A Simply Enchanted Life

One Realm Beyond by Donita K. Paul

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Suggested Age: 11+
Genre: Christian, YA, Fantasy

Cantor D'Ahma waited his whole life for this day. Born with a gift to jump between worlds, the young realm walker is finally ready to leave his elderly mentor and accept his role as protector and defender of the realms.

But mere hours after he steps through his first portal, Cantor discovers that his job will be more dangerous and difficult than he ever imagined. The realms are plagued with crime and cruelty, and even members of the once-noble Realm Walkers Guild can no longer be trusted. To make matters worse, his first assignment—finding a dragon to assist him on his quest—has led him to Bridger, who is clearly inept and won't leave him alone.

With the help of his new friends Bixby and Dukmee, Cantor must uncover the secrets of the corrupt guild before they become too powerful to be stopped. But his skills aren't progressing as fast as he would like, and as he finds himself deeper and deeper in the guild s layers of deceit, Cantor struggles to determine where his true allegiance lies.

I really wanted to like this book but it starts out so slow that I just couldn’t ever get into it.

I never skim read but I found myself starting to skim after spending almost a week on the first 100 pages—also something that never happens.

Aside from the slow pace, I found that the main character acted more like a young child than a grown man; he was very rude to the dragon, Bridger. He was so negative that I really didn’t have the patience to read most of his dialogue.

I also thought a few of the descriptions were odd, like this one, “The farmers obeyed to the point that they scarcely moved to breath. For a moment, the healer noticed the acrid scent of anxiety surrounding the two men, underpinned by the earthy smell of determination.” I never ever realized that anxiety or determination had a scent? I don’t know, I just didn’t enjoy the book. It wasn’t poorly written but it didn’t appeal to me.
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Donita K. Paul retired from teaching and took up the mantle of grandma. She loves her new career as author of stories her grandchildren devour. Winner of multiple awards, she lives in Colorado, enjoying friends and family, Pets, and beautiful scenery. Her favorite part of writing is the readers.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”