“Darovit are not bornThey are createdBy something even we cannot see”Benjamin SOLOMANFour-year-old Jonathan Miller was rescued by a girl with rainbow hair, shrouded in black, who flew like magic along the ground.Eighteen-year-old Jon, obsessed with fantasy and the supernatural, dreams of her still.Now she has returned. She says he’s no longer safe and that he needs to come with her; that the … he needs to come with her; that the necklace she gifted him is no longer enough.
But who is she?
And who is he?
Joined by his best friend, Miles, Jon is led on a frightening tour of an Otherworld he knew nothing about; a missing Seer, the nefarious Otherworld hit men the Vipers, witches, Not-Mermen and the ugly toads that had once captured him.
And his companions have their own gifts.
They are Darovit;
Their scaled Dar their constant companions.
But she is not just his hero
And he was not just a boy
And the Otherworld
Is hunting him still
more
Jon’s fantasy world is about to become very real.
Jon’s life hasn’t exactly been easy. After his abduction and subsequent rescue, years of therapy and his mother’s constant desire to move from place to place have taken their toll on Jon. He hopes that college will be a chance to have some semblance of normalcy. Unfortunately, danger is and has always been much closer than Jon realizes.
I felt so sorry for Jon. His entire world is turned upside down the moment his guardian, the Translucent, comes crashing back into his life. She does have another name, but I don’t want to spoil the story by revealing how she gets it. Before Jon knows it, he and his friend Miles are running for their lives forced to depend on a woman he knows nothing about other than she saved him as a child. Jon soon learns that an entire race of magical beings lives on Earth hidden from humans. Jon’s roller coaster of emotions and mini breakdown are completely understandable. In fact, I think his reaction to the magic world is one of the most realistic I’ve read. Often when I’ve read stories in this genre, the characters acclimate to the information a bit too quickly for my taste. That is certainly not the case with Jon. He needs time to absorb everything. With the help of his friend Miles and the Translucent, I have a feeling he’ll be fine.
I found Jon’s relationship with the Translucent strange. Since she saved him, he developed a crush on her. His art notebooks are filled with images of her face. He’s imagined her as a perfect guardian angel for years. The reality is quite different, and it was a little sad to see Jon’s perception of her crumble. I must admit I did not like the Translucent at first. She is very abrupt and seems rather indifferent to the emotional upheaval Jon experiences. She barely speaks to Jon and Miles, and when she does, she only says the bare minimum. While I understand that the Translucent is old and not used to interacting with humans so much, it was still painful to watch.
Fortunately, Miles is there to keep things from being completely unbearable. He’s an extremely entertaining character with a good sense of humor. While Miles understands the gravity of their situation, he always seems to find a way to lighten the mood and rarely fails at making Jon smile. I must also add the Miles has some secrets of his own. At first, I was worried that Jon would see this as a betrayal, but his friendship with Miles is strong and weathers this revelation. Before long, the Translucent begins to warm to Jon and Miles and the unlikely trio turn into quite the team.
I enjoyed reading Finding Soul. The pacing was great, and I had fun watching Jon, Miles, and the Translucent bond. The Darovit are intriguing, and I look forward to learning more in the next installment of this series!
This book was entered in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought:
Title: Finding Soul
Author: T L Searle
Star Rating: 4 Stars
Number of Readers: 21
Stats
Editing: 8/10
Writing Style: 8/10
Content: 7/10
Cover: 7/10
Of the 21 readers:
18 would read another book by this author.
17 thought the cover was good or excellent.
21 felt it was easy to follow.
18 would recommend this story to another reader to try.
Of all the readers, 11 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘plotting a story’.
Of all the readers, 10 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘developing the characters’.
17 felt the pacing was good or excellent.
18 thought the author understood the readership and what they wanted.
Readers’ Comments
‘Funny in parts, I liked how the characters developed. This author has a very good imagination.’ Female reader, aged 15
‘Fantasy readers will love Otherworld. It was very cleverly described. I thought the Not-Mermen were cool – in a slightly frightening way!’ Female reader, aged 14
‘I like fantasy books but this took me a bit longer to get into than usual. But, once I got past the first 20pp or so, I was engrossed. There’s a good mix of pacey adventure but also the author wants the reader to get to know and care about the characters. It also ended in an exciting way and now I want to read more. Slow to get going, but worth it!’ Female reader, aged 17
‘The three central characters worked well together. Also, the premise – how the two worlds sort of overlap – was mega-interesting. I thought it was slow in parts and needed better editing to speed things up. But, overall, it was a gripping read.’ Male reader, aged 15
To Sum It Up:
‘A thrilling fantasy adventure for YA. A RED RIBBON WINNER and highly recommended.’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards