Rudy Lopes, Author

Avid writer, voracious reader, vivid dreamer

Book Reviews

Book Review: Flowers of Ishfalen

I encountered author Joan Lightning on social media, where she was asking for ARC readers for her soon to be published book.

(FYI ARC stands for Advanced Reader Copy. It’s a pre-publication copy of the book that looks to get reviews in place as/before the book is getting published.)

I started reading it earlier this week, and was soon overwhelmed by the number of characters and breadth of backstory. A quick check on Goodreads revealed that Joan has already published thirteen books, of which eleven take place within the same world as this book. As I haven’t read anything of hers to date, some of my confusion was understandable.

Still, despite not being familiar with her world, Joan does an excellent job painting her characters and settings using brushes large and small. I found it easy to be swept away by the grand stratagems and smaller interpersonal conflicts in which she has generously layered her story.

If you’ve already bought into the magic of her Guardians of Reyth series, this book should satisfy your appetite for more. If, like me, this is your first foray into this magical realm, you’ll no doubt wish to go back and catch up to everyone else.

Thanks, Joan, for the opportunity to read this, and best of luck on your pub date.

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