Girl of Myth and Legend (The Chosen Saga, Book One)

This book was great! I really liked the way it's narrated and that we have Korren's and Leonie's points of view, my favorites were Korren's ones because I was able to feel all the power he had too.
The only thing I can say I didn't enjoy so much was the beginning, I was expecting to see a little bit more of Leonie's normal life.
I love Leonie so much! I loved that she was so sarcastic and hilarious but at the same time honest, curious and brave when she had to. Another great thing about her is that she never gives up, and the way she thinks is extraordinary, always really positive and inspiring.
Korren was amazing! I really liked his personality, so deep, determined and courageous. But it were sometimes when I just thought "Man, she has feelings, could you be a little more comprehensive? ". However, I liked him a lot and I could see that he wasn't bad.
Oh! And the end was espectacular! That last quote was fantastic! I loved it and after reading it I just couldn't stop smiling for an hour.
I'll definitely going to read this saga :D

One thing I didn't like about this book is how self hating Leonie is. Most of her internal dialogue is her believing that she isn't good enough, that there must be some mistake. That's something I see a lot in female heroes and it's pretty dis-empowering. Towards the end of the book she does start to believe in herself more, so I am giving this book a rating of 3.5 stars. I'm excited to see what's in store for Leonie and Korren in future books.

Took my breath away I'm reading it again I loved it so much

This book is amazing. The main character is a teenager in every sense of the word. She is stubborn, hardheaded, she bucks authority. She is contrary just to be contrary. Doesn’t think things through and is pretty immature. She definitely is a teenager and the author wrote her perfectly, it was just brilliant. And her counterpart is written really well. The whole book is just written flawlessly. It had a great balance of dialogue vs action vs internal and external struggle. It had it all. There was a lot of intrigue in this book. It had a lot of political aspects to it with regards to the government power versus the rebels and it threw a nice layer into the book. For a book that is not romantic in any way I still felt some undertones to it. The flashbacks and the visions were some of the best parts of the book.

I ended up reading this in a day. I almost didn't read it but it's cover was just too stunning to pass over. I was concerned that the main character being "Chosen" would translate to a special but boring person who was capable of everything but who had no substance. Leonie was anything but boring! I thought she was great and liked everything about her. She is was complex, every bit the teenager, brave, loyal and sarcastic in the best of ways. Korren is her opposite and without spoiling anything I will just say he's great and so is his back story. This book has everything I love in it. Multiple POV's from two characters I adored, wonderful writing, interesting world building without it overtaking the story, a fast paced plot and a very interesting magical story. I could not put this book down! What a wonderful surprise & debut! This is one is going on my favorites list and I will be waiting anxiously for book # 2 and following this author so I can buy everything she writes in the future. Highly, highly recommended!!

3.5 Stars!!

This was a really intriguing read! It has a magical atmosphere that kind of reminded me of some other magical/fantastical novels I have read. I thought that the world building was pretty unique, and done very well. The characters were interesting; however, I did have a few problems with Leonie, the female protagonist, demeaning herself like many other YA heroines. However, I loved the action-driven plot and the minimal focus on any romances. This was a very well written novel that pulls you in and does not let you go! Amazing debut!

Actual rating: 4.5

Dear Leonie,

You foolish, foolish girl.When someone stabs you in the back once, then you can be sure that they're going to stab you again no matter how many platitudes they give you nor how much they promise that they're going to help you. You have to be wary with this kind of people. Betrayal is a painful thing, I know that very well, and it will only get worse from now. You did unleash an unknown evil from an unknown, clearly evil urn. I thought you've watched The Mummy? But you have to heed your father (even if he was not a very good one), you just have to be yourself.
----------------------------------------------------

If you were presented with a way to leave your boring, routine, mundane life, will you take it> Will you escape? Will you take the promise of something more?

Well, Leonie did take that opportunity, despite being lied to all her life, despite being faced with something so foreign and being thrust into an overwhelming destiny. Oops, it may not be so fun an adventure after all. Ah, ah, ah. No takesies-backsies, Leonie. You're in for the long haul. Face it. Do it for your Dad. Do it for your dog. Do it for your kytaen Korren. Do it for yourself. Give fate and destiny the finger and defy all odds.

I like Leonie's character. She's pretty intense. And she's quite philosophical especially when I look at her from Korren's point-of-view when they're having a talk. I love their conversations. I love their insights into each other's psyche and without knowing it, they're unconsciously helping each other grow and develop. That's why I love their relationship. And thank the stargods that there's no instalove here. Actually, there's no romance here but I'm quite confident on where it is going. It's good to read a relationship that is allowed to grow with trust, respect, and friendship first along with resolving the issues (whether they're own doing or the world they exist in made) between them, then letting the river run its course.

The story reminds me much of a series of Japanese light novels (also made into an anime) called Juuni Koukuki or The Twelve Kingdoms by Ono Fuyumi. Youko Nakajima was also a red-headed, green-eyed girl who was plucked from her home and transported to another world and searched for her destiny. Twelve Kingdoms also have a version of Kytaen called kirin. Kirin are noble and holy creatures that are bound to and chooses the ruler of each kingdom. No matter if the kirin objects they cannot go against their master's orders, even if that means killing someone.

However, the similarities stopped there and Girl of Myth and Legend wove a distinctive story that kept me turning the pages.

I seem to have the habit of starting a lot of series this year but I hope I won't wait for so long to read the sequel to this because, man, I want to know things now!

Well, well, well. It's been awhile since I had a really tough time rating something. The first 5% of this book was awful; I felt like I was reading an uninspiring high school student's essay. After that, it became slightly better up until about 10% of the book. Then...

...I couldn't stop reading anymore!

So yes, the first chapter wasn't remarkably fabulous. We get introduced to Leonie and her dad. The seventeen-year-old girl seems like this very stubborn, annoying and slightly emo kind of teenager I did NOT feel like reading about. Then, to make things worse, there's a whirlwind of happenings all crammed up into a couple of pages. Leonie discovers that she's different, that her dad is different, that there's another realm (Duwyn) which they secretly belong to, that there are other Chosen at her doorstep, coming to pick her up to take her to Duwyn. WHAM-BAM-THANK-YOU-MA'AM!

While the first chapter was from Leonie's point of view, the second one was narrated by Korren, of whom we know nothing at that point. His chapter ended with a scene that reminded me too much of the arena entrance scene from The Hunger Games. Korren needs to fight his own to the death and the winner will become the next guardian of a Chosen one. This is obviously a standard issue in any arena, yet the presentation of this one was just too much like the one in The Hunger Games, I suppose.
From now on, most chapters will be alternated by Korren and Leonie's points of view.

After arriving in Duwyn through a portal located somewhere in a cove in the UK, we leave Earth behind us for the rest of the book. Now this is where it finally became interesting for me. They're barely in Duwyn when an attack, aimed for Leonie, takes place. The magic used in this fight by both parties was very interesting. Everyone seems to have a unique kind of personal power. When Leonie is finally safely escorted to the Temples, the story really kicks off.

As you can read in the synopsis above, Duwyn's inhabitants are the Chosen,  a magical species. There are four groups of Chosen. The lowest rank belongs to the Zeros, Chosen who barely possess any magic. Second are Phobien, Chosen who have a reasonable amount of magic. Then, there are Thrones, considered powerful and holding many influential positions. The fourth group, the Pulsar, are the strongest of the Chosen, revered as almost god-like beings. The last Pulsar was wiped out 200 years ago, but with Leonie, a new one has arisen and must be protected by the Imperium at all costs.

This is why Leonie is introduced to Korren of whom we now know to be a Kytaen, an immortal mixture of a demon and a beast who can also transform into a human (which then happens to be a ridiculously handsome one *rolls eyes a little*). He's the designated Kytaen to protect Leonie with his life (I guess he's not THAT immortal now, is he). For higher efficiency levels regarding protection, every Chosen who is a Throne or a Pulsar (the lower ranks don't get a Kytaen) gets soul-bound to their Kytaen. The connection they have after the binding reminds me a little of the daemons in the 'His Dark Materials'-series by Philip Pullman. Just a little less intense and confined.

If you think the rest of the story will be about Leonie training to unleash her magic, you're mostly wrong. The Imperium is being threatened by rebels and since Leonie will be the poster girl for the Imperium as soon as she's properly trained, she's target numero uno. Hence, the attack mentioned before.

A BIG part of the story is focussing on the relationship between Leonie and Korren. He's quite a McGrumpypants with emotional issues and Leonie desperately tries to win his friendship. Which is highly uncommon, since Kytaen's are considered as mere tools without a soul by the rest of Duwyn.

The dialogues are definitely unusual. Leonie's banter starts off as very annoying, yet becomes quite amusing later on. I guess you can say it just grows on you (or well, on me at least).

Something I noticed during scenes with heavy dialogue between two people is that characters who are also present in that particular scene are not mentioned anymore until after the two active characters are done talking. For example, there was a scene where Korren and Leonie are sitting outside together in the freezing cold. Leonie's dad comes over and basically, that's the end of Korren's existence until they're done talking. No glances, references or whatnot. I thought that was quite odd.

Another thing I noticed was the repetitiveness of words. Three seems to be the magic number here. "Why is it pulling pulling pulling?"  (my note here said "That's what your mom said"...so mature), "I cry and cry and cry.". Sometimes, three wasn't even enough: "I'm tired, tired and tired and tired of surviving...". We get it, you're tired.

Then there were some contradictions and exaggerations which also didn't float my boat. After being constantly reminded of how special a Pulsar is, we also keep being reminded of how NOT special Leonie is ("My keeper isn't anything special, you know."). Or after Korren had already been nice a few times to Leonie (which flabbergasted everyone involved), a couple of chapters later she's thinking "Is it because he's never said anything nice to me before?" again (my note here was "He HAS, you dumbo").

Exaggeration annoyances occurred when we were being reminded how terribly hard Leonie's past was. She didn't have an easy life. If only she grew up in a better way. Blah, something awful DID happen to her, but my god, I can imagine a lot more awful things. Take Korren's suffering for example. Now that's legit. And the worst part is that Leonie finds it hard to empathize with him. He's thousands of years old. You think he's been watching 'Days of our Lives' for the past centuries and before? Sheesh, anyone with a working brain can guess HE's been through a lot.

My last point of criticism is the dog, Pegasus. Without spoilering the shit out of things, I'm just going to say: why? Why was he in there in the first place and why did he have to come along to Duwyn?

Now you might wonder why it's so hard for me to rate this one. It's because, despite all the annoyances, I also enjoyed it tremendously. I think I finished the last 90% in two evenings, neglecting all other things. As I said before, Leonie starts to grow on you. Then there's fast paced action, a very interesting world building setup, romance, murder, and eeriness. I actually think I kinda love Duwyn. The night is literally coming alive in it, which is awesome! I'm looking forward to reading part 2 now *gasps*

3.5 stars it shall be, based on my level of enjoyment. And a freaking awesome cover.

I'm a sucker for the down-to-earth heroine with an attitude and a sharp tongue to make it known. Leonie certainly epitomizes that profile, and she doesn't let you forget who she is from page one to the end. It felt a little overdone a couple times, but then that isn't out of character, either.

The story lands fairly in the fantasy genre, but also retains a good grasp on the real world in the style of current day / near future sci-fi. Magic powers aside, the setting and plot could have been a plausible real-world fiction (with interstellar cultures, alien races, and wormhole portals... that kind of plausible). I'm not crazy about pure magician-and-dragon fantasy, so this tale was a good balance between the two. The magic bit played its part well, supported the story, and didn't get in the way when it wasn't needed.

I'll be looking forward to the next volume in series!

I'm a sucker for obvious tropes. The whole 'chosen one' that can save the world is totally my jam. Granted I wasn't a huge fan of this book for the first quarter of it and it felt like pulling teeth just to get through it. Leonie, the main character, was annoying (but she sort of gets better), and she's the 'chosen one' in this story. I am a huge fan for all that comes with the 'chosen one' trope but I'm not a huge fan of the love stories that go a long with the trope. I was a little relieved that it wasn't a love triangle.

For all that I was annoyed at the beginning I got over it and continued to read the story. I probably won't get the second book, mostly because I'm not a fan of the romance, but I'm sure I'm in the lower ranks of people that don't enjoy the romance portion of books.

Overall I give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. Just because I didn't enjoy it doesn't mean that someone else won't.

An ARC of this book was provided by the publisher and Giselle Simlett via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I really enjoyed Girl of Myth and Legend. I didn’t love it but I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy it. The second half of the novel is much better than the first. I loved the concept of the Chosen and the world the author creates. The first half of the novel develops slowly with Leonie suddenly thrust into this world after awakening and having to deal with revelation after revelation. She copes as well as you would except of a teenage girl suddenly yanked out of the safe but dull life she knows. I found her irritating at times. She whines a lot for someone who’s suddenly learned she’s a powerful being. Her rebellion and attitude towards the people she meets in Duwyn got on my nerves. I’m not saying she should have got down on her knees and worshipped everyone but her attitude was annoying at times – interestingly enough, her attitude is similar to the attitudes of young people I’ve seen around me where they have no respect for anyone. It just bothered me. I was also bothered by the iffy behaviour of her father, a powerful seer whose reasons for hiding Leonie never quite added up. Girl of Myth and Legend was a lot of fun to read especially when the Rebels turn up and things go a little crazy. Girl of Myth and Legend does a good job of laying the foundations for a new YA series and I would be happy to read more of Leonie’s adventures.

A land of impossibility, a land made of myth and magic.

The Good

The POV is alternating between our main character, Leonie who is a Chosen and her kytaen, Korren. Kytaens are basically the bodyguard for the Chosen and are considered as tools to use and are not regarded as friends or comrades in arms. The Chosen are broken down into groups based on who has the most magic. These two are very different from all others of their kinds. Leonie was raised in the human realm so she grew up with different beliefs than other Chosen in the story. Korren is a kytaen who is done with it all and ready to bring the Chosen down. He's a little bent on revenge. I enjoyed getting to know these characters and watch them change throughout the story. Their backgrounds and beliefs are very different and the POVs were well done in keeping those voices separate. Korren is the one that I'm most drawn to because his story as an immortal and all that he's gone through grasps me.

The world and setting in The Girl of Myth and Legend is fantastically drawn out and unique. I love that they entered a portal and were taken to a different realm called Duwyn. With rebels attacking almost the second Leonie arrives, to the night becoming alive around her in the creepy, be-scared-of-the-dark way, this setting is one that I enjoyed. I am looking forward to exploring this world more in future books.

There is quite a lot going on throughout the pages. There are attacks after attacks, training for Leonie's powers, learning about this world, and it ends with another wild situation. There are deaths already in the first one which I enjoy seeing. It makes this despair real and the attacks mean more and it also means that Simlett isn't afraid to kill off characters. I'm very excited to see where this story goes in future books.

The Bad

If you are not a fan of cliches, you will immediately see the heroine that has the best power of everyone and just realizes that she has it. While this doesn't bother me in the least, those of you that get tired of seeing certain things in YA will be affected.

The dialogue was a little odd to me. It grows on you eventually, but my copy has all discussion in a single quotation instead of double quotation marks so it makes it more difficult to see when dialogue started. I did get used to it after a bit and wasn't a problem anymore.

The very beginning is harder to swallow than all the rest of the book. Leonie is a little hard to relate to when we first meet her and she is thrust immediately into a new world with new powers and finding out that her dad has lied to her all her life. It all happens in a very short amount of time and there is quite a bit of an info-dump with it. It all smooths out rather quickly however.

The Romance

There is no romance to discuss in this one. I enjoyed the friendship (if they would even admit to that) between Korren and Leonie. Korren has been raised around kytaens being treated rather poorly and having to do whatever the Chosen say. Leonie comes on to the scene not caring that she's supposed to treat him a certain way, she wants to be is friend and learn more about him. They make quite a pair and I was very glad to see that Leonie never succumbed to treating Korren badly.

Conclusion

This is a good one. The interaction between the characters is very amusing. I also like that they stand firm on their own moral beliefs instead of preconceived notions or the community's idea of right and wrong. The setting was imaginative and unique and I can see the potential this series has to go in the future. The pacing was very nice with a nice balance of action and dialogue. Recommended.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review!

Well, to begin with YA has always been a genre that I enjoy and most characters that I meet through YA tend to stick around long after I finish the book.. This book, pleasantly, was no exception to the rule..

Leonie Woodvile.. our protagonist.. was amazing.. not the classic, nice-to-meet-you types.. and that was a welcoming change.. sarcastic.. humor with extra dash of dryness.. brash.. yet an absolute sweetheart.. she's someone who wears her heart on her sleeve with a barb wire fencing around it! I loved her (mostly because she reminded me a bit of my own teenage angst)

The storyline is intriguing and draws the readers in.. The exchanges between Leonie and Korren is something that I enjoyed the most.. With a good mix of shock and awe, Girl of Myth and Legend sets the benchmark high in the world of YA.. I just have one complaint, which I have about most YA books these days.. Stop torturing the readers with the sequels.. The wait for the next book kills us!!!

Now, can everyone play nice and give me the second installment already!!!

Thank you Giselle Simlett and WWS Publishing Limited for the advance copy, You made me smile!

I loved the main character and her disregard for authority and stubbornness in this book. The author delves into her perfectly and just sets the tone for the whole book. The balance of the book was wonderful and the dialogue kept me reading till the end. The political parts to this and how people rebel against the government added some interesting points to the book. I am sad that this hasn't come out yet so it will be awhile before I can read the next book. Amazing author and amazing book.

I loved this book and i just cant wait for the next one