Spring Reading 2014 Silevethiel

This fantasy adventure has many of the common elements found in such stories: the death of a beloved king and the danger to his daughter and only heir, the bond between warriors and spirit animals/animal companions, elves, sorcery, sword fights, quests for knowledge in ancient archives, etc. Irewen is a 20-year-old princess, isolated and untrained for her role. Upon her father's murder, she flees the palace and travels toward the nearby elven kingdom for safety. During her journey she encounters new friends and demonic foes, learns just enough about her heritage to make her curious, and is continually hounded by assassins. The ending leaves her with new strengths found, alliances made, and the rest of the series in which to finish up the war against evil.

Irewen reminds me of Arwen from The Lord of the Rings in several ways. Their names are similar, there are the elves, the race on horseback to escape enemies possessed by evil spirits, the use of mystical powers to fight the dark warriors, the visions they both have of possible futures, and even their fathers' names have the same sounds - Elrond and Donriel. Readers who enjoy epic fantasy like Tolkien will notice the similarities I have mentioned (and some I have not). They may also think that the Guardians like Bregen and Raina are reminiscent of Narnia's Aslan. Silevethiel is a fairly quick read and teen/YA fantasy readers will be looking forward to the next book. (There are a few instances of harsh language that are not appropriate for younger readers.) The author has put together some quotes from reviewers in the book's trailer.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley. The book was published on December 24, 2013.