The Girl Who Fell Into Myth
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Fall into the magic land of the Mythos along with its brave and forgotten daughter. Yevliesza has been caring for her ailing father when she is summoned home to a world she has never seen. Using a hidden portal, she enters the realm of Numinat, a myth world arisen from legend. Although she is the daughter of witches, she was raised in the modern age with little knowledge of their arisen world and none of their magic. For the the last leg of her journey, she flies on the back of a dragon. When a storm splits open the sky, Yevliesza is caught in its blinding light. She arrives at the medieval city-palace severely damaged, indelibly marked as an outsider. In this kingdom of deep powers, she is devoid of magic. Determined to find her power and claim her place, she must counter dangerous court intrigues and a sorceress who intends to see this foreigner cast from the great Tower. Yevliesza may find protection with a powerful lord if her heart can bear the penalty of his conditions. In the end, however, she must find her own path if she is to survive. But what she discovers is an alarming magic that, once revealed, may make her a permanent outcast. A high fantasy from acclaimed fantasy and science fiction world-builder Kay Kenyon. Watch for Stranger in the Twisted Realm, Book 2 of The Arisen Worlds quartet. Coming Fall 2023. “The Girl Who Fell Into Myth is a marvel of beautiful language, elegant worldbuilding, and a story of powers and magic on a grand scale. This will be a series to treasure.” —Louisa Morgan, author of The Great Witch of Brittany The Girl Who Fell Into Myth is set in a richly imagined world of entangled mythologies, elusive magic, and bitter treachery, perfect for fans of complex, dark-edged fantasy. —Rachel Neumeier, author of the Tujo Series “Kay Kenyon excels at creating strong women who must navigate chaotic, perilous situations as they slowly learn the extent of their own abilities. I was hooked on The Girl Who Fell Into Myth and am impatiently waiting for the next installment in this series!” —Sharon Shinn, author of The Shuddering City KEYWORDS: high fantasy, portal fiction, coming of age, women's fantasy, chosen one, royal destiny, slow burn romance, forbidden love, fantasy romance action adventure. Will appeal to fans of Naomi Novik, Erika Johansen, and Katherine Arden's Winternight books.
Series
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3 primary books#1 in The Arisen Worlds
The Arisen Worlds is a 3-book series with 3 released primary works first released in 2023 with contributions by Kay Kenyon.
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2.5 stars, Metaphorosis reviews
Summary
Liesa, living in the Midwest with her father, knows he's an envoy to the ordinary world from the worlds of myth that are derived from it. But, as his health and mind deteriorate, she suddenly finds herself ordered back to a homeworld she knows nothing about, and where her status is uncertain at best.
Review
I've read one of Kay Kenyon's other books, Bright of the Sky, which also kicks of a tetralogy. I wasn't a fan, but when I saw this for free, I thought I'd give it a try. I'm sorry to say that, while I like it better than the other, I don't actually like it.
The book has a rocky start. It wants to plunge into the action, but somehow takes its time to do so, doesn't really build much rapport with the characters, and almost immediately runs into the book's largest problem – credibility. I just never really believed that the characters would do what they're required to do by the plot. That last sentence encapsulates much of the issue – that characters act for plot purposes rather than organically.
While the story warms up a bit between, say, pages 50 and 150, after that it loses its way again. For one thing, it can't seem to decide whether it's a straight fantasy or a romance, and fails at both. There's very little attempt to create circumstances where characters fall for each other – they just do, because ... they're primary characters, I guess. Throughout, characters act in ways I just couldn't swallow – going so far as to write ‘ridiculous' in the margin at one point. To take just one major example: a key character is kidnapped, insulted, kept captive, disregarded, rejected, tortured, and threatened. But when given a chance to live in a beautiful place with a character they're attracted to and who has only been kind to them, they suddenly say, “Nah, I think I'll go back.” Romantically, the protagonist can't seem to decide whom she's attracted to and why, but not in a tension-building, ‘will they, won't they way'. She just seems flaky.
Kenyon's done some interesting foundation laying for her world, but I just couldn't get over how little sense and logic there was to so many of the events. And unfortunately, several of the details of the worldbuilding (such as what exactly an arcana is, how aligns work, etc.) felt both opaque and underdeveloped. The hero, on, as far as I can tell, no basis at all, makes some pretty startling guesses as to her own power. I just found it all illogical. Maybe if you go in expecting a Harlequin romance rather than serious fantasy, it works better.
Overall, I just didn't find this satisfying.
