4.5 out of 5 stars.

The Doorway and the Deep is the second installment in The Water and the Wild series by K.E. Ormsbee. It’s a fantastic sequel to The Water and the Wild and even ends on a cliff-hanger to leave you wanting for more! I really enjoyed it!

Purchase Links: Amazon – B&N – Kobo

Brief Synopsis

Lottie and Eliot are back in Limn with their friends. They plan to head home to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with Eliot’s father, but events happen and circumstances change. War is coming to Limn and this turn of events send Lottie and her friends north in search of answers, both about things that are happening in the land and about Lottie’s parents. However, peril is never far behind them and may even be dealt by ones they trust!

Review

As we return to the land of Limn, we find that Lottie, Eliot, Adelaide, Oliver, their father, and Fife residing in the land of the will-o-wisps. The land of the will-o-wisps is such a fabulous, imaginative place! It’s one of my favorite locales in Limn. I want to sleep in the trees and explore the area and its beauty right along with the children! Similarly, I’d love to visit the Northerly Court area and explore the caves and passageways.

The characters in these books are just wonderful. They’re complex and well-rounded and yet, there’s a simplicity to them that is also refreshing. Maybe it’s that Ms. Ormsbee did so well in conveying the children’s point of view. I don’t know. It simply feels very authentic.

The adventures that we find in this book’s journeys kept me on the edge of my seat a lot of the time! In fact, I finished this book in just one night because I was riveted to the story and just didn’t want to put it down. It was MUCH better than the first installment of the series and seemed shorter (even though it wasn’t really) because it never seemed to bog down or get tedious.

This book ends on quite the cliff-hanger, so I’m really excited for the third book to be published. Unfortunately, the author’s website does not indicate when that will be. I hope it’s not too far away!

** I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley. I was not compensated for my review. All opinions and conclusions expressed are my own. **

About the Author

K.E. Ormsbee lives in Lexington, Kentucky. She grew up with a secret garden in her backyard and a spaceship in her basement. In her wild, early years, she taught English as a Foreign Language, interned with a film society, and did a lot of irresponsible road tripping. Nowadays, she teaches piano lessons, plays in a band you’ve never heard of, and run races she never wins. She likes clothes from the 60s, music from the 70s, and movies from the 80s. She is from the 90s.

Source: K.E. Ormsbee’s Author page on Amazon and the “About the Author” blurb on Amazon’s page for The Doorway and the Deep.