OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Stranger's Orphan" by Alex R London.]

The Stranger’s Orphan, by Alex R. London, is the first book in The Armean Journals series. Set in Armea and Tagar, the story is told from the viewpoints of 6 different characters: Bianca, Anastasia, Lea, Emma, Edrik, and Persius.

Fueled by vengeance, Anastasia Daren decided to join the king’s army after learning about her brother’s death. Leaving behind Bianca, her best friend, she has no idea of what will await her once she reaches her destination. In the city of New Ortaga, Emma is used to the filth and stench that surrounds her. When her plan to steal from the Black Robes goes awry, she discovers a few shocking secrets about her past. Two soldiers, Persius and Edrik, have important roles in the Kingdom. Persius, the captain of the Academy’s guard, is faced with training the new recruits, while Edrik, the main protector of King Edgar, becomes bewitched by a sorceress with suspicious intentions. Meanwhile, the city of Sorranon, Lea’s home, has been engulfed by flames, spreading widespread alarm throughout Armea. While this causes people to fear that the dragons have risen up once more to destroy their world, not all is what it seems to be.

From the very start, the author’s detailed descriptions of the settings as well as the vivid interactions between the characters made the story easy to visualize. Every scene had a purpose, and each scene helped to move the plot along. I also like how the author included enough details in each scene to help me perceive the feelings of each character as they interacted with one another. I found the plot, which had various twist and turns, to be engaging and filled with adventure. There were also a few subplots that helped to add depth and revealed more of each character’s personality.

What I liked the most about this book was the characters and their growth throughout the story. I found most of the characters to be relatable, and all of the main characters were well-developed and dynamic. It was intriguing to read about how each character was important to the story. Since this is only the first book, I am dying to know how everything will turn out at the end.

While the story is told from the point of view of 6 different characters, I did not have a hard time keeping up with all of the characters. However, I did have a hard time keeping up with the names of the towns, since all the characters were from different areas, so I had to keep looking at the map of Armea and Tagar that the author included at the beginning of the book.

Overall, I would rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. The descriptive world building, as well as the great character development, made this book a captivating read. There were a few grammatical errors and spelling mistakes, but they did not detract from the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read fantasy books centered around medieval-style settings and magic.

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The Stranger's Orphan
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Oooh! Danger, intrigue, personal secrets, and dragons! This sounds like a winner, especially given that your review states it's "descriptive" and "vivid." I can't think of a single question, as your review was extraordinarily thorough. Thanks!

This sounds like an intriguing book. I like books that are descriptive, so it is easy to visualize what is going on, as long as they don't overdo it. Great review!

By this review, any lover of fantasy books will be hungry for the next series. The author has done a nice work, let the next series be as interesting as this.

I agree, there are quite a few names of characters and places to keep straight. Your explanation clarifies that the author does a good job of giving each character the necessary development. This is a fascinating recommendation. Thanks.

I love a story that you can picture as well as this. 6 different characters and perspectives might be much for me, but I'm glad you didn't have any issues keeping up. I'll think about this one longer. Thanks for the review.

Thank you for this review. It seems like a very interesting book.

I like how you kept it short, yet very detailed. That's sometimes difficult to achieve. The book definitely sounds like a winner, and it's great the author included a map to keep the locations straight. Thanks for mentioning that!

Thanks, this is a great review. There's just enough of the plot and the key writing highlights to pique my interest.

Wonderful review and very descriptive. The book sounds intriguing, it's a winner for me.

The vivid character interactions, as well as the twists and turns, add to the intrigue of what sounds like an engaging storyline. Thank you for a great review!

This is a definitely an intriguing book to peruse. Although I'm not quite comfortable with the multi-character nature of the book but I won't mind checking it out. Great review

This sounds like a detail oriented book, with multiple characters and towns. I love descriptive books and I think I would like this book. Thanks for a wonderful review!

This book seems to be like a story of the medival times. This would be a fantastic book for fiction lovers. The plot has various twists and turns which would definetly impress a reader and will surely make him curious to continue the series. I would certainly prefer this book.
Thanks for the detailed review.