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Kingdom of Oceana by Mitchell Charles: Character-Driven Hawaiian Fantasy Adventure

Hey, all! It’s Alexa, and today, I’m reviewing another historical, like I’ve kinda been on a roll with the past few weeks (I’ve no idea how this happened; I didn’t do it on purpose, lol). But instead of Biblical speculative like several of the In The Beginning stories or romance like The Sound of Silver, today’s book is a Hawaiian fantasy.

kingdom-of-oceana

Description:

TEENAGER. SURFER. EXPLORER. SHARK TAMER. FIRE WALKER. HERO.
Five centuries ago, on the island now called Hawaii, there was a kingdom filled with adventure, beauty, and magic.

When 16-year-old Prince Ailani and his brother Nahoa trespass on a forbidden burial ground and uncover an ancient tiki mask, they unleash a thousand-year-old curse that threatens to destroy their tropical paradise.

As warring factions collide for control of Oceana, it sparks an age-old conflict between rival sorcerers that threatens to erupt–just like Mauna Kea, the towering volcano. With the help of his ancestral spirit animals, his shape shifting sidekick, and a beautiful princess, Prince Ailani must overcome his own insecurities, a lifetime of sibling rivalry, and a plague of cursed sea creatures brought forth by the tiki’s spell. Can peace be restored to the kingdom? Can Prince Ailani claim his rightful place as the future king of Oceana? Two brothers, but only one can rule.

Plot:

One thing I found really interesting about this plot was how it almost seemed to… come in waves. It could’ve easily been divided into three or four sections or short stories, as the plotlines commenced, crescendoed, then slowly sloped downwards, the villain either vanquished or turned into an ally, before the next swell of the story began. Like an ocean, there were some days that were relatively calm, rather than roiling with danger and mystery, but because of the pleasant storytelling feel, the storyworld, and most of all, the MC (all of which I’ll talk more about later 😉 ), I was content to follow the water until the waves rose again.

Plot: 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

Characters:

Ah, Prince Ailani. Watching his journey as he grew through each wave and slowly came into his own was definitely my favorite part of the story. He drew me in within the first couple of chapters because of his contemporary YA voice in a fantastical, Hawaiian world, his understandable insecurities, his honorable nature, and his (probably unintentional) humor. Even when I couldn’t tell for sure where the plot was going, I was to happy to follow him because of his voice, one, but also the… inspiration that was his character journey, as he learned to understand his true worth. He, along with many of the other characters and all their nuanced personalities, were the ones that captured me most as I traveled the sea of this story (I don’t know why I’m making so many sea comparisons today, but they work).

Characters: 4 stars out of 5.

Writing Style/Setting:

To be honest, there were some dips and bumps in this writing that made some of the story a little difficult to get into, but there were just as many perfectly placed moments of intensity as well as beautiful descriptions of the island world. I loved how the author used Ailani’s voice to describe everything, with continuous references to his culture and aspects of his daily life. Each was a special piece that set the scene a little more and showed me another facet of the Young Prince’s unique world:

We continued north until the sun melted into the sea and transformed the sky to shades of purple and orange. Golden rays of sunlight flashed across the waves, painting silver highlights on the whitecaps. Soon, countless stars filled the heavens, creating a luminous shroud of twinkling lights.

Writing Style/Setting: 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

And so we come in right around 3 1/2 stars out of 5. I found Kingdom of Oceana to be a rather different, rather interesting read. I wasn’t in a reading slump, but I think it would’ve been a good one to pull me out if I had been, because it is such a different storyworld than most that I’ve seen in YA fantasy. If you’d like to check this one out for yourself, you can find it on Amazon for $9.99.

So what’s the last story you read that felt completely different from the rest in its genre? Into historical fantasy? Ever accidentally reviewed various versions of the same genre three weeks in a row? Can’t wait to hear from you all, and I’ll see you in the comment section!

~ Love, Alexa

Note: I received a free ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Content: some fantasy violence.

2 Comments


  1. // Reply

    I’m such a sucker for thousand-year-old curses. And I think I’ve passed that on to some readers in my family! They’ll enjoy this one.


    1. // Reply

      Haha, awesome! 😀

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