In The Jaded Grove by Anela Deen
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Today I am bringing you a book tour via StorytellersonTour, a banner with a link to the other dates will be at the bottom of the page.
I will be reviewing In The Jaded Grove by Anela Deen book one in the Kindred Realms series.
Published: March 21, 2021
Genre: Portal Fantasy
Pages: 330
Synopsis:
Simith of Drifthorn is tired of war. After years of conflict between the Thistle court and the troll kingdom, even a pixie knight known for his bloodlust longs for peace. Hoping to secure a ceasefire, Simith arranges a meeting with the troll king—and is ambushed instead. Escape lies in the Jaded Grove, but the trees of the ancient Fae woodland aren’t what they seem, and in place of sanctuary, Simith tumbles through a doorway to another world.
Cutting through her neighbor’s sunflower farm in Skylark, Michigan, Jessa runs into a battle between creatures straight out of a fantasy novel. Only the blood is very real. When a lone fighter falls to his attackers, Jessa intervenes. She’s known too much death to stand idly by, but an act of kindness leads to consequences even a poet like her couldn’t imagine.
With their fates bound by magic, Simith and Jessa must keep the strife of his world from spilling into hers—except the war isn’t what it appears and neither are their enemies. Countless lives depend on whether they can face the truths of their pasts and untangle the web of lies around them. But grief casts long shadows, and even their deepening bond may not be enough to save them from its reach.
CW: Violence, Trauma, Torture, Grief, Death of a loved one (in the past – not on the page).
Diversity Tags: Author of color (biracial), POC rep (Filipino MC), Queer secondary characters
My thoughts:
Like always my reviews have spoilers
3.5 🌟
In The Jaded Grove is a dual perspective portal fantasy. It is a very quick read, which is perfect for summer lazily reading under a big tree. I mind you I didn't read this in a day, nor under a beautiful tree. But I could have, for me this was a two day read that I did take to the patio a for a bit however.
I love Alice in Wonderland, I love the idea of portal fantasy. I love the idea of stepping in the mirror, wardrobe, falling down a hole, entering through something, a passage way that you don't know is there and suddenly you are somewhere else. My imagination and whimsy is on 24/7 (unless I'm having an off day but your not here for that). I'm the person who will try to lead you in the woods to try and find the entrance to fairyland.
The first thing about the book that made me take notice was of course the beautiful cover, then I found out it was portal fantasy and well I was sold. I didn't even have to read the blurb to know I wanted to read the book.
But yes the book, like I said it is a duel perspective story, Simith is a pixie, which to be honest was a nice change from the fairy/fae (I do quite enjoy the fae though) main character, he is knight who is hoping to meet with the troll king to try for peace even if it is the trolls that killed his people. And Jessa a human, who is a published poet who hasn't been able to write anything after the death of her family, a death she blames on herself.
Another refreshing take on the portal fantasy is that it wasn't the human stumbling into the other realm first. It was the pixie!
Simith in his fleeing from what he believes to be trolls, winds up crawling out of a hole at the base of a tree, in a sunflower farm. He has no idea where is only that he knows it is not his world. Jessa walking to the farm from her best friend, Katie's party encounters said pixie (she doesn't know he's a pixie) who she assumes was coming from or going to the same party that she had been at, he has wings and his clothing clearly must be a costume as she herself is dress like a giant bunny. But he has something stuck in his back, in his wings and is that real blood she is seeing.
Attempting to stop and save the man from his attackers, that do not look human, ends up getting hurt badly in the process herself. Simith then using all his magic and more does all he can to save the girl who helped him. In doing so connecting them to one another.
The sunflower farm it's self isn't exactly what it seems, nor is the old lady and her granddaughter, both Jessa and Simith are shocked when they learn that they are Fae and have been protecting this Grove. No one is suppose to know about them, the fae have escaped into the realms a long time ago.
The trolls come back and have kidnapped Katie in exchange for the pixie. They come up with a plan to get her back while not harming Simith either, but the plan doesn't well go as planed.
Both Simith and Jessa's lives have already undergone so much pain and suffering. And now they are linked, with this comes the memories of what they have been through only it's each others memories that they see in their dreams not their own. It also comes with another price, one that can result in death.
Simith is back in is world, he wants to set things right because has learned of the betrayal of the fairy's and hopes to again attempt at peace between the pixies and the trolls.
So now Jessa must don her bunny costume once more and venture into his world, if not they will die.
This is where I was hoping for some expansive world building, there was some but not a much as I hoped. I am generally a character driven reader but I love seeing a world that isn't ours painted out before us. Speaking of characters, I like our main two but I wasn't a fan of our secondary ones so much I liked granny though. I found Katie to be a tad overbearing and annoying. She didn't take anything away from the over all enjoyment, she just didn't really add much to the over all story. But that's just my opinion and well reading is subjective, who and what I like is not going to be the same as what others will like. Besides maybe she will get more fleshed out in the next book, if she is in it that is.
We get more action in the second half, in Simith's realm. We find out how much more cunning the fairy's actually are. We meet Simith's family and experience more of the fantastical but not enough of it. The events seem to go by too fast, I wanted more in this world.
I enjoyed the bits of poetry, as one who has penned many myself. I loved that Jessa being a poet is called a "maker of verse" and that is highly respected thing in Simiths world.
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"Those who use words as their instrument are held in high esteem among my kind. From your fingers, whole realms of thought are sprung"
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A trait that will come in handy for them to have in their arsenal.
The relationship/friendship between both Simith and Jessa while seeming fast in reality was sped up based on the fact that they essential have been in each others head, they have this intimacy that for others may take years to develop. They have seen the things that they haven't spoken about to others, they felt the emotions of the other person. It makes sense why they would want to help the one another the best ways they can, even if one is a human lacking magic. So it isn't unexpected to see a possibility of the two developing more.
In The Jaded Grove like I said is a quick read, it's a short book so I should have expected not to have the details of some bigger fantasy novels, never the less it was still enjoyable. It was little to quick for me if I'm being honest and I am, it could have had been longer, I wanted a bit more from it, but it is a first in a series. Based on events in the book I'm unsure if we will see this particular realm that Simith is from again, but I could be very wrong in this assumption. Because like I said based on events this could go in a few different directions in which I'm looking forward to continuing on with.
But will all that being said, there is more then just a fantasy novel at play in this book, it's about the loss and what one goes through after such loss. And how to help find ones self again. Reach out to others when you can and are ready. Sometimes it is you that is holding you back. Things take time, but sometimes you might have to push yourself forward. I will say Katie may annoyed me but she wanted what was best for Jessa, and stuck by her through it all, even if she could have easily not have.
Book links:
Look at this beautiful Alice post card that was included in my package
I will have to print and frame this one.
Now let us meet our author:
A child of two cultures, this hapa haole Hawaiian girl is currently landlocked in the Midwest. After exploring the world for a chunk of years, Anela Deen hunkered down in Minnesota and now fills her days with family, fiction, and the occasional snowstorm. With a house full of lovable toddlers, a three-legged cat, and one handsome Dutchman, she prowls the keyboard late at night while the minions sleep. Coffee? Nah, she prefers tea with a generous spoonful of sarcasm
You can find her:
*Giveaway*
Prize: A signed paperback of In the Jaded Grove by Anela Deen + A Collection of Poems by Emily Dickinson + Art Print + Stickers + Book Plate + Postcard + Bookmark – International!
Starts: July 11th, 2021 at 12:00am EST
Ends: July 18th, 2021 at 11:59pm EST
Click on the banner below to enter, and best of luck!
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Thanks for stopping by
and
Happy Reading!
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