Survival means defying fate.For the first time in her eighteen years, Amanda’s not surrounded by friends and family. She’s lost, confused, and afraid.She’s an old soul and she’s no longer in her home world.From the short time she’s been in Tuala, she has witnessed magic, escaped captivity from a sadist, and is running for her life. Newly engaged, she should be loving her life with her fiancé, but … she should be loving her life with her fiancé, but that’s not going to happen. Especially now.
She’s been reported to the authorities, hunted by her previous captor, and her life is suddenly in jeopardy. She only has two options left: turn herself in or run.
✔ Option one will keep her captive on a foreign world.
✔ Option two will take her farther away from finding her missing fiancé, but is the only chance she has to survive.
Yet she can’t use magic, unlike the rest of the people, and she doesn’t even have a birth crystal to connect her to the earth’s elemental energy. How can she pass as a citizen without any magic of her own?
Could things get any worse? Of course they can.
Welcome to Amanda’s life.
If you like KF Breene, Jaymin Eve, Shannon Mayer, Kelley Armstrong, Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs, Faith Hunter, Kim Harrison, Shayne Silvers, or Lev Grossman, you won’t want to miss Proebstel’s books!
The Levels of Ascension Series should only be read by people who can root for an underdog, love fast-paced action, and love fantasy with a twist.
Recent reader’s reviews…
”Chaos and mayhem! Amy rocks this baby from the start.”
” Wow! This book gripped me right away and I was enthralled.”
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Accidental travel to a different plane/time?? Oh my goodness how creative!! The idea of getting caught in a storm to be transported then learning how to speak their language, culture, history all to blend in!! You do not want to be caught saying year when you mean anons or something else! The Elders are in charge of watching over things especially when it concerns “old souls”. This is truly a fabulous start to the series and I am looking forward to reading more to find out what happens next!!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is one amazing fantasy that tells the story of Amanda Covington, a young girl who finds herself trapped between two different dimensions—Earth and it’s parallel twin Tuala. In this new world, Amanda is presented a number of trials. After escaping a horrible man named Petre who keeps her hostage, she manages to find love and companionship in the world. On Earth, she is deemed insane for her belief in that world after an accident sends her back. Now, she must find a way to get back to Tuala and the life she left behind.
The characters are all soundly built and the worldbuilding is phenomenal in this novel. I found myself caught on the beginning a bit but once I pushed past it, I found it very difficult to put this book down. Recommended for fantasy and sci-fi buffs alike.
Love this new book by Amy Proebstel! Magical Realism is one of my fave genres and this one nails it! Highly recommend for fans of Kim Harrison and Shayne Silvers.
ONE INTENSE ADVENTURE!!!
Chaos and mayhem! Amy rocks this baby from the start. One tumultuous wild ride with a surplus of unexpected misfortune and surprising incidents that blasts all of your emotions into play perfectly. One intriguing storyline and compelling plot jolts this baby together smoothly. All the drama, angst and suspense make for one incredible experience. Twists and turns, ups and downs, along with a few bumps and bruises bring this baby together fluidly. One non-stop action packed, fast paced, page flipping delight that grabs your attention and holds it until the last page. The characters and scenes are written in true to life form that brings this little guy bursting to life delightfully. Amazing job Amy, thanks for sharing this bad boy with us.
Amy Proebstel has created the unique world of Tuala, into which Amanda has landed. Confused about her situation, Amanda meets some wonderful people, although she has been deceived in the most cruel way. I am looking forward to more of Tuala.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Excellent!!!
Unique and intriguing. I will most definitely read (and love) every book Proebstel writes!
This book has me conflicted. On one had I rather enjoyed the unique creativity this book has to offer. It is imaginative and has some good world building. I enjoyed the concept of this story. What I feel conflicted about is it seems more of a telling than a showing. It could use some clean up in that aspect that the author could indeed show a lot more of the story rather than tell the reader what is going on. The telling takes away from the originality of the story and makes for a less smooth read. There is a lot of unnecessary information that gets dumped on the reader from the get go. It was overwhelming at times and got confusing as the story started out, but eventually it worked itself out. As a reader myself, I would have preferred to not have to be info dumped on but rather unravel it as the story progresses and develops with the plot and the characters.
Conflicts aside, the author has a fantastic idea going here. Some parts in the beginning seemed like the story could do without as it slowed the progress of the story and made me question if I would actually get pulled into it and enjoy it, but after a bit things pick up and we get more invested in whats going on. Its a slow progression but eventually you begin to find your connection after you get used to the voice the author is writing with and look past the telling. I recommend this to fantasy lovers. If you do pick this up, stick with it. Its a choppy start but eventually you’ll begin to get into it. It is also the first in the series, so I suggest reading in order as I am certain the second book may not be a stand alone and you would get confused. I give this 4 stars. It would easily be a 5 star read if there was some clean up with it to make things more smooth and not so overwhelming. As the story goes along though, the writing progresses and the world begins to build. the character developments start to show and makes it better towards the end. Its not perfect but it is good.
I really loved so many things about this book! The alternate realm of Tuala was just different enough to be intriguing and familiar enough to be comfortable. Sadly, there are predators in both realms which adds to the tension and keeps the plot moving. I enjoyed the characters from Tuala a great deal. Amanda was a little naive but maybe that’s okay for an eighteen year old? To be honest, I almost stopped reading after the prelude and again after the first chapter, but I’m glad I persisted because the rest of the story was great and had excellent pacing. Basically, I think the book simply started at the wrong place. The preface was unnecessary and any information in it could have been shown instead of told. The first chapter was a lot of information all dumped at once before I cared about the characters or understood what was happening. Once Amanda was bitten by the beetle, things picked up. It would have been fine to start when she woke up in the water craft, too, especially since the author created the perfect vehicles for seeing into the past, both by way of the elders reading her thoughts and her dreams. My advice? Keep reading and you’ll be glad you did. Great story, great characters – I will definitely read on in the series to see what happens next!
A well thought out and crafted world with lots of detailed descriptions of the lore and traditions of the alternate world. This fantasy is set across two dimensions, the present real world and Tualon. There is a lot to take on board in the world building but the author introduces many key aspects as the two introductory characters (Amanda and Bryon) embark on a journey. Mystery shrouds how Jessica has come to be in this strange world but as the story unfolds you find out how her world and Tualon are connected.
Brilliantly crafted tale to say the least. I must admit, I did struggle with reading this in the beginning. I wasn’t sure what was going on but as I read on it became much clearer which I thoroughly enjoyed. It’s a tale about a newly engaged couple go out for oceanic voyage and caught in a terrible squall, which separates the happy couple. Amanda soon discovers that she’s been transported to another plane of existence, where the inhabitants can use different forms of magic. There’s a lot of intriguing, well developed characters and a riveting plot that will you turning the pages just to see what happens next. I highly recommend this one!
While sailing on a yatch in the Caribbean, a horrible storm deposits Amanda into another realm through the Bermuda Triangle. While initially she is “rescued” by a manipulative man who takes advantage of her amnesia, she soon rescues herself and learns to make her way through is strange world, making some good friends along the way.
This author creates an elaborate world with a rich history and back story, all while managing to write a story about over coming adversity, and finding your own strength. Fans of fantasy and science fiction will love this book!
This is an absolutely fantastic read! I am very ready for book 2 now! The storyline really has you on the edge of your seat and leaves you wanting much more at the end. I am excited to see what happened to Amanda!! I’ve been looking for a series which I can sink my teeth into. This is it! If you like reading fantasy fiction / science fiction books, this series really is for you. I really love good books which take me to another reality and make me feel like I’m living in their world. I highly recommend it! I also like having a series which I can sink my teeth into! Great story!