This novel, the first in a series, has no right being as good as it is.

Independently published authors don't create works as well written as traditionally published authors, right? Their covers aren't as good. The editing is no good. And it's going to take at least three or four books to get something written that has a decent plot and characters, and the author finally develops some small measure of writing ability, right?

Right?

Ayla Marie is living proof that this is not the case. I'm quite picky with my fantasy. I don't enjoy a lot of it, but when the author gets it right, I really enjoy it.

This novel? I really enjoyed this. Let's dig in to the story a bit.

The novel dives right in and exposes us to Leo and his rather large family, of which he's the eldest. I will say, there's stuff aluded to, or mentioned, that the reader has no context for. Trust me when I say, Marie makes it all make sense as we go.

The plot spins out, and mysteries are highlighted, and some are exposed, revealing deeper mysteries underneath. New characters come in that aren't who they seem to be. There's three four things I want from any story and, though each sounds reasonably common, I will say it's quite uncommon to see them all done well.

I want:
- A good plot that makes sense and holds up logically.
- Good characters who are not one-dimensional.
- Good motivations for those characters that pushes them through the story.
- An author that can give me a sense of wonder as I read.

This book delivers on all of those, while also offering up great writing, great dialogue, and questions that I need answers for.

If I have any complaints, it's exactly two...

The first is the single grammatical error I found in the novel (though it shows up twice) and it's the use of the the word "taught" when it should be "taut"...

The only other thing—and this comes down to more personal preference than anything—is that some of the character names aren't as distinctive as they should be. There's Cael, Cass, and Cassien,  and there's Elana (sometimes Ella), and Emrys. 

But for a 400+ page novel? Those are minor. 

I loved this book, and I'm about to purchase the next one in the series...and do my best to not be jealous of an indie author a third of my age who's already writing circles around most of the authors I know.

Good on ya, Ayla Marie.

Seriously. Get this novel.