Akarnae by Lynette Noni
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Stepping through a doorway to a magical world is fairly well used trope and employed well, it can blow the reader’s mind away. On another note, I think, it’s really quite tough to come up with something completely original these days so you really have to be quite open and / or tolerant with books you read. I saw a lot of promise in Akarnae and found it to be a fun read.
The cover is so pretty (Pantera Press seems to have the most gorgeous covers for their books!) and Lynette Noni was so sweet at the launch so I really couldn’t resist. She’s also so funny on her FB posts (so follow her there!) and you can see this humour throughout the book. Akarnae is really a light-hearted adventurous and magical read.
Akarnae is touted as a cross between Harry Potter, Narnia, & X-Men. I wasn’t keen on this thought and the result was that, I kept finding things in the book that is supposedly in Harry Potter or Narnia, etc… I think I was trying to hard subconsciously to find these similarities that I don’t think I enjoyed the book as much as I would have if I went into the book blind (ie. not knowing anything about it).
Nevertheless, I am fascinated by the world of Medora where ‘magic’ and technology are blended harmoniously and though the world appears to be at peace, there is evil lurking underneath the veil. I have enjoyed spending my time with Alex (despite some frustrating moments) but I enjoyed the casual but real friendships she formed in Akarnae. I am looking forward to read book 2, Raelia
Tien's Blurb 