Sunday, March 3, 2013

Renhala by Amy Joy Lutchen


Genre:  Adult Fantasy

Description (taken from Goodreads):
Kailey Rooke, timid accountant, dedicated to philanthropic work, finds herself spiraling into a deep depression after she suffers a horrifyingly odd and humiliating assault, to only discover more of these freakish assaults occurring across the globe.

A chance discovery leads Kailey to a meeting with elderly Gunthreon, actual master of persuasion. Gunthreon, who seems to know too much of Kailey's history for her liking, opens Kailey's eyes to a coexisting realm she never knew existed: Renhala, while entrusting her with the knowledge of her newfound power as karmelean, serving as a beacon to the Higher Ones. Kailey slowly starts revealing new talents, and Gunthreon is fascinated with what she starts achieving.

She soon discovers that Renhala is in danger, and this danger has been leaking into her own realm. As she uncovers secrets within herself, and attempts to toughen up, she fuses with an unlikely band of fellow travelers (including a dragon, woodsprite, six-hundred-pound greble, her faithful female canine companion, and a "giver"), falls into an unexpected love triangle, deals with her sexy and flirtatious best friend’s “issues,” and finds the courage to master a new deadly weapon.

On her mission to save Renhala, Kailey will find herself running from life-threatening disasters, such as greble Tartarin, who likes to remind Kailey that when he catches her, he plans on eating her brains with ice cream; she'll run from the deadly meeples: small cute bunnies with talons and an undeniable thirst for imposing self-destruction on others. Kailey will also run into the possibility that a centuries-old Renhalan rumor is true, that advanced technology existing in Kailey's realm shortens all life spans.

As blood is shed and puzzles near completion, Kailey pulls from deep within herself, conjuring up mystical qualities that enable her to astonish as once predicted at her birth, but despite the newfound strength, Kailey will discover that monsters not only come in ugly packages, but can be easily disguised as those she has come to love and trust.

This book is all about a journey.  A journey to save the world, a journey towards self-discovery, and a journey to new love.  And with Kailey's humor and zero experience in the dating world, it's quite a fun journey to follow.  It's pure fantasy that makes me question how on earth Amy Joy Lutchen came up with these quirky ideas.

Kailey, a timid girl, that doesn't really want to get involved with anything difficult is a fun character to follow.  On her journey, she meets some interesting fellows.  Gunthreon, an experienced teacher of sorts; Ladimer, a healer who can change his appearance; and Connor, a hunky man who can calm you with the truth.  There are various other characters including a nymph with attitude.  But I do have to say that I grew to really like Ladimer over all the other guys.

While I really enjoyed this book and felt it flowed really well, I feel like some questions were a bit too nagging for me.  For example, what's so important about the ring on the cover?  We see it in the book, but I don't think it ever really gets the spotlight.  And I felt like Kailey's powers weren't fully explained to my satisfaction.  But then again, even in the end, she was still coming to realize her full potential in regards to her power.  So, I'm fairly certain these are questions that will be answered at a later time since it looks like a series.

I'd recommend this book for someone who wants some fun laughs, a completely imaginative and new fantasy world, and a good ride for the read...


Thanks goes to Amy Joy Lutchen for providing me a review copy.

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