i thought this was a great start to a series, the characters were great and I thought they explained the world really well.

A Vendunmull by Jared A. Zakarrian ARC was given to thru Netgalley for a honest review. Vendunmull is a very intriguing to say in the least. The opening of the book reminds me of when Lazarus was kicked out of heaven by trying to be more powerful than God. I have and always will be love books that surround itself in mythology, theological beliefs. I am partial to books that challenge me too. Jared A. Zakarrian did a fantastic job of world building, introducing the characters in a non overwhelming way. I had a hard time putting this book down and join the real world.
I cannot wait to read the second book in this collection. Thank you Jared for taking me in to a different, exciting, and challenging world. I cannot wait to read the next book,

I just couldn't really get into this book and I did DNF it. Although the premise sounds really interesting, it did not have what I need to be interested in a book. It had no character development or even something compelling with regards to the internal life of the characters. Usually, I'd look to plot for that, but all they did was spend pages and pages wandering around a mountainside looking for each other. Not exactly compelling material. Maybe this would work for someone else, but not for me.

Verdunmull is the first of The Ilkalreev Prophecies and I understand a debut novel.The plot line of this is quite diverse as fantasy novels go. A mix of magic and heavenly hosts be some of those of the fallen variety. Various characters emerge in this land bound by prophesy. We encounter dragons, dwarves, elves and various other monsters.
Great world building well thought out battles and interaction of characters. I have one small criticism which is probably my problem rather than the authors. I enjoyed the way the story enfolded and its pace however I did find it a little bit repetitive with relation to the characters righteousness and their beauty. A little bit more of some imperfections and fallibility could have been present.
Don’t get me wrong I expect some of this may be ironed out as the books progress. I am looking forward to reading more nonetheless.

in this book you find angels, demons, magicans, real people all rying to live and reach the goal they think is important. A lot of characters, sometimes a bit complicated to read, but interesting until the end.

I highly recommend this book. It reminds me of the Lord of the Rings. It's a great first book in the series and I can't wait till Zajarian's sequel.

This story starts off with some great colorful maps. I was impressed. Then there was a prophecy that was extensive and convoluted and overwhelming right at the beginning of the story. I think if the prophecy was spread out a little it wouldn’t have been so overwhelming. There are fallen angels on a journey of redemption that just don’t make sense to me. The seals protecting Ikalreev are in danger of falling. There are dragons, elves, ogres dwarves, demons, warriors and other fantastical creatures. Normally I like this kind of story but some warmth was missing for me. There are plenty of battles (too many in my opinion) and disappointments abound; there is not a lot of joy. I liked and was committed to the LOTR books but couldn’t get into this. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Dragons, elves, dwarfs, angels, giants and many more mythical creatures inhabit the world of Verdunmull. There are prophecies, curses, romance and so many other tropes.

Story centered around the prophecies made by this mages/creatures written centuries ago. 3 Angel's fall from grace one betrayed and deceived by his 2 brothers, the other two punished for their sin. One by one we are introduced to the players or the people on whom the prophecies are about.
Faolan is a scout who has lost memories about himself and the world, he is found by an elven couple who then adopt him as a son. A shadow guardian mother and an ex general of elven army as mother and father he starts learning from them. One day on scouting mission he learns the nearest town is under attack and goes to aid them. The king later impressed with his courage and bravery makes him a shadow guardian and leader of the group. He now commands and ancient Shadow Guardian, his parents, an army general and 2 healers. Along the way as he remembers parts of his previous life the people surrounding him notice some fearsome and divine about him. Meanwhile the company searches for the remaining 4 images who are supposed to be the front line and guardians mentioned in the prophecy. And we cant forget the 2 fallen angels who are punished for betraying their brother. One angel is cursed to suffer from sickness and ailing heart and the other has a cursed voice.

Faolan is my favorite character apart from Prince Treasach. The other two fallen Angel's come close. I loved the overall plot of the book. However that's it.
The characters feel underdeveloped, the narration style keeps changing. For first few chapters you are greeted with a formal tongue but it switches back and forth to informal and even the modern english. Words like "yeah, OK, mom, nope" are just some of them. This book needs another round of editing.

Some parts and situations feel repetitive. The romance isn't as good, but definitely has potential considering who Faolan is and Aili is an elf. The humour falls flat in many places. Though there are so many situations that are funny. I especially loved the dragon and faolan pet situation.
The mage trials felt like a classroom lesson more than these life altering trials I was led to believe.

Overall this books has so much potential, perhaps it could even exceed expectations with little bit more editing and a finer eye on storyline.

Thankyou to @netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this and share my honest reviews.