Review - Havenfall

Havenfall

by Sara Holland

What they say: A safe haven between four realms. The girl sworn to protect it -- at any cost.

Hidden deep in the mountains of Colorado lies the Inn at Havenfall, a sanctuary that connects ancient worlds -- each with their own magic -- together. For generations, the inn has protected all who seek refuge within its walls, and any who disrupt the peace can never return.

For Maddie Morrow, summers at the inn are more than a chance to experience this magic first-hand. Havenfall is an escape from reality, where her mother sits on death row accused of murdering Maddie's brother. It's where Maddie fell in love with handsome Fiorden soldier Brekken. And it's where one day she hopes to inherit the role of Innkeeper from her beloved uncle.

But this summer, the impossible happens--a dead body is found, shattering everything the inn stands for. With Brekken missing, her uncle gravely injured, and a dangerous creature on the loose, Maddie suddenly finds herself responsible for the safety of everyone in Havenfall. She'll do anything to uncover the truth, even if it means working together with an alluring new staffer Taya, who seems to know more than she's letting on. As dark secrets are revealed about the inn itself, one thing becomes clear to Maddie--no one can be trusted, and no one is safe...

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What I say: The main thing I liked about Havenfall was the concept or a meeting point connecting worlds. I've spent many holidays and a couple of ski seasons out in the French mountains and there are several old-world hotels where you can be up a mountain with France one side, Italy on another and Switzerland to the other. There's one particular hotel or resort inn that reminds me of Havenfall, with other countries rather than worlds. There is something about the premise that really connected with me.

The worlds in question are Earth or here Haven, Byrn, Fiordenkill and the closed world Solaria. Havenfall is the inn or meeting point located in a mountain resort in America where the worlds meet and characters from the universes/dimensions/worlds come to trade and negotiate. Solaria has been closed off due to previous events... 

Maddie spends her summers at the inn and hopes to take over from her uncle one day. This summer doesn't go to plan and Maddie finds herself in charge, solving a mystery and trying to stop war from breaking out. There is romance and a hint of a love triangle but not too much, it really isn't the focus which is nice!

I'm not going to say too much about the other characters because I don't want to spoil anything. I will say that I liked meeting all the various delegates and had my doubts about a certain person from Byrn. I would like to see more development in the next instalment. I didn't feel as though we got to know much about Maddie and the characters. We get insights into her past trauma as more and more secrets are revelled but she's still a mystery. Can we have more on a certain soldier next time please?! Also an entire book on the antics of The Heiress? 

A promising start and fun world building!

4 Stars in my Sky!

Shift - Review

Shift

by M.A. George

What they say: Seventeen-year-old Perry Teasdale is a dreamer. 

She’s not the kind of dreamer who waltzes through fields of wildflowers, twirling her skirts in a starry-eyed daze; or the kind who aspires to be the biggest rock star the world has ever known (not that she’d complain, if that accidentally happened). She’s the kind of dreamer who can’t get a decent night’s rest, because her sleep is flooded with scenes from other worlds—ones that seem as real as life itself. 

Mind-blowing dreams may sound like loads of fun, but when they start to bleed into Perry’s waking hours—confusing the line between dream and reality, and keeping her in a sleep-deprived fog no amount of caffeine can cure—Perry’s not exactly thrilled. 

Try as she might to shake the dreams from her mind, they keep gaining speed, growing ever more vivid and intense…until that hazy boundary between real and imaginary fades away, and Perry is forced to consider the impossible: Her dreams seem real, because they are. 

When disaster strikes, sending Perry’s newfound normalcy into a tailspin, she takes the only logical path left: a whirlwind tour of the multiverse, scouring an ever-growing assortment of alternate realities for the missing piece—the missing person—to put her life together again. 

Along the way, Perry enlists the help of an ancient wise woman (who may be a tad homicidal); a nerdy-in-all-the-right-ways mathematician (who knows all of Perry’s secrets, even before introducing himself); and a sword (because you can never go wrong with a sword). 

At times hilarious—at times heartbreaking—Shift is sure to be, well, one of those two things.

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I received a copy from the publisher (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review!

What I say: I'm a huge sci-fi nerd and can talk for hours about the idea of a multiverse or metaverse. I'm always there with my hand raised ready to sign up for a new story that has anything to do with such a concept. Over the years I've read some wonderful parallel universe stories and some really terrible ones as well. I'm happy to say that I enjoyed Shift and loved the idea behind it.

Imagine if Parallel universes a real and that infinite versions of people exist all at once. Now take it a step further and imagine if you could shift between these universes and explore the differences between them. What I liked about Shift is that we're not taking the usual time travel or different planet route into the multiverses or scapes, but using science and even dream recall hello Max.  How awesome would that be?! 

When Perry and her Aunt go to visit her brother Ezra at uni, she's in for one heck of a surprise when she meets his friend Max. Max is quite literally the man of her dreams...

Perry is a straight talking and creative YA lead. I wasn't expecting to like her as much as I did. Although I didn't always agree with her, I appreciated her strength and determination as well as her fab dream paintings. Max is nerd girl heaven. He's smart and adoringly charming - oh the cuteness!!

We meet a plethora of characters along the way - it was certainly entertaining getting to met them all. The plot is fun and clever - the idea that they are living many different lives simultaneously is really intriguing and works well here.

4 Stars in my Sky!