The second book of the series was in my opinion better than the first.
Its still a fast paced, action packed fantasy adventure with lots of magic and norse mythology.
However, unlike the first book I found this book to be not TOO fast. It gave me time to really digest what I was reading and hence able to immerse myself in the story.

It is definitely aimed toward children in the preteen/teen age but I still found a lot to be enjoyed about this book. Where I was expecting something similar to the Percy Jackson it did fall a bit short for me, but then I thought about the book from the age it was written for and realized how great it is. Easy to follow and enjoy.

This book was great. Gave so much more depth to each to of the characters by each of them having there own quest to accomplish and issue to overcome. Even Sam.
I love the romance developing between Keely and Leo and I think Sam might be getting jealous but I'm not sure. I would be interesting and great to see how that plays out in the next and final book.
Also with the appearance of Loki now. I'm sure he will be our main villian in the next book. But what about the remaining witches? Is Endura and Odin truely dead? I have so many questions. But I am hopeful that the last book answers them all as it wraps up this fun series. ( )

I received an Arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my review. All opinions are my own. Kalifus Rising is the second installment of Legends of Orkney. I'd like to start out by stating that I have not read the first book, The Red Sun, but I feel as if Kalifus Rising can be read and have a pretty good idea of some of what happened in the first book, as this book touches on some of the events. Kalifus Rising follows the story of Sam Baron's three best friends, Keely, Leo, and Howie, as they take on different quests to find what they need to help Sam and stop a war. This story is fast paced, high adventure, and full of action. I was impressed with Alane's world building skills as the world of Orkney was opened up to me. I constantly found myself on the edge of my seat, hanging on for dear life amidst the action. The character development is incredible, as I wanted to wring some necks, hug others, and just plain scream at some of the characters. My only concern with this book is that it could have been better edited. There were several grammatical errors that gave me pause. Overall, I give Kalifus Rising four stars for the world building, character development, and the action. ( )

I received an Arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my review. All opinions are my own. Kalifus Rising is the second installment of Legends of Orkney. I'd like to start out by stating that I have not read the first book, The Red Sun, but I feel as if Kalifus Rising can be read and have a pretty good idea of some of what happened in the first book, as this book touches on some of the events. Kalifus Rising follows the story of Sam Baron's three best friends, Keely, Leo, and Howie, as they take on different quests to find what they need to help Sam and stop a war. This story is fast paced, high adventure, and full of action. I was impressed with Alane's world building skills as the world of Orkney was opened up to me. I constantly found myself on the edge of my seat, hanging on for dear life amidst the action. The character development is incredible, as I wanted to wring some necks, hug others, and just plain scream at some of the characters. My only concern with this book is that it could have been better edited. There were several grammatical errors that gave me pause. Overall, I give Kalifus Rising four stars for the world building, character development, and the action. ( )