The Rizkaland Legends
By Kendra E. Ardnek
Available on Amazon
When the Lady Dragon does come,
Hold fast, do not fear, do not run.
Your Water Princess will fight
Fire Prince will set all to right
Each shall come from a fall
Their Union will save you all.
Despite the fact that she's on track for competing in the Olympics, and he's practically raised his younger brothers since they lost their mom in a car accident, Clara Mandras and Andrew Stevenson are pretty much normal teens. They have normal hopes, normal dreams, and they live in a normal world.
All this is torn away from them when they are thrust into another world and declared Water Princess and Fire Prince. With no experience ruling a country, meeting each other for the first time, and being expected to fight the Lady Dragon – an evil sorceress plaguing the world of Rizkaland – Clara and Andrew are underprepared and inexperienced. Unless they learn to work together despite their standing opposition, Rizkaland's hope will be lost.
What is to come will change their lives forever.
About the Author (from Amazon)
Kendra E. Ardnek has been writing her own stories since she was a toddler. She fell in love with books, drama, and fairy tales at a very young age - and has been filling notebooks with her stories for years. Joining NaNoWriMo gave her an opportunity to be a published author at 16.
She writes her own blog (knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.com), homeschools, cooks, knits, and crafts when she isn't writing stories and acting them out with her younger cousins and siblings.
O.Scarlett! REVIEW by Tenya
This is a well-crafted story by a maturing author about young people who are snatched from reality and thrust through a portal into a fantasy world which is dependent upon them for its very survival. The book is full of spiritual allegory and symbolism which gives the tale another facet of meaning that goes deeper than the mere plot. Miss Ardnek has created a truly unique and fantastical realm from the topography of the land and many colors of water to the somewhat frightening and fantastic wildlife and varied people groups which inhabit this place called Klarand, an island in Rizkaland. This world is populated by magical creatures, elves, awesome flying and talking equines, and some particularly fascinating bug children, along with one curiously illusive time traveler.
The description of the land, animals, and people unfolds piece-by-piece throughout the story which prevents one from becoming bogged down with too much descriptive narrative all at once, a fault which makes some fantasy books difficult to wade through as a reader. The main characters are also revealed layer-upon-layer by the author which is a good writing ploy to slowly introduce the reader to the strengths and weaknesses of each while naturally peeling back the surface to demonstrate the metamorphoses necessary for the main characters to become the Legends (what histories are called in Rizkaland) for which all the inhabitants of Rizka have been anxiously awaiting. Experiencing the changes of each character, not just the main characters, but supporting cast as well, is one of the most enjoyable parts of the story because it gives a tangible human element to the book to which a reader can intimately relate.
Clara, the Water Princess, is a confident, sporty, and athletically talented young woman who is presented as no-nonsense and even arrogant at the beginning of the book. The Fire Prince, Andrew, on the other hand, lacks a bit of confidence particularly in physical pursuits and with girls, but he has other talents, particularly on the practical and scientific side of things. Together, Clara and Andrew must save Klarand from the evil Lady Dragon who has ravaged the land for years. Therein lays the problem, this togetherness matter. The Legends speak of it taking BOTH the Water Princess and Fire Prince to defeat the dragon, and Andrew and Clara must learn to work together as one to accomplish the daunting task and win the battle which lies ahead of them.
The romance between the main characters is handled beautifully by the author with just the right push and pull to keep drawing the reader into the mix. The deep understanding of marriage and relationship is approached maturely by this young author. There is nothing about the romance which could be embarrassing or inappropriate for any reader, but this reviewer would only recommend the book for middle school age through adult because some of the relationship issues are a bit complicated and may need a more mature understanding. This differs from Kendra Ardnek’s Bookania series, which I would highly recommend as family reading.
It is true that by the fourth or fifth chapter of this book, I had difficulty putting it down. There is a lot to be said for that as I have been known to give up on books because they ‘bore’ me. If you like fantasy and symbolism, Water Princess, Fire Prince is a going to thrill you!
Genre/Theme: Portal Fantasy, Christian
Reading Level: TEEN - upper elementary to middle school to
Mature TEEN - high school to college
Profanity: NONE - no offensive language
Sexuality: MILD - descriptions of affection/desire - Handholding, hugging, kissing, discussion of holding off on more serious stuff.
Other:
There is some fighting, characters do get injured.
Mature TEEN - high school to college
Profanity: NONE - no offensive language
Sexuality: MILD - descriptions of affection/desire - Handholding, hugging, kissing, discussion of holding off on more serious stuff.
Other:
There is some fighting, characters do get injured.
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