Heather’s Bookshelf: Eubeltic Descent
Author: Nadine C. Keels
Released: 08/22/18
Genre: Historical Fantasy Novel
“Abigaia stood there to witness this part of her decision unfold and sail away from her, leaving her behind. Then, she sat down on the hill, pushed a gust of air out of her lungs, and dropped her face into her hands.”
“Eubeltic Descent” introduces you to Abigaia Grena, a young woman with a challenging past that has left her with many emotional scars. But Abigaia hasn’t been broken and she hasn’t lost the ability to dream. She wishes for something more in her life and sets out to make her dreams come true.
“Eubeltic Descent” is set in a fictional world with realistic problems. Abigaia lives with her Aunt, Uncle, and cousins due to unfortunate circumstances that shadowed her past. The same circumstances also left her mute. She studies hard and picks up on sign language but has no one in her home town to communicate to with her learned language. Her friends and potential suitor are content to continue with their lives as is. This includes thieving from their local market to make ends meat. But Abigaia hates stealing from others and wants a lot more for herself.
Luckily for her, one of Abigaia’s friends offers her the chance of a lifetime- a free trip to Diachona. She jumps on the opportunity and puts herself out there. No spoilers here- you will have to read it to learn if the risk is worth it.
Fair Warning: There is reference to domestic violence.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel. The author does an excellent job in building a fantasy world while also establishing very realistic characters. The main character of Abigaia is driven and strong in some aspects of her life and then very damaged and flawed in others. I really loved that the author explored her faults in a poor decision that she makes instead of just letting her react to decisions that others have made around her. The ancillary characters of Daun and Valorie also shine through. There were two other aspects of the novel stood out to me. The first was the sign langue and the other the romance. The use of the sign language written in this way was something that I had not encountered before. I also found that it greatly enhanced Abigaia’s character and the relationships with those around her. The romance was simple and sweet and lovely. I do wish that the rest of the plot would have been as intriguing as the romance because portions of the story seemed to drag on a little bit.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
This tale of self discovery shines in character building and romance but misses a little in plot development. Also incorporates sign language in an interesting way.
Want to learn more about the author? Check out my interview with Nadine C. Keels
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