Red Lettering

Stories will not be written easily. A story without a heart is dead, and the only place it will get a heart is from the author.

11 Aug 2017
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Exiles Release Tour: Character Interview, Giveaway, and Review!

 

    Exiled after their defeat in Samara, the Resistance struggles to find allies in their quest to restore King Balen to his throne and put an end to the emperor’s tyranny. When the crete people refuse to lend their aid, Balen leads a group to Dorland to reason with them and win their support. However, enemies prove to be everywhere, and they find themselves in a fight to keep Dorland from becoming Daican’s latest conquest.

     Back in Landale, the arrival of a new enemy forces Trask and Anne to tread more carefully than ever. Tensions are rising, and the enemy is determined to test Anne’s loyalty and root out the location of Trask and the Resistance once and for all. 

 
     Feeling trapped within the walls of Valcré, Prince Daniel must contend with an ever-eroding relationship with his father. As their clashes escalate, the situation becomes potentially life threatening when his loyalty is called into question. His sister seems bent on branding him a traitor and actively seeking to condemn him to the fate of those put to death in their father’s new arena. Daniel is certain his father would never execute his only son and heir but, with other forces at work, it might not be that simple.  

     One small misstep could prove fatal for all.

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Happy Friday, readers! On this particular Friday, I’m posting, not a Writing Prompt as I usually post (there’s no need to dispute that “usually” there, readers). Today, I have the honor of participating in the release blitz of Jaye L. Knight’s fourth book in the Ilyon Chronicles.

I’ve followed this series from pretty close to the beginning, and participated in most of the blog tours (I missed the first one; it was the blog tour of Resistance that first introduced me to the series back in May of 2014), but this year is the first one where I had the immense pleasure of conducting, not an author interview, but a character interview instead.

If any of you have read any of my reviews of the previous books in the series, you know without having to be told who I requested to interview.

Hello, Trask, and welcome to Red Lettering! It’s truly a great honor to have you here. It isn’t often we have a man of such rank and character as you. *bows* I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to come here, and I assure you that your answers will never reach the ears of your enemies. 

Trask: *grins* Thank you. It’s a pleasure to be here.

Could you tell us a bit about yourself? What is your life like right now?

Trask: I’m not sure what to say about myself. Anne could probably tell you a thing or two. She thinks I’m impulsive. She’s probably right, though I consider it more a passion to see things get done. Life is rather chaotic right now. We’re doing well at camp, but there’s a lot to consider to make sure it all runs smoothly and we remain safe. A lot goes into taking care of that many people. I always have a lot on my mind.

When you were a child, did you ever think your life would be like this? What did you think it would be like?

Trask: Not at all. I figured I’d grow up, marry Anne, have a bunch of kids, and sometime far down the road take over as baron for my father.

In times of war, we all have heroes – they’re the people who inspire us to get up in the morning at the crack of dawn to face the song of the sword and the blood of free men. They inspire us to strive for their example and give us something to fight for. Recent or legendary, who are your heroes?

Trask: I consider everyone who has faced hardship and stood strong in their faith as a hero. I’ve faced hardship, but I know there are others who’ve had it even worse. One specific person I consider a hero is William Altair. He stood strong in his faith even though it cost him everything.

Where do you want to be in ten years?

Trask: Well, I’d like for life to look more like I imagined it as a child. I hope to be married to Anne and have some kids. And I hope to be back in Landale Village and out of hiding.

What is one skill you’ve tried to master, but never could?

Trask: This might come as a surprise, but I’m not actually the best archer. I was always far better with a sword. I leave the archery to people like Jace and Kyrin.

Thank you for your time, sir. I wish you many blessings, and peace for the future of your country. Be safe out there.

Trask: Thank you.

About the Author

Jaye L. Knight is an award-winning author, homeschool graduate, 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 has been penning stories since the age of eight and resides in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.

You can connect with Jaye on her website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Etsy.

 

GIVEAWAY

Share in the excitement of the release and enter to win a themed giveaway pack! Prizes include an autographed copy of Exiles, a pewter dragon necklace by treasurecast, and a sword letter opener! (Giveaway is open to US residents only. Cannot be shipped internationally.)

CLICK TO GO TO GIVEAWAY

 

 

New to the Ilyon Chronicles? Now is the perfect time to be introduced. From August 11th – 14th, the first Kindle three books in the series are on sale. You can find them over on Amazon.

 


Review

To start you off with the right mindset, you might as well know straightaway that if this book had a theme song, it would be this one.

There we go. That taken care of, we’re on to the review.

Characters
Jaye’s characters are both her strength, and her weakness. She’s building on a foundation of fabulous characters that she set up in the Resistance. And building. And building. She must have added eight new characters in this novel;  most of them necessary for a brief moment, but none of them necessarily needing to be involved as much as they were, which left the novel feeling cluttered. I loved the characters; I knew their stories were remarkable; I wanted to follow along and see where they went. With all that extra activity going on, I didn’t feel like the author gave enough time to the real main characters.

I loved the focus on Daniel and Daican in this one. That plotline was masterfully done. Uncluttered by extra anything, I looked forward to reading about those two the most. After reading the first book, I said I hoped that she would do more with Daican’s family and their issues, and she delivered beautifully in this novel.

I was pleased to find a greater focus on Trask and Anne in this novel, though a little bit disappointed that events over in their section were traumatic, and therefore, Trask wasn’t feeling like his usual fabulous self. (You may pause right here to listen to some dramatic, suspenseful music.)

Plot
This novel followed a more typical, 3-Act Structure than the last, so it made for more familiar reading; I never had a moment where I felt disoriented because of the way it was set up.

The plot began with a wedding, and proceeded slowly from there. About a quarter of the way into the novel, I set the book down, looked at my sister, and said, “Someone better get murdered soon.” Luckily, someone got murdered, and from there it picked up the pace.

Going into the novel, you should know that it is filled to the brim and overflowing with romance. Amidst wars, battles, murders, evil kings and fantastic tree-cities, everyone was falling in love. Realistic? Maybe not, but not necessarily impossible. If romance isn’t your thing, you should go into this braced for a storm.

The story followed three major plotlines, and at the same time set up for the remaining books in the series. My favorite was Daniel’s plot, which is curious because I’ve had no interest in him in the previous books. Jaye L. Knight took her time in bringing the tension up throughout the novel, but when she got it there, it stayed that way for the rest of the novel.

My one major complaint about the plot was that this novel picks up a year after the previous. Characters have developed – majorly, in some cases – and situations have changed since then. I was disappointed that we missed that; I feel there was a lot of storytelling material and important development that we weren’t able to see.

Setting
I was glad to see some of the Roman-inspired setting coming back into play in this novel, since one of the plotlines was set solely in the capital.

The characters travel through several countries, so we get a glimpse of the land of the Cretes and the Giants. The Crete culture was interesting (and terrifying – a whole city built in giant trees, high above the ground? I have no fear of heights, but that would be a long fall), and she put an interesting spin on the Giants. It’s not often you see homesteading giants just hanging out, being peace-loving and hard-working.

Content
A character is kissed against her will. A character witnesses two unmarried people stepping out of a bedroom. A couple of people are kidnapped and as they’re being hauled off toward the villain’s lair, one of the kidnappers approaches a woman, though nothing comes of it.

Otherwise
I read the novel in one day. Though there were a few times I put it down, I always came back within a few minutes (or after eating) to continue the story. Jaye L. Knight writes with such potential: her plots, her characters, her settings. I believe the greatest benefit to her writing would be to tighten it all, taking less time to get to her next plot points, and focusing more specifically on a core group of characters. I recommend this novel for a calm day. Have a cup of tea and a few cookies, nestle yourself in the corner of your couch with a blanket, and listen to the rain pattering against your windowpane. And read this book.

Check out the other blogs on the release tour! 

Thursday, August 10

Friday, August 11

Saturday, August 12

Sunday, August 13

Monday, August 14

Tuesday, August 15

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4 thoughts on “Exiles Release Tour: Character Interview, Giveaway, and Review!”

  1. Sioux Trett on said:

    This series looks awesome! I added them all to my TBR list and can’t wait to dive in. Happy Book Birthday!!

    Reply ↓
  2. jayelknight on said:

    Thank you so much for being part of the release blitz and helping me spread the word about Exiles! 🙂

    Reply ↓

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