∎ [PDF] The Elysian Prophecy The Deian Chronicles Volume 1 Vivien Reis Books

The Elysian Prophecy The Deian Chronicles Volume 1 Vivien Reis Books

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The Elysian Prophecy The Deian Chronicles Volume 1 Vivien Reis Books

This would be a 3.5 if I could make it. I found out about this book by watching Vivien's Channel on YouTube where she gives advice for writers. I have been looking forward to her story and considering the self-publish route she took it is a solid read.

While this is a young adult fantasy it does have a genre bending feel to it that does take a while to gain traction. For several chapters in it does have more of a psychological thriller feel than a fantasy.

Vivien Reis was able to write entertaining action scenes as well as provide some shocking gritty moments of reality. Where the characters feel alive even in their lowest moments. The story itself gets better as it goes. The last 50% was particularly strong.

They were some moments of confusion as to be expected given the more mind-warping point of view of one of the characters. It's sort of threw me out of the story enough where I put the book down several times over several days before finishing the last half in one go finding the ending quite pleasing. Normally it takes me only a day to read a book of this length.

I am grateful that the author did pay for editing because it does make a story better. They're only a few spots that I caught editing errors and or awkward transitions that might have been caught by Beta readers, but she did have those.

I really do look forward to the sequel to this story and seeing where the Vivien Reis has honed her craft.


Tags : Amazon.com: The Elysian Prophecy (The Deian Chronicles) (Volume 1) (9780998876412): Vivien Reis: Books,Vivien Reis,The Elysian Prophecy (The Deian Chronicles) (Volume 1),Copper Hound Press LLC,0998876410,Abduction,Fantasy,Islands,Kidnapping victims,Mental illness,Secrecy,Secrets,Teens Fiction,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Fantasy Dark Fantasy,Young Adult FictionFantasy - Wizards & Witches,Young Adult FictionHorror,young adult horror; witches and wizards; teen fantasy; teen horror; magic battle,JUVENILE FICTION Fantasy & Magic

The Elysian Prophecy The Deian Chronicles Volume 1 Vivien Reis Books Reviews

I enjoyed reading this book, especially thanks to its use of a dual perspective. Ben's story arc was really interesting and I liked seeing him descend into madness. Abi's perspective more closely resembled other YA plot lines and character developments that you may be used to, but was still interesting. The beginning chapters of the book seemed a little too slow and too heavily involved in the exposition of the story. I wished the character's background and perspectives could have been introduced more bit by bit than a heavy info dump with less interesting scenes at the beginning. But fear not, the book really picks up and becomes gripping after an act of crime was committed; the story really begins to jump into action from this pivotal moment. The progress and plot development onward was way more exciting. Only other thing I could say is that I wish Abi had a little bit more grit to her. These painful tragedies in their lives kept hitting one after the other, and I wished that Abi might fight or crumble in a way that more directly impacts the plot like Ben did. Thoroughly enjoyed reading the book, and cannot wait to find out more about Red, her little sidekick, and the King of darkness in books to come. Fun and spooky read!
I've watched Vivian's YouTube channel for a couple of months and I think she has an excellent channel. I really wanted to love this book, but there were a few problems I had with it. Let's start with the great things about this book first.

The world was original and interesting. I liked her idea of the Deians and the way magic came to people. A few of the rules seemed haphazard, but not unbelievable. And the main plot was enjoyable with lots of twists and unexpected turns. The POV shifts didn't bother me at all and I liked seeing both Ben and Abi's perspectives.

My main problem was that I didn't feel invested in the characters. The closest I came to feeling for anyone was Ben and perhaps Mary, but even Ben felt a little flat to me. And the way the plot was revealed was confusing to me. In the beginning, I felt adrift, perhaps reflecting how the main characters felt, but it also left me unable to enjoy the story. There were a few loose ends that were never tied up. I also found some of the wording awkward.

I am looking forward to the second book. I think first books can be hard. I'm sure Vivian learned a lot during the editing and writing process and her writing will be all that much stronger for it.
The book centers on one family, including siblings Abi and Ben, Gran Kath, mom Mary and dad... I can't remember his name. Also, some characters who aren't family, but who are close best friend Cora and "Uncle Ravi" who is the parents' best friend and a teacher at Abi's and Ben's school. When I first read the blurb, I hadn't realized how dark the book would actually be. After reading the blurb post-book, yeah I see it now. Just consider this a warning This book is very, very dark and can be scary at times. It does not make for light reading as you wind down for bed nor does it make for a sweet, pretty gift for your grandmother. So, probably don't do either of those. I don't believe it has a page count on it's Goodreads page and I read the book on my phone so I didn't have a page count, but if I had to guess, I'd say about 400-450 pages.

Anyway, back to the book. First, I'm going to start with my absolute favorite element of story art and that is character. And oh my, do I love these characters.
Ben This poor soul. Oh, sweet baby Ben. He begins the story as a high school jock, better at hockey than he is in school, but his family friend Ravi (also his History teacher) tries to help him in the classroom. The book doesn't mention it, but the author has said on her Youtube channel that Ben is dyslexic, which does make it harder for him in school. He starts to develop the early symptoms of his mother's schizophrenia and fears he's slowly falling into madness just like his mom. He doesn't tell anyone and suffers alone until he puts himself in danger and gets a bit of help. It just goes downhill from there.

Abi She's fifteen, but honestly I completely forgot this fact until the author took care to remind me. I'd read the book with her age being closer to 18, but she's not. Just a very mature, intelligent 15-year-old. At first, she definitely acted her age, but it is very possible that the kidnapping and <spoiler> torture </spoiler> aged her beyond her years. She's different from other YA female protagonists. She thinks logically, but still has emotions and isn't afraid to have or show them (except to avoid public humiliation) and underneath all her pain and heartbreak, underneath all the world-shattering and family secrets, she isn't afraid to have a crush on a boy like a normal teenager.

Cora Generally, I've found that I don't typically like the trope that is extroverted-party-girl-and-introverted-bookworm-are-bffs, but it's different in this case. Sure, Cora is out-there with her wild hair and costume-esque clothing, but the real difference between Cora and Abi is that Cora is ready for adventure and courageous, where Abi is a bit less so, preferring to stay in the crowd rather than front-and-center. So this trope worked for me. I really liked Cora and thought that she complimented Abi well.

Jesse, Theo and Myra I clump them together because I felt like they were a trio of friends who could possibly be the main characters of their own story. You have Myra, the Healer, who is also the smart one. <spoiler> She has a crush on Jesse, I think, but it never really goes anywhere. I don't actually remember what happened with that. Maybe it'll pop up again in the next book. </spoiler> Theo is the muscle, a big, muscular guy from Nigeria who is the fighter (I think). And Jesse, who is the leader of the group as he is the one with the connection to Abi.

Story and Writing
When I read the first few chapters, it read a bit like a contemporary, possibly-coming-of-age book about two teens navigating normal life with their mom (who is heavily-medicated and a husk of a person). Then it quickly shifts gears to remind you that oh no, this is far more than that. It's very fast-paced, with something emotional happening to the characters at each chapter and each section of chapter. If you like fast-paced, this is the book for you. It also does great world-building by using Ben and Abi separately as it's left to the reader to pick up the pieces from each and fit them together. This is done spectacularly, especially as we, the readers, pick up on something but the characters don't and it becomes impossible to put down as you impatiently wait for the characters to learn what you know because you can't just tell them yourself. If that were possible, that would be amazing, but it's not. So you have to helplessly read as the characters struggle without that knowledge you have which would change everything.
Also, the writing is really well done. Vivid description and lots of emotion. The introspection had another layer to it as well, which was fun. Generally, introspection is fantastic for getting to understand character thoughts and feelings as well as world-build, but it was also used in this case as a tool for communication. <spoiler> As the Oracles can read minds, basically So as the characters introspect, you read and know in the back of your head that other characters are hearing what you're reading. It's a pretty cool element I hadn't seen before and it made it fun. But I couldn't figure out if Evelyn and Ravi could hear Ben's introspection because he wouldn't have known how to block his thoughts just as Abi didn't know. </spoiler> Anyway, that was fun. All around, this was a fun read and I can't wait for the physical copy to come in the mail next week!

Fun Facts My name is Elysa and pronounced (Ee-lee-suh) however Elysia is pronounced (Ee-lee-shzuh). As you can imagine, this proved to be complicated for me haha. Another fun fact, The Elysian fields, or Elysium, in Greek mythology is the part of the afterlife dedicated to heroes and those related to heroes or the gods. Pretty cool, right?
This would be a 3.5 if I could make it. I found out about this book by watching Vivien's Channel on YouTube where she gives advice for writers. I have been looking forward to her story and considering the self-publish route she took it is a solid read.

While this is a young adult fantasy it does have a genre bending feel to it that does take a while to gain traction. For several chapters in it does have more of a psychological thriller feel than a fantasy.

Vivien Reis was able to write entertaining action scenes as well as provide some shocking gritty moments of reality. Where the characters feel alive even in their lowest moments. The story itself gets better as it goes. The last 50% was particularly strong.

They were some moments of confusion as to be expected given the more mind-warping point of view of one of the characters. It's sort of threw me out of the story enough where I put the book down several times over several days before finishing the last half in one go finding the ending quite pleasing. Normally it takes me only a day to read a book of this length.

I am grateful that the author did pay for editing because it does make a story better. They're only a few spots that I caught editing errors and or awkward transitions that might have been caught by Beta readers, but she did have those.

I really do look forward to the sequel to this story and seeing where the Vivien Reis has honed her craft.