The Fallen Moon

The Griffin’s War – The Fallen Moon #3 by K.J. Taylor

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Title: The Griffin’s War

Author: K.J. Taylor

Series: The Fallen Moon

Sexual Content: Minimal

objectionable Content: Violence, Racism

Buy Now From: Amazon

Synopsis (from Goodreads): After promising his allegiance to the Night God, Arenadd Taranisaii escapes death for the second time and vows to free his people. With the dark griffin Skandar by his side, Arenadd begins to gather an army and prepare for war using the power gifted to him by the Night God to move through the shadows.

But even as Arenadd’s strength grows his nemesis sets out for the Island of the Sun, seeking the one weapon that can truly kill Arenadd, the man without a heart.

My Review of the Griffin’s War

Once again I find myself at a loss of just how to review this book. To say that I loved it, while true, is also pretty vague. I think there’s just something in the way it’s written and the chosen main character.

Had the first book started from Erian’s point of view, following him from his childhood, or even just coming to Eagleholm, he would have been seen as the hero of this story. I think I said this in my review of the Griffin’s Flight. It feels like Erian is on the traditional Hero’s Journey while Arren is going down the path of becoming a villain. Had the story been told in that way, the audience would definitely have backed Erian as the hero and rooted for him to succeed.

This review is seriously lacking and may the shortest I’ve written. Please just know that The Griffin’s War and it’s predecessors are amazing and truly worthy of a read. I wish more people knew about K.J. Taylor and her books.

I was also happy to learn that there is a sequel trilogy, which took some digging to get my hands on but I have them now.

My rating for the Griffin’s War is 5 out of 5 stars and I highly recommend it!

The Griffin’s Flight – Book 2 of The Fallen Moon by K.J. Taylor

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Title: The Griffin’s Flight

Author: K.J. Taylor

Series: The Fallen Moon

Sexual Content: Minimal

objectionable Content: Violence, Racism

Buy Now From: Amazon

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Although he was once chosen as a griffin’s companion, Arren Cardockson was reviled, betrayed, and ultimately killed. Brought back to life by a power beyond his understanding, Arren flees for the frozen sanctuary of the North. With the man-eating griffin Skandar by his side, and an entire country hunting him, Arren has little hope of reaching the place of his ancestry and of lifting his curse. But then he comes across a wild woman who may hold the key to making his lifeless heart beat once more.

My Review

*NOTE this review will contain spoilers for the previous book*

I’m not normally the type of person to try to predict how a book is going to go. I like to just read and the let the story unfold before me, but there was no way I could have predicted how this book would go. I am intrigued by this author’s imagination.

As with the previous book, I find I’m struggling review The Griffin’s Flight adequately. Which I’m finding really frustrating because this book is just so good. But calling it “good” just doesn’t do it justice. I will try my best.

The characters feel very rich and real. Not necessarily that I relate to them, as most of them are men, but that their emotions with the situations they find themselves in are believable. They get scared and anxious or confused when it’s appropriate.

Although Arren is the protagonist of the books, his story feels more like a villain arc. Where as, Erian, who is the antagonist feels like he’s on a hero’s journey. It’s interesting to see the different perspectives, not only in how they view each other as enemies, but how other people view them as well. To the people of the South, Arren is a vile murderer and a madman, while the Northerners see him as a hero or a lord to be followed. Even as the reader, it’s sometimes hard to believe that Arren is the good guy here. He appears to be a good person, but then we learn he’s done some terrible things in the past. It really shows how people can be driven to certain things based on how others treat them. How do you not burn with anger when everyone around you treats you differently based on the colour of your hair?

I know this review isn’t an in depth analysis of the book and I’m sorry for that. Just know that despite my ability to give this a proper review, this book is amazing. I’m already devouring the third book.

My rating for The Griffin’s Flight is 5 out of 5 stars and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy, or just a good book in general. Read the Dark Griffin first though.

Thank you for reading!

The Dark Griffin – The Fallen Moon #1 by K.J. Taylor

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Title: The Dark Griffin

Author: K.J. Taylor

Series: The Fallen Moon

Sexual Content: Minimal

Objectional Content: Violence, Racism

Buy from: Amazon

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Being chosen as a griffin’s companion has allowed Arren Cardockson to gain a place of status within the land of Cymria. But Arren can never escape the prejudice that comes with his Northerner slave origins. For chained within the Arena where rogue griffins battle to entertain the crowds, there lies another soul crying out to be freed-a kindred spirit that will allow Arren to fulfill his destiny and release the darkness in his heart.

My Review

For some reason I can’t quite fathom, I’ve been avoiding writing this review. Even now, I feel like I’m forcing myself to type. I honestly don’t know why this is, but I am annoyed by it because now it’s been over a month since I finished the book and the details are no longer fresh in my mind. Therefore, I will try to do my best here.

Arren, our main character, is a Northerner. At least, his parents are from the North, which automatically makes him one of them despite that fact that he was born in the South and has never been to the North. The people of the North are considered savages, inherently aggressive, and after the South conquered their country, the people of the North became slaves. The only reason Arren has any status or respect in society is because he was chosen by a griffin.

After Arren is tricked into going on a dangerous mission on his own, betrayed by someone he trusted, his griffin tragically dies. No longer considered to be a Griffiner, he’s now just seen as a Northern and the ingrained prejudice becomes apparent. If he becomes angry about the injustice he’s suffered, that’s his Northern aggression coming out. The amount of societal discrimination ingrained in this book is rampant and made me so angry on Arren’s behalf. Even the people close to him who say they don’t care about his heritage, on some level, feel some sort of prejudice against him.

I feel like this review isn’t doing this book justice, and I just don’t know how to get my feelings about it into words. So please know that I really loved this book. I thought it was fantastic. The world is rich and the characters are relatable. There aren’t a lot of fantasy books involving griffins, so I also really like how prominent they are here.

My rating for The Dark Griffin is 5 out of 5 stars and I highly recommend it to all lovers of fantasy, and even people who don’t necessarily love fantasy.

Thanks for reading and if you’ve read The Dark Griffin, I’d love to know your thoughts.