Review for "The Kinshield Legacy"

"The Kinshield Legacy" is the first book in K.C. May's 'The Kinshield Saga".

A leather square attached to a thong sprawls across a blue inklined map. The elegant portrait of a wolf is tooled on its surface.
Gavin Kinshield is a haunted man. At night he dreams of the family he lost, by day the runestones whisper in his head demanding to be solved. But whoever solves the runestones will become King of Thendylath.  And that's something Gavin isn't prepared to do.

What I liked:

• Gavin Kinshield is the perfect reluctant hero. A man with a past that gives him a reason to steer clear of the extra responsibilities instead of a wavery feeling against it. Yet as a good hearted man of character he can't help but help those in need. He does have his flaws but they make him more real and likeable.
• The Viragon Sisterhood is an interesting addition. There aren't alot of sword and sorcery novels out there that feature women as fighters who don't need the help of a man.
• The flip of traditional roles between monarch and champion.
• Every single character that is introduced in the story has a place, every single one. Characters that you think are just there to be world builders or character builders wind up being essential to the grand story line in an impressive display of weaving.
• Brodas Ravenkind is a chilling ruthless ego maniacal villain. The tiny glimpses into his world only serve to make us hate him all the more.
• The mirror images of fate between Gavin, Ronar, and Arek make perfect sense, and lead to intriguing future possibilities.
• The author manages to make The Kinshield Legacy an amazing stand-alone novel while at the same time creating and building upon our expectations for the series.

What I disliked:

• Some of the action and language was a tiny bit on the vulgar side. While it works to set up Gavin as a peasant and Brodas as a monster, I can't help but feel that maybe the end goal could have been achieved without it.
• The reincarnation type connection while it seems was supposed to be an earthshattering revelation I figured out rather quickly.
• The chapters and character jumps happened a little too quickly at first, but when our characters finally join forces it all evens out.

'The Kinshield Legacy' is an amazing, fast paced romp through a dangerous magical world. A wonderful addition to the sword and sorcery line of stories, 'The Kinshield Saga' has the makings of a beloved series to fans of the genre. K.C. May has managed to capture magic in a bottle. As soon as I finished the book I wanted to read more, and immediately put the remaining books on my wishlist. What's even cooler is that 'The Kinshield Legacy' is currently available for free. You have absolutely no reason to not pick up this gem of a story. The other books in the series 'The Wayfairer King', 'Well of the Damned', and 'Kinshield's Redemption' are all available for  $3.97 each. Which is a little pricey in my world of free kindle books but if they are at all like the first one, they're worth it. I'm excited to see how this series plays out. You can find out more about the author at her website, that's right I said her!, www.kcmay.com

5 out of 5 crowns

Recommended for fans of the sword and sorcery genre, as well as the broader scope of fantasy. Most teen readers and adults will have the maturity to shake off some of the not so pretty references and truly enjoy the story beyond.




Synopsis: "A mysterious stone tablet with five magical gems has sat abandoned in a cave for two hundred years. The kingdom is in ruins, with only warrant knights to keep the peace. But then, the gems in the tablet, one by one, disappear.

Warrant knight Gavin Kinshield is a man of many secrets. He's the one deciphering the runes in the tablet. Unless he can find a suitable replacement, he'll be Thendylath's next king. All he really wants is the letter written by his ancestor Ronor Kinshield, the last man to see King Arek alive... a letter he must earn by tracking down a common thief.

But when Gavin saves a woman's life, what should have been a simple task draws him face-to-face with his nightmarish past... and the truth of King Arek's demise."