Title: Oracle of Illaria (Heir of Illaria #2)
Author: Dyan Chick
Publisher: Illaria Publishing LLC, 2017 (May 30)
Genre: YA Fantasy
**I received a copy of this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review**
This review can be found on my Blog, TeacherofYA’s Tumblr, or my Goodreads page
My Review:
As you all know, I’ve been gushing about the Illaria series for awhile…I did a review for the first book, a cover reveal for the second book with a giveaway, and now I’m lucky enough to write a review for the second book and reveal the amazing cover for the third book.
And a giveaway is coming from Dyan for ALL THREE BOOKS! YAY!! You’ll be able to own all of Illaria up until this point! (There might be other books coming, so I can’t say the series, lol π) <—-I didn’t say it…
Anyway, let’s start where we always start, eh? The cover….the gorgeous cover.
If you aren’t sold now, I don’t know what else I can do to convince you. π€·ββοΈ
Now, if you haven’t read book one. Heir of Illaria, don’t fret! I won’t post spoilers bc technically, since you haven’t read it, you’ll have no idea what I’m talking about!! ππ€£ Just kidding.
Or am I?
Ok, so let’s just get into the meat of the books so whoever is reading this will understand what the heck I’m talking about!
This is mainly a “bridge” book: a book that bridges the first and third books together. Etta and her brother Max, originally on the same side, have parted. Max feels he is the rightful heir and Etta knows she is. Unfortunately, the divide has forced her brother to embrace the dark side, or technically the dark king, as he thinks he can somehow control the king and get his throne back.
Etta is on the other side of the divide, left with the band of people who know she is the rightful heir. While training and preparing for Max to return to challenge her, her strongest Ally and love, Ashton, is lured into a trap…a trap that is full of dark magic. A trap that separates his soul from his body, leaving him to drift in the Astral Plane until he disappears…
But Etta won’t sit back and let that happen. She is willing to do whatever it takes to save Ashton…
But will she risk her kingdom in the process?
Let’s cut to the chase…let’s just show the cover of book three….because I CANNOT WAIT ANYMORE!
Drumroll please….THE COVER FOR BOOK THREE, BATTLE OF ILLARIA!! ::cheers::
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
I know I’m passionate about this series, but you have to understand: this series is AWESOME.
Now I’m not going to do my basic rundown because:
- I rarely recommend a second book in a series for the classroom. Unless it’s a standalone that can be read separately, they just don’t work. And:
- You know how I’m going to rate this book. It’s obvious. Dyan couldn’t write a less than β β β β β book if she tried. (Well, maybe if she tried)
So to make it simple, I give Oracle of Illaria….
Now, here’s the good news…
Heir of Illaria IS FREE TODAY. FREE! And Oracle of Illaria will be on sale all this weekend. AND we will be running a giveaway for all three books so far once Battle of Illaria is ready! How can you NOT give this series a try?? Huh??
**LINK TO HEIR OF ILLARIA FREE TODAY ——-> Heir of Illaria – FREE!!
**LINK TO ORACLE OF ILLARIA FOR $.99 THIS WEEKEND ——> Oracle of Illaria – $.99!!
If this doesn’t encourage you to try this series, then I don’t know what else to do. I just don’t!
From one of my all-time fave movies from high school, Can’t Hardly Wait.
So…will you PLEASE check this book out? πππ
ahh! I agree these covers are GORGEOUS! I hadn’t heard of this series before now but, after your raving about it, I might have to add it to my TBR!
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They ARE gorgeous! And the first book is free, so go for it! You can’t lose with free. I just liked having it on my Kindle shelf before I read it.
Now I have the physical books and they are gorgeous too. I love her books and was going to run the giveaway now, but decided with Dyan to wait until Book Three is ready.
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Yeah I saw that! Imma get it on my kindle so I can read it! If I like it, you’ll probably hear from me regarding how great it is π
Well I can’t wait for the giveaway!
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Ooh I can’t wait to know what you think! I turned someone else on to Princess of Tyrone and they loved it! So I am always hoping ppl love the same books as me.
I can’t wait for the giveaway too! I am already planning several more to celebrate some other milestones! π
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Ahh! YAY FOR GIVEAWAYS! I’ll have to keep you updated when I read it! The synopsis sounds SUPER good!
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Oh good! I’m so glad!!
And I’m a big fan of giveaways bc I have won a lot from them…so I want to help give back. I have another post going up with a Rafflecopter for The Convergence (I’m not sure what the giveaway is yet…but it’s for something good!)
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I’ve only won one before but I still love them! They’re fun! Whatever the giveaway is, I’m excited! π
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If you’re on Twitter, go to @TeacherofYA and on my Timeline I have a Rafflecopter Giveaway pinned…it’s for a HC or PB of The Intuitives and it’s for three more days..and the chances are EXCELLENT!
It’s a great book!
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OMG the covers are beautiful!! I can’t!!!!
I’ve been hearing great things about this one so I wasn’t surprised by your rating. It just comes to reinforce my desire to read it π
Amazing review, Stephanie!
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Thank you!! And they are excellent books! I seriously think they should be in every bookstore and in every reader’s hands!
Those covers are pure love, aren’t they? π
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They sure are! β€
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I got the first book because you made me π hahaha, JK! I got it because you were so excited about it so I said- I shall read Heir of Illaria… It’s sitting on my Kindle, waiting for its turn… soon… π
But yes, those covers are fricking fantastic!
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Yay!! I want to know how you feel about it!! I’m so glad I could help in any way!! I’m glad I could point you to these beautiful books and at least it looks pretty on your Kindle shelf no matter what!!
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Wow! Fabulous and glowing review, lady! I’m so glad you got the opportunity to read this and enjoyed it so much! All the Rainbow Brites!
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This is a wonderful series that keeps me glued to the page every time! It IS amazing. Go get the free copy today! Even if you don’t read it, it looks too pretty on your Kindle shelf, and you can’t say no to FREE! I had the review copy and STILL got the free one so I can lend it out to people – I tend to do that sometimes so that I have the option to let people borrow a book if they ever want to, and I unfortunately can’t lend out my NG or Edelweiss books, as well as digital copies.
Omg I hope you love it! That would make my day so much better!!
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I will definitely grab the free copy! I’m buried the next few months, so I have no idea when I’ll get to it. LOL. But one of these days, I definitely plan on it!
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Oh I know that problem! I’m right there with you!! But if an author emails me to check the status of review, that one gets pushed ahead of the others! All my big titles are going by the wayside – it’s kind of why I liked being scheduled by Penguin- if I have a date then I try to stick by it. I also have some Rockstar Tour books coming up! I’m looking forward to Buried Heart!!
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That definitely makes sense. It’s always blog tours first, then upcoming ARCs, and then if there’s time left over, books I just want to read! Usually then log yours/ARCs are all ones I wanted anyway though, do not complaining!
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Yes, I know what you mean! They are the books that we are excited to read bc they are the ones we sign up for. But there’s always a book that I get (The Night Circus recently) that I just want to pick up and read bc I have heard such good things about it and I finally own a copy! π
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EXACTLY! And yay about The night Circus!!! That is one of my all-time favs. You must let me know when you start reading it!
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Hopefully it will be soon!! π€π€π€π€I also traded for an ARC of it! I know I’ll love it: I love almost everything lol! ππ€£π
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I’m definitely in that boat too. I am a reader who enjoys a book much more often than I don’t, and I’m glad that I am honestly. I do think that reading critically is important, but I also feel like there is something to be just for entertainment value in a novel as well. I rarely give a book less than 3 stars, because I very rarely actively dislike a book. I am careful with what I choose to read though, so that might also contribute to that.
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I do the same thing to ensure that I’ll be reading something I like and not be wasting my time. I’m not a picky reader – give me practically anything that has a magic system or science fiction and I’m set!
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I don’t feel like I’m a super picky reader either. I can find something to love in just about any story honestly. And I don’t feel like that’s a bad thing. π
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No, if anything it makes us even more awesome because we get to enjoy 99% of our reading experiences!! ππ
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Well, I’m glad we’re on the same page. I know people think I rate books to generously. I just can’t help that I enjoy them!
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Right? It’s not like we can lie and be like, oh I hated that book and deep down love it. The only book I wasn’t thrilled with was Stealing Snow…besides some indies. But I can’t hate on something if I like it! And I like A LOT! ππ€£
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I haven’t read that one. I really want to, but it’s one that may be forever trapped on my TBR list honestly. Especially if you didn’t like it. If you didn’t like it, I don’t feel that it’s likely I will.
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It was written poorly and that’s what surprised me most. I didn’t mind the “love square” but I def felt the writing was weak. I couldn’t get attached and it was jerky. The story world was very poorly described too. I feel bad bc I felt like it was one of those books I would love but it still surprises me that it got out of the editing phase. I can only think it’s because of the Dorothy success, and I haven’t read those. π€·ββοΈ
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Love in any shape doesn’t bother me. LOL. I think love triangles even are great as long as they’re character driven and well-written. π It’s always a bummer when you don’t like books as much as you think you will. I haven’t read the Dorothy books yet either. I’ve heard great things about them though…
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That’s why I was so excited about the Stealing Snow book: that and the cover of course! But I’ll have to read Dorothy and compare!
The love square WAS weird. It was just like introducing the boys to give her more options it seemed. π€
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That’s too bad. You’ll have to let me know if you read the Dorothy series though! I would love to read those sometime!
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I got the first book because you made me too ;-)))) So I would say your passion is contagious LOL
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Yay!! Sorry, I didn’t know it was contagious…I’ll try to keep away from others when I’m contagious so I don’t cause an outbreak! ππβ€οΈ
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I enjoyed the first book but I haven’t read the second book yet. I’m so glad you loved it! I hope I’ll get to it soon. Great Review! π
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Thank you! The second is on sale this weekend for $.99 so I would nab it if I were you!
Did you write a Review of book one? I’d love to see what you think πΌπ
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Yeah, I did write a review for it and you already read it but anyways, here’s the link
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Oh, now I remember! Time makes me forget! ππ€¦ββοΈ
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I skimmed through most of your thoughts on the second book. I know you said you weren’t going to include spoilers, and that even if you did I’d have no idea what you were talking about anyway but I wasn’t going to risk it! π
Wow those covers are gorgeous though, and the fact that you love this series so much is more than enough to convince me to check out the first book at the very least! π β€
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Oh, yes! I hope you do! I don’t know if it’s free still, but it’s definitely worth your Time! The worldbuliding in the first book is incredible: the second book just expanded upon the story. It’s a very good series and I am passionate about it!!
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I’ll be sure to check it out either way. The world building I feel is going to be a major draw for me. As a huge lover of fantasy books that’s always something I look for more than anything else! π
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Oh me too…I’m not more character driven but plot driven when it comes to my books! I think we might have that in common π€
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I don’t mind character drive, but I tend to prefer those kind of stories in contemporary books rather than fantasy ones. π
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Yeah I know what you mean…character is a contemporary focus and not a fantasy one!
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Although I do like to see good character development in fantasy books too! π
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Yes, it’s always good to have a nice balance…but I need that storyworld developed and that plot spot on in fantasy for sure! π
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Oh same here, I’m not sure a fantasy book could get by with just amazing character development. π
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