Featured Indie Book and Author
Welcome! I am featuring an Indie Author that writes amazing Middle Grade/YA fiction. Author Laura Lond has written a book series with a balance of humor and a twist to the normal hero. Her protagonist is a villian.
I’ve reviewed her first book, My Sparkling Adventure, and have recently reviewed her second book, My Royal Pain Quest. Your blog tour begins with the book review of My Royal Pain Quest. Follow the links below to enjoy an interview with Laura Lond from last summer. Plus, the review for her first book is also linked. I hope you enjoy this fabulous Indie writer.
Characters usually have the problem of not drifting to the dark side. In the second book of the Lakeland Knight series, My Royal Pain Quest by Laura Lond, Lord Arkus has the opposite problem. He’s already a villian, and keeps drifting towards the light, goodness, and all those pesky hero traits. He’s tried his hardest not to be good. But after he is stuck with a sparkling, an inherently good creature, his deviant path of badness keeps leading him to be a hero.
My Royal Pain Quest by Laura Lond
In the first book, My Sparkling Misfortune. Jarvis, the now incognito sparkling, infleunces Arkus with goodly ways. At the end, his sword is used in evil misdeeds, and he is put into a coma state as punishment. The second book opens with Lord Arkus guarding his friend Jarvi, and trying to figure out how to restore him to normal. It’s a very big step to becoming a hero, a very unvillain-like thing to do.
The book takes you on a quest of hero feats, all to help restore Jarvi to normal. Along the way, Lord Arkus picks up a sidekick, a highway woman named Cassandra, that only helps for the right price. Lord Arkus treads down the path to heroism and becomes less of a villain as he completes each task.
The hero elements are there, like having mermen allies after Lord Arkus inadvertently saves a mermaid. He has to work with a previous enemy, Prince Kellemar, as a quest. And lastly, helps with a new group of critters to find a lost boy. The hodgepodge of completing them lends to the humor. Hero acts keep piling on Lord Arkus, and the inner rebellion against being a hero starts to wain.
Cassandra, the highway woman, is an fantastic character. She’s a woman that can kick serious butt with a sword. Prince Kellemar, from the previous book, plays a part in the quests, going through a transformation of his own. All the twists in opposites does keep the plot interesting.
I enjoyed the way the book continued the villain struggle for Arkus. It’s a unique twist in character inner struggles. However, there is a sense of seriousness that seems to lose the humor from the previous book. It does fall in line with the plot of trying to save the sparkling. I also thought the ending was a bit too fairy tale like. It lent to some humor, but I think there could have been more to Cassandra and Lord Arkus building their relationship.
In the end, the plot and characters are so strong, they pull you through the book. My Royal Pain Quest works as a sequel, and I am definitely ready for book 3. This can be a great start to your child’s summer reading list, or for any adult that enjoys a fun read.
***** Five Star Rating
My Royal Pain Quest is available at Amazon.com, Smashwords.com, and Barnes and Noble.
*Link to a Review of the first book, My Sparkling Misfortune.
*Link to an interview with author, Laura Lond.
To continue with your INDIEpendence Day Blog tour event, link back to the Indibles Writers Blog.
