Reviewed: January 5th, 2022
Released: June 29th, 2021
Genre: New Adult Fantasy
When Kate’s dearest childhood friend returns to warn her of danger, she’s not happy to see him. After all, Cor isn’t really a monster-slaying master swordsman from another world.
He’s a hallucination. Kate spent years in a mental ward for believing otherwise.
Cor did his best to honor Kate’s wishes when she sent him away five years ago. Her own family abandoned her because they couldn’t see him the way she could and that just made her tempting, easy prey for Hunters from his world. Cor couldn’t leave her to die, not if he had the power to protect her, but he can’t protect her forever.
If Kate returns to his world and learns how to defend herself, he’ll walk out of her life forever, just like she wants. Cor’s world is wilder than Kate remembers and Cor is keeping secrets, but the more time they spend together, the more she sees in him the boy she used to love. It’s getting harder to imagine saying goodbye.
If Cor is real, so are the monsters. Kate lost everything the last time she believed him. Can she risk both of their lives to follow her heart?
Helen’s thoughts: 5/5
The more I read paranormal fantasy the more it amazes me how these talented authors come up with the ideas. The blending of what a person’s view of reality versus what the imagination can conjure was so cleverly done that in the end you believe in Coran’s world and that Kate could live and experience it and it’s not all in her head.
Ardis creates a world that is so different and yet complements the world we know to make it possible to slip betweeen the two. I love the contrast between the controlled expectations of Kuyen (where there are rules grounding behaviour yet it is not real) against the erratic and isolating real world which is less understanding and more destructive. Where one can only exist in the others world half of the time and slip away every dawn and dusk, like an ephermal dream.
Kate’s struggles with what is real and what she believes are hallucinations is heart breaking and her relationship with Coran is just heart warming. Together they are complete, apart they are both inundated with challenges they struggle to overcome.
Enjoyable story, lovable characters, great world building with a gentle romance and plenty of action. All blended with a gentle message about looking after and believing in yourself and your mental health. I want to read more about this amazing couple. I am so glad it is the first in a series.
About the author:
Dana Ardis grew up with a book in one hand and a pen in the other. She loves reading a wide range of genre fiction and non-fiction, but science fiction and fantasy remain closest to her heart. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and a Master’s in Library and Information Science, both of which contributed to her appreciation for a world wider and more wonderful than the everyday world we know. As an author, she loves creating her own worlds, cultures, and characters, and sharing them with you.
Available to purchase via Amazon
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If you enjoy fantasy books then you will love my books which are available in eBook or paperback: Book One: Sentinals Awaken. Book Two: Sentinals Rising. Book Three: Sentinals Justice. Book 3.5: Sentinals Recovery. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.
Helen Garraway 