Beginning with unique place details launched into customs or culture, rating this book would start with a suspenseful prologue which gives helpful secondary sources and diving into action.

Thank You Netgalley for the book in exchange for an Honest review.
I am sorry I couldn't Finish the book. It was hard to get into and the plot was convoluted.
Will definitely look forward to coming works of the author

I thought this was alright, I didn't have any strong feelings either way.

I think it would be good for a young teen to tip their toes into fantasy without it being overwhelming or epic.

Had promise but definitely needs A LOT of editing before it is ready for mainstream readers. It was way too long and hard to connect with, a lot of it could be edited out - which would only serve to make the story better and the plot clearer.

ARC from NetGalley. 172,000 words and virtually unreadable. DNF before the end of the first chapter.

I just have too much shit to read to spend time trying to decipher this.

I feel kind of bad for what I am going to write here. Friends, writers, do not put your unvetted manuscript on NetGalley to be torn a new one. You are only setting yourself up for hurt. Write your book, get it all out of your brain and then edit it. Edit it multiple times. Put it in a drawer and forget about it and then edit it again. Then get some beta readers and, you guessed it, more editing.

This reads as a first draft. B.A. Ellison, I apologize, but I am going to be harsh.

The author indicates that they are currently querying agents. No agent is ever going to read this as it is.

It is bad.

It is "~172k" I assume words, but he didn't add that key bit of info, so let's go with my assumption. I would put money on the fact that you could trim at least 20k words from this just by removing all of the instances of the author repeating himself. This is nearly impossible to follow. The punctuation follows little rhyme or reason. I am not even able to get to the point where I could make a determination on whether the story itself is any good, because I cannot read this. I don't expect an indie book or an advanced copy to be perfect, but this reads as a first draft written by someone who perhaps does not speak English as a first language.

I just found it hard to connect with this, I know the note at the start says needs more editing but it requires more than the note suggests, with this, the plot felt a bit all over the place, the language felt a bit off and odd. I do think with work it will be good, it just needs more to make it that way sorry

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Although the blurb for this was certainly intriguing, and I liked the look of the cover, this unfortunately just wasn’t the book for me.

Nothing wrong with it precisely, I just couldn’t seem to get going, so perhaps just one of those things!

Altogether, the blurb and the writing style made it appeal to me, but sadly... not one I would personally return to, and one I sadly couldn’t finish.

The Dynasty of the Phoenix is a highly imaginative fantasy story that brings together thousands of years conflict, fantasy creatures and mystical superpowers, into a world that has long forgotten magic and remembers only the legends and myths.

Gal’gatha is an old curator of a museum, and also what lies hidden beneath. Behind secret doors is the statue of Lord Draxion where his ghost resides and can be called forth using his sword. Gal’gartha, his three daughters, Arlyn, Talia and Helga, as well as his adopted son Christian, are about to bring forth the spirit of Draxion and ignite the path to war.

“Draxion told them. “It’s time for me to go now though. You each have my blessing. Arlyn to take my sword, Talia to charm the world, Helga to help it believe, Christian to wage the war, and you Gal’gatha to guide their way.”

The time is coming when once more the world will know of Dravens and Eedon Rath-ni. There are four races of Eedon Rath-ni, either Eagles, Ravens, Dragons, or Hawks (Lords of the Sky), who each take riders known as Dravens, with special abilities. These Dravens are highly sought after as both regions, Iishrem and Allirehem, are preparing for the war that will eventually come between them.

There are more characters added to the story with different abilities, backgrounds, personalities and motivations for fighting in this global war. Many have their part to play as the scheming, recruitment and training of soldiers increases. I felt the plot didn’t always hang together well and became more prescriptive than necessary. There is often extensive detail in a fantasy novel, used to paint the atmosphere, locations and other beings, with their culture and history that draws a new world with depth and believability. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. There were moments in this story when it didn’t hold together well.

It was a little frustrating with some of the jarring language and the repetitive use of phrases bringing attention to the wording rather than focusing on the unfolding story. For example, the old man, other old men, the people, the organisation, all considered themselves to be “… esoteric and reclusive …”.

The book does require significant editing and while that is made clear in the forward from B.A. Ellison, I think the editing required is much more than the line editing expected at this stage. I think it was a little too early for NetGalley where you can overlook typos and formatting issues but not major challenges to the novel itself. The novel feels longer than the 362 pages quoted but I still feel it could be cut dramatically to flow better.

I would rate this book 3.5 stars, accepting that line editing is still required but I would be concerned if some larger issues were not addressed. I would like to thanks the author and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC version in return for an honest review.

The Dynasty of the Phoenix is a highly imaginative fantasy story that brings together thousands of years conflict, fantasy creatures and mystical superpowers, into a world that has long forgotten magic and remembers only the legends and myths.

Gal’gatha is an old curator of a museum, and also what lies hidden beneath. Behind secret doors is the statue of Lord Draxion where his ghost resides and can be called forth using his sword. Gal’gartha, his three daughters, Arlyn, Talia and Helga, as well as his adopted son Christian, are about to bring forth the spirit of Draxion and ignite the path to war.

“Draxion told them. “It’s time for me to go now though. You each have my blessing. Arlyn to take my sword, Talia to charm the world, Helga to help it believe, Christian to wage the war, and you Gal’gatha to guide their way.”

The time is coming when once more the world will know of Dravens and Eedon Rath-ni. There are four races of Eedon Rath-ni, either Eagles, Ravens, Dragons, or Hawks (Lords of the Sky), who each take riders known as Dravens, with special abilities. These Dravens are highly sought after as both regions, Iishrem and Allirehem, are preparing for the war that will eventually come between them.

There are more characters added to the story with different abilities, backgrounds, personalities and motivations for fighting in this global war. Many have their part to play as the scheming, recruitment and training of soldiers increases. I felt the plot didn’t always hang together well and became more prescriptive than necessary. There is often extensive detail in a fantasy novel, used to paint the atmosphere, locations and other beings, with their culture and history that draws a new world with depth and believability. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. There were moments in this story when it didn’t hold together well.

It was a little frustrating with some of the jarring language and the repetitive use of phrases bringing attention to the wording rather than focusing on the unfolding story. For example, the old man, other old men, the people, the organisation, all considered themselves to be “… esoteric and reclusive …”.

The book does require significant editing and while that is made clear in the forward from B.A. Ellison, I think the editing required is much more than the line editing expected at this stage. I think it was a little too early for NetGalley where you can overlook typos and formatting issues but not major challenges to the novel itself. The novel feels longer than the 362 pages quoted but I still feel it could be cut dramatically to flow better.

I would rate this book 3.5 stars, accepting that line editing is still required but I would be concerned if some larger issues were not addressed. I would like to thanks the author and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC version in return for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Publishers for granting me early access to "A Take of Shadow and Shroud".

I'm currently in the middle of a major move, and will definitely come back at a later time and write out a full review and rating.

Thank you so much!

I found this book hard to get into and it has taken me so long to read as I kept putting it down and then picking it up which might be why I found it hard to enjoy. I didn't connect to the characters. Overall I'm sorry to say I just couldn't connect to this book and I couldn't say why exactly.