Sunday, November 2, 2014

Timmy's Review of Key of Behliseth by Lou Hoffmann


If you like fantasy, this is a great young adult book to read. There are other worlds, wizards, bad witches, and even dragons! Oh my! I have not read many fantasy books so, when this was given to be by a dear friend to read, I had my doubts that it would be a book I would like. I was soon proved wrong. The story was just great! I loved the plot and the characters, even some of the bad guys were written so well that I just couldn’t hate them like I wanted to. 

We follow Lucky, a homeless gay teen who has lost most of his memory. Though this tale that shows him that nothing is what it appears to be, is he just another homeless teen? Does he have a family somewhere? It was interesting to see how this story unfolded.

There are many characters we meet along the way in Lucky’s journey to find his true identity. Every character in the book was well written, and we completely understand them and their motives by the end of the story; and the author left us wondering in several places during the story! You must wait and piece it all together as the story unfolds. I really enjoyed the wide range of characters and all their quirks. They were different in their own, unique ways, which made the story fun to read. I can’t stand it when all the good guys are just good guys, and the bad guys are just bad guy. Everyone in this book had a motive either for good or for bad—some to help Lucky find his destiny, some to stop him from finding it, and some to gain power for him or herself. 

Now, sadly, I can’t say the book was easy to read. This author had some chapters where s/he over described to the point I had to reread many times in order to understand it all. There were a lot of descriptions, similes, and metaphors. This is not a bad thing, except when they are all in the same paragraph. Remember when writing for young adults to write not too simply, but not too complicated either. We work at school, we do want to work when reading for enjoyment. 

I give this book 4 marbles and recommend it to fantasy lovers and I hope to see how Lucky’s journey ends.~Timmy


Key of Behliseth is available at


About Key of Behliseth

On his way to meet a fate he'd rather avoid, homeless gay teen Lucky steps through a wizard's door and is caught up in a whirlwind quest and an ancient war. He tries to convince himself that his involvement with sword fights, magic, and interworld travel is a fluke, and that ice-breathing dragons and fire-breathing eagles don't really exist. But with each passing hour, he remembers more about who he is and where he's from, and with help, he begins to claim his power. 

Lucky might someday rule a nation, but before he can do that, he must remember his true name, accept his destiny, and master his extraordinary abilities. Only then can he help to banish the evil that has invaded earth and find his way home—through a gateway to another world.

Find Lou Hoffmann on Goodreads,
Twitter @Lou_Hoffmann, and on Facebook

17 comments:

  1. Wonderful review Timmy. I was interested in this one as soon as I saw Dragons were involved, fire breathing Eagles was an added bonus lol.

    I admit I'm not a fan of books that over use words, I know that sounds silly, but I like plain descriptions over flowery ones. I also dislike having to re read passages to try to understand what is going on, but I will if the book is interesting and this one certainly sounds interesting.

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    1. I completely agree about too many words! Describing is important, though all to the point where the reader can clearly see what the author is seeing. However, this book was worth the extra work. Enjoy!
      <3 Timmy

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    2. I've found a few books that took a little extra work, but ended up being some of my favorite reads. Sometimes it's just about getting used to that authors style. <3

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  2. I'm with you, Timmy. I'm not a fan of writing that is too wordy or over narrative. It disrupts the flow of the story for me. At least it wasn't like that the whole time and you were still able to enjoy it. Great review!! <3

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    1. I did enjoy it, and if you like fantasy, I would recommend you try it.
      <3 Timmy

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  3. Great review. This one is on my TBR list.

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    1. Thanks! Glad you liked it, and let me know what you think of the book!
      <3 Timmy

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  4. How do you do it? You've read and reviewed so many! I love fantasies. I like to explore worlds unlike ours. And I also like knowing tat humanity remains the same, both good and bad. Great review, Timmy!

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    1. I have no life. :P Really I'm a fast reader. If I sit and read, I finish a book a day.
      <3 Timmy

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  5. Another concise, thought provoking to me review. As I don't usually do fantasy ... your review allows me the chance to decide if I want to try it. The fire breathing eagles interested ma as we have hundreds here ... where I live! Thank you for your insight. I will probably try it!

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    1. Hope you like it! Let me know after you have read it.
      <3 Timmy

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  6. This is another wonderful and articulate review, Timmy! Great job!

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    1. Thanks Sandy! Love seeing you here!
      <3 Timmy

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  7. You did it again young man. When reading your reviews I find I have to remind my self this is a new teen writing it and not a adult. Very well done.

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    1. Thanks Carol. It's nice to know I sound mature, because I take my reviews very serious.
      <3 Timmy

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  8. Thank you for a thoughtful and honest review, Timmy. I will take your final advice under serious consideration!
    <3 <3 Lou.

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    1. I'm glad you liked it! I enjoyed the story a lot, and I hope to hear more about Lucky soon!
      <3 Timmy

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