Behold the Dawn - 5 stars

     When I first got Behold the Dawn by K.M. Weiland, I didn't really have any expectations for it. I thought it might be a fun read and an interesting story, but not necessarily something which would rank among my favorite books. Within three chapters I literally could not put it down. Eating and spending time with people was reduced to the bare minimum, and I don't think I even got myself anything to drink. I didn't put the book down unless I absolutely, absolutely, absolutely had to, and then I was back as soon as possible to keep reading. That's how good it was. 

     Behold the Dawn has a lot of aspects that I enjoyed reading. First of all it was set during the Crusades, right around the time period of Robin Hood, and I enjoy reading fiction set during that time period. I was also captivated by the main character, Marcus Annan, a champion tourneyer. He's a strong and silent sort of person with a lot of pain in his past he's trying to hide from, and he is also one of the best-written characters I've read in a long time. Behold the Dawn is also a story of redemption, not the cheesy, sugary kind I've read in some books, but the kind that really rang with truth and resonated with me. 

     There were other aspects of Behold the Dawn that were very, very good as well, such as the characters, so genuine and real they should be walking off the page. There's also a slow-burning romance, strong enough to change Annan's life but not the defining feature of the book. I enjoy romance in a book, but I don't like that to be the entire focus of the story. There's also plenty of gritty action, and when Annan fights I can feel the battle. Weiland writes with passion and captures the little moments of her story masterfully. And there's suspense on every page - the secrets the characters carry will drive you mad until they're finally revealed in an stunning climax at the very end.

     The only negative thing I have to say about Behold the Dawn is that no one told me I shouldn't read it as fast as I did. It's the kind of book that should be taken at a reasonable pace so that all the details can sink in - I devoured it in about four hours. Another thing I noticed was that the book did allude to some unpleasant details of real life, and those things affected the past and present choices of several of the characters. These hints don't detract from my opinion of the book, but it was a detail I noticed which some readers might want to be aware of before they start reading this book. 

     My opinion of K.M. Weiland has definitely been boosted after reading this book. She's a powerful writer, and I highly recommend this book and any of her others as great reading material. I really can't believe Behold the Dawn is her first published novel, but it is now one of my favorite books.

Link to author website: http://www.kmweiland.com/

Eye of the Oracle (Oracles of Fire book 1) ~ 2 stars

     Eye of the Oracle, by Bryan Davis, is the first book of the Oracles of Fire series, a prequel to the Dragons in Our Midst series. It begins with the flood of Genesis, but continues into our time, a story involving dragons, the spirits of sorcerers, and people who serve Elohim, the Creator of the universe.

     When the flood wiped out life on earth except those who were on the ark, not all servants of Satan, a fallen angel opposed to Elohim, were destroyed. Lilith and Naamah, two sisters, hid aboard the ark, unknown to Noah and his sons, and escaped the destruction caused by the flood. When the ark reached dry land, Lilith used her dark magic to create a secret dimension for them beneath the ground where they could wait in safety and create an army to help them control the world. But two of the underborns, the beings Lilith and Naamah created, were part of Elohim's plan for the future.

     Mara and Acacia, underborn slave girls, are the Oracles of Fire, prophets of Elohim. Mara, one of the main characters, finds the Eye of the Oracle, a relic from before the flood which speaks to Mara with the voice of Elohim. The Eye of the Oracles tells Mara prophecies that warn her of trouble ahead for the world above and for the dragons.

     Makaidos and Thigocia, the pair of dragons Elohim put on the ark, were told to reproduce so that they and their offspring could protect humankind. But Satan corrupted many of the young dragons and led them astray. When Satan ordered them to attack the humans Elohim meant for them to protect, a hatred that would last for thousands of years was born between the two races. Only Makaidos, Thigocia, and a few of their children remained true to Elohim, despite the trials they knew they would face in the coming centuries.

     The story revolves around Mara's journey to discover Elohim's purpose for her as an Oracle of Fire, and the dragons' struggle for survival as they oppose Lilith's plots. An important point in this struggle occurs during the time of King Arthur, when Merlin, another prophet of Elohim, saves the dragons still loyal to Elohim from annihilation by turning them into humans. In their new forms, the dragons continue to try and stay one step ahead of Lilith as she tries to destroy them once and for all. The fight continues into our time, where the book reaches a climax as Mara fulfills one of her own prophecies to try and stop Lilith once and for all.

     Eye of the Oracle was not an enjoyable book for me, even though I may have made it sound interesting and engaging above. I usually enjoy allegories, but this one turned out to be a disappointment. The biblical foundation of the story was shaky and unconvincing to me. Elohim was a distant and rather uninvolved figure, unlike the biblical God. Also, the story only followed the basic outlines of the flood and post-flood era of the book of Genesis before it skipped to the Arthurian legends, and then skipped even farther on into our time. The huge gaps between events would normally not have disrupted the story, but I also felt the author didn't handle the personal journeys of each of the characters very well. That and the drastic change in time left me feeling disoriented.

     All in all, I found Eye of the Oracle to be a decent book for a few days of reading, but it could have been better. Because the scope of the story was so immense, I think the author wasn't able to spend enough time with each character and event to make them come to life for me. Other readers have enjoyed the book, but in my opinion, it's not worth it to buy a copy.

Link to author website: http://www.daviscrossing.com/