Book One in the Dark Heavens Trilogy
When 28-year-old Emma Donahoe becomes a nanny to John Chen’s daughter, Simone, she does not expect to be drawn into a world of martial arts, magic, and extreme danger, where both gods and demons can exist in the mortal world.
Emma gradually realises that John Chen is no ordinary businessman and that nearly all the demons in hell would like to see him dead. John and his American bodyguard, Leo, begin to teach Emma their particular brand of martial arts and special defensive techniques … they also begin to realise that there is something that is different about Emma but exactly what it is, nobody can say.
For the first 80 pages, this novel reads like a romance. Emma accepts a full-time nanny position and can’t quite suppress her feelings for the father. At first it’s intriguing and I wanted to keep reading to see what happened, but then Emma appeared a little needy and at times, she seemed 18 and not 28.
The martial arts/fantasy side of the novel is well written, and John Chen’s character is developed and three dimensional. Kylie should be commended on the humour between Emma and Leo, Simone’s bodyguard. This book will please fantasy readers because it presents an interesting, fantasy/magical take on martial arts and Chinese mythology. Even though the novel is quite long (a little too long), it is fast-paced and the tension developed in the story is engaging for the reader.
I also loved that Kylie’s novel is inclusive of many different types of characters and promotes equality, which is something that I had read before picking up the book. White Tiger consists of characters of different ages, genders, cultural backgrounds, and sexual orientation, and that is quite rare for a fantasy novel. Actually, that’s quite rare for any novel.
My Score: 8/10
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