Emily’s Trial
By Natalie Wright
Published by Boadicea Press
Published: Dec. 19, 2013
ASIN: B009LMAIGE
Amazon Synopsis:
Two years ago, Emily journeyed to Ireland and became a modern Celtic
Priestess. Emily was entrusted with the powerful magic of the ancient golden
torc, forged by faerie hands and fused to her soul.
But even a Priestess can know desire, feel temptation, and yearn for love. Will passion entice Emily to use the sacred magic in a forbidden way? Can new love take root in a
world of nightmares? And will her friendships survive Emily's Trial?
The Journey Continues . . .
But even a Priestess can know desire, feel temptation, and yearn for love. Will passion entice Emily to use the sacred magic in a forbidden way? Can new love take root in a
world of nightmares? And will her friendships survive Emily's Trial?
The Journey Continues . . .
Book Links
My Thoughts:
In Emily’s Trial, Emily
and her friends are now sixteen. Natalie Wright has done a credible job in “aging”
her characters. They sound and act like sixteen-year-olds. They have the same
insecurities and hormonal drives that all teenagers do. Couple that with
magical powers and you’re in for a wild ride.
After returning from Ireland in the previous book, two years
have passed and life has gone on pretty much as normal. Emily has grown a
little careless with her abilities, and uses them to amuse herself. She has
also started looking around at the boys with interest and wishes she could get
to know Owen Breen much better. But Owen is a senior and wouldn’t give her, a
junior, the time of day.
When Emily decides to use her magic to play a trick on
Greta, another student who always calls her “Freak Girl”, Fanny and Jake get
upset with her for “stooping to Greta’s level”. It seems not all is going
perfectly well among the three friends.
This incident brings Emily to Owen’s attention and to Emily’s
surprise and delight, Owen asks Emily on a date! One thing leads to another and
he talks her into opening a portal and taking her to the Netherworld. Sadly for
them, that’s not where they end up.
Along with Jake and Fanny, and stowaway Greta, Emily and
Owen arrive not in the Netherworld but in the Umbra Perdita, ruled by Ciardha.
This is a place where your nightmares become reality.
Natalie Wright has the ability to write with detail, making
it easy to visualize the words on the page and “see” what is happening. You can
almost smell the sulfurous air in the Umbra Perdita.
There was a lot of action in this book, and it moved along
at a nice steady pace.
I didn’t really care for the swearing that the teens used in
their speech. I have to admit though, that with many teens in today’s day and
age it is pretty common.
I thought that this book showed what happens when we let
things like pride and selfishness get in the way; how it damages our
relationships and how we’d best think about our actions and their consequences
before we do something that we know we are going to regret. If Emily had done
that, she might not have used her dagger for selfish purposes as she was warned
not to by the goddess. It cost her more than she could have imagined.
I thought this was unique novel with an interesting way of
presenting its themes. I gave this novel 3 stars out of 5.
About the Author:
Natalie
is the author of The Akasha Chronicles, a young adult fantasy trilogy. When not
writing, blogging, Facebooking, Tweeting, Wattpadding or eating chocolate,
Natalie nurtures her young daughter, feeds her dog too many treats, and can't
resist watching Ancient Aliens, no matter how absurd the show becomes.
Natalie spent her formative years on a farm in Ohio living in
a creaky old farmhouse, gathering natural clay and crawdads from the creek, and
using the moss growing on the rocks in the woods as a carpet for her Barbie
dolls. It was a fertile environment for an active imagination and an
inquisitive mind.
Natalie
enjoys travel, good wine, and excellent food shared with family and friends. She is, however, a city girl at heart and vows never
to live anyplace for long where she can’t get take-out food delivered to her
door. Natalie finds inspiration in travels and the desert environment of her
home in Tucson, Arizona where she lives with her husband, young daughter and
her dog Molly.
"Books
are my friends, ideas my passion."
Contact the Author
Thank you for your review and for bringing attention to the series :-)
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