Sarah is a teenage wizard, and she learned her magic from her mom. But where did her mom learn it from?
When her best friend gets kidnapped by sword-wielding monsters, Sarah finds herself confronting a past she's been made to forget. She must journey to a magical world-between-worlds known as Greystone Valley, which has many deadly dangers of its own.
Joined by friends both new and old, Sarah finds herself facing an enemy that magic alone can’t defeat. Will she be able to save her friend? Or is she destined to be forgotten, too?
I got to read an advanced copy of this book from Grey Gecko Press in exchange for a fair review.
I had not read the first book beforehand, but I did enjoy "Conquest of Greystone Valley." It started out reminding me of Harry Potter, but got much better along the way. Sarah is a likable heroine and thus easy to root for. I don't want to spoil too much, but this would be a good read for anyone who likes strong female characters, faerie tales, magic, or fantasy altogether.
As an English teacher always on the lookout for new fiction for my students, I would recommend this book to young adult fans of fantasy and fearless heroines. The protagonist, Sarah, is very relatable in both the mistakes she makes and the lessons she learns throughout the novel. The secondary characters are also interesting, although I would recommend reading the first book in the series in order to better grasp the depth of these characters. However, the book itself can stand alone as it has a separate plot that can be easily followed without prior knowledge of the series. Although there are some minor grammatical errors scattered throughout the electronic version of the novel I read, I found these did not detract from the readers' engagement. Overall, an enjoyable read that I would consider adding to my classroom lending library.