The Black Elf of Seaward Isle by Joni Parker ~ Blog Tour: Review

Title: The Black Elf of Seaward Isle
Author: Joni Parker
Publisher: Village Green Press, LLC
Pages: 330
Genre: Fantasy/Action Adventure
Format: Paperback/Kindle

On the mysterious Seaward Isle, Alex, the young daughter of Count Dumwalt, escapes Wizard Mylar’s attack on her father’s fortress with the help of two men, Hamlin and Tyrone, who take her to her brother in the village of Nyla.  Disguised as a boy to stay at the Sword Academy with her brother, she learns of the death of her parents and vows to avenge their deaths.  At the same time, a witch on the far side of the island predicts the rise of the Black Elf, the only person with the power to kill a wizard.

Meanwhile, Alex’s stay at the academy is cut short when the headmistress arranges her adoption by a Scinthian Scout, an Amazon warrior and her Dwarf companion.  When her adoptive mother is killed in a pirate attack, Alex returns home to Nyla where Tyrone, now the Governor, takes her in as his ward as he accepts a cadre of Scinthian soldiers for training to restore their decimated Army.  Since Alex can speak their language, she becomes a training liaison, leading to her selection as an elite soldier and assassin known as a tracker.  Her first mission succeeds beyond all expectations and results in her selection as a training officer for the Scinthians, still involved in an extensive training program. 

Upon assignment to a remote border outpost, Alex discovers evidence of foul play—eight missing soldiers.  As she attempts to uncover the mystery, she meets with resistance and skepticism, but she leads a mission to save them.  As she basks in her glory, the wizard shows up to seek revenge on Governor Tyrone, forcing Alex to intervene. 

For More Information

• The Black Elf of Seaward Isle is available at Amazon.
• Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble.
• Watch the book trailer at YouTube.
• Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.  

My Review

 The Black Elf of Seaward Isle is full of nonstop action and adventure and although the story was quite entertaining, I can't say the same for the character's. All the character's felt flat, even Alex the protagonist and that disappointed me.

In the beginning, I'm thrown into the story and the life of Alex whose parents have just been killed. And because of this she vows revenge and as she grows older is trained on how to fight and kill by different people. She meet's a variety of people on her journey but I couldn't quite keep up because she met someone knew every chapter or so. I couldn't quite grow to care for Alex (or any other character for that matter) because I never really got to know her as a person except on how she wants to get strong and avenge her parents. What disappointed me even more is that she excelled at everything she did with ease. And it's not that I didn't want her to succeed but I wanted to see her struggle, see her fall and get back up again. But she was good at everything, it just seemed too unbelievable. 

This book felt more action driven than anything else, and although there is a plot it wasn't quite what I was expecting. The story is told in third person narrative and switches from Alex to other character's and that sort of threw me off but I still found it enjoyable. The world building was good but I really would have like to known more about this world and the character's who time traveled to it.

Rating: 3 stars

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

About the Author

Joni Parker was born in Chicago, Illinois, but left the windy city at an early age when her family moved to Japan.  Upon return to the United States, her family moved to Phoenix, Arizona where she graduated from Camelback High School and began college.  However within months, Joni quit college and joined the Navy where she became a Photographer’s Mate.  After 3 years in the Navy, she returned to college and got married.  She got a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and an MBA before she returned to the Navy.  As a Commissioned Officer, Joni attended the US Army Command and General Staff College, completing a Master of Military Arts and Sciences Degree.  She retired from the Navy with over 22 years of service and spent several years traveling the United States in a motorhome with her husband.  When he died unexpectedly, Joni returned to work for the federal government in a civil service job.  Five years ago, she started writing and retired once more to devote more time to her new passion.  She currently lives in Texas.  

Her latest fantasy books are The Black Elf of Seaward Isle, Tangled Omens and Blood Mission.

For More Information

• Visit Joni Parker’s website.
• Connect with Joni on Facebook and Twitter.
• Find out more about Joni at Goodreads.
• Contact Joni.