"Dragons of The Valley" by Donita K. Paul

Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: WaterBrook Press (September 21, 2010)
ISBN-10: 1400073405
ISBN-13: 978-1400073405

The second in the Chiril Chronicles, Tipper and Bealomondore are whisked away to the secret land of the Kimen, along with two of the statues. When they learn that Verrin Schope has vanished, they set out to find him, along with Fenworth, Hollee, and Librettowitt. They find trouble instead when Tipper breaks her ankle, and a creature called the Growl tracks them, intent on killing Fenworth. Everything comes to a head when the Grawl recruits evil monsters called Schoergats and plans to kill all of the dragons of Chiril.

Hollee, our only new addition, is a young, female kimen who is sent to watch over Fenworth. She has a strong curiosity and a whimsy, likeable charm. Although I admit, I always kind of liked not knowing anything about kimens. They seem less mysterious then they used to.
The grawl, a hafling, is our new villain. He is much like an animal and seems to have vanquished any human feelings. He only knows how to kill and is an excellent bad guy.
Bealomdore proves himself as my favorite character, the only one that develops. He learns in his sword skills and his understanding of Wuldar. And we learn about his past and his family. Also, I was pleased to see he seemed to be developing a crush on Tipper and there were quite a few moments they shared together that proved they were becoming closer. Unfortunately, this doesn't go anywhere and left me feeling cheated.

I have the same critique as I did with the first book. Because of their lack of appearances in this book, neither Tipper nor Jayrus' character evolve at all. I was sorely disappointed to find that their relationship was just as predictable as the first. Jayrus is still perfect, and Tipper eventually grows a desire to know Wulder, but it does little to change her character.

The story is well paced, switching back to Becaroon, Bealomondore and Fenworth. And there plenty of action scenes, including a near death experience for our beloved Bealomondore. Because of this and the development of Bealomondore, I still give it three stars. Just as good as the last.

If you wish to learn more about the great books by Donita K. Paul, check out her homepage.

If you want to buy this book, you can get it at Amazon.com.

Up next, I'll review "The Personifid Project" by R.E. Bartlett.

"The Vanishing Sculptor" by Donita K. Paul

Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: WaterBrook Press (June 2, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1400073391
ASIN: B0044KN2Y8

In the first book of the Chiril Chronicles, it's another time and another place, a country called Chiril that has no knowledge of Wulder. There we meet Tipper, a young emerlindian girl who is just trying to make ends meet. Because her father vanished a long time ago, she has to get by by selling things from her large home. Her life is disrupted when a artist named Beaulomondore shows up wanting to meet her father and study under him. After deceiving him, she discovers her father one night, but he vanishes as soon as he appears. Eventually she discovers he is stuck between a gateway and the only way to restore him is to retrieve three statues she sold a long time ago that contain a healing power. With the the help of her father's foreign, new friends, (familiar to us) Wizard Fenworth and Librettowitt, along with Beaulomondore and Becaroon (her guardian), they set out to find them before her father vanishes forever.

Tipper, our young heroine, is easily a character you feel sympathy for consider her troubled life since her father disappeared. She is skeptical about his finding Wulder and she avoids discussions of him.
Beaulomondore, a tumanhofter artist who is rather an oddball considering the rest of his race, is a reluctant traveler. Much like Kale, he knows the dangers ahead and doesn't have much faith in himself. Because of his realistic attitude, he is my favorite character. :)
Becaroon, a large talking bird that watches over Tipper, is stern and befuddled by the foreigners that Verrin Schope has befriended. He is very loyal to Tipper and would do anything for her.
Prince Jayrus, a dragonkeeper, is handsome,smart, and athletic. And right off the bat we know he is Tipper's romantic interest, considering their love-hate relationship. Because of his reclusive lifestyle, I found his character unreal. He has never met anyone and yet has good manners and charms everyone he meets. He has no flaws that I know of (except being stubborn for two seconds in the beginning).
 Lady Peg, Tippers mother, doesn't fully have control of her senses. She tends to babble on about the oddest things.
Verrin Schope, Tipper's father has found Wulder and tends to share it with all of Chiril. But first he has to share it with his family.

I found the return of Fenworth and Librettowitt comforting. They add their usual funny conversations and their interesting spells. Mrs. Paul keeps her usual fast paced writing, as the group encounters many problems along the way, from convincing a stubborn prince to let them ride his dragons to sneaking into a mansion and rescuing a kidnapped Verrin Schope.
The only dark cloud over the book are certain aspects of Tipper's character and most aspects of Prince Jayrus. We know why Tipper has a crush on Jayrus, he's perfect. We know why Jayrus likes Tipper, she's pretty. Their shallow relationship is such a sharp contrast to how Bardon and Kale fell in love it's hard to believe its written by the same author. Also, Mrs. Paul makes too many references to how beautiful Tipper is, it comes off as overbearing.

For a first book in the series, Mrs. Paul shows her usual skill for an original story full of action. I give it three stars, because I have to dock one for the badly designed relationship between our heroine and Jayrus, and basically Jayrus's character in general.

If you want to learn more about the books by Donita. K. Paul, check out her homepage.

You can buy the book at Amazon.com

Up next, I'll review "Dragons of the Valley" By Donita K. Paul, book two in the Chiril Chronicles.

"Dragonlight" by Donita K. Paul

Paperback: 377 pages
Publisher: WaterBrook Press (June 17, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1400073782
ASIN: B003STCQDE

In the final installment of the DragonKeeper Chronicles, Bardon wants his wife to go on an adventure, and persuades her to leave her castle behind to her parents. Together they head out to meet up with Gilda and Regidor, who are in search of the lost Meech colony, where they wish to present their egg. Along the way, they learn about a cult that claims only they know about Paladin's truth (created by Pretender) and a hoard of small, black dragons that attack everything in their path.

Holt returns to our story and lends himself to infiltrate the cult called Paladise. Barden sees potential in the marione but Holt claims he is only doing it for the money. Regidor, using his ability to see a persons aura, says otherwise.
Seezle, a kimen, is assigned to watch over Holt. You might remember her from the first book. She is sweet and rather charming.
Sittiponder also makes a return, and is severely affected from one event. He still continues to watch over Toopka and still hears those same 'voices'.
Gilda has evolved from the last book from annoying to totally unbearable.
Toopka isn't her usual self, and Kale wonders for the first time about the doneel's history. She plays a large part in the ending and her character finally develops.

The journey to catch up with Gilda and Regidor is hampered by many things, mainly the killer dragons that come out of nowhere and are vanquished just as quickly (although not before harming Kale).
Kale and Bardon add finding its source to their list of things to do. Not to mention a mysterious growth has appeared in Toopa's chest. While Dar deems in harmless, mystery swarms around her and for the first time the reader wonders who Toopka really is. You also get an interesting look at the many other wizards of Amara.

A suitable ending to the series full of action and originality, not to mention a satisfying epilogue, I give "Dragonlight" fours stars out of four. *feels like a movie announcer* (Do people even rate books with stars?)

If your wish to learn more about the Dragonkeeper Chronicles, check out Mrs. Pauls website.

You can buy the book at Amazon.com

Up next, I'll review "The Vanishing Sculptor" by Donita K. Paul.

"Dragonfire" By Donita K. Paul

Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: WaterBrook Press (July 17, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1400072514
ISBN-13: 978-1400072514

In the fourth installment of the Dragonkeeper Chronicles, we jump three years into the future, where we find Kale and Bardon, a young married couple. They have spent most of their time in the reclusive bogs and are only now seeing the signs of a growing war in Amara. The two are split up to go on seperate quests, Kale with her newly reawakend father, and Bardon with Kale's mother.

Kale's father is the only real new character as Bardon's dad isn't much involved. He is just as charming as his wife although he is somewhat unpredictable and almost carefree, which rather bugs Kale at first.
There aren't many new characters in the book, but because of the many from previous books it feels unneeded. Instead, we revisit old characters such as...
Gilda, the dragon we only visited with a small amount of time in "Dragonknight" is more developed and we learn about who she really is. She looks down on the low races and has a condescending tone, believing that the Meech race's secret home must be truly advanced and evolved.
Leetu Bends, whom has been absent since book one, finally returns. Although I find any development in her character lacking.

I admit, the first time I slipped open the book, I was extremely disappointed to discover that Kale and Bardon were already married. -_-; I had daydreamed for nearly a year after reading "Dragonknight" how their relationship would progress. I guess its a fantasy book, not romance, right?
Even so, like many Christian authors writing for young people, Mrs. Paul makes sure there relationship is seen in a certain light...rather similar to that of the later books in the "Dragons in our midst" series by Brian Davis. Romantic hints in that series are kept to a minimum. The most we see is a hug, or a kiss on the forehead...really. This is my personal pet peeve.
What, we can read about men getting their heads chopped off but sexual desire is off limits? Perhaps the authors are following strict quidelines from their publishers but if so, these bogus concepts of perfection should be stopped. That's the number one flaw in Christian fiction, portraying Christians as perfect people. We all face tempation, and no doubt sexual temptation is the most common. So why doesn't anyone acknowledge it?
Okay, had to get that out there. *sweatdrop*

Back to the review...
As for action, there is plenty, my fave scene being where Kale is trapped in burning woods. I could really feel her despair, and the best aspect of this adventure is that for the first time, Kale faces temptation herself, and makes a drastic mistake by accepting a gift from Pretender to ease her pain after the fire. They way Mrs. Paul portrayed the desire to sin, take the easy way out, and have herself healed was amazing. It truly caused Kale's character to grow and it was my favorite part of the book. And when she discovers the truth about her scars, it's really priceless.

So, I give "Dragonfire" four stars. An amazing read for fantasy lovers everywhere. :)

If you wanna check out the other DragonKeeper books, please check out Mrs. Paul's website.

You can buy her book at amazon.com.

Next up, I'll review the last book in the series, "Dragonlight".

P.S. 100 views. I must be getting popular. *crickets churp* Not really.