Beth's Review: Chalvaren Rising by Paula Millhouse
Author Provided Copy
Publisher: Boroughs Publishing Group
Released: September 10th 2015
Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Romance
Length: 318 Pages
Format: eBook, Paperback
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Synopsis TO ASCEND TRIUMPHANT Twenty-five years ago, Theo Ansgar abandoned the Kingdom of Chalvaren for a hiding place on another world. Some called him traitor. Some, thief. Now his fully grown daughter Mia must return to the land of her birth…and their war. It was the elf prince Kort Elias who brought her back. Theirs was an instant connection, an inescapable union of body, soul and sorcery, reminding Mia of what she truly is, and what she must become. There is also Magnus, destined to be more potent than any wyrm Chalvaren has ever seen, a three-day-old dragonlet Mia must nurture and then ride. And then there is the Dragonstone, an artifact of power nonpareil. Joined, they can tip the scales of battle against the wraith-possessed forces of darkness, of Mia’s own embittered kin. Redemption will be offered, the protected will become the protector, and an ancient prophecy will come to fruition, but only righteous love can conquer all.
Five Boundless Stars
A world ruled by the King and Queen with flying dragons and magic, this story has all the makings of a fairy tale; however, Chalvaren Rising is not your typical fairytale. This world in made up of elves. The dragons’ powers are of the elements of their origin, Earth, wind, fire, and water. Deities worshipped are “the gods” and Varick. Auras tell the true intentions of all who live in Chalvaren, but only to the elves gifted with the ability to see them.
The adventure begins when Lucan, the kingdoms wizard, sends the prince, Kort, to Earth to recover a stolen dragon egg. I’ll get to why someone would want to steal a dragon’s egg soon. While on earth, the egg hatches and leads the prince to Mia, an orphaned elf, alone in a world in which she doesn’t belong. This is when the romance starts. The prince brings Mia back to Chalvaren to discover that her father’s stories have become reality right before her eyes. ..and it’s amazing.
We soon learn that Mia’s father fled to Earth from Chalvaren and this is where Mia belongs. She no longer has to hide her pointy ears in Chalvaren, they’re all elves! She knows a little about the culture from her father’s tales, but there are many unanswered questions.
They quickly learn, the egg Kort was sent to save is a spirit dragon, the most magical of all dragons, the first in Chalvaren. Given the name Magnus, the baby dragon lead Kort to Mia because she holds the dragonstone. This is the only dragonstone in existence and holds the most extreme amount of power known to anyone. This gives Mia a great responsibility but it also puts her in grave danger.
Mia quickly learns there can’t be good without bad, as the mysteries of her father’s time in Chalvaren, and the explanations for his desertion of Chalvaren, slowly unfold. The people of Chalvaren, especially Kort, do anything to protect her from the evil elf, Isa. She is plotting to rule the kingdoms by strengthening her black magic with stolen dragon eggs. Isa is also Mia’s only living relative. Nothing can go wrong there, right? And this is just the first 8 chapters! I can’t tell you much more without spoiling it for future readers but I can tell you, you will not be disappointed. The action never stops. While reading, there were several times I thought I knew what would happen and how, and I was surprised every time; this book is full of twists. The people you would never expect join the side of black magic, do, and the heroes are the least expected characters, as well. The only thing that would be better is if dragons could talk… ;-)
This book is huge, but it’s has to be to hold all the suspense, action, mystery, magic, romance, fantasy and entertainment. Paula Millhouse introduces the wonderful characters perfectly, and though the book is VERY long, all the information given is relevant to the story, which is a rare find lately. The dialog between the characters is brilliantly real. We can hear the love, hate, admiration, desire, curiosity, and sarcasm, just to name a few, in the conversations. We are let into the characters personal thoughts and background just enough to understand their actions at the time, and continue to learn more as needed.
The imagery is breathtaking. My mind was filled with a world where the grass is as green as the hills in Ireland, and the colors are brighter than the most beautiful fairyland Disney could ever create. I could easily see this book becoming a trilogy of breathtaking movies. The fantasyland will make a perfect movie for kids and adults. After all “anything’s possible when magic and dragons are combined.
”I apologize for such a long review. This book is too magically awesome to express in a review. You have to read it yourself to understand. It is a huge novel but it’s filled with so much action you will get through it quicker than you can imagine.
I give this book 5 stars, I absolutely LOVED it! Paula Millhouse has me hooked! Please write more.