Blurb:
She’s trapped on another world. With a strange voice in her head. What will it take to get back to Earth?
Lauren Strauss wanted a normal life, but fate had another idea in mind. Plagued by bizarre dreams and questions about her family’s past, Lauren hopes the day of her college graduation will lead to her getting answers…
When she’s caught up in a violent attack that rocks downtown Chicago, her mother arms her with a mysterious amulet which she will soon realize has a mind of its own. Tearing her from Earth and dropping her in an alien place, it abandons Lauren and leaves her to navigate this new world by herself.
She will do anything to return home. But can she?
Review:
Lauren was on track to become a nurse, her life seemingly ordinary. On the date of her college graduation ceremony, her life took an unexpected turn when an attack on her city occurred. Her mother, whose past she never fully understood, leaves a strange amulet with Lauren, then leaves her to tend her injured boyfriend in order to confront the attackers. Despite her mother’s warning to stay behind, Lauren follows her and witnesses her mother using water as both a weapon and a defensive shield.
When one of the attackers grabs Lauren, the amulet does the impossible—it transports her to another world. Once there, she must learn the customs and language of the people there, while she is forced to grapple with her own burgeoning power. If she doesn’t learn to control her ability, it will drive her to insanity.
I loved the worldbuilding in this book. While the very early parts were set in our world and modern times, the world of Bhrea was in stark contrast to that. Bhrea has a medieval feel, complete with castles, weaponry from that era, and an interesting variety of “magic.” It isn’t referred to as magic in the book, but some people have unique elemental abilities, Lauren amongst them.
The author not only took the time to develop the world, its politics, and its people, but also a significant portion of an entirely different language. I’m always impressed when authors add an element of brand-new linguistics into their worlds, and this one was very in depth.
And although this book was long (in terms of page count), it was written in a way that kept moving the story forward. It felt fast-paced and I went through it quickly. The writing is straightforward and very easy to follow.
I enjoyed the story – in particular the climax. The action sequences during that portion of the book are very well done, and set up a number of possibilities for book two.
Overall, a great debut novel and first in series.
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