Description/Blurb:

Twelve Ways create a thousand tangled paths. Hatched from an egg but unable to shift into dragon form, Jathen is a Moot among the Tazu. His rightful throne is forbidden him because of his transformative handicap, and neither his culture nor his religion offer acceptance of his perceived flaws. Driven by wounded anger, Jathen strikes out across the vast world beyond Tazu borders, desperate to find a place where he feels accepted and whole. Though he travels with the most trusted of companions, sabotage and conspiracy soon strike his quest. Jathen and his allies must struggle against man and magic alike, at the mercy of forces beyond their ken. As Jathen presses on, his questions of belonging are surrounded by more of identity, loyalty, and betrayal. Where will the path of his destiny lead, and will he follow or fall?

Review 4 of 5 Stars

I was pleasantly surprised by this book at many points. The author did a really good job of world building and character creation. I felt for the characters, especially Jathen, but also many others. The characters were vibrant and real. I wanted to walk around in the world with them and I very much enjoyed the visit I had there. There were some overlooked proofreading items, but I’m not going to run on those too heavily as I received the book quite some time ago (so long I’m almost embarrassed), the mistakes didn’t really pull me out of the story and there weren’t that awful many. Usually when I say I took points off for proofing it’s because it really needs some help and is distracting.

Anyway, on with the review. I was fascinated by the world as much as anything. I very much enjoyed tromping along with Jathen, the possible Tazu crown prince who is a moot. Jathen makes good choices and bad ones, like everyone. As his friend says, though, “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean someone isn’t out to get you (maybe paraphrased – didn’t look it up to be exact)” and Jathen’s life is certainly influenced by the things that he doesn’t expect to happen. Like many characters in books, Jathen’s life has more to do with the world than he might imagine. His journey to find himself was more than entertaining. I found myself wondering what the characters were doing when I wasn’t able to read about them. I also had that last-minute I don’t want to finish the book feeling and left it sit for a couple of days because I knew there wasn’t a next one to buy yet.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a great weekend. The book was a really good adventure and I hope to read more from this author in the future. The very near future if she’ll put out the next book 🙂