Melora’s world is going to be turned upside down in a big way! Being brought up by her mother on a diet of fantastic stories about the land of Stargor her life has been fairly run of the mill, until a series of vivid dreams start plaguing her. Soon after, her mother is found murdered and she discovers that in fact Stargor is real and she is being hunted by those who murdered her mother. Jitsun, the man from her dreams is there to help and her pet dog is not quite who he seemed. Both arrive to help her travel to Stargor to fulfil her destiny as Defender!
There is much to enjoy about book 1 in this series, not too much time is spent on Earth and I liked how realistically hesitant Melora was about travelling with strangers. The world building is done at a nice pace, plenty to take in but not overwhelming. My favourite section was a training session with Banzal which really reminded me of Luke Skywalker and Yoda in Empire Strikes Back! These new skills and talents don’t come easily to Melora and her training is hard, but what does come easily is her ability to lead and command her people adding to the reason that she is truly the defender. There is a neat little trick with her weapons as well, which I won’t divulge but it’s such a unique idea! There is is clearly a lot more to come in this series, she has lots of travels still to take and lots of peril is sure to follow, i’m excited to read where her travels take her next!
