Friends and Traitors (Slayers #2) by C.J. Hill – Blog Tour

 Posted by  Blog Tours, Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews
Oct 232013
 

Slayers2Friends and Traitors (Slayers #2)

Author: C. J. Hill

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Published Date: October 15, 2013

Hardcover: 400 pages

Genre: YA Contemporary Fantasy

ISBN# 978-1-250-02461-9

Reviewed by: Shanda

FTC FYI: received a free softcover ARC in exchange for an honest review

Summary (Back Cover)

In C.J. Hill’s action-packed sequel to Slayers, the group of teens known as Slayers have been betrayed—but they won’t give up without a fight.

Tori’s got a problem. She thought she’d have one more summer to train as a dragon Slayer, but time has run out. When Tori hears the horrifying sound of dragon eggs hatching, she knows the Slayers are in trouble. In less than a year, the dragons will be fully grown and completely lethal. The Slayers are well-prepared, but their group is still not complete, and Tori is determined to track down Ryker—the mysterious missing Slayer.

What Tori doesn’t bargain for, however, is the surprising truth about her powers. She isn’t just a Slayer, she’s part Dragon Lord, too. How can Tori fight to save her friends when half of her is programmed to protect dragons? And with a possible traitor in their midst, the Slayers will be divided in more ways than they ever imagined.

Review

I loved reading Slayers, so it was great revisiting these characters again in Friends and Traitors. After a key member of the Slayers’ team is revealed as a traitor, two new dragon slayers join the team. Adventures are had, battles are fought, and relationships are forever altered.

I haven’t read a lot of YA involving dragons (only the Slayers series, the Dragon Slippers series by Jessica Day George and the first book in the Firelight series by Sophie Jordan), but it’s interesting to see different aspects of dragon lore portrayed in various ways in each one. If you like dragons, you will probably enjoy all three of these series.

The Slayers series is a lot of fun. I appreciate reading about a strong yet feminine lead character, as well as a group of teens working together as a team for the good of society. Both young men and young women, as well as their parents, will enjoy Slayers and it’s sequel, Friends and Traitors.

Visit C. J. Hill:

BLOG | WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

Find Friends and Traitors:

AMAZON | KINDLE | BARNES & NOBLE | NOOK | GOODREADS

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 For the full Friends and Traitors Blog Tour schedule, visit the Fire and Ice blog.

CJHillBioPhotoAbout the Author: CJ Hill is a pen name for a YA author who is best known for writing romantic comedies. (Slayers will be her 18th published book.) Her writing has shifted away from the romantic comedy genre, so her editor thought a pen name would be a good idea. (New books will include: dangerous dragons, time travel to dystopian worlds, and flesh-eating beetles.) Since the publisher refused to let her have the pseudonym : The Artist Formerly Referred to as Princess, she chose a name to honor her mother. CJ Hill was her mother’s pen name, or at least it would have been if her mother had published. Her mother wrote a few children’s books and a middle grade novel but was taken by cancer before she had fully learned the craft.

(Most writers’ first novels aren’t publishable. CJ Junior’s first novel wasn’t, but somehow was published anyway. Now, even though it is out of print, it remains forever available on Amazon, where it taunts her with its badness. This was another good reason to use a pen name.)

CJ Hill has five children, three of whom like her on any given day depending on who is in trouble. She has lived in Arizona for the last half of her life, but is still in desert denial and hopes that one day her garden will grow silver bells and cockle shells or maybe just tomatoes.

Slayers by C.J. Hill

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews
Mar 262012
 

Slayers

Author: C.J. Hill

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Published Date: September 2011

Hardcover; 373 pages

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

ISBN# 978-0-312-61414-0

Reviewed by: Shanda

FTC FYI: checked out from the library

Goodreads Summary:

Dragons exist. They’re ferocious. And they’re smart: Before they were killed off by slayer-knights, they rendered a select group of eggs dormant, so their offspring would survive. Only a handful of people know about this, let alone believe it – these “Slayers” are descended from the original knights, and are now a diverse group of teens that includes Tori, a smart but spoiled senator’s daughter who didn’t sign up to save the world.

The dragon eggs have fallen into the wrong hands. The Slayers must work together to stop the eggs from hatching. They will fight; they will fall in love. But will they survive?

My Review

I knew I was going to like this book, I just didn’t realize I would enjoy it even more than I expected. The characters, the history, the adventure– I liked it all.

Tori was a fascinating character to me for several reasons. She’s spoiled, yes, but not as bad as her sister and their rich friends. On the other hand, compared to the Slayers, she is as pampered as they come. Once Tori arrives at the summer camp for dragon lovers, everyone is questioning her place there, including Tori.

The story easily held my interest. My curiosity about the history of the slayer-knights and their particular talents, wondering what Tori’s talent would be, learning how they train, and then, of course, the climactic confrontation that nobody is quite ready for despite their training kept me turning pages.

There is a twist I suspected was coming, but it didn’t quite go the way I expected. There was emotion involved that pleasantly surprised me. I anxiously await Book 2. I can’t wait to read more about the Slayers, the dragons, and, of course, the romance.

I highly recommend Slayers and plan to purchase my own copy soon.

Content

I don’t remember there being any bad language, there is no sex (a couple of kisses but no explicit descriptions), and some violence (nothing graphic).