Review: Song of the Summer King by Jess E. Owen

Title: Song of the Summer King
Series: The Summer King Chronicles, #1
Author: Jess E. Owen
Publisher: Self Published
ASIN: B008LMQND2
Tags: Fantasy, Animals, Griffins, Mythology
Source: Bought
Hearts: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Shard is a gryfon in danger. He and other young males of the Silver Isles are old enough to fly, hunt, and fight–old enough to be threats to their ruler, the red gryfon king.

In the midst of the dangerous initiation hunt, Shard takes the unexpected advice of a strange she-wolf who seeks him out, and hints that Shard’s past isn’t all that it seems. To learn his past, Shard must abandon the future he wants and make allies of those the gryfons call enemies.

When the gryfon king declares open war on the wolves, it throws Shard’s past and uncertain future into the turmoil between.

Now with battle lines drawn, Shard must decide whether to fight beside his king… or against him.

Review

!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, a couple of days after reading Song of the Summer King, I’m still at a loss for words. Totally speechless. Shard, Kjorn and all the other characters are still haunting me. I’ve never read a book that had such a great impact, that kept me thinking about all the characters, the story, the world, till days and days after. Strangely enough it also makes it difficult to write a review about a book this phenomenal. I don’t know where to begin. Should I start with the world-building or the plot? Or is it better to start with saying something about the characters? There’s just so much I want to tell, that I want to praise to the sky, that I want to share with you. And I can assure you, reading this book will rock your world and sacrificing some sleep to finish it won’t be a hardship at all 😉

Hmm… Okay, let’s begin with the plot first. That was what drew me initially to this book (and the absolutely fabulous cover of course 😉 ). Gryfons and wolves, oh my! That’s going to be a very unique story! And unique it was, but it was also so much more. It touched something in my very core. It’s so detailed and rich. With splendid characters and a story that will keep you enraptured till the end. A story… and I can go on and on like that. In short: this story was amazing and a must read. I won’t tell more, you’ll just have to read it yourself 😉 And you won’t be disappointed, trust me!

The world that Jess E. Owen creates is at least as fascinating as the story, if not more so. Add to that touches of Norse Mythology, mythical creatures and talking animals and I was hooked. The time I spent in this world was awesome and I loved every minute of it. It was fantastic to fly with the Gryfons and run with the wolves. It’s written so well that everything felt almost real. Like I could feel the wind, hear the wolves howl and a Gryfon roar…. It was totally and utterly perfect!

The characters too were great to be around. In this story it’s all about Shard, the little grey Gryfon, who discovers that he is destined to do a bit more than he originally thought he would. And this books tell his journey, his road to discovery, to find his true inner self. His path is not an easy one and he could be a bit too gullible, but he’s also adorable and fun and I just loved him to death. The other characters, too, were given a very sound “voice”. They were multi-dimensional, easy to distinguish and totally intriguing to read about. They were the topping of this delicious treat I was given. And now I’m hunkering for more! Where’s the next book?

Conclusion

5 HEARTS. It may seem like I did not go into details with this review, but this is only because it’s such an amazing, griping,terrific book that you should read for yourself. And I also don’t want to spoil everything, which might happen if I really start talking. AKA: thanks for reading my review and go read this book. Or at least add it to your TBR-pile ;). I can recommend it wholeheartedly, for young and old. It’s an ageless story that will stick with you,that will rock your world.

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What did you think of it? Please leave a comment 😉

The Summer King Chronicles

1. Song of the Summer King
2. Skyfire (September 2013)