Review for 'Halfway'

"Halfway" is the first book in the 'Wizards and Faeries' series by author Stephanie Void.

It is night and the moon is shining down on a craggy ocean shoreline. A woman sits on the gray rocks her back to you. The hem of her black dress raggedly sprawls across the stones. She hugs herself, a headful of blue white hair tipped slightly downwards.

Twins, Cemagna and Temet, live in seclusion with their fairy mother, Nessy. Everything they know of the world comes from the books in their mother's library. They spend countless hours combing the beach for treasure from the outside world, innocent and playful. That all changes when Temet accidentally calls on his unique form of magic. Soon the happy family will be ripped apart by an awe-inspiring and intimidating Wizard's Order.

 

What I liked:

• The dual development tracks of the two twins
• The use of atmosphere to dampen magical talents
• Interesting water villians

What I disliked:

• First, why do the children call their mother by her first name? Why?
• The pacing is off and the writing often feel disjointed and hurried.
• The dialogue also falls flat.
• Why does Nessy go crazy?
• I get the feeling that the author was attempting to use foreshadowing several times but it wasn't well executed and so failed.
• The whole story feels rushed.



'Halfway' feels like it would be a good introductory story for young kids and teens interested in dipping a toe into the fantasy world. I breezed through it in less than an hour and a half. It is currently available for free for the Kindle. The second book in the series, Wanderer's Shadow, is available for $4.99. You can find out more about the author and her books at www.stephanievoid.com





3 out of 5 crowns

Recommended for young readers only, adults will definitely find it lacking.






Synopsis: "The world of Halfway is the anti-Harry-Potter: the wizard school is part of a shadowy organization that takes the students by force from their families. And the outside world isn't much better: if you are a wizard, you are looked upon with fear because of what you represent.
In the midst of this, in secret, twins are born: a boy and a girl. They are Halfway, the rare offspring of humans and a now-extinct race of faeries.

• But the twins don't remain a secret for long. Temet, the boy, is taken as a child by the wizards. Cemagna