About the Book:

When Tess commits a grievous error, siege befalls her land—a siege only Tess’s magic can end.

The week of her wedding, Lady Tessamine Canyon is jilted by her betrothed, Prince Linden. Left utterly humiliated, Tess betrays a tightly guarded secret to an enemy spy—a decision that throws the Dione of Glademont into chaos. Hunted by bloodthirsty mercenaries, Tess flees into the Hinge Forest. There, with the help of a wild owl and a two-hundred-year-old bear, Tess begins to unlock the forgotten mysteries of her people.

Deep in the woods, the spirit of a long-dead dryad awaits the next thane of a fierce weapon. To Tess’s amazement, it is she who is called to master the weapon’s power and save Glademont from an impending war.

When a surprising turn of events reunites Tess with Linden—the prince who called off their engagement—Tess must swallow her pride and join forces with him. But even if Tess can rescue her people, will that be enough to forgive her treason? Armed with a fiery magic, Tess is forced to make an impossible choice, one that might seal her fate as the next thane—but forever extinguish any chance at following her heart.

My Thoughts:

First, some things you should know.

This book was listed in the category of “Christian” when I received it for review, though Amazon hasn’t labeled it as such. It is a clean book, but it is definitely not Christian in theme. They pray to the stars and the magic/mythological elements of the story do not reflect the arc of the Biblical narrative. Like C.S. Lewis, I love how fantasy can take the reader “past watchful dragons,” but this story didn’t contain any hint of that element. That’s not to say that I didn’t like the book, just that it wasn’t, as advertised, a Christian book.

Second, this book was compared to Narnia. It was nothing like Narnia except for the talking animals. Narnia is absolutely dripping with Biblical truth and the narrative arc of the series grows entirely from a gospel framework. This story has none of that foundation. Again, that’s not to say that I didn’t like the book, but the comparison is completely misleading.

Now, I will say that though the book wasn’t what it was advertised to be, I did like the book for what it was. The book was clean and the characters grew to see beyond their own understandings and self-centeredness. There were elements of loyalty, honor and self-sacrifice. If your kids are reading it I think it would be well worth having a conversation about the difference between the gospel and the world view of this novel, but as far as a good story goes I think this one is well written and engaging. I expect I’ll read the rest of the series when it comes out and see where the author takes it.

I received a free digital galley of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.