Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Spellhaven by Sandra Unerman (2017)

Unerman's prose is a delight to read. This first novel shows great promise for future works. It also shows a few typical weaknesses of first books. The plot is not quite as tight as I might like, characters not fully developed, and the ending somewhat disappointing (it seemed almost as if Unerman was having trouble finding a resolution so she just stopped). The main character, Jane Fairchild, is compelled by a magician, Lucian Hunter, to walk to the magically protected island Spellhaven. He selects her based on her musical gifts. Magicians from Spellhaven travel the world to find gifted artists to fill Spellhaven's needs. Much of the plot of the book is a detailing of the history of Spellhaven and its genesis. The other plot elements are the attempts by various magicians and their families to obtain Jane's services and use her gifts for their entertainments. There is also a larger plot pulling all together but in the interest of avoiding "spoilers" I'll leave that to readers.

The book is enjoyable, but ultimately a bit unsatisfying. I'm not certain whether the book should have actually been an trilogy so that Unerman had time to develop the characters more fully or if it simply need more ruthless editing to reduce the lush details about Spellhaven and focus more on plot and character.

I hope Unerman continues to keep writing. She is clearly talented.

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