Blurb:

Eighteen-year-old Rylla Wayscot has always wanted to fly, but being human has its limitations. As a cartographer’s daughter in the Earthen-Crest kingdoms' boot of Aylati, Rylla wants more than anything to know the whereabouts of her brothers, even if it means finding them herself. But there’s one problem: she’s afraid to venture too far from home.

After a short walk to the Grove and stumbling into a talking cat, she realizes she may have no other choice. There she is told she’s an Earth-Treader—one who can bend the will of nature and speak to animals, and she’s reminded of the Earth-Lore—the five missing stones which once held their kingdoms together. But with a growing Darkness lurking on the horizon, the missing stones are being sought by many. Rylla is tasked with finding them herself, especially before the cruel Lord Brennigan does.

Despite all her protestations, Rylla can’t escape her fate. She must embark on this impossible journey and leave all her comforts behind. But she’s not alone. Even with fear and doubt as her armor, Rylla meets strangers who challenge her resolve, and she learns that even in the shadows love and light can thrive. Perhaps it’s even enough to give her wings.

Review:

“Darkness can only hide for so long. Truth is revealed in light.”

Where to begin with this book? I really enjoyed it at the start, and zipped through over half the book in one sitting. It captured me as a sort of Snow White and the Huntsman style book, where the heroine is chased, with a super soft romance budding from it. But it’s more than just that. It also has a bit of a Tolkien meets Thanos plot, in the sense that Rylla, our heroine, has to find and collect valuable stones while also fighting off fantastical forces and beasts of epic proportions. Combined with a cozy, familiar feeling, I believe this a great fantasy for young readers.

Characters

There are multiple characters that are prominent throughout the book but I’ll start with our heroine:

Rylla is a young girl who is imbued with new powers called “Earth-Treading” which allow her to connect with the power of various earth stones. She’s new to it all, and winging it as she goes. Along with being able to tap into this power, she can speak to animals, and has a companion who follows her on her trip across the lands – Moo, a cat. She has a lot on her small shoulders but presents a strong sense of purpose, even if at first she is hesitant to accept her fate. She leaves her family to complete her quest not knowing that along the way, more surprises than not await her.

Caz, one of our huntsmen – yes I said one of many people are after Rylla because Earth-Treaders are being tracked and captured by the antagonist, but we will get there shortly – help Rylla when he probably shouldn’t. He is conscripted in the king’s army, but is a deserter. When he finds Rylla running for her life in the woods, instead of taking her hostage, he aids her and continues to follow her even after she abandons him from fear. Their bond blossoms towards the end of the book, and is a very clean, true-to-its-demographic YA connection. I can appreciate this aspect.

The antagonist, Brennigan, sets the entire book on course in the prologue, something I’m not a personal fan of, but without it, the book really wouldn’t have much of a starting point. He is overpowered, losing his precious and powerful stone and cast out like Voldemort, incorporealizing in defeat. But, much like old Voldy, he has a loyal compatriot who is helping him regain power and find all the lost earth stones (the very same ones Rylla has been tasked with collecting and protecting.) 

All-in-all, I think the main set of characters set a good foundation, but I did find some of the twists and turns relating to them a bit predictable and at times oddly incorporated. In an effort to keep this as spoiler-free as possible, I will leave it at that. I think the overall development of the characters could have been fleshed out a little more.

Atmosphere

The overall world-building is one of those where you have to just immediately accept that things are happening and they just…are. We are thrust into the Earth-Crest Kingdoms with little to no backstory other than that told by a cat and a cartographer and a prologue. This is one of the fantasies where it is definitely more character-driven than plot-driven, in my opinion. Had it been described more in depth, I may have connected to the story far more, but it didn’t make it undesirable. Just one of those cases where you are set down in the middle of a place and have to adapt your thinking to what’s given to you. Combined with the feeling of a retelling, it’s not wholly unfamiliar, but the uniqueness of the story could have been set apart with a little more fleshing out. However, with that said, it’s a great story for a younger reading base. It’s enough detail to keep a reader captivated but also still feel like they can follow the story. 

Writing Style

Again, a very easy to read novel overall. Zavalianos has a simple way of writing that allows for anyone to pick up her book and enjoy it. I certainly did, all things considered. 

Plot

While the plot didn’t necessarily drive the story, it was well-paced and there are several scenes that had me on my toes. Rylla has to contend with many forces all while being totally untrained in her new gifts. Along the way she has to escape forest spirits, a twisted old cave-dweller who basically holds her hostage, a giant sea serpent, and of course the half-there and disgraced Brennigan. Rylla has forces coming at her from all sides, and the only people she can truly trust are her animal companion. Even those she thought she could trust get twisted by the wills of the magic stones at some point. It’s hard for her to navigate a world she thought was simple, but is in reality a very dangerous place, testing her resolve at every turn. I did believe there were some plot holes from the lesser world-building that could have made this story feel fuller, but all in all, the story moved forward and resolved in a satisfying way. 

Intrigue

You’re probably thinking: wow what made you keep reading? Well, I was really rooting for Rylla the entire time. She was thrown into this mess by no doing of her own, and she is young, unseasoned, and unprepared for the broad world around her. All in all, it really is a cozy fantasy page-turner. And the faster-paced scenes did keep me on my toes (especially the giant sea snake.) 

Logic

I don’t want to sound like a broken record, so I’ll just leave it at: I wish there was more substance to the world-building and some plot points were confusing and predictable in their simplicity. 

Excitement

Truth be told – even through all of that –  I would still absolutely recommend this as it does stand on its own as a good read, especially to a younger audience looking for a clean fantasy with a super soft romance. A lot of fantasies thrust you into their world, and this shouldn’t be discounted by any means.