Format: Kindle, 276 pages
Release Date: January 24th 2018
Publisher: Kristen S. Walker
Source: Amazon
Genre: Teen, YA, Steampunk
Suggested Reading: 13-17
A clumsy school girl with the magic of a
goddess. Mechanical beasts attacking her friends. Can she become a
divine warrior and save the floating city?
Fifteen-year-old
Riwenne is bad at school, chronically late, and lost in a daydream, but
she has help from her best friend, Nexita—until the two of them get
separated. During the mysterious test on Choosing Day, they both wanted
to become priestesses, an important job in the sky city. But only
Riwenne became a novice, and Nexita was chosen by the engineers. Now
she’s on her own for the first time in her life.
When a talking bird tells her that her best friend is under attack, Riwenne faces her worst fear. She must become a divine warrior and save her best friend from mechanical beasts!
As
she juggles warrior training and priestess duties, Riwenne can’t let
herself get distracted. She must recruit other warriors and lead the
quest to find out the mystery behind the mechanical beasts, but most of
all, she must follow her heart.
Riwenne & the Mechanical Beasts is the first installment in author Kristen S. Walker's Divine Warriors series. In the floating city of Lyndamon are essentially raised by the state and don't know their parents. 15-year-old Riwenne is bad at school, chronically late, and lost in a daydream, but she has help from her best friend, Nexita—until the two of them get separated. During the mysterious test on Choosing Day, they both wanted to become priestesses, an important job in the sky city.
But only Riwenne became a novice, and Nexita was chosen by the engineers. Now she’s on her own for the first time in her life. When a talking bird named Tika, from the sea goddess who has been invading her dreams, tells her that her best friend is under attack, Riwenne faces her worst fear. She must become a divine warrior and save her best friend from mechanical beasts! As she juggles warrior training and priestess duties, Riwenne can’t let herself get distracted.
She must recruit other warriors and lead the quest to find out the mystery behind the mechanical beasts, but most of all, she must follow her heart. The book plays to the strength of the Magical Girl anime genre as the main character gathers her team of powerful girls with their customized outfits and powers. Riwenne becomes a leader of a group of divine warriors, each who have chosen a god or goddess of their own to enhance their abilities.
I am going to come out and say that this book is way too young for someone my age. Amazon says book is recommended for those 13-17. The books final chapters are the most exciting as well as action packed. Riwenne also spends a whole lot of time in heat over her new roommate who has no uses for Riwenne's nonsense or Tika's constant presence in their room. That, of course, changes after they are forced to work together to fight off mechanical beasts who seem to target specific individuals.
I do not recommend this to anyone over the age of 30. At times the dialogue is churlish, and it feels as though an actual 15 year old wrote the story. I won't be continuing the series at this point.
