Review of The Hermit Gryphon

[Annabell Samuel]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Hermit Gryphon" by Paula Grover.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Tal (formerly known as Queen Talona) was the tyrant ruler of Gryphonia. Her reign was so full of terror that her subjects were scared of her. Anyone who dared to challenge her was either imprisoned or executed. Unfortunately for her, her sister, Sunsky, led a successful revolution that ousted her from the throne. This incident kickstarted Tal’s journey to redemption. Sometime later, Gorwal the Great, ruler of the Krestin Kingdom, decided to conquer the mountain society and install himself as the ultimate ruler. He reached out to Tal for help, hoping to leverage Tal’s supposed jealousy and desire for vengeance against her sister. Tal had to decide whether to continue on her redemptive path by saving her sister’s queendom or align with Gorwal for another shot at power.  

Wow! What a book! What a story! I have added “The Hermit Gryphon” by Paula Grover to my list of favorite fantasy books. Everything about this book was impeccable. I could not find anything to dislike, from the narration to the descriptions and character development. I had a swell time reading this book.

The first thing I liked was how the author used the “show, don’t tell” approach. I could appreciate the different locations in the book without being bored by excessive descriptions. It was not hard to figure out that the gryphons and opinicus were winged creatures while the keythongs and kryphons were wingless creatures. The societal divide was also clearly depicted. I could see the winged creatures exhibit some superiority over the wingless creatures. Readers can relate to this, as it is a type of what we see in society today. Some folks believe they are superior to others because of some privileges they enjoy. 

I particularly liked how the author developed the characters. Every character was distinct and unique. It was normal to expect the author to flesh out lead characters like Tal, Sunsky, and Gorwal (the author did a fantastic job with them). However, I was most impressed by the character development of Gripe Piper (or Griper). He grew from a timid, spineless gargoyle into the person who might determine the outcome of the conflict. His growth is palpable and amazing.

Although this book is part of a series, you will only know it when you read the official blurb. The book does well to stand on its own. Readers do not need to have read the first book, “The Gryphon,” to understand this one. However, I suspect that the first book might have more details about Tal’s tyrannical reign. The book also ends in such a way that the author can decide to end the series or continue the story, and it will not be a problem.

Kudos to the editors for the fantastic job they did. I could not find a single grammar issue or typo. Therefore, I rate the book five out of five stars.

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The Hermit Gryphon
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[Anaïs Quesson]

This seems extremely interesting! I'd love to red 'The Hermit Gryphon' thanks to your review. Good job!