Eramane by
Frankie Ash Series: Eramane Trilogy #1 Published by Archway Publishing on August 8, 2013
Genres: Fantasy,
Young Adult Pages: 234
Buy on Amazon Goodreads Synopsis: In the village of Eludwid, seventeen-year-old Eramane Fahnestock goes about her life, cheerfully disregarding a prophecy made to her parents that she would have a great gift. Not yet wed and beset with boredom, Eramane cannot shake the feeling that something exciting awaits her beyond Eludwid. But when she is invited to picnic with a handsome young suitor, Eramane has no idea that her life will soon change forever.
As Eramane prepares for her date, she is suddenly hypnotized by a strange voice that tells her he will be coming for her that night. Unsettled but determined to press forward, Eramane and her suitor, Lebis, head to the woods to enjoy their picnic. As darkness falls on the forest, however, a beast emerges, transforming their beautiful outing into a terrifying scene. Taken captive and carried away to a mountain hideaway, Eramane finds her memories are soon clouded, even as her family frantically searches for her back home.
In this gripping fantasy tale, evil is summoned to the mountaintop, forcing a young woman to discover her magical gifts and exact revenge against a beast determined to destroy everything she has ever loved.
So…maybe I just didn’t read the synopsis carefully enough before I read it, but this book was NOTHING like I expected. I was expecting your average Fantasy romp with a heroine who has or discovers magic or awesome fighting skills and falls in love with tall, dark and handsome. What I got was something quite different.
Eramane starts out rather terrifying and gets darker as it goes along. This book is different from your average fantasy as it lives in the realm of the antagonist. It lives in darkness. When we turned that corner in the book, this was me:
I was surprised at the actions Eramane took. This is not your normal heroine, sacrificing herself for the good of others. This is a human being (sort of) who has real selfish desires and self preservation instincts. Now, I wanted her to fight back more, to search harder for answers. She seemed a little complacent in the middle.
I liked the split POV between Eramane and Samiah, her brother. Samiah’s story reads much more like a high fantasy novel, with a quest taken on horse back, searching for Eramane and taking out enemies along the way. It was nice to have that other piece spread throughout the darkness of Eramane’s story.
Part of the reason this book gets 3 stars is because I’m not a huge fan of first person present narration. I don’t have a problem with first person (I’ve written some things in first person), but I do NOT like present tense for fiction. That’s totally a subjective thing, a preference that doesn’t diminish the quality of the book, only my personal enjoyment.
With an interesting and very different kind of heroine and lots of action, Eramane is a fast-paced and exciting read that will keep the reader engaged for it’s very short length. If written in the same way, sequels will be very successful for fans of the first book. Recommended for fans of fantasy, especially if you’re looking for something outside of the norm!
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About the Author:
Frankie Ash grew up on the eastern shores of the US, and her Southern accent would rock as a cartoon character voice. Most of her time is spent with her laptop, spinning tales, fabricating worlds, and writing new creatures into existence. But when she’s not playing Dr. Frankenstein with words, she is either reading, absorbing anything sci-fi/fantasy related, or chasing after, and sometimes capturing, things that go bump in the night.
Her debut novel, Eramane (Archway Publishing) is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, IndieBound, and Kobo.
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