Happy Tails and Tales Blog: Happy Belated Book Birthday~ In the Shadow of the Dragon King by J Keller Ford!!!!!!

Friday, June 10, 2016

Happy Belated Book Birthday~ In the Shadow of the Dragon King by J Keller Ford!!!!!!

Book Description

Sixteen-year-old, David, spends his days collecting school honors, winning archery tournaments, and trying not to fall in love with his scrappy best friend, Charlotte.

Right when things start to get interesting, he is whisked away to the magical realm of Fallhollow where everyone thinks he's some sort of paladin destined to fulfill a two-hundred-year-old prophecy. He's supposed to help kill a dragon with some sort of magic key. The same key that happens to adorn the neck of an annoying squire who's too wrapped up in proving himself to be much help to anyone.

With egos as big as the dragon they need to destroy, Eric and David must get over themselves, or watch everything they know and love, burn.

Seventeen-year-old, Eric, is a kick-butt squire to the most revered knight in Fallhollow. Well he would be if Sir Trogsdill allowed him to do anything even remotely awesome. Determined to prove his worth, Eric sets out to find the mythical paladin summoned to protect the realm from the evil lurking nearby.

Sixteen-year-old, David, spends his days collecting school honors, winning archery tournaments, and trying not to fall in love with his scrappy best friend, Charlotte.

Right when things start to get interesting, he is whisked away to the magical realm of Fallhollow where everyone thinks he's some sort of paladin destined to fulfill a two-hundred-year-old prophecy. He's supposed to help kill a dragon with some sort of magic key. The same key that happens to adorn the neck of an annoying squire who's too wrapped up in proving himself to be much help to anyone.

With egos as big as the dragon they need to destroy, Eric and David must get over themselves, or watch everything they know and love, burn. - See more at: http://www.j-keller-ford.com/in-the-shadow-of-the-dragon-king.html#sthash.YdP0rrWK.dpuf

My Review

My mind is blown with how completely magnificent this book is! And I'm super grateful Ms J is making it a trilogy. And though the blurb is good it really doesn't do this book justice because there's just so much... MORE! So there's two major places this book takes place, our normal world, and Fallhollow. Davis lives here in our world but he is a lot more than just human. His parents sent him here to be safe from the threats at home. And then Eric is from Fallhollow. He's a knight's squire. He's a good guy but he just wants more and has ambition for things he's not ready to hear. There's a lot of secrets being kept from both of them and when some of those secrets start coming out, they react so differently. David kinda shuts down until he has not choice. Eric lashes out and has a few immature choices he made.

I loved the characters so much. They are all so well developed and each one feels real! Like a person I just talked to. It's hard to do that well, but Ms J did it with ease! You're gunna not only fall for Eric and David, but for Charlotee, whom is David's human best friend that he's secretly in love with. And you'll fall in love with Eric's sneaky best friend, and Sir T as I called him, and the other Knights. You'll even love the king and queen, and the crazy magical sorcerers, sorceress, and even the bag guys. And there's more than one dragon, one I adore and one that needs to not live for too much longer. There's a lot of good things happening between characters but there's also betrayal and secrets and some not so savory happening as well.

Now on to the world building. Holy crap on a cracker batman, this is one of the BEST world buildings I've ever read!!! And it's done in a way that you don't really notice until halfway though the book it's like a stunning painting floating in your brain. Ms J introduced this beautiful world of Fallhollow slowly so it's not two pages of info dump shoved in your face. As the characters travel you see what they see. And the writing, well that should already be easy for you to guess how I feel. It's spectacular. I was completely hooked!! I found myself picking up my book every single second I could! And when it ended I almost cried, until I read the author note at the end stating there will be another book. Then in seconds I was cheering out loud!! And I'm absolutely dying for that next book!!! And I think this book can appeal to almost anyone, no matter age or genre preference because it's just that good!!! Ms J, THANK YOU times 10 for letting me read your book. Be prepared for me to stalk you until books 2 and 3 are in my grubby little paws!!!! And to everyone else, not all dragons are bad, but not all dragons are good- be prepared for this! 5 PHENOMENONAL PAWS!!!

About the Author

Bio

J. Keller Ford

J. (Jenny) Keller Ford is a scribbler of speculative fiction and YA tales. As an Army brat, she traveled the world and wandered the halls of some of Germany's most extraordinary castles in hopes of finding snarky dragons, chivalrous knights, and wondrous magic to permeate her imagination. What she found remains etched in her topsy-turvy mind and oozes out in sweeping tales of courage, sacrifice, honor and everlasting love.

When not torturing her keyboard or trying to silence the voices in her head, Jenny spends time collecting seashells, bowling, screaming on roller coasters and traveling. She is a mom to four magnificent and noble offspring, and currently lives in paradise on the west coast of Florida with a menagerie of royal pets, and her own quirky knight who was brave enough to marry her.

Published works include short stories, The Amulet of Ormisez, Dragon Flight, and The Passing of Millie Hudson. IN THE SHADOW OF THE DRAGON KING is her debut novel and the first installment in the Chronicles of Fallhollow Trilogy.

Reviews

Jennifer Bardsley (author and Goodreads Reviewer) “... the characters are complex, the world-building is top notch, and there is a perfect mix of fantasy and reality … This is a weighty book, full of the rich detail fantasy readers crave..”

Jennifer DiGiovani (author and Goodreads Reviewer) “The complexity of the plot kept me turning pages, trying to guess what would happen next. J. Keller Ford’s world building is both stellar and unique. The contrasting voices of Eric and David were so well crafted and I equally enjoyed both of their stories. And I loved Charlotte – she more than holds her own against the guys, plus she has principles about both love and war and she stands behind them.”

Sharon Hughson (Goodreads Reviewer) “The story was amazing! There was magic and mystery and action galore. Ford introduces some fascinating species in her world, and I’m looking forward to meeting more of them. The ice dragon with feathers is my favorite so far … Anyone who enjoys adventure stories similar to Percy Jackson will find this novel entertaining. The dialogue and interaction between David and Charlotte rival what you’d find between Percy and Anabeth in the early Percy Jackson books. If you’ve been waiting for a good dragon tale, you’ll definitely want to latch onto a copy of this book. The nemesis dragon king is terrifying and overwhelming, bitter and fierce. My mouth went dry every time he entered a scene.”

Buy Links

Need a copy of In the Shadow of the Dragon King? Here are the links!

"Teens who love J.R.R. Tolkien and Christoper Paolini will especially enjoy this series." ~ School Library Journal

"... a riveting read...rich with details...a story with a timeless, classic feel." ~ Laurie Finn, author

"An exciting read that will leave you breathless and wanting more!" ~ Adriana Mather, author of HOW TO HANG A WITCH

"If you’ve been waiting for a good dragon tale, you’ll definitely want to latch onto a copy of this book. The nemesis dragon king is terrifying and overwhelming, bitter and fierce. My mouth went dry every time he entered a scene." ~ Sharon Hughson, author

- See more at: http://www.j-keller-ford.com/in-the-shadow-of-the-dragon-king.html#sthash.YdP0rrWK.dpuf