Lowkey one of my favourite fantasy books - Odriel's Heirs Review

The brave, burning with fire, harnessed the Dragon's Rage....

As the Dragon Heir, seventeen-year-old Kaia inherited the power of flame to protect her homeland from a godlike necromancer’s undead army. But after centuries of peace, the necromancer has faded to myth, and the Dragon Heir is feared by the people. Persecuted and cast out, Kaia struggles to embrace and control her seemingly useless gift while confined to her family’s farm.

But when the necromancer’s undead terrorize the land once again, Kaia runs away to join the battle.

With the help of her childhood rival, the handsome Shadow Heir, and a snarky, cursed cat, Kaia must figure out how to control both her fire and her confidence in time to save Okarria. If she fails, she will sacrifice her family, her new friends, and the enchanting world she has only just begun to see.

And time is running out.

“I am the Dragon Heir. Of course I have courage,” she whispered.’

I really enjoyed this book.

Personally I feel the book was well paced. Unless something particularly interesting was happening on a journey between places, it was sped up so we weren’t shrouded in filler. The flashbacks at certain points were lovely to help fill in knowledge gaps.

The plot for me was definitely interesting. The thought that the Heirs weren’t, or at least Kaia, wasn’t loved and held up on a pedestal really added a semblance of reality (I get its a fantasy book) but we’re normally meant to think of archetypal heroes and people with powers as saviours, there is something innately human about being scared of what you do not understand.

‘Courage, she thought to herself, remembering her father’s words. The first battle is in your head.’

The sub plot of romance was very well done. I normally find myself getting irritated when it is explored more than the drama or issue happening around the MCs. (I’m reminded of why I fell out of love with SAO season 1. Tell me the random episode they disappeared off to the woods to find a tiny glitch baby, although turned out to be relevant, seemed so bullshit considering all the things transpiring around them - BUT I digress).

I did enjoy that the focus on self-discovery and how relationships build to help that were more focal in this respect.

“If ever you need a light, just remember the one that burns within you never goes out.”

Kaia - has her flaws but she is very relatable. She doesn’t understand her worth (because of many external sources, past experiences, or people cough cough Bram cough cough) but her journey of growing to understand herself and to triumph over adversity was really nice to see. Also when she realises what fuels her power was just sigh beautiful tbh

Klaus - Very secretive in ways, but you can tell his actions speak volumes in comparison to his words. But when he does speak, he does have a way with them (a lot of my favourite quotes are things that he has said)

I did love a lot of the supporting characters. I know some weren’t continuously there for the whole plot but I loved how they acted as devices to help Kaia understand herself more and grow. Each one of them had a reason for their path’s crossing. I couldn’t really see the story with any of them missing.

"When you grieve, the sun does not shine, and when your heart is light, the whole world smiles with you."

I am really excited to see where the story goes. Yes I would have enjoyed another 100 pages or so of the story but I respect the decision to keep it as is - we had a very big event happen and we can see where the next book will take us. I have a lot of unanswered questions, but in a good way, and I’m really looking forward to seeing if they are answered.

“Wherever there is light, there is also shadow.”