Griffin's Daughter (Griffin's Daughter Trilogy, #1)
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Griffin's Daughter (Griffin's Daughter Trilogy #1)

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3.62 of 5 stars 3.62  ·  rating details  ·  424 ratings  ·  78 reviews
Born between two cultures,a young woman searches for acceptance. An ancient evil searches for her.

A young girl lives as a social outcast due to her mixed human and elven blood. To escape an arranged marriage, Jelena flees into the unknown on a quest to find her elven father. Her journey takes her on an unexpected adventure of magic, danger, and most startling of all - true

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Kindle Edition, 335 pages
Published October 17th 2012 by Norton Place Publishing (first published January 29th 2007)
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Community Reviews

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Sandi
When I was a teenager, I loved reading the romances written by Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt. They were a step above the cookie cutter Harlequin romances. They usually involved a lot of either historical detail or locale detail as well a a solid mystery along with the romance. "Griffin's Daughter" reminded me of these much-loved books from my youth.

I think what I liked best about this book is that it didn't follow the standard fantasy formula that includes a cast of thousands and 15 plot lin...more
Robin
Mar 11, 2009 Robin rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fantasy romance fans
Recommended to Robin by: Goodreads Fantasy Group
One of the great things about GoodReads is you are introduced to authors and books that you might not normally find. I came across Griffen's Daughter because it was selected by one of the GoodReads Fantasy Groups.

The first thing that impressed me about this book is the high production values. This is a first book for the author and produced by a smaller independent publisher but the quality of both shows in the final product.

I also was fortunate enough to find some audio versions of this book on...more
Jim
Feb 16, 2009 Jim rated it 4 of 5 stars
Shelves: fantasy
A somewhat typical fantasy on some levels, it shines more than most because of the racial prejudice angle & how it is handled. Our heroine is a half breed; half elf, half human. Her lot is very tough growing up since elves are purported to be soulless creatures by the reigning religion. The book isn't a deep one, but an easy, enjoyable read. It's got a good, exciting plot & demands that we read the next book to continue the story, but didn't leave me hanging terribly. It came to a natura...more
Michael
Griffin’s Daughter
By Leslie Ann Moore

Griffin’s Daughter is far more than a mere fantasy novel despite its setting of kings, castles, elves and men. It is more than a romance although the story centers on troubled lovers struggling to be together. Griffin’s Daughter follows in the tradition of allegory, a tale of universal symbols with multiple meanings, for at its heart this book is about the nature of thoughtless prejudice and the devastation it creates.

Leslie Ann Moore’s novel is about a youn...more
Jeanne
I thought Griffin's Daughter was a good first book by a new author. If I could give it 3 1/2 stars I would, I just can't in all good conscious give it 4 stars. It drew me into the story and kept me interested. I think I will enjoy watching Leslie grow as a writer. What I didn't like about the book was it seemed awfully short. I am used to fantasy books that are anywhere from 500 to 1000 pages so 355 pages was way too short for my tastes. There were so many things that could have been done had th...more
Jane
Feb 14, 2009 Jane rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fantasy lovers especially those that like romance
I'm really glad I was introduced to this book via this group. I found it a good read and I'm interested in reading the next. I thought it was well written though, for me it suffered from a few things that I criticise others for

1 - The "relationship" between the two main characters did not seem "founded". It is similar to how I felt about Stardust - the two didn't seem to have a "reason" to fall in love other than "well they were suppose to". I would have liked to see a much longer interaction be...more
Amy
Read this book as a monthly read for the Fantasy Book Club.

I enjoyed this story and am looking forward to the sequels. I would like to see what happens in the conflict between elves and humans. I am also interested in seeing Jelena and Ashinji further explore their magical talents.

The main characters - Jelena, Ashinji, and Magnes - are likable. They are developed well enough that I felt like I knew them and was interested in getting to know them better. Two of the villainous characters - Jelena...more
Erin
Jan 04, 2009 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: women who like adventure and pinch of romance.
Recommended to Erin by: Jim
This is a wonderful first novel for Leslie Moore. I was impressed with her horse knowledge. I grew up with horses, so 'pretty pink ponies' can ruin a book for me. It had an infuriating cliff hanger end. I wish there'd been a giant sign to warn me because I would have waited till I had the next book. I was entertained by the improper grammar when someone was learning a new language. The mesh of culutures to build new cultures was also neat. It was a wonderful Christmas gift!
Angela Oliver
For some reason, this has been labelled "paranormal". It's not - it's fantasy. Set in a medieval style kingdom, where elves and humans share a border and neither thinks too fondly of the other. Jelena is the product of an unlikely allegiance between elf and human - neither one nor the other, she is reviled by the humans and her lowly position eventually forces her to run away and seek her elven heritage.

The elves were not entirely convincing as a species - they felt more like another race of hum...more
Dava Stewart
The word "almost" describes this book in so many ways. I found it immensely frustrating because it is almost very good. The characters are almost developed - the main character is the best of the lot. The book is even almost correctly formatted as a digital book but there a blank pages at all the chapter breaks.

Things like blank pages aren't a big deal but it was just one more annoying thing. There were also whole descriptions that were totally unnecessary and distracting, like a very detailed...more
Bonnigene Cloud
I really enjoyed reading this book because of it's female main character and the fantasy that kept you on verge of a real world. I really enjoyed that Jelena seemed to be just like so many women feel in daily life, yet she struggled with her mixed blood and heritage. Jelena stuggles to find herself and understand her human and elfin parantage.

The book's description of the descrimination between elfin and human echos the descrimination within our own history against so many groups. It also echos...more
Bonnigene Cloud
I really enjoyed reading this book because of it's female main character and the fantasy that kept you on verge of a real world. I really enjoyed that Jelena seemed to be just like so many women feel in daily life, yet she struggled with her mixed blood and heritage. Jelena stuggles to find herself and understand her human and elfin parantage.

The book's description of the descrimination between elfin and human echos the descrimination within our own history against so many groups. It also echos...more
Margaret Metz
This is one of the best books I've read of this genre. The characters are genuine and made me want to pull for them. I fell in love with them and wanted to know more and more about them. The story was interesting and exciting - it grabbed me from the start and kept me flipping pages. My only real complaint was that I would be totally immersed in this wonderful fantasy world with a historical/middle ages feel and suddenly the characters (elf and human) would start using very contemporary curse wo...more
Chris
I'm helping the author of this book, release this as a free audio book. If you would like to hear Leslie read the book, check out: Griffin's Daughter on Podiobooks.com
Susie
This book was really good - the story kept me interested. I really didn't want to read a "fantasy" romance, but I finally got around to it. I felt like Jelena's problems were all solved pretty simply at the end. No real trial in her relationship with Ashinji, but that appears to come later in the series. One thing I did like about the series is that the author went through pains to create some equality between men and women. Women serve in the guard, and lead just as men. Men are thrown into arr...more
Shannon Powell
Awesome book! I can't wait to get my hands on the next two in this trilogy. DEFINITELY not my usual style of reading, but I got it...wait for it...FREE on Amazon via KindlePC and LOVED every minute of it! It's all about a child born of an elf and a human in ancient times. However, she's no ordinary half-breed, she is the one who saved mankind by being the strength that defeated evil at one point in time. This book chronicles her life as she grows up being abused and neglected by those who are ra...more
Cat Russell  (Addicted2Heroines)
*** 2.5 Stars ***

Easy read. The plot was simplistic and not entirely original, but had its entertaining moments.

I was intrigued by the beginning when taken through the events that led to the transfer of the Key. It is sent through time and placed inside of an unborn child to keep it protected and hidden from those who would use it for evil.

Shortly after this occurs, we are introduced to Jelena.

Jelena lives somewhat of a Cinderella lifestyle. She's the illegitimate child of the Elf King, living...more
Shauna
Nov 19, 2008 Shauna rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: teen and adult fantasy readers
Moore's take on elves is not the same-old, same-old Lord of the Rings knockoff, and her themes are broader as well. I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next.
Kati
See what I mean about the genre getting trashy? The book was written on the level of young adult fiction, and had several nearly explicit sex scenes in it. Um, thanks Leslie for the cheap whore bit, too bad I can't wash my brain with soap after that one. I have a request for authors: either write like an adult, or keep smut out of teenage romance novels. Sheesh.

Stepping off my soapbox - the plot is good. I completely understand a previous reviewer when she said this book was the epitome of 'alm...more
DelSheree
Who you are, what you are…those are questions that can eat at a person. For Jelena that is certainly true. She knows very little about her mother and even less about her father. All she has is a griffin ring, and she has no idea what it means. For so long Jelena was willing to accept her place in life. She has always been a little odd, an outcast aside from her cousin Magnes’s friendship.

Jelena assumes she will spend the rest of the life as part of the castle staff until her uncle decides to put...more
Todd Fonseca
Being half-elf and half -human, Jelena Preseren lives life ridiculed and looked down upon by others. Though her mother, who died giving birth to her, was the sister of the Duke of Amsara, this does little for Jelena who is forced to live her days working in the castle scullery. Her only friend is her cousin Magnes who sees beyond her lineage. Though she accepts her lot in life as a servant, Jelena draws the line when her uncle the Duke decides to sell her as a concubine. She decides to flee and...more
Chris
This was an excellent first novel for Leslie. While it was a bit more romance than I usually read, the book never got lost in that aspect. The fantasy of the story was always right there. It is good to have a little romance in any story and I didn't feel that it got too out of hand here. It certainly never degenerated down to what I would call "trashy romance."

The world building here is very impressive. I enjoy getting a little bit at a time throughout the story rather than have to choke down a...more
Turtles
I can't bear to finish this... while the writing style is solid, the cliche is too much to bear. Innumerable fantasy books have been with maltreated girl who runs away to another place, she fits in there and gains a love interest and magic powers. The romance was particularly vapid with stolen thoughts about each others beauty. There were plenty of story threads remaining at my stopping point, so I assume the book may flesh out with more plot and into the other 2 volumes. I just can't finish it.
Erin
This story is definitely a page turner (well, it would be if I hadn't read it on my kindle) and didn't have the annoying grammatical and formatting problems I so often run across with free/cheap kindle downloads. I cared about the characters and what happened to them and did not want to stop reading. Keep in mind this book gets a little PG-13 at times so keep that in mind when you select it for yourself or gift it to someone else.

If you liked this book you should read Legon Awakening by Nichola...more
Nathan Lowell
I've been listening to the podcast version of this book and decided I needed to read it for myself. I put it on my Kindle for a recent trip and devoured it before I got home. If you like classic fantasy quest tales, you'll like this one. It gets my highest praise for any book ... "Oh NO! You *can't* end it there!!"

[transparency disclaimer: Leslie and I are both podiobooks and Ridan authors. Neither of those entities asked me to review this work.]
Aimy
Wow. At first this book was kind of boring. But as the plot developed, it grew into a tale of love, hate, betrayal, and love again. I could not put the book down, literally. There is a bit too much dialogue, but its cleverly written and won't bore you. I was up till 2 or 3 am finishing this book, and the ending did not disappoint. I'm really looking forward to reading the second and third books in this trilogy, but the book was a bit short.
Leslie
I'd give this 3.5 stars if that were an option. It's a very good first effort, and I'm anxious to read the second book. The writing is compelling and fluid, and the story, while not totally original, is fresh enough to make the book fun. I got this as a freebie on Amazon Kindle, and I'm glad I decided to give it a try. A little more sex than I normally read, but it's easy to see it coming and skip over a page or two.
Rebecca
Apr 27, 2009 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Adventure lovers
Recommended to Rebecca by: Goodreads
Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy
I really liked this book! I read most of it in one day. The story is intriguing, exciting, and fun. The author is very good at imagery and I love the names she made up for her characters and kingdoms. I am disappointed that the story left me hanging because I don't have the next book but I definitely want to finish it. Some of the "love-making" gets a little too graphic for my tastes, but it was very enjoyable other than that.
Alicia
Mar 25, 2012 Alicia rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone
Born between two cultures,a young woman searches for acceptance. An ancient evil searches for her.
A young girl lives as a social outcast due to her mixed human and elven blood. To escape an arranged marriage, Jelena flees into the unknown on a quest to find her elven father. Her journey takes her on an unexpected adventure of magic, danger, and most startling of all - true love.
Holly
This was a compelling fun read that I know young girl's would LOVE.... But no, I cannot recommend it because it has unnecessary scenes that spoil it. Too bad. Otherwise it would get a higher rating. A young 1/2 blood (elf and human) is not accepted by either race and goes on a search for acceptance and family. She finds love in a hunky elf man. Pretty cool escape lit.
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Griffin's Daughter (Griffin's Daughter Trilogy, #1)
Griffin's Daughter (Griffin's Daughter Trilogy, Book 1)
Griffin's Daughter (Griffin's Daughter Trilogy, #1)
Griffin's Daughter (ebook)
Griffin's Daughter (Paperback)

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Ever since I can remember, I've been a storyteller. Characters constantly walk onto the stage of my mind, introduce themselves, and talk to me about their lives. I also see snippets of scenes, hear pieces of dialogue, even smell particular scents--it's like watching chunks of wild, amazing movies play in my head. Some of those bits eventually begin making sense, and that's when I start the writing...more
More about Leslie Ann Moore...
Griffin's Shadow (Griffin's Daughter Trilogy, #2) Griffin's Destiny (Griffin's Daughter Trilogy, #3)

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