Review: The Invitation, by Katie Webster

BLURB

On the island kingdom of Meta Emery, a young queen, Abigail, wakes in the middle of the night to a terrifying realisation; hostile wizards from the rival kingdom of Archmond have finally done what they’ve been threatening to do: bring a girl, Lucy, into this world to destroy the queen and all she has worked for.

Hundreds of miles west, in Archmond itself, a great feast unfolds in the castle to celebrate Lucy’s arrival. Soleman, one of the wizards and a co-ruler of Archmond, has spread the news to his people that Lucy is the heroine an ancient prophecy predicted; he promises that the discord throughout their world will soon be over. But his fellow ruler Ronald remains dubious that this apparently meek and troubled girl could really overthrow Abigail, or whether she is ever likely to want to.

This highly imaginative and original novel is the first in an exciting new fantasy series, ‘Lucy’s Crypt’.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Katie Webster is an Australian lawyer, born in Queensland’s Daintree Rainforest. She has worked in both criminal and international law. She has published academically, but this is her debut novel.

My Review

The Rosie Synopsis

Lucy doesn’t have a great life at home with her frightened mother and abusive father. One blustery day she’s taken by unexpected means to the land of Archmond, to fulfil a prophecy. She has to defeat the evil queen of Meta Emery. On the way she meets a range of characters who help and hinder her mission as she grows more confident in herself and becomes the heroine Soleman believes her to be.

The Good

The story is very imaginative, the world Lucy arrives in is almost surreal at times. I still can’t work out how the wooden floor works.

Lucy is a very endearing character. I thought she was about 12 or 13 until the author says she is 17, in comparison to Pepper, who is 14. They both feel younger than their ages.

The plot takes a bit to get going but once it does it is fun and I enjoyed the journey.

The Not-So-Good

Could have done with a bit of tightening up in places and there were odd instances where editing was necessary.

The Verdict

Overall, a fun YA fantasy adventure with an endearing main character in an imaginative setting.