Windsworn (Gryphon Riders Trilogy #1) by Derek Alan Siddoway - Review

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I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Eva lived the quiet life with her foster-father, working with him in the forge. Everything changes when she finds a thief in the shed with a stolen gryphon egg. After the egg hatches in her hands and the baby gryphon begins to bond with her, she discovers that she'll have to train and join the ranks of the Windsworn, elite warriors who fly gryphons into battle. While she struggles to get caught up on the years worth of training that she's missed, she finds herself in the middle of a plot to take down the Windsworn and start a war - a plot that somehow involves her deceased parents.

Windsworn by Derek Alan Siddoway is a fantastic series opener and I'm thrilled that I have had the opportunity to jump into Eva's story. I have to admit that I was hooked on Siddoway's storytelling from the first page. His world building is excellent and he does a good job of developing and fleshing out Eva throughout the novel. It's a pleasure seeing how Eva starts this novel versus where she ends up. He also creates a mystery that I enjoyed trying to unravel - and the payoff for it at the end is top notch. I haven't read much about gryphons before, but I definitely could have done with more of them as they're just as important as the human cast, and just as fascinating.

Overall, the Gryphon Riders Trilogy starts off well with Windsworn. It's an addicting read that I expect anyone who loves How to Train Your Dragon will particularly enjoy Siddoway's series. There are so many great things going for this YA adventure fantasy and I can't wait to revisit this world in book two, Windswept.

I read this book from March 29 - April 1, 2018 and my review is also on Goodreads.