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Book Review: A Journey Unveiled

Rating:

☆☆☆☆☆ 5/5

Title: A Journey Unveiled

Author: Amy Maltman

Publication Date: October 7, 2021

Genre: Fantasy; Teen and Young Adult

Cover:

I like that Maltman established a cohesive theme for her series, with books one and two having a similar background and style. This makes the series easily recognizable.

Premise

When a family vacation takes an unexpected and tragic turn, Lexi Guinel finds herself transported to Gowerland, a magical land under the tyrannical rule of King Ulric. She soon discovers this was not by accident. The realm’s fate rests on her shoulders, and she must work with Prince Aeric, a man she despises, to fulfill a long-awaited prophecy. Lexi’s mentor, Kiandra, a Vedosh or witch, teaches Lexi about magic in secret as it is forbidden and punishable by death, but will it be enough to save the kingdom?

Why I chose this book:

Author Amy Maltman requested this review. I love books with magical elements, and the premise sounded promising!

First Impression:

Maltman opens with an action-packed fight scene that quickly pulls her reader into the story of Gowerland and Prince Aeric. She then jumps to 2004, when Lexi is introduced. I immediately felt a sense of adventure and loved the inclusion of magic, time travel, and a parallel universe right from the start.

What I loved:

A challenge in writing time travel and parallel universe stories is telling the story from the unique perspective of various characters who are influenced by their own time and place. In A Journey Unveiled, Maltman skillfully shares Lexi’s story while remaining true to her 2004 roots through her use of subtle modern language, gestures, and references. There was a clear sense that Lexi was functioning in Gowerland as a young adult from 2004 rather than immediately assimilating to her new home and its customs.

I loved that Maltman touched on themes such as betrayal, forgiveness, and learning to trust again through the eyes of her two young characters, Lexi and Prince Aeric. They are at odds with each other and the world around them, and the reader feels this tension. However, this is balanced with the wisdom that Kiandra offers as she guides them.

Additional Thoughts:

Maltman includes a pronunciation guide at the end of the book, which is helpful. Unfortunately, I only saw this after I was done reading. I suggest moving the guide to the front so that readers know it is there and can easily reference it as they read. This is especially true for digital formats, as readers are less likely to flip through the pages.

There were a few stylistic choices that I would have excluded. I did not care for including phrases and thoughts in parentheses when the same information could have easily been included in the sentence. There were also a few times when it felt like the reader was suddenly being addressed rather than observing the character’s thoughts. For example, when Lexi blacks out due to pain, Maltman states, “It is true that you see stars before you black out, by the way.” I wish this had been worded as Lexi’s final thought.

Quotable Quotes:

• The grief was a living thing in her chest, trying to claw its way out. No matter how hard she cried, it was stuck inside and only seemed to grow.
• “Powers in and of themselves are not inherently evil or benevolent. It is how they are used.”
• “You have magic, Lexi.”
“Ha. No I don’t. Magic doesn’t even exist in my world.”
“It certainly does. You are simply blind to it. Because your world is afraid of that which they cannot see or understand, they search for other explanations for magical workings or label it evil. Magic cannot flourish in such an environment, but it does exist.”
• She was always so hard on herself. If she wasn’t the best, she was the worst. Perfection or failure. Black or white, no shades of gray, nothing in between.
• Kiandra shot her a glance as sharp as a dagger. “People need to remember how he was raised. He wasn’t born with hatred in his heart. Nobody is. It was something he learned, that was taught to him since birth. We can’t blame him, nor should we.”

Who might enjoy this book:

A Journey Unveiled is ideal for readers, young adults and up, who enjoy an adventure series complete with battle scenes, magic, and time travel.

Overall Impression:

Five stars. A Journey Unveiled takes the reader on an exciting journey into a fantasy world where magic is practiced in secret, and prophecies are on the verge of being fulfilled. This book has all the elements of an epic fantasy novel. Maltman makes this genre highly accessible to many readers through her storytelling, which is easy to follow without the heaviness that some epic fantasy has. The stage has been set with characters and plot, and it is my hope that Maltman dives deep into the relationship between Lexi and Prince Aeric in book two, An Enemy Defined.

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