Monday, February 18, 2013

War Of The Seasons: The Human by Janine Spendlove

Story isn't sure where she is or how she got there.  A teen, angry with the world due to the loss of her family, she has gone spelunking and fallen through into another world.  A world where the first beings she encounters are an elf and stump-like creatures trying to kill him.  Story instinctively saves the elf, but things keep getting stranger.

Eirnin, the elf,  seems transfixed by Story.  She matches the description of the one who will be sent to save the land and it's inhabitants.  A land where fairies are evil, and who have blighted the elf clans and sealed their fate to become extinct.  A land where mermaids and dryads exist.  A land that Story wants nothing to do with.

Thus begins the saga of War Of The Seasons.  Story forges a partnership with Eirnin.  He will take her to his queen for help to get Story back to the world she came from. Story will do what she can to help the elf clans, even though she doesn't really believe the legends and especially, her designated role as the savior of the land.  Along the way there will be many dangers to overcome and a tentative relationship between human and elf, as each learns the culture and ways of the other.

Janine Spendlove has written an engaging fantasy.  This is the first book in the series, and readers will find themselves anxious to read the next, which has already been published.  The novel's audience is that of the young adult, as Story is seventeen and facing typical teen dilemmas of finding out who she is and forging relationships.  The book is interesting enough, however, that adult readers will also enjoy it.  This book is recommended foe fantasy and young adult readers and is a strong debut novel.

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