| Title | : | The Legacy of Kilkenny (Legacy of Kilkenny, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1466447451 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781466447455 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 416 |
| Publication | : | First published June 11, 2011 |
For sixteen years, my life has been normal. Piedsville, Oklahoma isn't the tourist mecca of the world, but it's where I live. It's my junior year and I've known everyone since Kindergarten, everyone except her, Pru Phelan. She walked into my English class, my heart stopped. I'd never heard the name Phelan before, so I Googled it and found Phelan means wolf. What I didn't know, she was a werewolf and soon my destiny would change.
This is the story about the prophecy of the Great Wolf and how it relates to me. I'm Abel Casey, and I am the Great Wolf.
The Legacy of Kilkenny is a young adult story about werewolves, friendship, family, and fear.
The Legacy of Kilkenny (Legacy of Kilkenny, #1) Reviews
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First of all, I would like to thank Devyn Dawson for allowing the R2R program to review her book. I always appreciate the chance to read and review a book.
After initially looking at a few reviews to determine if I should read it, I found many glowing comments; they lead me to really think I would like this book. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The overall premise was interesting, and promising. But for me the formatting, and point of view between Pru and Abel ended up preventing me from really investing myself into the characters.
I found that the book tells the reader the story instead of showing it. Rather than painting a picture with words to show a plump, juicy, red apple with beads of cool moisture sweating out of it's sweet flesh. It would rather just have a character say, 'Give me an apple.' I didn't have the sense of being lead into the story, instead I felt like flash boards of high points were being sped through so quickly I got dizzy. The two main characters go from just meeting on one page, and BFF's the next. Granted, there was a passage of time, but many relationship building parts of the story were absent. I also felt like there was little conflict, especially in regard to the acceptance on Abe's part with Pru's "furry" nature at first. Many situations, like that one felt forced, unnatural and unbelievable.
The change in points of view: they happened so often and so fast that I felt like I was a ping pong ball being bounced between Abe and Pru. Half the time I would forget, or due to formatting would not notice the change of perspective and wonder why suddenly the character would say such things. I would quickly realize my error, but it became an exercise of will to finish the book as time went on. The few times it stuck with one person for any length of time, I would find myself drawn in to the story.
It felt like there was almost too much supernatural "stuff" being thrown in. If they had stuck to werewolves with shamanic overtones and rituals, that would have been great. But in trying to add so much, it would slow down at odd points getting bogged down with details without allowing enough time to express all the details. If the focus of the story had been narrowed down, I think it would have been more successful in drawing in the reader and giving them enough time to read and absorb this particular paranormal reality.
I am far, far from being a perfectionist, or even talented in regards to grammar and/or formatting of an e-book; but this book was very ill formatted with many obvious errors. It needed serious, serious attention from a proofreader.
The overall combination left me frustrated and dizzy. But bear in mind- this was just my reaction to it. Many readers enjoyed the two perspectives, connected with the characters and the story. If you enjoy a slightly racier paranormal YR series, then by all means give it a try. Make sure first, however, to get some Dramamine. -
I had mixed feeling about this book. It was a little better than okay for me. It gained half a point just from the last half of the book alone. The first half was really rough. I loved the ideas overall, but the execution was not the best I have read nor the worst.
Okay to start off my review we shall have a demonstration. Please watch the clip below.
Okay now you give it a try. You know what I mean, stand up and whip that hair back and forth. Come on just a few minutes of this. You know you want to. Okay... Times up. Are you feeling a little dizzy maybe some neck strain?
Well that was the feeling I was getting overall with this book. Mental Whiplash from trying to follow to many stories from two different points of view. It is really hard to pull that off effectively. I understood what the author was going for but I felt she lost the affect by skipping the details. I would start to get interested and Bam! She completes the thought with one sentence inside of sharing the entire scene.
Now on to the Baseball LoveFest.
Abel goes up to bat and ohhh he strikes out with. Not once but several times.
Next up to bat is Pru herself. Oops she strikes out with . Not good people. No one is even getting to first base.
Now we have Abel again and he yet again strikes out with . But Abel's sister Allie manages to hit a home run with . Let's make that several home runs or so she says.
The man himself is trying to get to first with and almost makes it. We got some kisses people!
Oakley takes a turn batting a bam! He hits it and rounds on first base running with. But wait the Alpha has got them out.
Abel bats and finds a keeper in. She is here to stay people. Oakley and make at least one home run at least I am pretty sure they do. I was a little confused with the whole scene.
Arien takes to first base a couple of time and Bam! End of story!
Sigh, now that I got that out of my system. Let's take a look at the Highlights of the book.
* Prudence is a respected member of her Pack and also the Alpha's Daughter. She is also in the position to help Abe with his wolf.
* Abel grew on me throughout the book. I was not a fan of his at the beginning of the book. It took till when he met for me to like him. Maybe it was because he kept hoping it would work out with even though he knew her feelings on .
* I enjoyed the Werewolf vs. twist. I really liked that Arien starts to visit in her dreams. It felt kinda like Vampire Academy with Rose and Adrian. By the end of The Legacy of Kilkenny I wanted her to go with Arien. He at least seemed genuine with her. Let's face it is hiding something and I think I might know what it is. The twist my mind is taking.....
Points of Frustration:
*My biggest complaint was that I felt this was more of an outline then a book. She would start talking about how Pru and Abel were hanging out playing around and then all of the sudden they were driving home. We need some bonding here with the Characters.
*The second biggest complaint was switching points of view every other chapter. It just got too crazy, hence the whiplash.
* I mention earlier that I thought Abel was a weak character for me. He is suppose to be and the man/boy can't stand up for himself. tsk tsk.
* I thought I liked Oakley till the end. Now I think he is hiding a big secret and he seems to have pulled away from a little. I was really hoping for this one to work out. But I guess I will have to throw my vote in with . I know the tension would be crazy.
Overall
This book wasn't horrible to read. The concept was really intriguing. I might read the next book in the series to see what happens with Pru, but I could careless about Abel. Oakley is just pissing me off.
I do have to thank Devyn Dawson and Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy Fanatics group for giving me a copy in exchange for an honest review. I know it is not easy to write a book and so I give her props for being able to publish a piece of literature. -
Woof woof
o assume are a direct result of a poor effort with the spell check sweep in addition to a solid go at adjusting sentence construction together with a generous helping of commas. The characters are likable, the plot well executed, and the next book a must, so despite these basic fails I'm heading on with gusto. -
I received this book as a part of the Read 2 Review Program.
Okay, now is not the best time to write this review. I wrote it once and it was lost because Goodreads had a blip. Add to that I’m not feeling well. So please bear with me.
Okay, so this story has a very interesting premise and mythology. Unfortunately, I didn’t connect with either of the main characters. Most likely because I felt Abel was a little to feminine for my taste. It’s mostly like just a personal opinion on my part and not a reflection of the author’s ability. On the flip side I found Pru a little too masculine. This most likely because she is staring opposite Abel.
The problem with not connecting with the characters means that it’s hard to get into the story. I don’t have to like the main character, but I have to feel like they are real and serve the purpose to which they been written.
I also had questions.
Anyway, this wasn’t a bad book. I think most of my problems are due to personal preference. That with the exception of the couple of believability issues in the spoilers. But anyway, I would suggest you give it a read if you are interested. -
3.5 stars
I wanted to love this book, and at first I really did. It started off great. The narrative of the book is shared between Abel and Pru, letting us see 2 sides of the story. And both characters I really loved. For me, the ability to connect with the characters is huge, and I found both of the narrators to be genuine and easy to connect to. The first quarter of the book I couldn't put down. It started to slow towards the middle, and then I felt the pace totally changed.
I'm going to do this review a little different. I want to break this up into what I liked and didn't like about the book. The story just started off so well that I was completely surprised when things started to unravel a little for me.
Pros:
Like I said, I loved the characters. I found them to be believable and easy to root for. A little immature at times, but I could totally see them being average teenagers.
The book started off fast paced and was easy to get sucked into. In fact I did. I breezed through the first half of the book, unable to put it down.
The dialogue was great. I admire a book that can make a conversation sound like a real conversation.
The story was original. I liked the idea of a Great Wolf and am curious too see where that goes in the second book.
Cons:
I thought that some parts of the story felt rushed. We were introduced to a lot of new characters and side plots in the second half of the book so quickly that it was hard to distinguish who/what was important and what needed to be paid attention to. I felt that there was a lot of detail in parts that didn't need it, and a lot of rushing through new points that could have warranted more attention.
I mentioned that I loved the dialogue, and I did, but at the same time, sometimes it went a little over board. There were points where I really want the story to show me what was happening and what the characters were feeling. Instead, there were certain points that felt so rushed that dialogue was used to tell you the important stuff, instead of showing it to you. It left me a little disconnected from the plot.
This is a totally personal preference, but I wasn't in love with the vampire portion of the story. I thought the new vamp rules that this book introduced seemed a little... for lack of a better word, convenient. They dragged out how long it took to become a vampire, but now there might be a cure? I just wasn't feeling the explanations behind the vampire things, and it distracted me from the rest of the book. Additionally, I wasn't really sure why the vampires would want to go after Abel's sister without them knowing that he was the Great Wolf. Because she was a friend? There were other "friends" they could have gone after. It wasn't believable. I would have rather the story focused on the Great Wolf and left the vampires out completely.
Frankly, I didn't like the ending. I thought this book lacked a built up climax, and then it kind of just ended. I know it was a set up for book 2, but it didn't feel like a natural ending. It felt like the pages just stopped having words on them. In the end the story got rushed all of a sudden, with no clear ending, and no real "OMG!" cliffhanger moment.
Final thoughts: I liked the way the book started. There was a clear path and the first half the story stayed on task. But the second half started to unravel a little with new characters and plots, and I couldn't focus on what the main parts of the book were supposed to be. It ended up being a little confusing. I still think I want to read the second book, hoping it'll go back to the basics, or at least stick with a clear story.
For more reviews check out:
http://nightlyreading.wordpress.com/ -
The Legacy of Kilkenny was pretty good, it had a few editing issues that were easy to look past because the story kept you entertained.
I won't waste your time in giving you a summary of the story, read the blurb, it does a fine job. I will say that the dual POV's between Abel and Pru were and really nice touch, I liked seeing how the possible love triangle was playing out in both their heads.
Devyn Dawson does introduce a "buffet" of supernatural things that have potential for upcoming stories in this first book and I didn't feel like it took away from the initial story. We have werewolves, vampires, clairvoyants, shaman, witches and the list goes on and on.
The story of Abel's sister Allie will be pretty interesting. Her confession in the end about losing her humanity was very eye opening considering that she was already becoming a cold hearted bitch. Her actions in that particular scene displayed she hadn't lost it just yet but... Pru will definitely have to watch her back. I'm thinking a vampire scorned.
The Legacy of Kilkeeny was a good foundation book, Ms. Dawson has laid it out now lets see was she builds with it. I look forward to reading her next book. -
Well, this three star thing is so subjective. Because I made it through the whole 700-odd pages and went on to read the next book I have to at least give it enough stars to be in the "like" category, but if I were rating it purely on writing/editing/errors etc...it would be tough to give it two.
Look, no offense, Dawson, I got attached to your characters and interested in the story. But, you did drag this one out a bit. Seriously, 700+ pages just to get him to shift? I was 250 pages in when it dawned on me that nothing had actually happened yet. *sigh* Then there were the errors. The editing was terrible, but the real errors were the awful habits:
-Constantly switching tense within the same sentence (let alone paragraph or page). You REALLY need to work on that (it was a problem in book two as well and got to the point of distracting from the story). For example, page 259 of the ebook.
-Editing (word) errors. Just because you run a spell check does not mean you are catching word errors. The fact that the word that is there and the word you wanted are both two letter words does not make them interchangeable. You may have edited this yourself; never a good idea. You know the story too well, your brain skips things. You have to find a third party who is decent with grammar and punctuation to give it a read!
-Repetitive words and phrases. If you use the same word twice in one paragraph that is bad...in the same sentence it is unforgivable. It is easy to do when you are in the "zone", but that is what drafts are for! Seriously, you need to watch the repeated words and phrases.
I wanted to love this book, I wanted to rave about it, I can't. It was too long for what it was, it was riddled with mind-numbing errors. But, she has some good characters there, it was worth it when I got to book two.
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Results of the reread. Ugh! The writing was worse than I remembered. But, I found that since it was a reread for the purposes of remembering the story in order to gear up for book three that I could just read it really really fast, and that helped. Have you ever seen those tests where you're a a sentence with all of the vowels removed, but your brain fills in the gaps? It's like that. If I read fast enough I didn't notice most of it.
However...dogs/wolves have HACKLES not SHACKLES. Someone really needs to let her know this. *cringes*
If I didn't already know that book two is better I would not have gone on to book three, and so not have done the reread. Ever. -
I really wanted to like this book. The synopsis is great, and the premise is really good. It has a lot of potential for a series. But I found I just couldn't connect with it.
It was a little slow going in the beginning, and I think the author's writing style just wasn't for me. It reads more like a journal, which is great for telling a story, but it doesn't draw you into the story, show you the story. I know others have said they really liked this style, so I think it was just a matter of my personal preference. The story is told from changing Points of View - Pru's and Abel's, and it switches constantly, starting a new chapter each time it happens. While switching POV is fine with me, it was sometimes very abrupt, or didn't last very long. In one case the switched POV lasted for only one paragraph. I found the constant switching to be very jarring and with the editing issues, it prevented me from connecting to the character telling the story.
Also, this is marketed as a Young Adult book. There were lots of scenes with the characters naked. I am aware that it was necessary for them to undress before shifting into werewolves, and the characters repeatedly said it was not a sexual thing. However there are also lots of times those same characters spend time admiring someone's body. In one scene While I have no problem with reading those things, I feel that they are more of an adult-theme and do not belong in a Young Adult book. Again, that's just a matter of my personal opinion. But I don't think I would be comfortable with my twelve year old daughter reading this.
That's not to say I hated the book, because I didn't. I like the premise of the story. I liked that Abel's sister is set into a hard situation, and the author did a good job of setting up the story for the next book. There are lots of unresolved issues and plots to uncover. I'm sorry that I couldn't like this book as much as I wanted to. In the end it just wasn't for me. -
The story is about Abel Casey, an average teenager boy who lives with his parents and has a sister called Allie, Abel doesn't know how special he is and neither does he know about the challenges he will face to meet his destiny.
His whole life changes from the minute he lays his eyes on Pru Phelan, she is more than a beautiful girl, she is a werewolf and she is the one who will break the news to Abel and train him for his destiny as to become The Great Wolf.
Abel has a lot to deal with, he doesn't want to leave his family and he is not even sure if he wants to shift into a werewolf.
He is told he has to die, but does he?
His life and the lives of people he loves are in danger, his sister is changing, has she been infected?
This is a story about power and ambition, about loyalty, alliances and betrayals. Werewolves against each other's packs and dangerous vampires, a thrill I hope you'll get to feel.
It took me while to warm up to the story, I must confess. The book is written in two different POVs, Prus and Abels. At first I didn't like Abel much, I thought he was a bit soft and pushed over too easily but I guess that was what Devyn wanted us to feel because I felt that Abel changed throughout the pages, getting more confident and accepting who he is. I loved Prus POVs, she is a very strong minded girl but she has a personal soft side, she struggles with her feelings toward a handsome wolf called Oakley (who is my favourite character!) and I was longing for her to get his attention, I mean get his heart, body and soul! Get everything Oakley!
I loved the characters, I very much enjoyed reading the story and I am looking forward for the book 2. I want to get to know more about the characters and I have a few questions myself and I guess that's good. -
review to come but I LOVED this book!!
When I started this book I thought it was gonna be a cool concept but as I kept reading this became soo much more. It was fantastic I loved the two points of view. Pru who has always known what is to come and Abel the poor boy unsuspecting his life is about to change forever. I am so glad I read this book and I cannot wait to hear more from these characters I know that there are still many secrets and challenges ahead. -
To start this book confused me a little. During some reasons between large complications, i was aware of the slow plot development. I liked the different points of view that alternated between pru and abel. It gave you a really good idea of how each one deals with all the problems.
Overall It was a very good book with a good plot and i found that I really could get to know the characters as if I was interacting with them personally. -
LOVED IT!! so far i haven't read anything by devyn Dawson that i don't love! I'm not a big fan of werewolf stories so i was definitely surprised to love it so much! devyn Dawson does a fantastic job by making her characters so re-latable its easy to get sucked in!
-
Well let's try this again shall we? Stinking computer decided to malfunction and not save my review. So anyways...
I thought this book was a good read and is one of the few werewolf themed books that I've read. Although it was a little slow for me at the beginning, it progressed as I read on. I like the fact that it is written in two perspectives, Pru's and Abel's. The reader gets insight into what the two main characters are thinking. What I also greatly enjoyed about the book was the fact the main characters didn't fall into the cliche of ending up together. I like that Abel was pining after Pru, but recognized that she only had eyes for someone else. Pru tries to keep her emotions in check, but it's rather hard to do that when her object of affection is her bodyguard. And most of all, what I loved about this book was the underlying message that had nothing to do with romance. It emphasized the importance of cherishing the bonds between family and friends.
So here we have Abel who has just been informed that he is the alpha among alphas in the wolf world. In order for him to be fully incorporated into the supernatural world, he has to die. Of course he is skeptical and there is no way in hell he wants to put his family in that position. Despite being friends and training with Pru's pack, he still holds out some sort of hope that he isn't the Great Wolf and that he doesn't have to die. Pru, on the other hand, is the princess of the Oklahoma wolf pack. She is Abel's mentor and a great believer that he is the alpha wolf. After all, she is the one who had the vision. Like Abel, she greatly cares for her family and would do pretty much anything for them. So when danger literally throws arrows into the heart of her family, she makes the most painful decision to hunt down the murderer all the while not knowing if she will make it back alive.
There are a number of things that go on and a lot of crap that hits the fans. Vampires make an appearance and of course the feud between leeches and dogs is ever present. Throw in unsuspecting human family members, rogue wolves, innocent victims, hormones, and everything is in complete and utter chaos. Bonds between family and friends are tested and who knows who will come out alive, dead, or undead.
I will say though that for all my liking of this book, I wasn't sure about the writing style when I first started it. I honestly thought that the beginning chapters were written by a wannabe author that hadn't quite grasped the ease dialogue. It seemed a bit choppy to me, but it got better as the book went on. I liked this book and finished it with a lot of questions in mind. Like, what is Parker's back story? Why is Shaynie really trying to get into the Oklahoma pack? What is Arien's deal concerning Pru and is he the vamp she met those many years ago? And what in the hell is going to happen with Allie? Hopefully the next book will hold some answers. -
Summary: Abel a boy who thought he was ordinary until he met Pru. Pru had a vision...A vision of Abel as the Great Wolf. Now it is up to Pru to convince and prepare Abel of his future role which includes...Killing him. Pru must make Abel's family believe he is dead so that he may fulfill his role as the Great Wolf. Now not only does Abel have the weight of being the future Alpha of all the packs he learns that not only are there werewolves but there are vampires...And one has a hold on his sister. As Abel struggles with his his sister he also struggles with the unrequited feelings for Pru who prefers her bodyguard Oakley. A prophecy, love triangle, and duty this novel has it all.
The good; This book is definitely not your average werewolf story. It's filled with love triangles, otherworldly creatures, death and prophecies. The characters were well thought out and they interacted as realistically as they could in a book like this. The love drama was not how I expected it to be. You think one thing will happen because it ends up that way in every other book with situations like this but instead it ends up opposite with an unexpected love interest twist. I never thought a book could escape what is expected and still leave the reader happy. This book basically revolves around abel but the author was able to do that and was able to include a good deal about the other characters. which less face it... You know you're dying to know what some of the others are thinking and in this book you get just that.
The Bad: I had few issues with this book but there are some things I would like to mention. First of all the book was a bit hard to get into. It started off slow but once you get past that it's pretty good. Second...Abel... I like his character but...I felt like he could have had more depth. He sort of just accepted everything. Once in a while he would do things against people's wishes but I mean...There's nothing really to him. He doesn't even try to fight for a few of the things he wants. He just accepts his role quickly and jumps right in. When it comes to the people he loves he takes certain risks... But that's it. When it comes to himself... There's just nothing really there..He doesn't start to really show any promise till the end of the book but by then I was annoyed with his character and felt more drawn to Pru and Oakley. I wanted to be drawn to this "Great Wolf" who is supposed to end up being head honcho but I just didn't feel it. I cared more about minor characters.
Overall Opinion Honestly this was a great book. I had issues with Abel's character and it was a tad slow in the beginning but this book was worth the read. If you like werewolves and vampires and other creatures then I suggest this book. -
The Legacy of Kilkenney is a fresh new young adult paranormal romance. Abel Casey is an average guy in a small town near OK city, when Pru Phelan moves into town. While this seems like the reverse of new mysterious guy, let me assure you that is the only similar theme in Legacy. Pru is a beautiful red head that has drawn the attention of everyone when she attends the FBLA meeting just to meet Abel. Abel is shocked when she comes over to him afterwards because hot girls just don't befriend him. Pru and Abel quickly hit it off. The alternating POV allows the reader to get real insight into Pru and Abel. I was immediately drawn in and immersed in the world that Ms. Dawson has created.
Pru befriends Abel because she believes he is the prophesied Great Wolf who will be the Alpha of all the packs. Pru is the pack shaman and has been assigned to train Abel and help him get his soul in tune for his first shift. Not only does she need to gain the trust of Abel but has to explain that the monsters of myth and legend are real and he is one of them. Abel is such a cute guy and I really liked that he takes everything very cool and doesn't freak out. Pru and Oakley, another pack member assigned to train and protect Abel, begin to train Abel in fighting and coming into his own senses.
This story is multi-layered and beyond his relationships to Pru's Dad, General (current Alpha), Dolly (Pru's Mom), Byron and other pack memebers, Abel has to deal with his sister becoming a pawn in the war between the vampires and werewolves. Becomming the Great Wolf means that while everyone will revere him, his friends and family will be targets of not only other supernaturals but rogues and other packs who want Abel's power. Not to mention the girl he has a crush on has eyes for another.
This was such joy to read. The story flows and draws you into a complete world created by the author. These characters will have you thinking about them even after you put the book down(if you can put it down). It is really hard to summarize Legacy into a review because I don't feel I can really do it justice. There is just so many plots and subplots and I don't want to ruin the natural unfolding of the story for anyone. I highly recommend The Legacy of Kilkenney to anyone who enjoys the paranormal! It has some sweet romance, Hot shifters, and a great start to a series that will keep you capivated and checking the publishing date for book 2. -
Abel Casey is just an ordinary boy. He goes to school and comes home to take care of his mother and sister while his father is at work. There's nothing out of the norm that would signal him to be more than what he already is. Yet when Prudence Phelan shows up on the scene, his entire world is thrown into limbo.
Legend has it that a Great Wolf will some day be born to rule over all the wolf clans. A leader with extraordinary abilities. Abel has a hard time accepting such claims, even when presented with proof that he's the one Pru's clan has been waiting for. When Pru tells Abel that he must die in order to protect his family, he balks at the idea. He has no wish to cause his family any further heartache.
When his sister starts exhibiting some weird behaviors, Abel realizes that he's way in over his head. Werewolves do exist, as do vampires. And apparently one has become fixated upon his sister in hopes of garnering the needed information that would lead him to destroy the Great Wolf.
As his attraction for the lovely Pru grows with every day of training, he comes to realize that she's way out of his league. She's set her sights on Oakley and there's nothing that he can do to change her mind. Fighting against his feelings for her, he throws himself into his training while trying to figure out a way to save his sister and thus fulfilling the demands that have been thrown upon his shoulders - demands that could very well be his undoing should he take one wrong step.
While this book has a very good premise and is quite promising, the one thing that kept me from truly enjoying its potential was the book's punctuation. Mind you, this isn't a bad review - far from it. I just think that if the editor had taken time to fully immerse him/herself in fixing the punctuation/sentence structures throughout the book, it would have made the book's message more clear and concise.
Devyn has written a story that truly has potential. I do wish that she'd expanded just a little further on story of the Legacy of Kilkenny. To provide an even further and very much in-depth back story of how the clan truly came to be. I honestly liked what I read and I wish the author very well in her future endeavors. -
I liked the story generally. It's a quick read, and the plot keeps moving. It's a run of the mill werewolf story with some vampires and witches thrown in. The two main characters (who share the narrative) Abel and Pru, are generally likable, although somewhat immature (I haven't decided if this was on purpose) in the way they think and act. Pru is supposed to be the mature one; she is put in charge of Abel's training and seems to do ok at it. I just never found the characters to be really that well rounded or interesting. They were all generally the same. Abel started to get a little interesting near the end but I never really found myself liking Pru. Her romance with Oakley was a bit obnoxious, and having her sleep with him was a little strong and unnecessary for a YA book. It also kept the possibility of her getting together with the Abel character and tension helps make a book interesting. I only felt a twinge of sadness at her father's death. If the character's were better developed, I should have been crying my eyes out.
The book needed some serious editing as well which is always distracting. One paragraph brings in this whole other guardian character (out of the blue, then she disappears) and she states, "my name is..."then the next paragraph says, I don't really have a name you can call me Glenda (the author really meant Glinda, but that's beside the point) then the next paragraph she's back to whatever her name was to start. There were a few weird things in there like this, that could be taken care of with some editing. These were parts where you knew the author was revising, but things didn't get cleared up the whole way.
The bottom line is this. The plot moved along, had direction and was interesting. The characters need work, the book needs serious editing. Until those things are done, I can't really give it a strong recommendation, because at the end, I didn't even desire to read the tease for the next book.
I feel it has potential, but I'm a reader who gets into characters, and this story just didn't get it done. -
After reading The Light Tamer, I just had to start this series as well. Devyn's style of writing has drawn me in and I am now addicted to her books. The Legacy of Kilkenny is no exception and is a werewolf story like no other.
Abel is an ordinary 16 year old going to school, hanging with friends. One day a new girl starts and everybody is mesmerised by her. But Pru only has eyes for Abel. Over the days, they become good friends and all his school mates have no idea why Pru would be interested in Abel. As the days go on, Pru decides to tell Abel her secret and his as well. Abel is supposed to be the GREAT WOLF. The wolf that will bring all the clans together to unite against all others, as the prophecy claims.
Pru is the daughter of the Alpha and has been assigned to train Abel in all things wolf. Abel takes to it like a duck on water. Soon news of the Great Wolf's arrival travelled far and wide. The clan from Kilkenny decided to come and see for themselves and convince Abel to join their clan. Things are starting to get complicated and very dangerous. Abel's sister is causing heartache for Abel by hanging with the wrong crowd and she seems to be changing. Adding to Abel's already stressful life.
Murders have taken place and the Alpha is convinced it is Rogue wolves that are responsible. Danger is everywhere and Abel is still in training. Nobody is really sure what is going to happen. Can Abel become the Great Wolf in time? What about his feelings for Pru? Abel's sister, what is she going through? Will those responsible for the murders be found?
This takes you on the journey with Abel, training, school and the wolf life. It is a fantastic action packed fast adventure story and I had to get Malevolence, book 2 straight away. -
Helloooooo one of my new favorite werewolf stories!!!! I need to thank read2review for getting me a copy of this and I'm so glad I read it!
I love when I read a book and I'm sucked in and feel like I'm in the book right with them! I feel like when the author would describe the smells I could smell them too, and all without being overly boringly descriptive.
And all the awesome supernaturals in this book! Weres, vamps, witches, psychics... This is one of those that have it all. And the characters, let's talk about those!
Abel is what everyone thinks of as the Great Wolf, but to him he's just a kid with some issues lol And he's gotta train, learn, and become the expected all with curfew from his parents... And try to save his sister!
Pru- she's my new hero! She wants to do right by her family, and protect Abel, and get Oakley... And she just does it her own kiss ass way :) I love her throughout the whole book, and in the end I just want to hug her and get revenge with her!
Oakley- he's hot, he's great, he's awesome to Pru, and he's a beautiful wolf.... Yeah you can't get better than this one :)
The general, Dolly, Byron, Chrissy, and Parker are all on my major like list.... And then there is
Arien--BOOOOO!!! He really is the perfect bad boy villain... I just wanna know what's in his head..... I guess we gotta wait and see what's gunna happen next :)
5 really great paws from me! Go get book 2 NOW! -
Sadly I'm giving up on this book. I got about 40 pages in, but I just can't continue. The writing has more than its share of typos, as well as sentence structure problems, and verb past/present tense agreements. The novel requires both editing and revision for its structural/grammatical problems as well as some of the other problems I have outlined below.
There is also a fair bit of telling and not showing, never a good thing in any book, as we were told the events that transpired instead of shown them. The switch between POVs wasn't utterly confusing, though there were odd chapter breaks that weren't really needed.
The plot I can't say much of, I only got 40 pages in after all, but seems to follow the typical urban fantasy genre formula: New girl (in this case) moves in, paranormal stuff abounds, and...that's as far as I got. From what I read of the other reviews here, the plot really becomes something else, but sadly I just can't get past the writing, and actually enjoy the novel.
No rating will be given, as I have not finished the book and thus cannot give an adequate review on the entirety of the piece, but anything marked as DNF or a book I gave up on is usually around the 1-2/5 mark. -
Werewolves. I downloaded this book as per usual without reading the blurb. So the werewolf’s approach was a surprise. I did not have any real expectation apart from the title that sounded Irish to me. So I began reading the book and soon could not put it down. Here you will not find the by now so familiar love triangle. No, here Pru knows exactly what she wants. But you will get loads of romance nonetheless.
I loved the training sessions; it made sense and fit in with the story perfectly. The twists in the story are unique and again very fitting. I think, apart from the fact that the story is smooth and easy to read the fact that I really liked the most is that the family relationships are not strained. The children are neither neglected nor do they have the run of the mill.
So what is the story about, it’s basically about Devyn, the great wolf, whom have never shifted. To shift he must die. But Devyn is only 16, his sister is acting up, he loves his parents and he has a crush on the pack leader’s daughter. It is only a crush though and falling in love is not a priority when you’re about to die.
I really liked reading this book. It is a smooth easy read and one I would recommend to all paranormal readers. I give it an easy 6 *** *** review. -
This book was such a fantastic read. I started and couldn’t stop. It had one of those storylines that got you involved right from the start and didn’t let go till the end. I know there was a reviewer that mentioned sloppy editing. I just want to say – Don’t let that stop you from reading this book. The grammar does not take away from a great storyline and plot. I’m glad this review did not hinder my purchasing this book from a great inspiring author such as Devyn Dawson.
Abel Casey – a guy not even aware of his birth right of being the Great Wolf, struggles with playing catch up to get him prepared before his first shift.
Pru Phelan – an Alpha’s daughter who was raised knowing she was a wolf and knows quite well how to handle herself now has the duty and obligation of training Abel with his preparation.
All along I secretly wished these two would hook up because both characters were so loveable but I am by no means disappointed with the outcome and the path that Devyn Dawson decided to take these two down. I’m anxious to get started on Malevolence.
Well done Devyn Dawson -
Abel really likes Pru and cannot believe that she would even give someone like him the time of day. He soon finds out that she is hiding a secret and that secret includes him.
Abel is quickly thrust into learning about the pack and training to be the great wolf. He finds it difficult at times, but he secretly loves that his body is changing and he is becoming stronger.
I enjoyed the characters of both Abel and Pru. They were both very sweet and caring. I thought it was sweet how Abel pined for Pru, but was smart enough to see that she was pining for someone else.
The secondary characters were great, but the book started to take a wrong turn when the vampires came into play. The story seemed to drag to me. Some parts did not seem important to the story and actually made the book drag on more.
I am not sure yet if I would read the second book? I think that I would wait to see other reviews first? Thanks to R2R and the author for allowing me to review this book. -
The Legacy of Kilkenny is really... something.
I think the idea of the book is really interesting and somewhat original but as I delved into the book, I realise I don't really like it that much.
The writing style is a bit different than most, it seems a bit unnatural for me so it was difficult for me to read with ease. The constant change of character's POV is also a downside for the story.
None of the characters really stands out to me. Park seems too weak to be a part of a huge prophecy. Yet, I like the romance between Oakley and Prudence. It's a change really as 99% of the books portray romance between the two main characters but not this one.
I think this book could have had a lot of potential but sadly, the author's writing style really changed my opinion of the book. -
I thoroughly enjoyed The Legacy of Kilkenny. Devyn Dawson created a fun and unique world with our favorite shifters...
As I started this book, it took me a little bit to get in to it, but as things got going, I was deep in to it and caught up and now I am ready for the next installment.
This book moves us through the main character's POVs and I found that refreshing and fun. Abel is a 16 yr old guy that is slammed with information that turns his world upside down and who is there to help him along this ride...Pru...and she is such a fun, high spirited character, that I actually looked forward to her POV reads...
But, we are introduced to more than these two characters and I mean....HOT guys ladies...no spoilers here...but lets just say...Read this book and find out why it is such a good read!!
Definitely recommend!! -
So... I loved the synopsis for this book, I was super excited to read it, and then I started reading it. I just couldn't get into the story, I liked the concept, but the execution was seriously lacking. I felt like the characters weren't very believable and random things were thrown in to make it or people cool, but they ended up making it less believable. I think what killed it for me was Pru, I really didn't like her character, and she tended to constantly repeat thoughts about being a werewolf.
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This book was a nice, easy read. Devyn Dawson was clear and concise throughout the entire book. I enjoyed the characters and the constant smart assery between them (please excuse my made up words). When the book started to pick up, I could not put it down. Unfortunately I had to since I work. But I read it every chance I could. I was drawn in by the love story and the murder was a surprise twist for me. I am excited to see what's to come for Pru, Abel, and the rest of the pack! I am also quite intrigued by Arien ;-)
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I was hooked from the start with this captivating book. Abel thinks that he is just a normal teen growing up in Oklahoma, until he meets Pru. Pru gives Abel news that will totally end his life... or will it? The book is written in both Abel and Pru's point of view and is a real page turner. You don't want to miss out on this book and you'll be on the edge of your seat waiting for the next book in the series!
