A delightful fantasy read. Zoe Marriott has done a fantastic job of laying out the wonder and splendor of her fantasy realms, the magic that resides within them, and the cast of characters within the pages of this book. She manages to fill such a short book with enough world building to get a true grasp on the world these characters reside in as well as provide enough info and background so that the characters motivations and actions are (for the most part) understandable and relatable.

It seemed to take a little too long to actually get into the story itself and I wasn't a fan of the exposition in the first few chapters, but they did serve to relate the reasonings and logic behind certain characters actions throughout.

Once the story got going I loved the dark twists and turns it took. The introduction of Gabriel - The little ray light that Alexandra encounters while at her lowest point in the story - was a little predictable but the turn it took with them didn't follow the path I was originally expecting and I enjoyed the not knowing or being able to guess too easily what was going to happen or how the main character was going to get out of current predicaments and accomplish certain tasks.

I also found. The voice and narrative rathrler refreshing. Not too much purple prose or detailed descriptions but enough to give a good image of the world and character within it. The dialogue too was well done and there were no lengthy info dumps as with many other fantasy books. I wasn't a fan of the use of Welsh/Celtic names (i.e. Olwyn, Branwen, Angharad) randomly thrown in to a story with modern sounding characters such as Hugh, David, Alexandra, and Gabriel, but was willing to overlook it (though it threw me off and sounded out of place IMHO).

The ending felt very quick but not out of place. You could see the main character's growth (mentally and emotionally) throughout the pages of the book and it didn't feel out of place when she comes against the Big Bad of the story at the end. It also didn't feel like the main character was too overpowered without logical explanation which I found refreshing.

I'll admit that some part dragged and it did feel like the author intentially made so much time pass as a means to make her characters physically age and mature so that certain situations would come about but it was believable enough and I didn't mind too much.

Overall there were both good and bad bits to this book but for a short, fantasy about family, good fighting to triumph over evil, and a hint of romance thrown in there, I found it a light, enjoyable read and would recommend it for anyone who loves a well-built fantasy story full of wonderful world-building, magic, and love and doesn't want to have to strain too hard to believe the magic system. I also love a good HEA ;)