Yay! There's another book birthday to shout-out. This week has been full of them, hasn't it?
Today's read was released on Tuesday (totally in birthday territory, btw) and caught my attention due to the cover. I love the swirly blue with the sharp black silhouette in the forefront. Then, I read the blurb. That sealed the deal for me because it sounds like a grabbing read with just the right amount of tension and intrigue.
Let's see how it goes, shall we?
KEEP OF THE LIGHT
Daughter of Destiny
by Keira F. Jacobs
Oliver Heber Books
YA Fantasy
327 pages
Young Adult Fantasy author Keira F. Jacobs delivers a beautifully crafted and richly magical tale, featuring dark forces, god-like beings, and mysterious strangers.
Naomi Smyth isn’t who she says she is.
Alone in the city of Le’Gar, Naomi lives under the false name her father gave her before she fled her childhood home eleven years ago to escape sinister forces. Trusting his command though unsure of the reasons, she continues to hide her identity.
Then one night the King sends his Riders to capture anyone bearing the surname of a certain Naomi’s bloodline. Warned by the enchanted gargoyles who protect the city, she must once again flee.
On the run, Naomi finds herself in the presence of three a self-loathing Magnificent, a golden witch, and a treasonist. Each stranger holds a clue to one of the hidden truths about her bloodline, truths that could end the centuries-old war happening both in her world and the Outer Void, where god-like beings reside.
As her world slowly falls into the hands of the very forces she fled as a child, and her people on the verge of becoming slaves to the darkness, Naomi must embrace the power within her.
Will she dare to emerge?
Naomi Smyth isn’t who she says she is.
Alone in the city of Le’Gar, Naomi lives under the false name her father gave her before she fled her childhood home eleven years ago to escape sinister forces. Trusting his command though unsure of the reasons, she continues to hide her identity.
Then one night the King sends his Riders to capture anyone bearing the surname of a certain Naomi’s bloodline. Warned by the enchanted gargoyles who protect the city, she must once again flee.
On the run, Naomi finds herself in the presence of three a self-loathing Magnificent, a golden witch, and a treasonist. Each stranger holds a clue to one of the hidden truths about her bloodline, truths that could end the centuries-old war happening both in her world and the Outer Void, where god-like beings reside.
As her world slowly falls into the hands of the very forces she fled as a child, and her people on the verge of becoming slaves to the darkness, Naomi must embrace the power within her.
Will she dare to emerge?
MY TIDBITS
Action, intrigue, magic, and romance mix together in a dangerous world with a girl on the run.
Naomi Smyth only survived the destruction of her town because her parents placed her on a ship and made her swear she'd all but forget her original surname. After growing up in an orphanage on the other side of the sea, she leads a simple life in the attic of a library. When a gargoyle from a nearby building sacrifices its life to warn her to flee, she's confused but obeys. Lost and alone, her adventures have her meeting several, odd companions, who seem to know many of the secrets surrounding her bloodline and the evil, which is determined to takeover their world. One thing grows clear, she's the only one who can save everyone...if she can survive long enough to figure out how.
This is a solid, young adult read with action, danger, and a growing romance to sweeten the darker moments. The first pages draw in as the reader meets little Naomi as she flees to the ship and knows she'll never see her parents again. Then, it fast forwards to her life after leaving the orphanage and gives the reader a short time to settle into her current situation. Thanks to multiple POVs, the danger, intrigue, and complexity of the true intrigue and danger rising around her (she's pretty much oblivious, obviously) comes to light. So, the reader knows more than she does, and this works very well as far as the tension and such go. It makes it easy to fever for her and realize how much she's up against, and how narrowly she escapes terrible fates.
There are many action scenes and moments that hold the reader at the edge of their seats. This is especially true in the first section of the read. As the tale goes on, the pacing is a little bit more sporadic, at times, although there is plenty of tension playing in along the way, too. The slower moments, I think, are due to POV switches and character dialogues, which seem to try to keep the reader clear on intentions and background information—sometimes a bit repetitive (but not too much, either) and teeter toward unnatural, at times. But this doesn't hurt the adventure, either. It, along with some of the characters' reactions to situations, simply keeps this read feeling as if it's for the slightly younger end of the YA...actually, refreshing.
Fantasy fans are going to enjoy sinking into this one. Not only are there witches, magic, mysterious and powerful entities (the evil taking over the world), but there are mystical creatures as well. The gargoyles were one of the more intriguing characters...but their explanation and existence was shoved to the side as the story progressed. This is a series, however, so I'm hoping we'll see more about them in the future. This lack of some depth on the world building end (only a little) could easily be picked up in the upcoming books, and I'm looking forward to having everything fleshed out.
The romance...because this is a YA and seems to be important for this group...isn't an insta-love but doesn't take extremely long to get going, either. The main plot still stays in the spotlight, but then, she does have a lot on her plate.
It's a grabbing read, which does a nice job at setting the stage for the series. I'm looking forward to see what comes next.
No comments:
Post a Comment