Prophecy by Ellen Oh

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: HarperTeen

Pages: 312pgs

The Story

The greatest warrior in all of the Seven Kingdoms... is a girl with yellow eyes.

Kira’s the only female in the king’s army, and the prince’s bodyguard. She’s a demon slayer and an outcast, hated by nearly everyone in her home city of Hansong. And, she’s their only hope...

Murdered kings and discovered traitors point to a demon invasion, sending Kira on the run with the young prince. He may be the savior predicted in the Dragon King Prophecy, but the missing treasure of myth may be the true key. With only the guidance of the cryptic prophecy, Kira must battle demon soldiers, evil shaman, and the Demon Lord himself to find what was once lost and raise a prince into a king.

Intrigue and mystery, ancient lore and action-packed fantasy come together in this heart-stopping first book in a trilogy.

The Review

Maybe people just didn't like this book and were blinded by how awesome this book really is . . . I really don't know. I guess some people will love a book and others won't. It's completely fine by me. Look at the book Stormdancer, a book I thought I would totally love but didn't. But you know what? Despite the average reviews I've read online recently, I actually liked - no loved, this book. Prophecy was such a smart and a very compelling YA fantasy read for me, and it's about time an Asian-inspired book blew me away and had not disappointed me!

In PROPHECY, the first installment of a trilogy, there were so many elements that I enjoyed and it kept me there til the very end of the book. I liked how the story flowed both fast-paced and thrilling in the details. I liked the action and the suspense it upholds. I liked how the characters had all sorts of different purposes to the world they lived in. I liked how delicate the Korean culture was and the sufficient amount of research that was done for it. But most importantly and what I loved out of everything I read was the main character, Kira, and how bad-ass she was throughout the entire book. I mean, finally . . . a non-white girl who can seriously kick some demon and non-demon butt, and be awesome while she's at it!

Honestly, the girl with the yellow eyes, this wonderful girl named Kira, was such a legit bad-ass through my eyes and she sure showed those little boys (those pathetic little men) whose boss around her kingdom and had really made sure they showed her some respect for a change. She maybe a girl but she's not weak and reading about her life was just awe-empowering not to mention a great example to use for girl power in books! I just loved her to bits! While the other supporting characters like Kira's brothers, her little kid prince cousin and future king, Taejo, and even a newly introduced character, Jaewon, were super duper characters too but nothing could ever compare to Kira. I really want to give that girl a friendship bracelet or something . . . because I want a friend like exactly like her! Someone cool, sarcastic, fierce, protective and just plain old bad-ass! You would certainly want her on your good side let me tell you!

Overall, I could gush all day about this book and I'm so sad it all came to an end so quickly too because I need more of it (blame it on my one sitting read of this book). But in any case, while some readers may compare it to titles such as Graceling, Eon and Stormdancer, and say it's same old same old, let me tell you something . . . PROPHECY clearly earns its own merits and stands on its own as a very strong debut. Not only am I eager to get my hands on the sequel but I'm also SO excited to see where else the author will take us to next which I'm sure is going to be epic as it's side-by-side with an awesome and a very bad-ass heroine named Kira. Just loved her and this book!

The Rating

5/5 stars