Trask, Kaden), but they are flat in terms of any growth, and not worth commenting on, except for....
The villain, Emperor Daican. I cannot properly express just how much I loved his introduction! Our main villain we've been built up to picture as an evil dictator is described as a warm, friendly, charming, handsome, open and honest man when we first meet him. In conversations, he's repeatedly breaking "awkward silences", and attempts to make Kyrin feel welcomed to the best of his ability. Unfortunately, he very quickly becomes a baddy, moustache twirling villain.
-I was also very interested in his children, Davira and Daniel, and their dynamic. Davira, portrayed as a ATLA Azula type character, and Daniel, the rebel prince, seemed like amazing foils for each other, and I was extremely excited to see their roles play out. Sadly, like every other character, they were underwhelming used in the story.
---
Overall Enjoyment: 3/5
-I really really wanted to fall in love with this book. The premise sounded fantastic, and I went in already planning on giving it 5 stars. However, it just missed the mark for me, probably because I went in with such high expectations after being hyped up. There are, however, things I did love about the book, and it's enough to make me want to read the next book in the series.
Loved:
-Introduction to the Emperor.
-Jace's characterization
-Kyrin and Jace's relationship is adorable. I thought the book was going to turn them into lovers, but they stayed only friends.
-The story builds up the nature of Ryriks so well, that when they show up, Kyrin's fear easily comes off as palpable. It's a nice payoff.
-Jace. Everything about Jace.
Nitpicks:
-I wish we had more scenes to grow an attachment towards Aldor and Kalli. I didn't care much about Aldor's death, and I only felt a bit sad about Kalli's because of Jace's reaction, not because of my love for the characters. I had more feelings of worry and sadness over Tyra's possible death in that scene than them. It just felt like a cheap death to drive the plot.
-Warin conviniently appearing (after 3 years of no contact) right after the deaths of Aldor & Kelli, when Jace and Rayad are wondering what to do. Yes, he said he heard soldiers talking about raiding the farm, I just didn't like how the author brought his character back in.
-Tons of characters like GOT. If I wasn't taking notes while reading, I would've easily mixed up characters in terms of who's on who's side, and the roles of each character.
-Deux Ex Machina occuring for Kyrin to escape. I was actually thinking the book was going to go either the GOT Eddard Stark route with Kyrin or Prince Daniel somehow saving her, and I was actually on the edge of my seat to see that happen. But no, Deux Ex Machina through two background characters, and it was a bit unsatisfying. I think it would've been more effective, for the reader as well as the narrative, to have had Kyrin be the catalyst with her death. Of course though, we wouldn't have had her scenes with Jace, which were some of the best in the book.
---
Notable Quotes:
-Yet, the scowling, jeering faces of the crowd were little improvement. Not much different from the ryrik, really.
-“Don’t forget, Kyrin, or you, Kaden, that King Elôm created you two exactly the way you are. Every detail about you, He designed. He gave you your talents for a reason. It may take you a lifetime to discover why, but there is a purpose.”
-“Unfortunately, just because we pray not to do something doesn’t mean we always won’t. We’re imperfect and always needing to grow."
-“King Elôm hears all the prayers of His children. He hears yours.”
“But…what if I’m not one of His children…what if I have no soul?”
“Jace.” Rayad’s voice was deathly serious now. Jace lifted his eyes. “It’s not true.”
-He stood paralyzed, caught between a need for revenge and making the right choice.
-She was beautiful, at least according to the standards of society. Despite how plain she’d been, Holly and Videlle had transformed her image into one any girl would envy.
And yet, Kyrin’s heart sank. This would now be expected of her—this painted girl in the mirror. Suddenly, she desired more than anything to be plain old Kyrin.
-Though Solora and Davira seemed to deem her too far beneath them to engage in personal conversation, Daican had no such reservations, and even managed to make her laugh several times.
-"I’m confused. He wasn’t at all what I expected. He was so…nice. He was kind to me and easy to talk to, and even funny.” She hesitated. “It’s difficult to see him as an enemy. He is our enemy…isn’t he?”
-The other man’s gaze snapped to Warin, his voice rough with accusation. “You brought a ryrik into camp?”
Any fighting spark of hope Jace had for this new life died in that moment and left a hollow emptiness inside him. It was just what he’d expected.
Spoiler Free TLDR:
The characters and the dynamics between them is the greatest strength of the story. Character building is almost the sole focus for almost half of the book, but the plot is enjoyable once it picks up. If you do not enjoy typical Y.A. writing style (e.g. The Selection series, The Hunger Games) or a slower pacing, you will not enjoy this book. This book as well is a Religious (Christian?) Fantasy Fiction, and you will be constantly reminded of that fact throughout the book. If that's not your cup of tea, you will definitely not like this book.
---
Thoughts and Spoilers Below...
Plot: 3.5/5
-Slow building plot. It was around the 40% mark when the plot actually started gaining traction. Not necessarily a bad thing, as the focus was on building the characters. Once the plot picked up though, it was fairly reasonably paced and enjoyable.
---
Writing: 3.5/5 Stars
Pros:
-Kyrin's POV serves as a good foil to Jace's. Kyrin throughout the book shows signs of youth and innocence, whole hearted devotion to Elôm, desire for closeness, and her family bonds,. Jace is pessimistic and struggles with his humanity, struggles with his belief in Elôm, is a lone wolf, and we see his tension of living among the Resistance.
Cons:
-Basic Y.A. Style (Stilted short sentences)
-Simile/Metaphors at least every other page
-Minor punctuation errors
-Third Person Writing a bit distracting at times
---
World Building: 4/5
---
Main Characters: 4/5
-Jace: I have nothing more to say other than the fact that I absolutely love Jace and his Character Arc. He grows from a skittish abused misanthrope to a charming and absolutely loveable character.
-Kyrin: She's a likable character, but is a bit of a Mary Sue/Damsel-In-Distress. She has some growth, but not much that is terribly remarkable.
---
Side Character(s): 3/5
-This book would've been 10 times better, if it didn't have an absolutely convoluted cast of characters. There were about 43 side characters I counted, and, unfortunately, the author could've done some remarkable growth and built amazing characters if she would've only focused on a handful to develop. There are some charming characters (Rayad, Trask, Kaden), but they are flat in terms of any growth, and not worth commenting on, except for....
The villain, Emperor Daican. I cannot properly express just how much I loved his introduction! Our main villain we've been built up to picture as an evil dictator is described as a warm, friendly, charming, handsome, open and honest man when we first meet him. In conversations, he's repeatedly breaking "awkward silences", and attempts to make Kyrin feel welcomed to the best of his ability. Unfortunately, he very quickly becomes a baddy, moustache twirling villain.
-I was also very interested in his children, Davira and Daniel, and their dynamic. Davira, portrayed as a ATLA Azula type character, and Daniel, the rebel prince, seemed like amazing foils for each other, and I was extremely excited to see their roles play out. Sadly, like every other character, they were underwhelming used in the story.
---
Overall Enjoyment: 3/5
-I really really wanted to fall in love with this book. The premise sounded fantastic, and I went in already planning on giving it 5 stars. However, it just missed the mark for me, probably because I went in with such high expectations after being hyped up. There are, however, things I did love about the book, and it's enough to make me want to read the next book in the series.
Loved:
-Introduction to the Emperor.
-Jace's characterization
-Kyrin and Jace's relationship is adorable. I thought the book was going to turn them into lovers, but they stayed only friends.
-The story builds up the nature of Ryriks so well, that when they show up, Kyrin's fear easily comes off as palpable. It's a nice payoff.
-Jace. Everything about Jace.
Nitpicks:
-I wish we had more scenes to grow an attachment towards Aldor and Kalli. I didn't care much about Aldor's death, and I only felt a bit sad about Kalli's because of Jace's reaction, not because of my love for the characters. I had more feelings of worry and sadness over Tyra's possible death in that scene than them. It just felt like a cheap death to drive the plot.
-Warin conviniently appearing (after 3 years of no contact) right after the deaths of Aldor & Kelli, when Jace and Rayad are wondering what to do. Yes, he said he heard soldiers talking about raiding the farm, I just didn't like how the author brought his character back in.
-Tons of characters like GOT. If I wasn't taking notes while reading, I would've easily mixed up characters in terms of who's on who's side, and the roles of each character.
-Deux Ex Machina occuring for Kyrin to escape. I was actually thinking the book was going to go either the GOT Eddard Stark route with Kyrin or Prince Daniel somehow saving her, and I was actually on the edge of my seat to see that happen. But no, Deux Ex Machina through two background characters, and it was a bit unsatisfying. I think it would've been more effective, for the reader as well as the narrative, to have had Kyrin be the catalyst with her death. Of course though, we wouldn't have had her scenes with Jace, which were some of the best in the book.
---
Notable Quotes:
-Yet, the scowling, jeering faces of the crowd were little improvement. Not much different from the ryrik, really.
-“Don’t forget, Kyrin, or you, Kaden, that King Elôm created you two exactly the way you are. Every detail about you, He designed. He gave you your talents for a reason. It may take you a lifetime to discover why, but there is a purpose.”
-“Unfortunately, just because we pray not to do something doesn’t mean we always won’t. We’re imperfect and always needing to grow."
-“King Elôm hears all the prayers of His children. He hears yours.”
“But…what if I’m not one of His children…what if I have no soul?”
“Jace.” Rayad’s voice was deathly serious now. Jace lifted his eyes. “It’s not true.”
-He stood paralyzed, caught between a need for revenge and making the right choice.
-She was beautiful, at least according to the standards of society. Despite how plain she’d been, Holly and Videlle had transformed her image into one any girl would envy.
And yet, Kyrin’s heart sank. This would now be expected of her—this painted girl in the mirror. Suddenly, she desired more than anything to be plain old Kyrin.
-Though Solora and Davira seemed to deem her too far beneath them to engage in personal conversation, Daican had no such reservations, and even managed to make her laugh several times.
-"I’m confused. He wasn’t at all what I expected. He was so…nice. He was kind to me and easy to talk to, and even funny.” She hesitated. “It’s difficult to see him as an enemy. He is our enemy…isn’t he?”
-The other man’s gaze snapped to Warin, his voice rough with accusation. “You brought a ryrik into camp?”
Any fighting spark of hope Jace had for this new life died in that moment and left a hollow emptiness inside him. It was just what he’d expected.
January 14, 2024
For the LORD is a great God. And a great King above all gods.
- Psalm 95:3
Resistance is the first book in the Ilyon Chronicles, a medieval, new adult, non-magical christian fantasy series. In the sub genre of christian fantasy, there are those that are extremely popular. We have the classics like Lord of the Rings and Narnia but then we have the modern ones like The Circle and this.
Set in the Kingdom of Arcacia we initially follow our two main characters.
"Who could you be praying to? Don't you know? Animals like you have no soul."
Jace is a half-ryrik, half-human gladiator slave. From a very young age, violence is all he’s known. His half-ryrik ancestry makes it easier to tap into his blood-thirst and makes for excellent entertainment for the crowd. But when Rayad, hunted by royal soldiers, encounters Jace being mistreated by his owner, he decides to take a leap of faith and rescue him. He doesn’t have much to offer since he’s on the run but he can give him food, shelter, safety and teach him of Elôm. They find peace for sometime but situations arise that have the father-son pair seek refuge at a resistance camp.
Jace was a wonderful character to follow. I am a sucker for characters who have escaped slavery and slowly gain back the feeling of being human. I have such a soft spot for such characters. But even though Jace was free, he had to deal with the prejudice of being half-ryrik while also handling the grief of losing a loved one. He’s a softie. I love him.
"Just be yourself. Be kind, but cautious. You'll do fine. Always remember, you're not alone. You never will be."
Kyrin Altair, like many of the children at the school, was taken from her home at a young age to serve the emperor due to her talent. She has an impeccable memory and being in service of the emperor would greatly improve her family’s reputation as her grandfather was labelled a traitor of the crown. She was lucky when her twin brother Kaden was also recruited and together they do what they can to protect each other. But they have a secret, they believe in Elôm and that carries a penalty of death. When an unexpected promotion has her serving directly under the emperor, the stakes get higher.
Kyrin was a character I initially struggled with. The book was written in 2014 and as many of us know, that was a period of the ‘not-like-other-girls’ pandemic and this book unfortunately falls into that trap. I did get a bit irritated but after a while, it stopped bothering me. Kyrin as a character was wonderful to follow though. Her character arc throughout the book is subtle and I almost missed it but I’m excited to see more from her.
Now, while I did enjoy the book, the writing really threw me off. It’s a lot of telling and not showing. For example, there is a time jump between Jace being rescued and where the story starts and we’re told that Jace has started to express himself, but we don’t really see it. It’s more ‘this character is uncomfortable’ rather than showing the character fidgeting or rubbing their arms to show their discomfort. The writing style is also a bit distant. It reads like someone is telling you a story they heard from somebody else. I also wasn’t sure about the whole ryrik are animals thing. Is it an assumption made by everybody else or are an entire race of people literally savages? All this made it a bit harder to connect with the story and the characters and that’s why it got 3 stars but I still want to continue the series.
"We will stand for what is right, and good, and true. We will protect and aid each other and all those Elôm brings into our path. We will remain faithful to Him, even when it may cost us our lives, and we will stand firm against the evil that will soon surround us. We will not back down. Each of us, right here, right now—we are the resistance."
February 2, 2023
Actual rating 3.5⭐
I really enjoyed this story! At first I was not enthralled with the writing being that I have been reading a lot of classics, and I think I was unfairly and unconsciously comparing the style to them. I also took a little while to connect with Kyrin, but I saw my problems with her were part of her character arc, so that turned out just fine.😊
Aspects I really liked were the characters and the faith elements. I loved Rayad and how he intervenes in Jace's story and comes to love him as a son. I loved Kaden and Kyrin's relationship, but realized early on that Kyrin was too dependent on him. Both Jace and Kyrin end up with realistic and touching character arcs. The great thing about this story's characters is that even the side characters are great! Trask, Anne, Trev, Holden, etc., feel real and authentic.
The faith elements were wonderful. There is a realism in how the characters grow in their faith in Elom and are given grace to handle difficult situations *as they need that grace*--not days or even hours before. There is a depth to the writing of faith into the characters' minds that helps us identify with the character--their fears, their struggles to believe and trust, their resistance to the religious persecution they face, and their personal growth in Elom. Well done and authentic!🙌
Aspects that did not settle well in my mind include the way the Tarvin Hall program is NOT defined. Ok, we know that Kyrin has a perfect memory, but other than that, we know very little (nothing?) about how children are chosen for this program. Is Tarvin Hall some sort of gifted and talented program on steroids? Are they just super smart or physically talented in some way -OR- are there magical abilities involved? [Edit to add that after rereading the first few chapters, I do see that this is more like a G&T On Steroids kind of program.]. What is Kaden's special talent? Meredith's? I felt this to be a pretty important part of the world building, but it was non-existent. Even Kyrin's ability does not come to play too much of a role in the plotline except to move her from point A to point B.
Furthermore, I really struggle to believe that Elom would have created a race of souless people. The Ryricks are described as a savage race, yet *people* who are so like animals that it is believed that they cannot have a soul. They are evil, but they look very much like humans and speak an advanced language that goes beyond animal communication. In North American history are tribes of what we, in America, call Native Americans or Indians. Some were peaceful; some were not. In most cases, all were lumped together by the European explorers and settlers as "savages." Were they souless?? Of course not. Even those tribes who were quite violent have stories of missionaries coming to them and speaking to them of Jesus and of there being conversions. (Remember the Central American missionaries who went to the Auca's?? BTW, I know that is not what they call themselves, but I cannot remember the accurate name, sorry.) Ok, I KNOW this is not what the author had in mind when she created the Ryriks, but it is what came to me, and it bothered me. I will be interested to see if the Ryriks have their own faith story written into books to come.
All in all, this was a compelling read that makes me want to read the next in the series. Excuse me while I go start that now....😊
I really enjoyed this story! At first I was not enthralled with the writing being that I have been reading a lot of classics, and I think I was unfairly and unconsciously comparing the style to them. I also took a little while to connect with Kyrin, but I saw my problems with her were part of her character arc, so that turned out just fine.😊
Aspects I really liked were the characters and the faith elements. I loved Rayad and how he intervenes in Jace's story and comes to love him as a son. I loved Kaden and Kyrin's relationship, but realized early on that Kyrin was too dependent on him. Both Jace and Kyrin end up with realistic and touching character arcs. The great thing about this story's characters is that even the side characters are great! Trask, Anne, Trev, Holden, etc., feel real and authentic.
The faith elements were wonderful. There is a realism in how the characters grow in their faith in Elom and are given grace to handle difficult situations *as they need that grace*--not days or even hours before. There is a depth to the writing of faith into the characters' minds that helps us identify with the character--their fears, their struggles to believe and trust, their resistance to the religious persecution they face, and their personal growth in Elom. Well done and authentic!🙌
Aspects that did not settle well in my mind include the way the Tarvin Hall program is NOT defined. Ok, we know that Kyrin has a perfect memory, but other than that, we know very little (nothing?) about how children are chosen for this program. Is Tarvin Hall some sort of gifted and talented program on steroids? Are they just super smart or physically talented in some way -OR- are there magical abilities involved? [Edit to add that after rereading the first few chapters, I do see that this is more like a G&T On Steroids kind of program.]. What is Kaden's special talent? Meredith's? I felt this to be a pretty important part of the world building, but it was non-existent. Even Kyrin's ability does not come to play too much of a role in the plotline except to move her from point A to point B.
Furthermore, I really struggle to believe that Elom would have created a race of souless people. The Ryricks are described as a savage race, yet *people* who are so like animals that it is believed that they cannot have a soul. They are evil, but they look very much like humans and speak an advanced language that goes beyond animal communication. In North American history are tribes of what we, in America, call Native Americans or Indians. Some were peaceful; some were not. In most cases, all were lumped together by the European explorers and settlers as "savages." Were they souless?? Of course not. Even those tribes who were quite violent have stories of missionaries coming to them and speaking to them of Jesus and of there being conversions. (Remember the Central American missionaries who went to the Auca's?? BTW, I know that is not what they call themselves, but I cannot remember the accurate name, sorry.) Ok, I KNOW this is not what the author had in mind when she created the Ryriks, but it is what came to me, and it bothered me. I will be interested to see if the Ryriks have their own faith story written into books to come.
All in all, this was a compelling read that makes me want to read the next in the series. Excuse me while I go start that now....😊
September 8, 2022
For most of the books I review, it’s fairly easy to remember I’m taking notes for the review. Not so with Resistance. Though I’ve read it multiple times, I kept finding myself having to go back and reread so I could jot down the needed information. It’s not often I’m completely swept away in a book, but every time I read Resistance I am thoroughly entrenched in the world of Ilyon.
(And have I read and reread this book eight times? Yes.)
Every aspect of this book is masterful. Five stars is not a high enough rating.
First, the faith and religious elements. Christian faith is weaved into this book’s very core. The characters’ faith is real – they’re strong in their faith, but humanity is shown when they worry and question. Pro-life undertones are also weaved in, both against abortion and in the message that no one is beyond redemption and God’s faithfulness. The false religion and it’s gods are also well-developed in their origins, how they affect society, how they’re worshiped, and even what they look like.
Second, the characters. I’ve read many contemptible villains, but those in Resistance have to be some of the best. They have depth, aren’t just awful “for the fun of it”, and are despicable in every way. There are many nasties in this book, and all are different with different goals and personalities. The protagonists are equally well-developed. I especially like how there is a noticeable difference in the faith between those who are “younger” believers and those more mature. That lends authenticity few fantasy authors are able to incorporate.
The relationship between Kyrin and Kaden is one everyone with a sibling can identify with. Even though I think Kyrin is a delightful character, between the two, Kaden is my favorite. Rayad and Jace and their touching father-son relationship; Trask and Anne and Trask’s relationship with his father; and the multi-faceted relationship between the Altair twins and their respective family members combine to create real, sympathetic characters.
Third, the plot. In fantasy, rebellion and resistance are common. Many are well-written. This series exceeds most, landing itself on the top tier. With the ancient Rome/rustic forest combination, the story of resistance against tyranny finds its beginnings. Multiple characters and secondary plots combine in an eventful way that keeps the story alive. I’ve read what’s released of the entire series thus far, so it’s hard not to give spoilers, but Resistance does so well in setting up the rest of the series.
________
There are few series I’ve recommended more than Ilyon Chronicles, and Resistance in particular. While the book is powerful no matter when you pick the book up, the message of resisting evil and standing for truth especially hits home when you read it right now. The pen (or keyboard, in this case) truly is powerful, and Jaye uses that power and an incredible ability to weave words to remind the reader no matter what they face, no matter their past, no matter how the world deviates from God and truth, and no matter how much opposition we face, we can always stand for what’s right.
If you haven’t read Resistance, you need to.
To see the entirety of this review, go to: https://madismusingsblog.wordpress.co...
(And have I read and reread this book eight times? Yes.)
Every aspect of this book is masterful. Five stars is not a high enough rating.
First, the faith and religious elements. Christian faith is weaved into this book’s very core. The characters’ faith is real – they’re strong in their faith, but humanity is shown when they worry and question. Pro-life undertones are also weaved in, both against abortion and in the message that no one is beyond redemption and God’s faithfulness. The false religion and it’s gods are also well-developed in their origins, how they affect society, how they’re worshiped, and even what they look like.
Second, the characters. I’ve read many contemptible villains, but those in Resistance have to be some of the best. They have depth, aren’t just awful “for the fun of it”, and are despicable in every way. There are many nasties in this book, and all are different with different goals and personalities. The protagonists are equally well-developed. I especially like how there is a noticeable difference in the faith between those who are “younger” believers and those more mature. That lends authenticity few fantasy authors are able to incorporate.
The relationship between Kyrin and Kaden is one everyone with a sibling can identify with. Even though I think Kyrin is a delightful character, between the two, Kaden is my favorite. Rayad and Jace and their touching father-son relationship; Trask and Anne and Trask’s relationship with his father; and the multi-faceted relationship between the Altair twins and their respective family members combine to create real, sympathetic characters.
Third, the plot. In fantasy, rebellion and resistance are common. Many are well-written. This series exceeds most, landing itself on the top tier. With the ancient Rome/rustic forest combination, the story of resistance against tyranny finds its beginnings. Multiple characters and secondary plots combine in an eventful way that keeps the story alive. I’ve read what’s released of the entire series thus far, so it’s hard not to give spoilers, but Resistance does so well in setting up the rest of the series.
________
There are few series I’ve recommended more than Ilyon Chronicles, and Resistance in particular. While the book is powerful no matter when you pick the book up, the message of resisting evil and standing for truth especially hits home when you read it right now. The pen (or keyboard, in this case) truly is powerful, and Jaye uses that power and an incredible ability to weave words to remind the reader no matter what they face, no matter their past, no matter how the world deviates from God and truth, and no matter how much opposition we face, we can always stand for what’s right.
If you haven’t read Resistance, you need to.
To see the entirety of this review, go to: https://madismusingsblog.wordpress.co...
December 11, 2017
*edited review*
I have been eying this book for a couple of years now. If I judge it primarily for storyline, wow!
I didn't know what to think of the whole half Ryric/human issue, so I emailed the author and asked her for the intent on it: did she mean to portray REAL half-animal/half-human, or was it just the others' assumption? It appears to be that Ryrics are just another human race with some fantasy qualities (like seeing better in the dark), but they're not animals. I still haven't decided what to DO with this info. ;) But that's from the author's viewpoint.
Now, that’s over with. I liked the book as a medieval-type fantasy era. There was no magic in it, and it wasn’t a defined era (given the fantasy description). Because of that, I could shrug off some of the modern phraseology that I wouldn’t usually like in medieval fiction.
This was very well thought-out. I really did like all of the characters. There were tons of characters, but because of their uniqueness (between names and personalities), I didn’t find them confusing at all.
The storyline was great. It took me a while to get into the story, but once things got rolling, I enjoyed it. Some things were predictable, and it took a little while to figure out exactly what the plot of the book was, but overall, I ended it with really enjoying it.
Biblically speaking… this is where it’s difficult with fantasy. Because God is renamed as “the King” or “Elom,” it’s a little different (which, leads to the point that there isn’t a mention of Jesus Christ or the Gospel). There is no Scripture mentioned in this book (I understand that a future book in this series may cover that), just a lot of praying and following the King, doing Elom’s will, being placed in situations for Elom’s purposes. At the same time, there seemed to be just a general understanding of Biblical principles, but nothing really preached as “this is the way, the truth.” I realize, this is book one, so it may just be being established.
Romance was also very light. There is what I’d say friendship bonding and attraction between a few of the characters, but really nothing much. There are some scenes with heroic actions, but feelings aren’t exactly mentioned.
Because of the violence, a lot of sword-fighting, executions, tortures, and gruesome, evil plans mentioned, this would be better suited for older readers.
Overall, I'd consider this a 3.5 just because I have a few questions when finishing it, and can't just say whole-heartedly, "Yes! It was perfect in every way."
*I received this book from the author and happily provided my honest review*
I have been eying this book for a couple of years now. If I judge it primarily for storyline, wow!
I didn't know what to think of the whole half Ryric/human issue, so I emailed the author and asked her for the intent on it: did she mean to portray REAL half-animal/half-human, or was it just the others' assumption? It appears to be that Ryrics are just another human race with some fantasy qualities (like seeing better in the dark), but they're not animals. I still haven't decided what to DO with this info. ;) But that's from the author's viewpoint.
Now, that’s over with. I liked the book as a medieval-type fantasy era. There was no magic in it, and it wasn’t a defined era (given the fantasy description). Because of that, I could shrug off some of the modern phraseology that I wouldn’t usually like in medieval fiction.
This was very well thought-out. I really did like all of the characters. There were tons of characters, but because of their uniqueness (between names and personalities), I didn’t find them confusing at all.
The storyline was great. It took me a while to get into the story, but once things got rolling, I enjoyed it. Some things were predictable, and it took a little while to figure out exactly what the plot of the book was, but overall, I ended it with really enjoying it.
Biblically speaking… this is where it’s difficult with fantasy. Because God is renamed as “the King” or “Elom,” it’s a little different (which, leads to the point that there isn’t a mention of Jesus Christ or the Gospel). There is no Scripture mentioned in this book (I understand that a future book in this series may cover that), just a lot of praying and following the King, doing Elom’s will, being placed in situations for Elom’s purposes. At the same time, there seemed to be just a general understanding of Biblical principles, but nothing really preached as “this is the way, the truth.” I realize, this is book one, so it may just be being established.
Romance was also very light. There is what I’d say friendship bonding and attraction between a few of the characters, but really nothing much. There are some scenes with heroic actions, but feelings aren’t exactly mentioned.
Because of the violence, a lot of sword-fighting, executions, tortures, and gruesome, evil plans mentioned, this would be better suited for older readers.
Overall, I'd consider this a 3.5 just because I have a few questions when finishing it, and can't just say whole-heartedly, "Yes! It was perfect in every way."
*I received this book from the author and happily provided my honest review*
April 13, 2017
This book. I have so many feels over it. Basically this book was a huge enthralling ride of lets-smash-all-the-emotions. It was the sort of book that kept me epicly hooked from the very beginning. It completely and utterly was up to any and all of the high expectations I had for it.
Every single character had a backstory and a personality. Jaye did an amazing job at taking my emotions anddashing them against a rock perfectly bending them to see the characters from Jace's or Kyrin's or others' points of view, and feeling the raw emotion they did. Each character had flaws, balanced nicely with gifts and strengths, and so many realistic things that honestly made them like actual people.
Jace murdered my emotions several times of course. And I enjoyed it. His character is so heart-wrenchingly real and human. Kyrin, too, was a brilliant character (but Jace takes the prize of favourite) and her faith walk and growth was so amazing to watch and be included in as I watched from in her brain.
A moment for the tension. I could not put the book down. So much conflict and high stakes and all that sort of thing that kept me completely oblivious to reality.
There was a little bit of violence and some of that sort of thing. But nothing is badly graphic.
And the faith aspects are really great. Amazingly well done. It wasn't cliche at all, and was beautiful and inspiring. How Jace struggles so much with the concept of having a God who actually does love him. And Kyrin's (and Kaden's) faith. It was so perfectly portrayed. It was flawed, tough, and realistic.
Would I recommend this book? Yes. Yes, I would. Everyone and their pet sausage should read it. Mild warning: It will murder your feels, but dude that's okay, take some duct tape.
Every single character had a backstory and a personality. Jaye did an amazing job at taking my emotions and
Jace murdered my emotions several times of course. And I enjoyed it. His character is so heart-wrenchingly real and human. Kyrin, too, was a brilliant character (but Jace takes the prize of favourite) and her faith walk and growth was so amazing to watch and be included in as I watched from in her brain.
A moment for the tension. I could not put the book down. So much conflict and high stakes and all that sort of thing that kept me completely oblivious to reality.
There was a little bit of violence and some of that sort of thing. But nothing is badly graphic.
And the faith aspects are really great. Amazingly well done. It wasn't cliche at all, and was beautiful and inspiring. How Jace struggles so much with the concept of having a God who actually does love him. And Kyrin's (and Kaden's) faith. It was so perfectly portrayed. It was flawed, tough, and realistic.
Would I recommend this book? Yes. Yes, I would. Everyone and their pet sausage should read it. Mild warning: It will murder your feels, but dude that's okay, take some duct tape.
Shelved as 'did-not-finish'
January 5, 2020This book isn't for me, but I'm glad so many of my friends love it! I thought I would love it too, but I didn't.
I started it two years ago (in 2018), and I had to DNF in Chapter 1 (DNFs are rare for me). I couldn't handle the violence and intensity. I was hoping I could someday, but I've realized that I need to avoid those things forever.
And this book may not fit my taste in general. I may not be the only one (let me know, if so), but of course I'm unusual in not liking a popular book.
I started it two years ago (in 2018), and I had to DNF in Chapter 1 (DNFs are rare for me). I couldn't handle the violence and intensity. I was hoping I could someday, but I've realized that I need to avoid those things forever.
And this book may not fit my taste in general. I may not be the only one (let me know, if so), but of course I'm unusual in not liking a popular book.
August 22, 2017
This was terrific. I was lucky enough to have my parents buy me the first two books in paperwork, which is also a curse because it means that I will have to wait until I can afford the next two books in the same. Halp.
But basically I loved Jace and Kyrin and Kaden and TRASK and Anne and all of the beautiful loveable characters. They were the best. That is all.
But basically I loved Jace and Kyrin and Kaden and TRASK and Anne and all of the beautiful loveable characters. They were the best. That is all.
May 11, 2016
OH. MY. GOSH. If you haven't yet, go read this book right now. It was amazing! *grabs next book greedily*
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