Review: Return (Lady of Toryn #1) by Charity Santiago

Return 

Lady of Toryn #1

by Charity Santiago

YA Fantasy

Published May 2011

Synopsis via Goodreads:

For the last three years, eighteen-year-old Ashlyn Li has been running from her destiny. A free-spirited ninja, Ashlyn would rather loot an abandoned city or challenge a fiend to battle than assume leadership of Toryn, her father's kingdom. However, when a series of attacks reunite Ashlyn with the friends who helped her save the sun three years ago, she discovers that her kingdom is at war and her father has presumed her dead.

Suddenly Ashlyn is faced with not only fulfilling her birthright, but also making sense of her feelings towards two very different men- Drake Lockhart, the enigmatic vampire who captured her heart three years ago, and Vargo, the charismatic assassin who was once Ashlyn's sworn enemy.

Will Ashlyn ascend the pagoda and become Lady of Toryn?

Don't miss the exciting first installment in the Lady of Toryn trilogy, which also includes Regret (book 2), and Redemption (book 3), both available on Amazon Kindle now.

Grab Your Copy of Books 1, 2 & 3:

About the Author per her Goodreads Profile:

I'm Charity, and I am a book addict. There, I've said it. No denial here.

I would say I love reading and writing, but that's not quite accurate- I live reading and writing. I write every day, and I devour books like there's no tomorrow. Since my husband gave me a Kindle for Christmas in 2010, I have been ecstatic about the easy access to ebooks. I now read all my ebooks on the Kindle app on my iPad.

The books I have written include "A Carol for Ben," a contemporary holiday romance, and the YA fantasy "Lady of Toryn" trilogy, which consists of "Return," "Regret," and "Redemption." All books are available exclusively for Amazon Kindle.

I am currently working on "Blood Lust," the first installment in a sexy new paranormal romance series.

Connect with Charity:

Goodreads    Twitter    Blog

My Review:

I'm not sure where to go with my review of Return. I liked it, but then it wasn't for me... but I liked it... LoL Kinda contradicting myself right? I think I'm realizing that the older I get, the less I enjoy full on fantasy novels. I love the world that the authors create but my mind is scattered in so many different directions, that I find them harder to read lately because, as a reader, I paint the whole picture in my mind. It's getting a little exhausting LoL Yea yea, no old jokes okay. I'm not THAT old. >_<

Return is the first book I've read that's been full of ninja action so that was neat. I learned a few new words/terms and seriously dreamed about kicking butt one night. Ha.I loved all of the action that was packed into this novel. It's one thing after another.

Starting off, you're thrown right into it. I was a tad confused in the beginning - had to step back and say "wait, huh?" but the more I read, the more I caught on.The lead female character, Ashlyn, has been gone for three years and has missed quite a bit it seems. I liked the way that the author kinda threw in background blips here and there - that helped me understand everything better.

There are so many characters that I had a little trouble keeping up with who was who for a long time. However, I liked the characters. A few of them are very well defined, but then there's those that you really don't get a good feel for.

I enjoyed Charity's writing style. It flowed well for me while I was reading so it actually made the reading go by at a steady pace. Each time I put it down, I'd pick it back up and be thrown right back into the action. I loved that.

Action packed, lots of unexpected twists (gotta give it Charity on that one - great job), and a little romance.

Overall, a good read & good start to a series.

Overall Rating: a solid 3 stars
Cover Rating: 3 stars
Characters: 3 stars
Plot: 4 stars
Climax: 3.5 stars
Ending: 3.5 Stars