Review of Warrior by Ellen Oh

Title/Author: Warrior (The Dragon King Chronicles #2) by Ellen Oh
Publisher/Date published: HarperTeen, December 31st 2013
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley
Buy this book at: The Book Depository

Goodreads summary: First an outcast, now a hero.

But her fight rages on.

Kira, the yellow-eyed demon slayer who fiercely protected her kingdom — and the crown prince — has been proclaimed the Dragon Musado of the prophecy. With the defeated the evil shaman.

But it wasn’t enough.

Hansong is in chaos. The Demon Lord’s minions have infiltrated the city, treason is brewing among the military ranks, and Kira is buried by the overwhelming loss of her parents. She’s also plagued by the annoying feelings that blossom whenever she’s around Jaewon. But she is determined that nothing will stop her from finding the second treasure needed to fulfill the Dragon King’s prophecy. Not even the army of half-breed demons hot on their trail. If only she could learn to trust others...

Her father always said one person can change the world. Will it be Kira?

***WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR FIRST BOOK IN THE SERIES***

Guys, I really enjoyed Prophecy, the first book in this series, so I was excited to continue the story!

In Warrior, Kira goes looking for the next treasure that she needs to fulfill the prophecy and somehow this quest was lacking urgency for me. I mean, it all goes pretty smoothly for Kira and her friends, aside from some vicious demon attacks. And I know that's a bit of a contradiction in itself, but the thing is that I never for one moment doubted that Kira was going to get the second treasure by the end of the book. Even when she has to do some pretty impossible sounding things, she pulls them off without so much as batting an eyelash it seemed and that kinda annoyed me. Maybe I'm a bit masochistic, but I like seeing the hero/heroine struggle. I like having them run into trouble and having to try again from a different angle. I like when it at least seems to take an effort to get where they should be and it just didn't feel like that for me with this book.

Also, I was a bit fed up with people doubting that Kira is the Dragon Musado because she's a girl and this monk keeps claiming it should be her cousin. Because, well, she hasn't quite proven that she is the real deal? I mean, open your eyes, and stop making me rage at the gender discrimination.

And the love triangle I predicted in my last review blossomed a bit, I'm not sure who I'm rooting for, as both guys have their appeal and both can be boring at times, so the verdict isn't fully formed yet on this one. I also thought it was pretty funny how Kira's brother keeps being overbearing and protective because she comes within 2 feet of a boy, but her going off on impossible missions is ok somehow. Yes, a brother's logic, it's a beautiful thing.

I'm still intrigued by the world that Ellen Oh has built and I like that it's different in setting from the more traditional fantasy books, and in the end the dragon did come around, which was kinda cool, only it bugged me how easily he was defeated at the time for all the big badassness he was supposed to be. Also, the halfbreed demons totally creeped me out! I mean, that was really disturbing! But in a good way.

The thing is, there were some things that annoyed me, but for a big part of the book, I was a bit bored. I didn't feel the excitement of the quest or the high stakes that were there but didn't feel like high stakes. But as it did end on a sort of cliffhanger, I'll probably be picking up the next book when it comes out cause I'd like to know how it ends.

My rating: 2,5 stars