Why did I start reading it?
I'd been following the author on twitter for a while and because I liked the look of this book.
What is it?
A girl is kidnapped in the night and taken to another world? No, the secret continent of Atlantis. A place of magic and knights and she's to be it's Queen!
What are the characters like?
For the most part they are all very prim and proper, and maybe a little boring. They shine the most in their conversation. The best thing about it is the author is very good naturally showing the level of trust and familiarity between two characters in a casual conversation. It's so easy to tell just from one conversation how much history two characters have.
Anyone particularly cool?
My fave character was Temaius Erumi. She's a mage bounty hunter who is a refreshing bit of crazy and fun against the rest of the cast that are for the most part pretty serious.
What's the bad news?
I was a bit disappointed to find the book wasn't really my cup of tea. I prefer my books a bit more fast paced but this one was pretty slow. It felt bogged down with over description. Character descriptions varied from the basics to every single detail about their outfit and there were times a scene was teaching me about the world but I was just wanting it to get on with the plot. I don't think this was bad writing though, just not a style I personally enjoy reading which is a shame.
Thought, it also lacked a climax. Through the book there were some scenes from bandits and rebels and another character near the end who seemed like some kind of wolf boy that just didn't come to anything. I get that it is leading to the next books but I was looking forward a bit of an action climax for this book only for it to stop just as some of these elements were about to cross paths.
And the good news?
The good news is the reason I feel bad about being harsh on this book. Even though it didn't quite grab me I could see all the love, research and effort that went into this world. There is some real soul to this book. Even before reading the authors note at the end the hard work researching and mapping out every detail is clear. You can tell the author has an amazingly clear vision for everyone and everything in this book.
Our heroin was also a bright point of the book. I can't say I fell in love with her (mainly because I don't like being reminded of awkward teenage years) but I thought she was very well put together. A very relatable view on an insecure teenager doing her damnist to at least seem tough but every little thing gets to her. She a flawed character that had great development potential as the series goes on.
Would you recommend?
Personally, I don't think I'm going to pick up the second book but I would recommend this book to younger girls who may relate more to the main character and people who are interested in incredibly detailed fantasy worlds.
If you think you'll enjoy this book you can grab you own copy:
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Want more Fantasy Light Novels with interesting worlds? Check out Beyond The Dome. Here's my review.