Review
Reviewed By K.J. Simmill for Readers' Favorite - 4 Stars
Angeline was meant to be a wallflower, a means for her uncle to show everyone just how beautiful his own daughter was. He wanted his daughter to marry Lord Cedric, but following a previous encounter, Cedric only had eyes for Angeline. He hated her and loved her. He wished for her demise, yet fought to keep her safe. His incubus bloodline wanted the pleasure of her virginity, and another part of him craved even more. It was all he could do to be near her. Biting remarks and hostile actions become the only way to prevent himself giving in to the temptation. Cedric seeks revenge, and he needs power to exact it, and the woman with him has a magic in her blood that sings to him. Can he resist her, or will he have to succumb to the part of himself that he tries to keep repressed in order to achieve his own ambitions?
In Cedric the Demonic Knight: The Cedric Series Book 1 by Valerie Willis, you watch Angeline's gradual transformation from a tearful, downtrodden whiner to a skilful, independent ranger. She feared Cedric, who treated her like despised and unwanted property, and yet she needed him. This book is written in a style that would welcome a young adult audience, and fans of L.J. Smith and Vampire Hunter D particularly will find something for them in the brooding, vicious bad boy Cedric, an incubus moroi cross blood creation nursing his own tragic past and fears. This is partly a tale of self-discovery as both Cedric and Angeline learn both who they are and about each other, and in part a supernatural quest for revenge as Cedric journeys across the land, slaying powerful and imaginative creations.
Lulu // RoadsideReader 4 out of 5 Stars really liked
The Morrigan, demons, magic, and knights, Cedric the Demonic Knight by Valerie Willis had me sold with the synopsis. Then, I saw the cover and thought oh no, did I make a mistake? The cover didn't grab me or sell me as much as the synopsis did. I put off reading it, thinking oh no, I have made a mistake. But finally, I picked it up and boy oh boy, is this another case of not judging a book by its cover. The writing is actually really great, as is the story!
The writing is incredibly solid and very reminiscent of typical high fantasy novels. It is structured and descriptive, but not overly so to the point where readers become bogged down or bored. The dialogue feels natural, but is a bit nasty for my taste. I know why the character speaks the way he does, but it doesn't help keep me from cringing when he does and gets misogynistic.
The plot is also typical of fantasy. There is the overarching goal -- destroy Morrighan. The distractions -- beasts, discovery of self. The improbability of survival. Cedric, after accidentally acquiring a witchy blooded wife, is on a quest to destroy his makers. A father and a literal maker who designed his birth almost as though he were a lab experiment.
THE ROMANCE! Boy oh boy! I had read another book which I had to DNF and will not receive a review, but it was just sex that made no sense with no story just 10% in. This, on the other hand, was all teasing and no act. When the romantic interests finally give in to their passion, fade to black. Talk about sexual frustration!
This is a fantasy series, despite its drab cover, that really lives up to the genre and is a great read. I wholeheartedly recommend Cedric the Demonic Knight by Valerie Willis to readers that like a mix of Arthurian fantasy mixed with demons and witchcraft with a sprinkle of sex and romance.
// I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this title. //
From the Author
It was brought to my attention that I should take a moment to talk to the readers and fans of The Cedric Series.
I wish to share my inspirations for writing this story. This will explain a lot on how I came about creating these amazing ideas, characters, creatures, and events as a fictional work with heavy fantasy and romance elements in the mix. If one really wanted to drag out all its genres, I could label this a historical fiction, mythology, or even occult and paranormal. So far, Fantasy Romance has done this work the most justice for my readers' expectations.
Historical fiction can be applied to several parts throughout the series, whether it's a scene, event, or even a reflection of a character and their on-goings. What do I mean by this? Well a lot of you might get the Vladimir Tepes, or Vlad the Impaler references, but it dove deeper than that. King Frederic was the First King of Germans, the lepers in those times did indeed have to ring bells and seek refuge in colonies, Cerdanya was a real trade town, and so on. There are a ton of subtle hints here and there because I wanted to bring the unseen, untold side of the history during Medieval Times to a tangible state.
As far as the Mythology side of this series, I wanted to teach you all my version of forgotten lores, legends, and mythology. I did my best to not use anything that was newer than the 12th Century as I dug deep. Some of the concepts weaved in with my own perception was hard to obtain and justify. There was a lot of book buying, digging through a Medieval-age bestiary, and though I scoured the internet, it failed me often in my journey for research. As I created and developed each character, I did my best to tie them into one or more myths so that I may weave a wondrous story without limits. At the same time, I wanted some of you to get caught in a conversation or sitting in class and have that moment of, "Oh! I know how this myth goes!"
Let me enlighten you all on some of the tales, history, legends and myths stitched into some of these amazing characters you have experienced so far:
Cedric takes after a very forgotten and neglected epic legend from Medieval Times of the Russian Knight Hero, Ilya Muromets. Search him, check it out and feel free to compare what you unknowingly learned about this amazing legend. You'll be excited to see a red haired knight on a black horse as one of the images in the mix. Included in this was some really obscure Romanian beliefs involving early vampire-like stories. The off-shoots involving the strigoi showed less of fear towards these vampire creatures, but held a tone of sorrow and remorse. People who became these creatures had not finished living their lives (Including not ever getting married) and met the insane stipulations to come back as one of the undying. Truly interesting, and I can only hope to capture that same empathetic tone I had discovered in my digging.
Barushka combines a few tales as well, starting with his name drawn from the Russian Knight Hero tales. Other than that, I focused heavily on the Shag Foal lores. I was intrigued by the first few variants I stumbled on and found that the internet proved void of information. Amazingly, the hairy phantom horse tales started so long ago, there was no exact date as to when they began. The folklore was mysteriously always there. Adding to my wonder about this lore was the fact I stumbled on a 1927 Naturalist journal that devoted a section to them. Even this far forward, it was believed it may be an undiscovered species of horse! Despite that, the one thing I saw reflected in all the writing was that a shag foal approaches lone travelers and scares them so much that they run off to their deaths. Never once did the research say the horse actively killed someone.
Morrighan, Badbh, and Nemaine were derived from the tales involving the evil sorcerer Calatin. This was the older tale involving them that did not mix the three as one entity. There are no words to describe my frustration and disappointment at how many times that Badbh and Nemaine were labeled as alternative names for Morrighan. Especially when the story of the Legendary Cuchulainn made it clear that they were three sisters each with unique powers. Seeing that Badbh and Morrighan had earned the title of Goddess at some point through the passing of time, I felt the need to give Nemaine her own placement as a Goddess as well.
Romasanta is the most complex of all my characters. His name is taken from a man in history that is not as common as it once was, Manuel Blanco Romasanta. He was the first serial killer to be trailed and as you read book two of The Cedric Series you will see a lot of that history drawn upon. Feeding off the tragic aura, I pulled in both werewolf and wolf-related myths and lores, wanting to show a more accurate flow through a single entity. It was my intentions to bring in familiar aspects and add in the historically forgotten complications that modern book culture has failed to take into account. Those well-versed in mythology will be able to pick out elements on their own, but the amount of lore here is wide. Tales of Apollo and Daphne, Pan and Pitip, Fenrir, versipellis, Romanian beliefs of vampires were caused by a werewolf, Wolf of the Cemetery from Haiti, Romulus and Remus, and so on. There are deep seeds that I only give you teasers to the mythology that is mentioned here.
As for the monsters, you can say thank you to the Medieval Bestiaries. There are so many wild and crazy creatures in these that are no longer touched that I wanted to bring them to life again. Orms, Jidra, and Aitvaras were a few of the frightening things that travelers spoke of and warned each other about in their explorations. I can only imagine what they may have been based on, but there is a great sense of pride I take in including such monsters into my story. Granted, I have not followed their descriptions exactly and have embellished them with my own imagination, but I hope they make my stories more memorable.
In the end, I encourage my thirsty readers to explore what you've read in my The Cedric Series. Search the names, look deeper in the scenes, places, events and discover these in more detail. My goal is to introduce you to the forgotten lores and history while adding my own perspective and imagination into the mix. May this tale make its mark in your heart and open your world to the legacy our ancestors once talked about over the dinner table so long ago!
Happy reading and discovery!
Valerie Willis
From the Inside Flap
WEBSITE:WillisAuthor.com
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EMAIL:Willis.author@gmail.com
From the Back Cover
Valerie Willis is a sixth generation Floridian who loves crafting novels with elements inspired by Mythology, Superstitions, Legends, Folklore, Fairy Tales and even history. She braved the Independent Publish route at the end of 2012 and has devoted herself for being a pillar of "Self-Publishing How-to" from formatting of both print and digital versions to book cover designs.
Her fantasy romance novels within The Cedric Series is a wonderful blend of genres that appeal to a wide-range of readers whether they like paranormal, fantasy, romance or action adventure. The characters are flawed in mental and emotional ways while being amazing powerful creatures, demons, witches and Gods. Many of the monsters presented in battle derive from Medieval Bestiaries and adds a fun flavor of new yet deeply rooted assortment of creatures such as Coin Iotair, Shag Foal, Cynocephali, and many more.
For Young Adult readers looking for a Dark Fantasy and coming-of-age lessons, Tattooed Angels Trilogy is an ode to her teenage life for those teenagers getting ready to step out in the world on their own. Hotan is a failed reincarnation and is becoming immortal against his will. Life is complicated and often we withdraw within ourselves, shut others out, when life becomes hard. As the story unfolds we learn the importance of opening up and asking for support in all its forms to the people in our lives even beyond friends and family. Each immortal controls amazing powers of Nature, like fire, or elements of Humanity, such as fear.
You can often find this Author hosting workshops about writing and self-publishing in the Orlando, Florida area or working on the next novel. She loves to inspire other writers and creative minds. Be sure to visit her blog for some of the advice she has to offer from a perspective that has influences from Game Development and Graphic Design.
Author Website: willisauthor.com/
