...Bookfanatic

As the son of the French Ambassador to the US one would think Isidore probably leads a charmed life...one would be wrong. If life is a fairytale than Isidore is Cinderella x 10. No one and I do mean NO ONE!!! Much less a child should have endured the things that Isidore endured. But sadly as we all know that is not the way of the world and even though Isidore's life seemed to be so damned over the top the reality is there are people out there in this world right now who would consider his life to be the norm. They would find the concept of anything else to be so beyond comprehension. Let's face it we all know the truth is fact IS stranger than fiction.

'Slaying Isidore's Dragons' was not an easy task because...well...there were just so damned many of them. For the most part I really enjoyed this book, I lost a bit of patience with Declan at about the 75% mark but that's ok because it was mainly due to the fact that he's an 18 year old and I'm 50+, our perspectives are different, thank heavens because hey, if I had the same outlook as an 18 year old...honestly, I'd be worried.

This is not a hearts and flowers, fluffy story. It's dark and it looks into the ugly side of human nature. Saying that Isidore is abused is the grossest of understatements. 

This book was recommended to me a while ago by the lovely Annalund (for a really awesome review of this book go here...

http://annalund2011.booklikes.com/post/1139220/arc-review-slaying-isidore-s-dragons-by-c-kennedy

I loved the characters in this book they had depth and personality. I know at times that Isidore may have seemed weak but honestly, I don't think a lot of people can truly understand what this young man has endured in his life. Hell on earth doesn't even begin to explain it. To me the fact that he was still alive, struggling to have a life to find a way to continue existing was simply f*ing amazing. It spoke to the strength and courage that is the human spirit. Isidore didn't see himself as brave and if he did I would have found that a bit hard to swallow given his circumstances. This is a young man whose entire existence from start to finish was comprised of abuse and more abuse and yes even more abuse and suddenly out of nowhere he is presented with a knight in shining armour who wants to protect him and cherish him. He's never had this before and if someone has their way he won't have it long enough to truly enjoy and appreciate what it means.

Declan is the son of the Irish Ambassador to the US and he's back in the US after a year away and when Isidore walks into his home room and sits down beside him on the first day of school he knows that this slight and seemingly fragile young man is someone he wants to spend more time with and someone who needs him.

Along with Isidore and Declan there are a wealth of secondary and minor characters that fill out this story helping to bring it to life. Declan's mother is amazing. Sorcha is the type of person everyone needs in their life. She understands unconditional love and gives it unstintingly not only to Declan, but to Isidore and Chase, when both young men have need of it and once she claims you as hers you become a child of her heart and like a mother lioness she will fight using all the resources she has at her disposal to protect you. Sadly for all of the amazingness that is Sorcha at the other end of the spectrum is Isidore's father and his brothers.

'Slaying Isidore's Dragons' was not just a story about young love, it was about surviving the worst of what life can throw at you and never giving up.  It's a story about how the beauty of the human spirit can overcome the ugliest acts that the body is forced to endure. It was a story about faith and finding the family that you should have been given and ultimately it's about never, ever losing hope.