Title: The Forest of Adventures
Author: Katie M. John
Publisher: Little Bird Publishing House
Publish Date: October 26, 2010
Genre: YA, paranormal
Pages: ebook
Series: Knight Trilogy
1. The Forest of Adventures
2. Immortal Beloved (August 25, 2011)
3. Untitled
Synopsis:
For seventeen year old Mina Singer, falling in love with an Arthurian Knight on a white horse was never part of the plan - especially being that she's an ordinary college girl living in the twenty first century.
As Mina finds herself catapulted into a land she believed only existed in the bedtime stories of her childhood, she soon discovers that Fairyland is not quite as innocent as she imagined.
The question is... who will come out alive?
Haunting, beautiful and sexy, The Forest of Adventures, is a dark romantic quest into the land of true and forbidden love.
Mina Singer is happy with her life: she’s got the perfect boyfriend, a great group of friends, and a great relationship with her mom. That is, until Blake Beldevier shows up in her English class. She is drawn to him and Sam, her boyfriend of two years, notices. Next thing she knows, Sam leaves angry and ends up in a car accident and then at the hospital in a coma. As torn up as she is about Sam, Blake is around and she still can’t deny her attraction to him. As she spends more time with Blake, it’s obvious that there’s something paranormal going on, and that she and Blake just might be part of an ancient prophecy that will tear her world apart.
This is the first indie book I’ve read and I enjoyed it. It was definitely a different experience, since the author is British and so her writing includes Brit slang and sayings. It was fun to read, especially when my nerd brain starting reading with a British accent :P. Other than that, it was like reading any other book.
This story was based on the legend of King Arthur and Arthurian Knights. Although I’ve read a lot of paranormal books, I haven’t read any like this. The setting of the story changes between the Real World and the Realm World, where people follow the old rules of England and Knights in shining armour exist, as well as sorceresses and magic. This was the world that Blake came from. Yeah, a real Knight in shining armour. Hot, right? Just nod yes, cause it is ;). I thought it was awesome the way the author took the legend of Arthur and made it come to life. I don’t know a lot about the legends of Arthur, so it was really fun to learn about it in the way that the author interpreted it.
I liked Mina and Blake as main characters. Mina was put in a very difficult position and she handled it really well. Even though she knew there was something between her and Blake, she was also respectful of her relationship with Sam and of his feelings. Even when she thought the mutual attraction with Blake was going to take over her, that was when Blake was a gentleman. Like I said, people from the Realm follow old rules, and so Blake wouldn’t let either of them acknowledge their feelings and blooming romance while Mina was still tied to Sam. It really put a different spin on the typical love triangle, and I loved the way it was done.
The climax of the story was really well written. I found myself really emotionally invested in Mina and Blake, and their whole situation. It was very suspenseful and emotional. I found myself thinking “Poor Mina” and “Poor Blake” a lot around the end of the story. But I don’t want to give anything away, so that’s all I’m saying! I will say that it set up really well for the next book, Immortal Beloved, which comes out in the Fall. I can’t wait to read it!
Buy it at Smashwords: $0.99 USD
Buy it for Kindle: $0.99 USD
Paperback from website: $12.49 USD
