Book Review: The Canid Chronology

Book #5 for 2025: The Canid Chronology – A Journey’s Beginning by Angola Hone, 3/5 ★
299 pages / published August 2024 / available here

Goodreads Blurb: Ashiy, a young redtail fox, has been raised in the remote smuggler’s den of Whim’s Haven. … Ashiy dreams of seeing the wider world beyond its borders, but his mysterious elven godmother is determined to keep him close by her side. He knows she’s keeping secrets—about who she really is, and the past which left him an orphan. Yet Ashiy discovers more than he bargained for after an encounter with one of animalkind’s oldest foes—man. It sets him on a perilous journey into the vast lands of Altharia, home to animals blessed with intelligence by the good Mistress above. Though Ashiy is at last free of Whim’s Haven, his adventure may prove more bittersweet than joyous.

My Review: This book was a reasonably good start for a series, but didn’t quite pack the punch I was hoping for. The setting and characters were interesting enough in the beginning, but everything lacked development as the story continued. The characters were a little less interesting than they could’ve been, the emotional swings hit less than they could’ve, and the big conflict felt like it resolved in a way that didn’t totally work for me. Also, maybe it was because of the age of the MC (& presumably audience: 12-18), but Ashiy’s emotional journey felt immature as well. I didn't really get why the world seems to be almost entirely populated by "woodland" animals...and elephants. What? I did enjoy the scene about chocolate, which was a clever bit of writing. All in all, it was okay, but just didn’t quite land as well as it could’ve for me. 

CW: fantasy violence, parent loss, zombies