The Reading Bud

Author: Melissa Lynn Herold
Release Date: 17th September 2019
Genre: High Fantasy, Magic Realism
Series: Iyarri Chronicles (Book #1)
Edition: E-book
Pages: 400
Publisher: Wise Ink Creative Publishing
Blurb:
When I was little, other children called me a monster. A painting proved them right.

A lifetime of cruel taunts and heartbreak has taught Aurelia to hide, to not get too close to anyone. A painter and gallery docent, her only solace is in the art that can’t stare back. When a new piece arrives, depicting an angelic figure who shares the physical features she’s always thought of as monstrous, Aurelia searches for the artist, determined to get the answers her mother has long refused to provide.

But she isn’t the only one searching. There are others who want the artist—and the truth—silenced. Aurelia is attacked by figures from the painting, fierce warriors with wings and sharpened blades. Shaken and bloody, she manages to escape with her life but finds herself hunted by the Iyarri, who are anything but angels. As she comes to terms with her connection to them, Aurelia is drawn deeper into the heart of a millennia-old struggle. If she’s not careful, the consequences will tear her body, her heart, and the Iyarri in two.

REVIEW

★★★★

Heaven’s Silhouette by Melissa Lynn Herold is a new fantasy series about angels but with a twist. This book marks the beginning of the Iyarri series.

The story is well developed and was narrated nicely. I was drawn into the story right from the very start where we are introduced to Au \relia and the heart of the story, i.e., Aurelia is not like other kids; she is different. And it was after reading the prologue that I knew I was in for a good story. And after that, the book delivered as expected – an original fantasy world.

Even though the concept of angels has already been used many times in various books and series, like Penryn And The End Of Days series by Susan Ee (which BTW is my absolute favourite series when it comes to the fallen angel fantasy trope), I still enjoyed this book mostly because of the concept of Iyarri where they are winged beings who take cover in the angel-mythology. So although it might not initially feel that way, but this book’s concept is nothing like the other books with a similar theme. It is nothing like the books that I’ve read.

The world-building in this book is good, it wasn’t entirely fantastic but it wasn’t all bad either. Though we don’t get to explore the Iyarri world in any particular detail, I won’t be judging the entire series right now as that might be an intentional step by the author and this is just the first book, so we’ll see about it in the next books.

One thing needs a special mention here is the language. Now I know we have epic fantasy series like ASOIAF by GRRM with fully-fleshed out languages, but once in a while, I do appreciate not having to deal with a lot of newly-conceived-language jargon. I love it when fantasy authors add a sprinkling of a handful of words from a new language throughout the book in a way that it is easy for the reader to pick it up on their own. That’s exactly what author Melissa did in this book and I am very thankful to her for that.

So so moving on… the writing was simple and fluid. It made the book a very quick read in spite of it being 400 pages plus. The tension and conflicts in the story kept me engrossed into the book from start to end and I ended up finishing this book in only 3 days. And now I am eagerly waiting for the next book in this series to come out so that I can read more and explore this new and exciting world further.

If you are a fantasy fan then you should definitely give this book a read!

You can also read this review on Goodreads and Amazon