Windsworn - Derek Alan Siddoway

Windsworn (Gryphon Riders #1) – Derek Alan Siddoway

An unlikely young hero. An incredible destiny.

Eva has never swung a sword. She’s never flown through the open sky on a gryphon or dreamed of being a hero. She’s content with a quiet life — two feet firmly on the ground, working in her foster-father’s forge. But that’s all about to change.

When Eva discovers a young thief hiding in her woodshed with a stolen gryphon egg, the shy, timid girl is forced to leave everything she’s ever known to become Windsworn — elite warriors who ride fierce gryphons into battle. As she struggles to learn the ways of the Windsworn, Eva finds herself caught in a plot to destroy the gryphon riders and plunge the kingdom into war, a plot that somehow involves her deceased parents.

In the face of growing danger, can Eva conquer her fears and unravel the secrets of her past in time to save the Windsworn?

My Review of Windsworn

Oh I love fantasy on audio! It is my favourite genre to listen to! I really enjoyed this little gem of a book!

Evelyn lives a simple life as the adopted daughter of a talented blacksmith. She spends her days hitting iron and staying out of trouble! But trouble finds her when a stolen gryphon egg is hand delivered to her (literally) by a young thief. Next thing she knows she off to the elusive mountain to become a windsworn – A gryphon rider, who are super warriors that protect the kingdom.

I was really taken by surprise by how much I enjoyed this one! The synopsis may sound a little dull, but this was actually a really intricate story with lots of world-building and a whole lot of twists, turns and… Gryphons! I never thought I would be so interested to read about giant birds.

If you enjoy Harry Potter and the How to Train Your Dragon series, this should be right up your alley.

I enjoyed almost everything about it. I couldn’t stop listening!

The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the romance. It felt as though it was shoved in there without much build-up or substance. I really enjoy a slow burning romance, when the characters get to know each other and the romance is slowly and exquisitely built up. I know it was not a romance novel, but the romance in this one was really dull. We got to know pretty much nothing about Tahl, his past or his personality for that matter. And neither did Eva. She literally spoke to him less than a handful of times but of course they were head over heels for each other…

However, I did enjoy her friendships with the other characters. I loved her relationship with Sigrid! If only there was more of that passion and tension with the romantic relationship in the book!

The narrator was excellent. Her voices were great, easy to listen to without a terribly strong distracting accent. And it wasn’t too long!