Descendant - Toni Kerr (Nikki)

Title: Descendant (Secrets of the Makai)

Author: Toni Kerr

Genre: Fantasy

Series: The Makai Series

Synopsis: For 15 years, Tristan has tried to cope with hearing the thoughts of others. But that was child's play compared to what he must do now. When an old woman appears with a murderer hot on her trail, Tristan is thrust into a world of trickery and manipulation.

With secret societies tracking his every move, Tristan must find the possessed emerald he was destined to protect and learn to control powers he never knew he had. Only, Tristan never was any good at doing what he was supposed to and the consequences for screwing up now could cost him everything he's grown to love.

Review: I like where the series could be going. The dragon mythology was incredibly unique, I can’t recall ever reading a book with magic quite like this, and I’ve read a lot of them. I love the powers that each character had: they’re definitely different from what you’d expect when you think about dragons. I expected more fire breathing than talking to plants, if you know what I mean. But there it was, and it’s nice to be surprised when reading a book. Tristan was an interesting character coming from a life like he had, though he did feel a little messy at times. His mother’s actions and the way she was portrayed at first didn’t really seem to click together. Dorian is the kind of character I would normally connect with in some way, but her personality was more than a little all over the place, and it frustrated me a little bit. I wanted to connect with her, I simply couldn’t. While the series has a lot of potential, I’m hoping the next book will be a little more stable in character personalities and the pacing, which bounced between action packed and undeniably slow.

Favorite Quotes: “…and wondered why the hard way always seemed better than the easy way”

“Ah, but the lilacs and the periwinkles would never do such a thing. Or would they? From what you’ve said, the periwinkle can be quite mischievous at times”

“Motives are secret. Missions are secret. Values are self-serving. The same holds true for us.”

“Something about the page clung to his mind with cold, desperate claws for attention”

“Did you catch that arrow, in midair? While flipping? From a tree?”

Overall: 3 out of 5 stars. I like where it’s going, but it could still use a little work.