A review by brinley
The Inner Lands: Something Stirs by A.J. Austin

4.0

This book did take me longer than most to read, but I still enjoyed it. It took a little while to get into the book, because the first half mainly consists of a journey, which was somewhat uneventful. The plot definitely picked up after that though, and was paced quite well. I don't necessarily see myself rereading this, but I'm definitely interested to see where the author takes the next book.

This book had quite a bit of action, but it did rely on the characters to keep it moving forward. In all honesty, I considered dropping this book when I read that Sill was 12, but thankfully she was written to be mature. I personally really liked Kallum, and I really enjoyed reading his struggle with his inner demons. Most of the secondary characters were pretty bland, and the only one I found myself caring for was Brorn. That being said, because the next book does skip forward 5 years, I can definitely see a lot of potential for the development of Raffin and Sill.

While this book wasn't anything particularly special in the fantasy genre, it was unique, and it did hold my attention. I did struggle to picture the Grinths, which was a slight problem because they were the main villain of the book. I also felt like the ending was a bit rushed, but I think there's definite potential for a great series here.

Thanks to Hidden Gems for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review