The only disappointment in an otherwise successful week!

I have been away from home on a business trip for the past few days, launching a new project for my company. Despite the long hours and the stress of managing a project that DARE NOT FAIL, the trip was an absolute delight, thanks to my amazing travelling companions. We worked hard and played just as hard. Most importantly we laughed and laughed and laughed!


I decided, before leaving on this trip, that I would suspend my reviews of 5-star books, and downloaded a novel from one of my favourite authors. I wanted to end my long working hours with pure escapism and a touch of romance. The trip was an enormous success - the novel, not so much! Perhaps it is unfair to give a poor rating to a novel that I read whilst under such enormous pressure, but Heather Killough-Walden has trained me to believe that her books would be ideal for this type of situation!

On the upside, one of the people I was privileged to travel with, suggested an author that I had not had been exposed to yet. Although I have just started the first book in the series, I am very excited about what I have read so far. I am hopeful that this series - The Riftwar Saga Trilogy by Raymond E. Feist - will restore my faith in the Fantasy genre.

Now for the review:

The Warlock King by Heather Killough-Walden
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I love Fantasy Romance! Not only is it a wonderful escape from reality but it also appeals to the "Chic Lit" loving side of me that wants everybody to be in love and live happily ever after. Heather Killough-Walden's books usually add a third element that I find appealing - fast-paced action and suspense. So it was without hesitation that I bought the latest book in the King series, The Warlock King. Sadly it did not live up to my expectations at all.

Jason and Chloe are almost secondary characters in a book that I thought would be focused on their relationship. There were so many sub-plots that detracted from the main story and the main characters got lost in the confusion. Killough-Walden seems to be caught up in a very irritating trend that is emerging - a strong focus on sowing the seed for future books by introducing numerous sub-plots and characters. As a result, when I finished the book, I actually had no idea what it was really about. Although Jason and Chloe ultimately get together, it is completely ant-climactic and seems almost irrelevant to the story. And REALLY - another hero obsessed with BDSM? News flash - 50 Shades has exhausted this theme. There truly is nothing more to say.

The final nail in the coffin and my absolute pet hate - a cliffhanger ending. Actually more than one cliffhanger, but since I had lost track of all the sub-plots, I can't tell which one will be resolved in the next book in the series. The irony is that this author didn't need to manipulate me into purchasing future novels, I would have continued reading this series had this book not been such a disappointment.