Review by Yvonne Monique -- We are Voulhire: A New Arriv...

[Yvonne Monique]

[Following is a volunteer review of "We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies" by Matthew Tysz.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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In We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies, the author, Matthew Tysz, takes us on a journey to the magical world of Voulhire. The ‘New Arrival’ refers to the arrival of Galen Bray, who inherits the forge of his great-uncle and travels to the city of Magnum Caelum to start learning the profession of blacksmithing. Galen grew up on the Prince’s Islands, where a continuous war was going on between the 4 heirs of the emperor. Therefore, Galen was delighted to have a reason to escape his hometown and start a new, peaceful life in Voulhire. But is Voulhire really as peaceful as it appears to be?

We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies is the first book of a series of 6 books in total. In this first book, the reader is introduced to the intriguing country of Voulhire, its people, cities, politics, magic, and enemies. I felt a bit overwhelmed by the amount of initial information, but as the story evolved, I became familiar with the different characters and storylines. The author used a clever way of introducing Voulhire to us, namely through the eyes of Galen, also new to this country. Many chapters are written from Galen’s point of view, and Galen’s first impressions become our impressions too.

At the start of the .pdf version of this book, the reader will find a useful map and an ‘Extended Reading’ link, which takes us to a website with a lot of additional information about the fantasy world that this series is based on. It is obvious that Matthew Tysz spent a lot of time designing Voulhire and the people who live in it. The book finishes with a reference guide with the explanation of certain words and phrases.

I really liked the author’s writing style. The book contains many beautiful phrases and descriptions. For example, when Galen feels a bit out of place in his new city, he tells us: “In a lot of ways, I wasn’t just discovering the people of Voulhire, I was discovering people in general. I was discovering me.” Or when the reader is introduced to the leader of an underground resistance movement: “For underneath this dark and quiet city was a man who liked to dance and an army that stepped to his beat.”

The only thing I dislike about this book is its shortness. The .pdf version is only 167 pages long. I did not want the story to finish, I just wanted to carry on reading. To me, it felt like a beautiful dream that I did not want to wake up from. Fortunately, there are 5 more books in the series! This book cannot really be read on its own, as it would leave too many questions unanswered.

The book is very well edited and contains only minor profanity, which is needed to define certain characters. Therefore, and because I thoroughly enjoyed this read, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I would highly recommend this book to fantasy lovers. On the contrary, if you do not like fantasy and exploring new worlds, I would not recommend this book.

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We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies
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[Wuoketch]

This is a great book. I enjoyed reading this book. Galen's escape from the land of Prince's paved a way for him and we are yet to know what eventually happens in the next books. Great review.

[Sanju Lali]

A theme of magical world with inheriting a forge and all looks quite exiting to me. Thanks for your insightful review.

[Awesomeliker]

I'm as excited as you are to read the rest of the series. Even though the first book had some flaws to me, I have very high hopes for the other 5 books.
Great review!

[Dominik_G]

I'm not generally into fantasy, but I've picked up We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies after reading so many positive reviews about it. I wasn't disappointed. Thank you for your great review!

[Yvonne Monique]

I'm not generally into fantasy, but I've picked up We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies after reading so many positive reviews about it. I wasn't disappointed. Thank you for your great review!

I'm glad to read that you gave it a try. You won't be able to stop reading the other sequels.

[Yvonne Monique]

I'm as excited as you are to read the rest of the series. Even though the first book had some flaws to me, I have very high hopes for the other 5 books.
Great review!

You're right. I'm bound to start the 4th book and the main storyline is taking some interesting turns!

[Yvonne Monique]

This is a great book. I enjoyed reading this book. Galen's escape from the land of Prince's paved a way for him and we are yet to know what eventually happens in the next books. Great review.

Keep reading the other books as well, you won't be disappointed by the storyline.

[jokinyo]

I agree the storyline was epic. I wish the other books maintain the momentum.

[Yvonne Monique]

I agree the storyline was epic. I wish the other books maintain the momentum.

Not all storylines are followed in the sequels, but the story remains epic without any doubt!

[The Holy Grail]

Well, we can all agree this is a very wonderful book. It was my first book on this site and I loved it too. I've also enjoyed reading your review.

[Oreoluwa281]

I have read this book and can't agree with you more. This is such an entertaining and delightful read with amazing characters and plots, I'm sure I would be reading the rest of this series.

[Ace John]

This seems a book I might like. You have explained it well that I know what to expect from it. Nice review!