Tag: Adventure

The Doorway and the Deep – REVIEW

Valerie @ Valerie's MusingsLeave a comment

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!

The Doorway and the Deep by K.E. Ormsbee cover - young girl with long blond hair in a sailboat. Her hair is blown back from the wind.

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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!

Line of rope with metal anchor tied to right end
© Graphic Garden

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. **

Line of rope with metal anchor attached to left end
© Graphic Garden

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.

Photo of K.E. Ormsbee - young adult woman with red wavy hair, no glasses, wearing a grey sweater

The Water and the Wild – REVIEW

Valerie @ Valerie's MusingsLeave a comment

3.5 out of 5 stars.

The Water and the Wild by K.E. Ormsbee is the first book in “The Water and the Wild” series. It’s a delightful beginning to the series.

The Water and the Wild by K.E. Ormsbee book cover - Medium to large tree with large opening in trunk filled with bright light. Young girl with long blond hair and a periwinkle coat is standing poised to step into the opening.

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Brief Synopsis

A green apple tree grows in the heart of Thirsby Square, and tangled up in its magical roots is the story of Lottie Fiske. For as long as Lottie can remember, the only people who seem to care about her are her best friend, Eliot, and the mysterious letter writer who sends her birthday gifts. But now strange things are happening on the island Lottie calls home, and Eliot’s getting sicker, with a disease the doctors have given up trying to cure. Lottie is helpless, useless, powerless—until a door opens in the apple tree. Follow Lottie down through the roots to another world in pursuit of the impossible: a cure for the incurable, a use for the useless, and protection against the pain of loss.

Line of red delicious apples with stems and leaves
©Graphic Garden

Review

The beginning of this book was awesome. I loved hearing about Lottie and Eliot’s background and friendship. I loved hearing about the man who wrote Lottie letters/sent her gifts each year on her birthday. It was exciting, bright, and fun!

When we first got to Limn, I was still thoroughly enjoying this book. I found Adelaide annoying, but I could see her point of view as well as Lottie’s, so I tried to allow her a little extra compassion. After all, it’s her father that’s in danger. The fact that the guard burned the house and the mob turned on the family so quickly was saddening, but the beginning of the journey was filled with adventure and intrigue.

I also loved the descriptions that Ms. Ormsbee provided us about the land of Limn and it’s various regions. I could vividly see the world she has created and yet, there was still enough left to my imagination that I didn’t feel overtaxed with detail.

However, the further the children traveled in their journey, the more tedious the book seemed to me. The journey was just too long. Having read the second book as well, I realize now that a lot of what the children encounter in the journey will serve them in the future. Even still, it bogged down the story line of this book to the point where I actually skipped ahead a little because I was getting too bored.

Outside of that, it was a delightful book. It’s a very solid, good beginning to the series and I look forward to reading more from this author!

Line of red delicious apples with stems and leaves
©Graphic Garden

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.

Photo of K.E. Ormsbee - young adult woman with red wavy hair, no glasses, wearing a grey sweater

Author’s website: K.E. Ormsbee

Memory’s Wake – REVIEW

Valerie @ Valerie's Musings1 Comment

5 out of 5 stars.

Memory's Wake book cover - Memory with black hair that has pink tips, dressed in her broken heart tshirt - Silhouette of a dragon in the background

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Synopsis

Lost in a world full of monstrous fairies, a troubled sixteen year old has to find out who she is and why her memories were stolen before she is found by those who want her dead.

She takes the name “Memory” and knows she has just one goal – to find her way home, wherever that is. But this land is strange. No technology to be seen, and iron is banned, thanks to a pact the humans have with the magical creatures who share their pre-industrial era world. In her t-shirt and torn jeans, Memory knows she’s different, even before she performs impossible magic.

Haunted by her past, chased by a dragon, wanted by the king and stalked by the strange, handsome savage that seems to know her, everyone is after Memory, and she suspects it’s not just for her eye-catching outfit. Her forgotten past holds dangerous secrets that will challenge everything she believes and risk the lives of everyone she loves.

Memory’s Wake contains over 45 illustrations by the author and artist.

©Graphic Garden
©Graphic Garden

Review

Memory’s Wake by Selina Fenech is not only the first book in a trilogy but it’s also Ms. Fenech’s first published book. She is a successful fantasy artist in Australia and now has several other books under her belt, including the rest of Memory’s trilogy.

I was already excited about this book coming out as Ms. Fenech is my favorite fantasy artist and I had learned about it through her newsletter. I was not disappointed at all! This is a wonderful debut novel for teens and young adults.

The book starts out on a high energy adventure and it never really slows down. The world that has been created in this trilogy is full of magic and wonder and yet is still believable. The characters are refreshingly real. They’re not perfect and yet they’re not completely bad either. Memory, Eloryn, & Roen are teens and behave as teens have for centuries. They’re thrust into a situation in which they’ve never been in before and they don’t know how to handle it. On top of the fact that they’re still learning who they are and what their purpose in life is. They don’t make the right decisions all the time. They get angry with one another and wish they could be somewhere else, but in the end, it works out.

The villains are just as realistic as the main characters and can be frightening and yet still very believable. We can see how the villain became the man he is.  Then, there are the marvelous illustrations. They really add to the story line, both the full-page illustrations and the smaller, more whimsical doodles that precede each chapter.

I look forward to seeing what happens to all of these characters in the next two installments of the trilogy.

Reviewers Note: This was written in 2011 when Memory’s Wake was first published. Since then the other two books in the trilogy, Hope’s Reign and Providence Unveiled have been released and are just as great.