An EVVY award-winning epic fantasy adventure. When Marrington Castle is overtaken by a dark and ancient evil, Abigail Cross finds herself in the precarious situation of protecting Queen Rebekah. Charged with a quest to summon the Avant Champion, can she save the kingdom or doom everyone to everlasting devastation?
As the carriage began to roll, I listened to the rhythmic click of horse hooves against the cobblestone. Since the Queen and I were seated facing the rear, I watched the grand pavilion, with its shimmering lights, fade into the distance. It would be a 500-meter ride from the ballroom to the Queen’s quarters, and what a beautiful scene through the decorated grounds lit with streams of dancing lights that cast colored shadows from the arching trees above the path. I couldn’t help but lean just a little out the window to take in the beauty of it all.
In the distance, I could see my brother’s carriage and imagined that Paul was wondering as much as I what I was doing in the Queen’s carriage.
I looked around at the courtyard. It was vast and elegant and surrounded on all sides by the castle’s enormous buildings. The real beauty of the castle belonged to its grounds, or inner ward, though I may have had that perception because of my preference to being outdoors. The northeast corner of the courtyard was an open dining facility surrounded by immaculately groomed bushes sitting atop lush trimmed grass.
The northwest corner contained awe-inspiring statues were housed the Queen, the court and the ministers, as well as all of their meeting halls and business rooms, ornately furnished with dark mahogany wood and regal draperies. There were figurines and expansive collections of artifacts from centuries of diplomatic excursions across the world. I knew them intimately, since I dusted them weekly.
With a sudden chill, the light from the lanterns all abruptly extinguished and the line of carriages came to a halt. I heard the horses neigh with unease. My eyes adjusted to the moonlit darkness, and I could see Paul’s carriage once again in the distance around the bend, just at the last gate leaving the pavilion. It was black under the light of the moon, looking more like a box cage than a carriage.
Shadows came to life as tall, lanky, dark figures appeared on either side of Paul’s carriage. Their general form was similar to human, with two arms and two legs, but their body and limbs were thinner, and they appeared taller than any man I had ever seen. My stomach lurched in alarm. Whatever they were, their stealth and demeanor conveyed the danger of a predator.
Long arms stretched and opened the doors on both sides of Paul’s carriage, and silently and swiftly, the passengers were lifted out and swallowed whole. The horrible figures vanished into the dark shadows as quickly as they had appeared.
I shook once, not believing my own eyes, but too frightened to scream. My heart was pounding with spasms threatening to spread to the rest of my body at any moment.
I turned to the only other person who sat in a position to see what I had seen. The Queen shot me a look of caution, shutting my mouth before I could speak. She had seen, I knew, and if it were possible, her pale face seemed even whiter. Although her eyes were not as wide as mine, her pupils had dilated, the way I had seen an untamed filly’s eyes when cornered by a would-be rider. Yet, she kept her composure.
Review
It’s becoming more and more rare to find adult fantasy books that aren’t just darkness piled on darkness. In that regard, this book shines as an example of good characters with pure goals who are just looking to keep the world a good place to be. Abigail, our leading lady, is to be admired for her persistence and her unwavering desire to do the right thing, no matter how tough.
That said, I found there to be some inconsistencies in Abigail’s character and thought processes. For example, toward the beginning of the story, Abigail is thrust into accompanying the queen while they flee from the kingdom. They are traveling incognito, and Abigail is finding it difficult to remember not to bow or follow every response with the queen’s title. This is understandable and just good thinking. However, a bit later when we meet Joshua (Abigail’s love interest), Abigail is shocked when she learns Joshua’s known who the queen is all along and that he’s been purposefully not treating her like royalty. There were a few little things like this—things that just didn’t quite make sense. After a while, I did find them a bit distracting.
This book’s world fascinated me. I love fantasy books with royalty and political intrigue. I also love fantasy books with schools. Those things were combined here, which was really neat. I wanted to get more into the world and the various studies at Abigail’s college. Her field is science, which made me curious. If it was explained, I missed it, but what kind of science? Do science and magic live harmoniously everywhere? Are the two ever crossed? In particular, there was one character with multiple identities who almost served as a meeting point for the two, and I wanted an entire book about this person.
There were some interesting magic systems in here, too. Spirituality is addressed, as are mythical creatures. Unfortunately, some of the magic fell a bit short for me. The Swallowers, for example, seemed like a terrible threat, but the best description I got of what they did was “they swallowed him whole.” What did this look like? Did the Swallowers literally eat people, absorb them, something else? The other thing that fell flat for me was the romance. It seemed to happen too fast. Joshua says at one point that he’s loved Abigail for a while, but even with that, the relationship just didn’t feel genuine. Abigail just fell in love too quickly for me to process.
To me, this book straddled the line between YA and adult fantasy. Abigail is a bit too old for the YA demographic, but she faces a lot of YA challenges—first love, finding her place, dealing with the loss of her family and trying to grow. I think this would be a great transition novel for young adult or late teen readers.
Christina is a writer, mother, and pet lover.
“I write seeking to create riveting action and intrigue with female heroines. I love the quote, ‘She needed a hero. So she became one.’ My novels have empowered women overcoming powerful obstacles and the strong men who support them.”
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All the opinions expressed in this review are my own. Read the full disclosure here.