Hand of Titan: A Fantasy Adventure

Priest of Titan #2

by Paul Mouchet

Fates revealed, an enemy below, unexpected allies.

Kit, a freshly minted Priest of Titan, steps into a plot that seeks to ruin the northern kingdoms.

When she discovers a secret, buried for millennia, Kit is forced into an impossible situation.

Now, unrelenting adversaries stand between Kit and her entombed god. Defeating her enemies strengthens Kit’s resolve, preparing her to fulfil her destiny.

~ A Veil of Entropy Story ~

Kindle Edition

Published July 1, 2024

Reviews

[Anya Josephs]

(For context, I read a review copy of the first three books in this series). This was the book where pacing was the biggest issue, especially the pacing at which the book delivers information to the reader. The genre seems to pivot, from fantasy coming-of-age to monster-hunting-episodic, which would be fine if there was also a shift in tone or style to accompany it. Unfortunately, there was a lot of very sudden info-dumping. For instance, we learn what Kit thinks vampires are after we’ve found out they’re actually something else, which makes it hard for the moment of her surprise to land with the reader.

There are apparently multiple steps Kit must take to become first a priest, then an acknowledged priest, but we don’t even find out that this distinction exists until after she’s cleared the first hurdle and moved on to the second. This creates a pacing issue that makes it difficult to stay engaged, as we don’t know what the stakes of anything are. A prophecy gets introduced, but not until the book is half over.

A real strength of the book is the developing rapport between Kit and Danny. I really liked Danny as a character. He injects some much-needed humor and lightness into the book, and he is dynamic enough that he makes Kit more relatable. Another is the lore that gets revealed in the book. Though the pace of these revelations is really clunky, the stories themselves are quite fascinating!

You can find my full review of the series here: https://anyajosephs.wordpress.com/202...

[Liesbeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The adventure with Kit continues, as read in the first story, she is so altruistic, that she would sacrifice her own life, so that she could safe someone else.

Again, it seems that Kit always find herself in impossible situations, but always find herself on top of it, when she thinks with her heart instead of her head. From my point of view, it seems she doesn’t have any moment to breath or to relax. It is one thing after another, no time to rest. It’s an exhilarating journey, action and adventure that never bores. Even though Kit is doubting herself continuously, she only wants to fit in the crowd, not stand out.

With some new friends and old friends, she makes the journey, coming face to face to an enemy she hasn't faced yet. An enemy that can control minds, can he hypnotize Kit to take her own life? And what's up with the gods, they are all taking an interest in her. Can she forget the horrors she witnessed?

When I got this second book, I jumped right into it, eager to know how Kit journey is unfolding, and it didn't disappoint me one bit. Again, the world building is amazing , based on the Greek Gods but with the writers own twist.

Lots of action and unforeseen plot twists, combined with adventure, war, manipulation, fantasy, wolves, otherworldly creatures and so on. There is never a dull moment, it's like a runway train that you can't seem to stop.

[Elizabeth Lavender · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kit, as a priest of Titan, finds herself being taken on a somewhat conflicted path on this part of the journey. Her initial response has been to strike, whether it be with her person or hammer, to face the danger before her. With Titan by her side, she’s proved a formidable opponent, to the dismay of the many that dismissed her as an insignificant girl that simply talks a big game. This time her hammer finds it’s mark again, but the blow it delivers comes back to her a hundred-fold in a heart wrenching, unexpected way, and she shatters inside at its impact. She is no longer the warrior priest in that instant, but simply a young girl with a calling thrust upon her that threatens to crush her under its weight. She desperately wants to take back that stroke, because she knows there had to be another way that she just didn’t see in the heat of battle. A way that did not leave such a red stain everywhere. Yet there’s finally the sobering realization it wasn’t there to see, because it didn’t exist. And that’s the Kit we find ourselves shedding tears for, this one whose spirit is drowning in a sea of regret and sorrow. Then she must continue on this path because she is sworn to Titan. Yet that’s the catch. This god asks so much of her, even in the future the possibly of losing those she cares for the most. Is this god worth the sacrifice? It’s a question Kit must eventually answer the further she goes into this journey with her god and those she holds closest.

[The Book Dragon's Hoard by A.V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an entertaining YA action adventure set in a fascinating world with an interesting belief system. Since Kit is a priest of Titan, the religious aspects are very strong, and I liked how the author engaged with that. I’m also quite impressed with the exploration of how human whims influence religion and the stories that are passed down, changing them until the truth is lost and we end up worshipping something far removed from the spiritual truth. That’s a powerful message and certainly one to bear in mind in these times where humans more than ever are manipulating stories for their own benefit.

Unfortunately, Kit was a struggle for me. While her story is interesting and she faces a lot of hardship, her character irritated me, most of all because of all the screaming. She’s always angry and “scream” is one of the author’s favourite words. It’s so overused I really started to dislike the character as the story progressed. There were also quite a few inconsistencies that threw me off, which is why I give this novel 3.5 stars.

Apart from that, the three quests Kit undertakes in this novel were fun and came together nicely at the end, setting things up well for the next book in the series. I think this series will appeal to readers who enjoy plot driven stories alone and don’t care too much about character development.

[Beba Andric · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book more than the previous one. In this book the characters have defined personalities, easy to relate to, to love and even some to abhor. Kit is finally a fully fledged Priest of Titan. Her exuberance is catchy, her need to help others is heartening but the reality is a lot different from what she thought it would be. She's a caring individual but so impetus, sometimes she acts on instincts which has dire consequences. And her mouth, oh lordy! She says what she wants to whomever she wants, be they a deity or not. Indie is just the sweetest character, so friendly and an all round nice guy. Love the toing and froing between Indie and Kit, will they, won't they acknowledge their feelings. One of my favourite characters is Father Hoarfrost, his affection for Kit is beautiful. I enjoyed the mystery of this book, the ghosts, the solving of a murder, the magic, and all the adventures Kit and her friends embark on, or rather, that finds them! And through it all, Kit is resolute in her blind faith in Titan, even when some facts come to light, she dismisses them. A prophecy to free Titan, all point to her being one of three who will succeed. I'm looking forward to seeing it unfold, to see if Kit's faith and resolve waivers and what challenges she encounters next

[Alexa Jaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an adventure!

I love this series! I am in the process of reading it again with my son.

I was most grateful to receive a copy to review and also have a Kindle Unlimited version now for my son.

I love that the main character is a girl, Kit, and she is written in such a way that my boys love the story too. She is amazing and is always falling into adventures to help somebody. I love the twists and turns but our heroine prevails.

If you love John Flanagan's "Ranger's Apprentice Series", and "The Head, The Heart, and the Heir" by Alice Hanov then you will love this!

What are you waiting for?

💕 Happy Reading! 💕

[Trisha Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another exciting story about our favorite priest of Titan! Mouchet really keeps Kit true to her character throughout the books, although there is growth she remained, in her core, the same person. Making decisions based on who she is. I love that about her character.
This book has it all! Dragon lord canes, wolf gods, Phoenix forms, ancient library, animal companions and super funny curses like Titans butt! This story keeps you guessing, without a lull in action. I'm excited to see what is next in store for this resilient girl!

[Jenna D Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, so I thought the first of the series was good, but book 2 left me spellbound. As I said before, I just adore Kit, a young priest of Titan with a calling. Along with her companions, Kit is on a quest to protect the people of Arnnor. Full of action, adventure, magic, and the camaraderie of well-loved friends, Hand of Titan was even harder for me to put down than the first. Kit is amazing, and I was equally in love with Danny and Lump. I am starting book 3 just as soon as I get this posted!

[Erin M. Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was just as good, if not better then the first book. This one has ghosts, vampires, fates and other gods. It flowed so much more freely then the first book. Can't wait to read the next book in the series, I'm hoping it's just as good as these last two.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Joseph K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good second book in the series

This series has been a lot of fun so far. It has great characters, magic, mythology, character races, etc. plus lots of action, dogs, and even dragons. Too bad the library incident went like it did, but too much more info from there may have tweaked the story a bit too much. This is a really enjoyable series and I recommend it.

[Rachel Joi Maples · Rating 5 out of 5]

great continuation of the series

[Mary T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done.
This is a very good book. It keeps you turning the page anxious to see what will happen and never disappointed.

[Jellybean · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the first book could have benefited from a bit of smoothing out, this one took a sharp nosedive in terms of editing. I kept noticing spelling errors, needless repetition, and, most egregiously, inconsistency after inconsistency.

The plot inconsistencies are small enough to be overlooked, but the big problem lies in Kit's characterization. She jumps all over the place, and I have no idea how she feels about anything at this point because none of it seems to fit together. The thing that broke me was her insistence that she's "the least special person in the Temple." She knows she's not. She has to, right? We've been following her this whole time. We've seen her be blessed by MULTIPLE gods. She JUST finished an extremely difficult trial, and is apparently the youngest ever to do so. She's wearing armor literally made for her by Fenrir! I know that low self-esteem can make people utterly blind, but that doesn't fit her at all. She's way too arrogant and sassy for me to think that she has delusionally low self-esteem--not unless the author puts in the work to actually SHOW that about her instead of just bringing it up once a book.

And what's this about her wanting nothing more than to be a normal girl? She's done absolutely nothing to move towards that. Her goal is to free Titan, right? That's how I read it. That's what she's been moving towards. So what's all this about wanting to be normal? It's the same problem I had in the first book, where it's impossible to get a grasp on Kit because her thoughts and feelings seem random and disconnected. At least twice she thinks something is evil but pursues it anyway, because... I don't know. She won't tell us. We're not allowed in her head unless she's thinking something convenient to the plot.

Sometimes it felt like the author was going down a list of things that are supposed to happen in a YA book. This is where the protagonist expresses low self-esteem. This is where the protagonist says she wants to be a normal girl. This is where the protagonist blushes because her crush is too close. This is where everyone praises the protagonist for being special and awesome, even though it just makes her seem less special and awesome because the author feels the need to point it out. None of it really seems to fit into the story this series wants to be.

Though, to be fair, I'm also just losing interest in that story. All the pantheon stuff gets way too convoluted and way too distant from the lives of the people. I'd rather go back to ghost hunting and dealing with poachers. That gives us a better chance of connecting with the characters.

There's also some moments of strange mood-hopping. Characters will be cartoonishly screaming one moment and then perfectly calm the next. Just moments after mourning the loss of a bunch of people she just killed, Kit blushes because Indie is right next to her.

Actually, speaking of that, let's talk about Indie. He's not bad, he's just... boring. Normally I like ranger-style characters, but he only really seems to exist to be Kit's love interest. He has just enough personality to banter with and compliment her, but no more than that. He's good at ranger stuff, and he likes the idea of learning how to fight vampires. That's about it. He doesn't even seem affected by the fact that his entire family was slaughtered last book. Frankly, any of Kit's friends would be more interesting traveling companions, as we saw this book with Danny.

I love Danny. Danny's great. He has a lot of personality, and he adds life to the page. His phoenix stuff is one of the most interesting parts of the whole book. The fact that he's berrat gives him a sweet connection with Kit. My only fear is that he's being set up as the third point in a love triangle, which seems like a really easy way to assassinate his character.

The book isn't awful. I did enjoy some stuff, like, as I said, Danny. But the charm of the first one couldn't make up for the problems I had with this one. The only reason I'm not giving it a two stars is that I'm curious enough to keep going. I just hope that the next book improves.

EDIT: I DNFed the third book so I guess I'm changing my rating to two stars.