Author: Farah Oomerbhoy
Genre: Fantasy
Age Range: 13+
Published: By Wise Ink Creative Publishing on August 15th, 2015
Content Warning: Cruel stepparents, bullying and violence
Format I Read: E-book
Grade: Poor
Note: I received a free digital copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
16-year-old Aurora Darlington is an orphan. Mistreated by her adopted family and bullied at school, she dreams of running away and being free. But when she is kidnapped and dragged through a portal into a magical world, suddenly her old life doesn’t seem so bad.
Avalonia is a dangerous land ruled by powerful mages and a cruel, selfish queen who will do anything to control all seven kingdoms — including killing anyone who stands in her way. Thrust headlong into this new, magical world, Aurora’s arrival sets plans in motion that threaten to destroy all she holds dear.
With the help of a young fae, a magical pegasus, and a handsome mage, Aurora journeys across Avalonia to learn the truth about her past and unleash the power within herself. Kingdoms collide as a complicated web of political intrigue and ancient magic lead Aurora to unravel a shocking secret that will change her life forever.
The blurb promised an exciting new fantasy for me to love and I had high expectations for this book.
As an avid reader of fantasy, I’ve seen my fair share of tropes – some done exceptionally and some that have fallen flat for me. This book seemed to accumulate all my pet peeves into one, which made it a very challenging read for me. The plot kicks off as Aurora, a typical unpopular orphaned teenage girl in the modern world, gets the shock of her life when she mysteriously enters a magical world while on a holiday with her dreadful family. I found that I couldn’t dredge up any sympathy towards her plight throughout the entire story. Her character is as bland as unseasoned food and she has no redeemable or interesting qualities other than the fact that she is an average nice person.
What surprised me was how often her stupidity and unfamiliarity with the world became the chief source of conflict to keep the plot moving. Any and all troubles that befall her are conveniently resolved with the help of a mysterious powerful mage, Rafe. There was nothing remarkable about his character either. The rest of the supporting cast was as forgettable as the book itself.
The plot would be non-existent if Aurora stopped making idiotic decisions. The central conflict barely comes into play and I was so tired by the time I reached the climax that I couldn’t care less if the protagonist survived. The villain was also the typical tyrannical baddie with no concrete motivations. The world-building didn’t hold my attention either because it had the classic Medieval Europe setting with a dash of fae creatures and did nothing different. There was no hint of diversity that I could find but after a point, I was just turning the pages, so don’t quote me on that. There is a bit of a magical school setting but it also fell flat for me. To sum up, I wish I hadn’t read this book as it turned out to be a big waste of my time and will not be continuing with the series.
If you are new to fantasy, you might end up liking this one but I can’t find a single reason to recommend it. I don’t have any food or music recommendations as I don’t think they will enhance the reading experience of this book.
Book: Amazon (US) | Book Depository | Goodreads
Author: Website | Twitter | Goodreads
What tropes do you think are overdone in the genre you love? Do you have a palate cleanser book recommendation for me? What do you think of the tweaks to the blog graphics? Let’s discuss in the comments section below.
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Awww bummer. I loved the cover but after hearing your review, I don’t think I’d like it much either. I feel like an overly done trope is the “normal girl” who finds out that she’s “not normal”.
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Yes! I think it lacked in originality. I’m okay with that if at least the world-building or even plot did something unexpected. But this is just filled with clichés and I just couldn’t. 🙈
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Tropes can be done well if they are given a twist, but this one seems like it’s just a cut and paste of every (white) fantasy ever. I’ll definitely be giving it a miss. Thank you!
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Yeah, that’s what frustrated me. It was like a mashup of all the popular fantasy tropes but not done well. I’m glad you’re not subjecting yourself to this. 🙈
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Like you, I too am an avid fantasy reader. I noted several tropes in the summary of this one right from the get go😂 I don’t have strong feelings against these tropes. I dislike the ‘insta love’ trope very much but apart from that, I don’t really mind the use of tropes as long as it’s done innovatively and originally. I am sorry this turned out to be meh. Hoping that your next read turns out to be stupendous!
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Same! I usually don’t mind tropes at all if done well but this brought nothing new to the table. As a Ravenclaw, stupid protagonists get on my nerves because they are deliberately so for plot purposes even though they’re described as smart in the book itself.
I read this last year actually. 😅 I’m just really late in posting this review as it was a negative one. 🙈 I think I like the nuances in OwnVoices diverse fantasies much more. Even if I don’t like the plot/characters, the non-White centric world-building is usually fresh enough for me to enjoy. I’ve read some amazing fantasy books since then, especially Asian inspired ones. 😍 I’m hoping the streak continues!
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Aww, I’m sorry you didn’t like it. Really liked your review a lot.
I think the over-done tropes are all the love-triangle tropes, the damsel in distress tropes, the doesn’t-think-she’s-pretty tropes. (Tries to think if I’ve written into these tropes). Hooboy.
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Thank you, Ahana! 💖 As an avid reader of the genre, this one was just too clichéd for me. 😔 Yup, even I can’t stand love triangles, especially where the girl can’t choose between 2 equally handsome boys. Ugh, so tired of it. At least adding a gay element would give it some freshness!
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Agreed!! ❤️ Ugh stuck between two handsome men trope. Ugh.
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