The Key of Kilenya Book Review

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If you've read my "about me" or have talked with me online, you know that I'm a bit of a book-a-holic. My favorite books are Young Adult fiction/fantasy. And I'm quite excited to tell you about my newest series addiction; The Key of Kilenya!

The key of Kilenya is a clean, fun, fantasy adventure geared to kids approximately 10 years and older. It has received attention from movie studios and with my fingers, toes, arms, legs and every strand of hair crossed, I'm hoping it will be made into a movie. I'm telling you, it is that good of a book, it deserves to be a movie! It’s the first book in a series of six,two of which have been published, and the third comes out early 2012. (Oh why do I get drawn into these books that I love so much, but have to wait for the rest of the series to be published? It's pure torture waiting for the next book, but I can't help it when the books are so fun to read)!

The Key of Kilenya is written by Andrea Pearson. Andrea is an avid reader and outdoor enthusiast (hiking, boating, biking, and taking walks). She plays several instruments, not including the banjo, and loves putting together musical arrangements. Her favorite sports are basketball and football, though several knee surgeries and incurably awful coordination prevent her from playing them.

Andrea is always in the mood for a good movie with close friends and family (especially her husband and mom), with a large glass of milk and a bowl of overly buttered popcorn nearby. She also enjoys oil painting, making earrings, squeezing every bit of oxygen out of Ziploc bags, and she hopes to someday travel to Italy and Alaska.

I like to get to know even more about my authors that I work with, so I asked Andrea a few questions, and I hope you will enjoy getting to know more about her and her adventures!

What projects are you working on now?

August Fortress, Kilenya Series Book Three, and Midian: A Kilenya Romance.
No dates set for release just yet, but they're both going really well!

What books influenced this book?

Oh, I don't know if any one book did, but a bunch of different stories
made me want to write: Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter,
Fablehaven, etc. I really like the style of writing in Harry Potter and
Fablehaven – straight forward and to the point. Not flowery and pretty.

[ Oh Andrea, those are all some of my favorite books! No wonder I love your stories so much!]

Who are your favorite authors?

I know he's not in my writing "genre," but Michael Crichton is the very
first to come to my head. He's been one of my favorite authors for a long
time. He really knew how to grip his readers. And I love logical,
scientific type books—he excels at that. Next, J.K. Rowling, for starting
at the bottom of the totem pole and making it so incredibly high up,
maintaining humility through it all. I can't stand arrogant authors.

What book are you reading right now?

I'm reading a bunch of different books: one for people who are indie
publishing like me (Be the Monkey – it's GREAT!), another self-help indie
book that I'm not going to recommend, and two romances that I'm only
reading because I started them. I really need to let myself NOT finish a
book when I don't like it.

What is the most exciting adventure you have been on?

All of my adventures happen in my head and come out on paper. I'm not the
most adventurous person in the world, mainly because adventures cost
money. I almost went sky-diving, which would have been AWESOME, but wasn't
interested in the guy who wanted to take me, and I didn't feel like
leading him on was honest. Oh! There was the time when I stood on the
glass floor of the world's tallest standing structure, and JUMPED. Up and
down. The glass didn't break. It was exciting. Also, I go on road
trips as often as I can – usually to Southern Utah or Vegas (not to the
Strip – I avoid the Strip, since it's the same every time I go.) Yeah, not
terribly exciting, I know.

[Here are more photos of Andrea's Adventure on the tallest standing structure]

Now lets talk about the book I just read!

The Key of Kilenya is about an ordinary 14 year old boy Jacob who is cornered and chased into the woods by large and terrifying Wolves. In his attempt to escape Jacob ends up unknowingly discovering a link between our world and Eklaron and crossing over to this other world. He soon discovers the inhabitants of this new world and learns that they have been waiting for him to arrive and are in need of him to help them retrieve a magical key that had been stolen. He resists at first, just wanting to return home to his normal life and not knowing how to accept that maybe he isn't so ordinary afterall, but it quickly become apparent that the forces that brought him to this magical land won't allow him to return. He realizes that although his life will be in danger if he goes on this adventure to rescue the key, if he doesn't both our world and Eklaron will be in jeopardy.

I loved how this book immediately drew me into the story. There isn't a great need for intense detailed descriptions of the characters as you quickly discover their personalities shortly after they are introduced into the story. The story is quick paced and it doesn't take much before the action begins. The best part is that you don't require a lot of boring back story before the adventure begins. Yes, there are questions as you go along, but this makes it even more enjoyable to read as you are taken on the adventure with Jacob and Akeno (his traveling companion from Eklaron), and you are able to relate to him more as you find yourself in the same situations with the same limited knowledge, and not knowing what will happen next, and not able to predict the future.

At the beginning of each chapter there is a brief journal type entry which is written from the perspective of Prince Dmitri, another character in the story, from Eklaron,the other world that Jacob visits in his adventure. These journal entries may seem a little confusing at first, but as the story goes along; it becomes apparent that they are the history to the events that lead up to Jacob entering Eklaron and it helps Jacob find answers to his questions about this new world.

The Key of Kilenya is well written, and is great for young and adult audiences alike. The story is full of adventure and action but violence is minimal and not offensive. There is no language to worry about in this story which I find quite wonderful as I don't have to edit content for my young children. And yet even though I'm an adult, I was fully entertained by this story and it didn't come across as naive or too "young".

The key of Kilenya was very easy to read! I had many days where I would sit down to read 1 chapter and before I knew it, 2 hrs had passed and I had read more than 4 chapters. It draws you into the story, and keeps you entertained. I didn't find any parts of the story that seemed to drag or were boring.

Overall, I loved this story and I'm on my way to get the 2nd book, The Ember Gods, because I just have to know what happens next! It is definitely one of those books that I will probably read more than once!

You can stay up to date with new book news, author appearances and more from Andrea's Facebook page or Twitter. You can also read more about Andrea, her books and her new blog tour from her sites: The Kilenya Series and Andrea Pearson Books.

You can purchase your own copy in various formats.

Digital:

Paperback: