The Shard, Victoria Simcox’s fast-paced, intricately woven sequel to The Warble, takes Kristina Kingsly and her schoolmates back to Bernovem … and into a thrilling, often dangerous adventure.Kristina’s stay at summer horse camp is horrible to say the least, and it’s all because Hester and Davina are there as well, making her life miserable. When Hester’s cruel prank goes terribly wrong, it’s … wrong, it’s actually what sends the three girls back to the magical land of Bernovem. In Bernovem, Kristina is very excited to see her former friend, Prince Werrien. When he invites her to sail with him on his ship to his homeland Tezerel, putting it simply, Kristina can’t refuse.
Reunited with her gnome, dwarf, animal, fairy friends … and best of all, Werrien, things seem like they couldn’t get any better for Kristina. But when Werrien becomes fascinated with an unusual seeing stone, the “Black Shard”, Kristina is haunted by a ghostlike old hag. Struggling against suspicion, guilt, illness, and ultimately the one who wants to possess her soul, Kristina will see it’s in her weakest moment that she will encounter more strength than she has ever known.
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Epic, Magical and Warm! Even though Kristina returns to the magical world of Bernovem after some time has passed, the magic of this warm, wondrous world still captures the imagination. Kristina catches up with an older Werrien along with the animal friends she had met on her first journey in “The Warble” and this sets them on a quest to find the missing shard on a ship named after Kristina herself. Like the first book, the dialogue is alive – I can hear Mr. MacGreggor’s Scottish accent in my head. Kristina’s friends (Davina and Hester), however, are not the kind that I would want to be caught up with in a fun adventure like this – this only cements the clearly defined characterizations in the story. There are subtle encouraging messages throughout which I love and adds a layer of depth to a fun story.
With the same allegorical prowess of CS Lewis, Victoria Simcox weaves a delightful tale that continues the enchantment of the first while keeping the story simple yet woven in beautiful fantasy.
In The Shard, Kristina is back, along with the less-than-friendly Hester and Davina. What starts out as an innocent trip to summer camp turns into a wild journey through the mystical land of Bernovem.
In her travels, an older, more mature Kristina meets up with old friends and enemies. The charming Prince Werrien captivates our heroine’s heart once again.
Overall, this installment of the Bernovem Chronicles is a work of art. From the interesting beginning, to the heart-stopping final page, it’s an exhilarating spin through a land reminiscent of Narnia or Wonderland!
Although it’s a Young Adult book, readers of all ages will be touched by the author’s powerful prose.
Five resounding stars for The Shard!
In The Shard, Kristina is back, along with the less-than-friendly Hester and Davina. What starts out as an innocent trip to summer camp turns into a wild journey through the mystical land of Bernovem.
In her travels, an older, more mature Kristina meets up with old friends and enemies. The charming Prince Werrien captivates our heroine’s heart once again.
Overall, this installment of the Bernovem Chronicles is a work of art. From the interesting beginning, to the heart-stopping final page, it’s an exhilarating spin through a land reminiscent of Narnia or Wonderland!
Although it’s a Young Adult book, readers of all ages will be touched by the author’s powerful prose.
Five resounding stars for The Shard!
Among the author’s strong points is character descriptions, their mannerisms, their appearance and the way they express themselves. At long last the romance between Kristina and Werrien is expressed in a sweet way. The story centers around the shard which gives a view of what is happening. A journey, anticipated, realized and completed composes this story. The ending will grab the reader’s attention, which won’t be revealed here, but must be read.
What an outstanding follow up for this series!
In the second installment in The Bernovem Chronicles, Kristina is sent back to to the magic world of Bernoven together with Hester and Davina, and all because of a prank by Hester…
Thanks to this, Kristina meets again with her old friends, including Prince Werrien. Together they will have a new amazing adventure, and will fight together once more.
But there’s time for love in this story, both Kristina and Prince are now slightly older to the evens in the first volume of the series (there is a time lapse from book 1), which may lead to a beautiful romance.
Loved this story, the action is well paced and the plot was fascinatingly entertaining. It was great to discover new layers of the world created by author Victoria Simcox,Bernovern is a beautiful yet mysterious and intriguing place.
A must read for all fantasy fans.
I absolutely loved this book! Kristina’s return to Bernovem marks a series of unexpected adventures with her partners in crime, but showing once again that Victoria Simcox can tell a tale like no one else.
This story includes a reunion with Kristina’s handsome Prince Werrien, a series of dangerous obstacles including a treacherous sailing across the sea, and a creepy ghostly spirit set to turn Kristina and her magical world on its head. And it is all put in motion by a black, seeing rock. All of the elements are there in this fairytale: talking animals, devious wizards, and even a dragon makes an appearance!
You can’t help but follow twelve-year-old Kristina, page by page, on her journey away from summer camp and into the child’s mind where magic is created. This is a slightly darker story than the rest, and fits perfectly into a series that no doubt will be filled with many more exciting adventures. I have to believe this book is empowering for teenagers everywhere. It’s an incredibly well-chronicled story from a superbly talented author.
Fast-paced, Thrilling, & Magical
In The Shard, the sequel to The Warble, Kristina returns to Bernovem, the charming Prince Werrien’s home.
In this fast-paced magical adventure, Kristina is two years older and at age fifteen is growing into a beautiful young woman. Prince Werrien is now seventeen and the lighthearted young romance between these two character grows even deeper in this second installment of The Bernovem Chronicles. Kristina encounters more trials as she finds herself sick more than once and isn’t sure who she can trust.
If you love The Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe, you’ll enjoy The Warble and The Shard. You’ll be transformed into the magical land filled with fairies, gnomes, and dwarfs. Packed with friendship, young love, and life lessons, this children’s/young adult fantasy adventure will warm the hearts of young and old alike. Fast-paced, Thrilling, & Magical