This was a fun family-friendly high fantasy. Fans of JRR Tolkien would enjoy it. It was action-packed with interesting worldbuilding, characters, amd creatures. I enjoyed how every character was unique and had their own flaws and obstacles to overcome--even the villains.
One criticism I had was, especially at the beginning of the book, there was a lot of telling rather than showing. There were "info-dumps" rather than introducing the information through dialogue and character interactions. If the lore was introduced bit by bit when relevant, it would be more impactful and memorable for readers. It also needed a bit of editing here and there (the version I have was downloaded June 2024, but the author is working on a revised edition). Regardless, I enjoyed it and will read the next book when it comes out.