I like The Raie'Chaelia. 
 ***** 
 INTERESTING. 
 For the life of me I could not categorize Raie'Chaelia (pronounced rye-kale-ya) in just one genre. At first, I thought it was fantasy with a touch of paranormal. Then further reading made me think of dystopian that bordered on sci-fi. Nonetheless, it is an engaging read once I got past those too-long chapters and too-descriptive paragraphs that rob me of concentration most of the time. 
 I think I'll settle that this is a fantasy read, given that Douthit painted a rather imaginable world that's easy to love. Most of the writing style is narrative. So when I felt like I don't know what's going on, Chalice or Jeremiah or Ben launch into a retelling of the New World, the First Time, the Ice Age. I liked how that style formed the story and flowed from one adventure to another. 
 The Terravalian World was once ruled by a good and just king but now has been dominated by a very malicious, evil king. As the story opens, Chalice runs away from the home she's ever known to a quest that her grandfather insisted she takes. She knows nothing of her family's past and this made her journey more difficult. Little did she know that she just might be the one needed to return the true King on his rightful throne, and find out the truth about who she really is. 
 Chalice was raised and trained for fighting, and surviving whatever it is she has at hand. There are a few scenes that showed her as formidable fighter, but there's this one scene that she reminded me of Katsa from Graceling. The calm that overtakes Chalice before that fight against the Terravalians, and the precise calculation on how to take them down in such swift movements - it was incredible. i thought i was reading about Katsa's double! Overall, i like Chalice as the heroine who is ready to give everything she's got for her family, her friends - for justice. 
 Jeremiah is one sweet guy! But he knows that duty comes first before love and i admire him for that. He was not a weakling, though, for he is efficient in the art of archery. He is also inquisitive that tells he has a brilliant mind. In short, Jeremiah is quite the hero i expected, especially for Chalice. 
 Like i said, i thought The Raie'Chaelia is too long (to think this is the first of a trilogy) but i guess all fantasy books are like that. The main problem i have with The Raie'Chaelia is that there is too much information, too much sub-stories that made up the storyline. With all the coined terms that comes with every event, i found it rather difficult to track everything, from names to places to races. 
 Do you like gemstones that enhance your powers? How about an obsidian knife that cuts as sharply as a samurai? Perhaps you would like to live in a city underground where you open a room or light it by just willing them to open or light? If you say yes on these three counts, then by all means read The Raie'Chaelia. It could be quite the adventure you're looking for.