Hello, reader!

I’ve got yet another blog tour for you today, this one featuring one of the 10 finalists from last year’s Book Bloggers Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA)! This YA fantasy is a quick, exciting read that had me completely wrapped in the story. It’s easy to see why Odriel’s Heirs by Hayley Reese Chow made it to the finals! But, first, let me tell you more about BBNYA.

BBNYA is a yearly competition where Book Bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors. If you are an author and wish to learn more about the BBNYA competition, you can visit the official website www.bbnya.com or twitter @bbnya_official.

The sign-ups will soon be open for the 2022 BBNYA competition, be it for authors to enter their books, or for bloggers wanting to be part of the new panel, so keep your eyes peeled!!

As a note, I received this book to read and review as part of the 2021 BBNYA tours organised by the TWR Tour team. All opinions are my own, unbiased and honest. Now, let’s get into the post!

---

---

---

The brave, burning with fire, harnessed the Dragon’s Rage….

As the Dragon Heir, seventeen-year-old Kaia inherited the power of flame to protect her homeland from a godlike necromancer’s undead army. But after centuries of peace, the necromancer has faded to myth, and the Dragon Heir is feared by the people. Persecuted and cast out, Kaia struggles to embrace and control her seemingly useless gift while confined to her family’s farm.

But when the necromancer’s undead terrorize the land once again, Kaia runs away to join the battle.

With the help of her childhood rival, the handsome Shadow Heir, and a snarky, cursed cat, Kaia must figure out how to control both her fire and her confidence in time to save Okarria. If she fails, she will sacrifice her family, her new friends, and the enchanting world she has only just begun to see.

And time is running out.

---

Author Links

Website::Instagram::Twitter::Goodreads

Hayley Reese Chow is the author of Odriel’s Heirs, the 2020 winner of the Florida Author Project. She also has short and flash fiction featured in Lite Lit One, The Drabble, Bewildering Stories, Teleport Magazine, and Rogue Blades Entertainment’s anthology, As You Wish.

Until recently though, she’s mostly done a lot of things that have nothing at all to do with writing. Her hat collection includes mother, wife, engineer, USAF veteran, reservist, four-time All American fencer, 100 mile ultramarathoner, triathlete, world traveler, book inhaler, and super nerd.

Hayley currently lives in Florida with two small wild boys, her long-suffering husband, and her miniature ragehound.

But at night, when the house is still, she writes.

To find Hayley’s other stories and see what she’s working on next, check out hayleyreesechow.com. You can also find her on Twitter or Instagram @HayleyReeseChow.

---

I love a good fantasy series as much as the next person, but I am in the middle of so many! I told myself I was going to read Odriel’s Heirs for this blog tour and then be done. Hahahaha, there’s no way that’s happening now! I had such a great time with this book that I have to continue!

This story follows a young woman named Kaia. All Kaia wants is to be able to live her life like a normal girl, but that is not her lot in life. After all, she is the Dragon Heir and can summon fire to her fingertips with just a thought. But, as they say, with great power comes great responsibility. Kaia is one of three Heirs sworn to protect their lands from the evil Nifras, who was sealed behind a barrier ages ago. His dark power is starting to leak back into the lands, however, and Kaia must team up with the moody and mysterious Shadow Heir to try and stop Nifras from rising once more.

Y’all, this book was such a fun ride! I loved the world that this author has created, with all it’s different creatures and peoples that inhabit it. I wanted more of the lore, if I’m being honest, but the bits that we got were absolutely tantalizing. This was a quick and fast-paced read that kept me immersed throughout! I loved that this didn’t shy away from the brutality of war but also didn’t go out of it’s way to be all blood and guts. It has it’s dark moments (torture, lots of stabbing, shambling dead things eating people…), but they didn’t feel like they were added in merely for shock value. I think that’s a fine balance and this author pulled it off well!

I also really loved the characters in this book. The characters are really what made it shine. Kaia is a wonderful main character, with hopes and dreams and doubts that are oh so relatable, even in this fantasy setting. It’s incredible watching her journey and seeing her grow throughout this novel. She has a lot of depth and that’s something I always appreciate in a character! I loved Klaus, as well, and every minute of their bickering, haha. I wanted Klaus to be a bit more fleshed out, like Kaia, but he felt just a wee bit more flat than she was in the story. I think that’s because we’re seeing things from Kaia’s POV and don’t really get inside his head, and I wanted to know what was going on in there! I wanted to know more about his backstory! Still, he’s a great character and a perfect foil to our fiery heroine.

Final thoughts: This is a pretty much perfect start to what promises to be an exciting fantasy series! It’s a quick read that keeps you in the action from page one until the very end. I enjoyed the world-building and all the interesting creatures and people this author has created. I could have done with a touch more lore, but that’s really a me-problem 😂 I just wanted to know everything about this intriguing world that Hayley Reese Chow has created! I thought the characters were also nuanced and compelling, though Kaia is definitely the one that shines the most. If you like fantasy, you like adventure, and you’re looking for something you could devour in one sitting, I would definitely recommend Odriel’s Heirs!

Star rating: