Reviewed: April 16th, 2021
Release Date: November 10th, 2019
Genre: YA Paranormal Fantasy
17 year old Tory Harper wants nothing more than to fit in. Her relentless classmates made her school life hell, and so she adopted a loner lifestyle, investing her time in study and music. When a surprise promotion triggers a family relocation, a change of schools is in order, and exactly what she needs.
In fact, Tory’s relieved to be welcomed into a group of girls who all live together, and they quickly become the source of her newly found social life. On one of their outings Tory is introduced to the remainder of the housemates and is especially enraptured by Kylan, the ‘big brother’ with a troubled past of his own.
But, when a house party turns into a massacre and a familiar face reveals herself to be a vampire, Tory is plunged headfirst into a world of magic, mystery, and treacherous evils. No one is as they first appeared, sending Tory’s life into a spiral.
Sorceress of Truth is the debut novel for J.D Groom which is a lovely YA fantasy about seventeen-year-old Tory who has never fit in at school and struggles to make friends. A move to a new school as a result of her father changing jobs is a new opportunity to start again. She meets a new group of girls she seems to click with, and meets their older brother Kylan, who welcomes her into the friendship group.
All progresses well, until Tory and her friends go to a party that descends into chaos and results in a massacre. Tory’s new friends turn out to be not what she thought they were, and she has to go through a huge adjustment. Not so simple to believe in paranormal entities, but vampires and fairies are real, and Tory is living amongst them.
This is a well written fantasy story, with lovely characters that you fully engage with. Tory is a strong heroine, who is buffeted by experiences that would overwhelm a lesser character. The introduction of Lucas provides an interesting love triangle and adds a bit of spice into what could have been a predictable girl meets vampire story.
There are occasions where the story is handed to the reader on a plate, and Groom is telling us what’s happening instead of the characters experiencing it, but even so, this is a very enjoyable read from a debut author.
A nice touch is the interior design, and how the alternative POV chapters are illustrated differently. It’s nice to see internal illustrations in a fiction book, and the cover is gorgeous. I look forward to reading the second novel, Sorceress of Flames.
I was fortunate enough to receive a ARC and this is my honest review.
About the Author:
Jodie spent her early life living near to the cathedral city of Lichfield in the UK. After moving home several times, she came to settle in the valleys of West Yorkshire with her husband and daughter.
As well as writing, Jodie enjoys trying her hand at all kinds of crafts, loves to read (especially YA) and is a big fan of Formula 1.
Follow her on:
Instagram – @Jodie_at_home
Facebook – @authorjdgroom
Twitter – @JodieJD
Author website
You can purchase Sorceress of Truth here:
Link to book on Amazon UK: eBook | Paperback
Link to book on Amazon US: eBook | Paperback
Link book on Amazon Canada: eBook | Paperback
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If you enjoy fantasy books then you will love my book which is available in eBook or paperback: Sentinals Awaken. My second novel Sentinals Rising released March 17th 2021 and Book three is scheduled for release in the Autumn. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.
Helen Garraway 