The Crystal of Life Series Boxed Set: Books 1 and 2

By: Dartanyan Johnson

Narrated by: Rhonda Pownall

Length: 22 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

A kingdom cast in shadows, a family’s dark history, and the crystal shard that brings them together.

The intergalactic war has been ongoing for decades. But the Sovereign, ruler of the galaxy, has his eyes on an enormous energy that will certainly win the skirmish against the Triumvirate—a rebel force trying to end his reign. Aware of the threat, the king of Crestahn, who’s secretly opposing the ruler alongside the other nations on his planet, hires a portal maker to beat the Sovereign to the source.

Gretig is lucky to be alive. Some with his bloodline are killed at birth, while the fortunate ones live in confinement. But Gretig wasn’t born on his parents’ home planet. They had long escaped the oppressive regime. As space nomads, they venture the galaxy and create portals for lucrative contracts, but when his mother agrees to do a job for Crestahn’s king, his family’s dark past comes back to haunt them.

Princess Sha’ella is one of the Sovereign’s loyal followers. Her father wants her to switch sides—to fight with the resistance—but she refuses to betray a man she’s grown to admire. That decision doesn’t sit well with the other nations’ leaders. Now she must battle the most ruthless warriors in an arena for the fate of her kingdom, and risk losing more than just her life.

©2021 Dartanyan Johnson (P)2023 Dartanyan Johnson

On the Rise

Overall, I think this series started too early. It seems to me that book one is largely setup and world building for the rest of the series. Book two is where I feel the story largely gains traction.

Certain pieces of information are either withheld from the reader or simply left unexplained, especially in the first book. This leads to seemingly erratic character actions and weak character motivations in the first book.

The romance plot is introduced too late in the first book. (Content notice: There are a number of sex scenes throughout both books. Get this book if you like spice. Avoid it if you don’t.)

I think the romance plot could have been leveraged for more tension, particularly in the second book when the former fiance comes back into the picture, but I can also appreciate that the relationship is stable by that point and isn’t the focus of the story.

Despite those complaints, the world is consistent, the characters are fun, the writing style is enjoyable, and the fight scenes are well done.

Furthermore, the second book shows remarkable improvement, largely avoiding my complaints with the first book.

For me, the first book gets two stars, but the second gets four and I’m choosing to rate this based on the improved second book in the hopes that future books are even better.