The Mirror and the Mountain is a children’s book following two children after they find themselves in another world through a mirror (yes, very Alice through the Looking Glass!). It has a fairytale childlike feel to the world and writing, but the story has that Narnian feel of walking through the wardrobe and finding a new world.

It has dragons, dwarves, elves and some conflict between them as humans come into the picture and start an adventure. It’s your typical fantasy novel in so many ways – however it’s also got a lot of allegory and strong Christian ties. As a whole, I think the story borrowed a lot of concepts, themes and morals from not just the Bible but many other children’s books which I found made the story less interesting. However, it did make it feel a little nostaglic.

The King in this story very much mirror’s Aslan in Narnia where he’s a placeholder for God. However I liked that the characters are challenged on the assumption that the legendary King should be human. “People always imagine he is like them. I suppose it makes it easier for us to try and understand him” – this is a great way to describe God and I think it fits more accepting Christian values than we sometimes see. I also just like that in a fantasy world we don’t make human’s the top of the food chain automatically.

I’m personally not a Christian, but very much saw the morals and parallels throughout the story to the Bible. I found the link to the Bible to be fairly similar to that of the Chronicles of Narnia, and whilst not preachy I did think it went a little bit too far into the allegory than needed.

The story itself is very fast paced, with our main characters Jonah and Summer very quickly arriving in Presedia and getting themselves into trouble. Summer gets to act like a Princess whilst Jonah goes on a journey to find her, and then they make friends with a dwarf king, a dragon and the elf queen too. I love the two kids and their friendship being the strength holding them both together in a strange new world.

The story gets a bit darker nearer the end, however it reads as a children’s book throughout. Overall I thought it was a quick and easy read, although I might not have it on my favourites shelf any time soon.

I read the foreword and was kind of put off as it says about how it is religious. Then when I was reading it that is all I could think about. I feel like this should have been put at the end of the book and then you could reflect on how it was inspired by religious stories.

However, I did enjoy the story when I could switch off from the religious angle. It was an interesting story and I did want to know what was going to happen next.

This was the hobbit mixed with Narnia but I really struggled to connect to the characters. I may be a little old for this one though and will test out on my nephews at some point

3.5 stars
This was a really cute middle grade story.
I feel like everything went very quickly throughout the whole story. There wasn’t much time to get to know the characters or get much grasp of the events that were happening. The characters were all really fun and there was a good variety, I just wish I had gotten more time to get to know them.
I did like the plot line. It was really fun and something I’m sure I would have loved when I was younger.
I think my favorite character was Khoree, although I really feel like Khoree isn’t a name for a dragon for some reason. I also liked Tin.
I kind of felt like these characters had been set in the same way for so long and all it takes for them to completely change their mindset is 2 kids from a different world to tell them they should be doing something else and bam! Their whole mindset does a 180. I feel like it should have taken longer.

This was really lovely read. It is more children fiction than ya but it was really magical. World building is amazing. I will probably read everything elves in it.

My 9 year old daughter absolutely loved the book. She reads constantly, different authors across several genres but she thought this book was brilliant.

She liked the idea of a magic mirror that would show people's hidden personality traits, she loved the honesty that came with it in a world where "fake" especially on social media seems to be the way people interact with each other.
The writing was descriptive and pleasant and she felt she could easily lose herself in the magical world the author created.
She would certainly recommended to anyone that loves an emotional read mixed with all the classical elements of fantasy.

Thank you NetGalley, Luke Aylen, and Monarch books for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

This book is like a mesh of Narnia and The Hobbit, with a sprinkle of Spirited Away.

Jonah and Summer are both eleven years old. When exploring in a building, Summer finds herself whisked to another world through a mirror, and Jonah soon follows. With they way back destroyed, Summer and Jonah embark on a quest to find a mirror that can take them home, making quite a few interesting friends along the way.

This is perfect for readers ages 10-12 (maybe younger or older, depending on the reader of course) and is a classic fantasy: children find themselves embarking on a quest, and there are dwarves, dragons, and elves, all classic fantasy creatures.

I thought that the story was very dialogue heavy and lacked more detail where it could have been added. It was hard to picture the world since the scenes felt low-key, but since I've read so many books with a similar feel, my mind was able to paint what wasn't there. The use of mostly dialogue does help the story move faster, but I also didn't feel much of a connection to any of the characters. They felt somewhat flat and went through very little development by the end, and what bits were obviously pointed out as a change in character felt unrealistic and rushed.

As a story to read for fun, especially for the age group, it was a fun little adventure. The dragon is my favorite character, for sure, which is what drew me into wanting to read this in the first place.

This is definitely written for children, not teens or young adults. I was not able to connect with any of the characters. It is not my typical read, but I enjoyed the general story. I would recommend this to readers who enjoy middle grade/children's books or to young readers.

This book was a 5 🌟 read!!! This is very reminiscent of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. These two friends decided to go exploring underneath the church away from all of the adults and they stumble upon a mirror. Each one ends up going through the mirror by accident and sent off to another world. They soon discover that they need to help find the king. With help from a dwarf and a dragon and an Elf Queen. They are on their way. They learn lessons along the way and what it means to persevere even though things seems impossible. Great book for children!

This was a really cute story. The Christian elements are enforced and practiced in the form of an epic fantasy. Jonah and Summer find a magic mirror that transports them to a magical kingdom. While trying to find their way home, they meet friends and help them learn the errors of the way. The last part of the journey, they are looking for the King of the land. Their journey is perilous and the king (God and/or Jesus) finishes teaching them about forgiveness and what happens when people don't believe or follow His example. I loved it and really hope Jonah and Summer get to go back.

This book was such a fun read and spirited me back to my childhood- making me wish for my own magic mirror XD

The story has everything a child could want: elves, dwarfs and dragons. It even manages to ad a biblical theme, without coming over as preachy.
It is definitely reminiscent of Narnia, but it has a more lighthearted feel to it.

I would mostly recommend this book to younger readers as it might come across as too simple or immature to older readers, but I enjoyed the story nonetheless

*I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

This book is one of those books where you really need to pay attention to figure out what is going on. The idea sounded amazing, but I could not figure out how the idea fits into what I read.

I read this book with my 9 and 11 year old daughters (added to our homeschool curriculum) and we loved it. Very Narnia-like, which we all enjoyed. We are a Christian family and put a huge priority on good, clean reading. I will be recommending this tale to all. Thanks for the opportunity!

The Mirror and the Mountain by Luke Aylen reminded me of a modern-day mixture of Narnia, Alice in Wonderland, Bridge to Terabithia, and the Wizard of Oz. When two friends find themselves teleported through the mirror into a new world known as Presedia, filled with dwarves, elves, and other mythical creatures, they soon discover not everything is as it seems.
In the crumbling realm of Presidia, the King is missing and without h,im the world, along with its inhabitants, are falling into ruin. Summer and Jonah must find a way to locate the king because he is the only one that can send them back through the broken mirror. Along the way, the duo encounters fun loving characters as well as those that are supposed to be dangerous such as the Dragon named Khoree!
My favorite thing about fiction is that you can tell the same basic story in a zillion different ways and get a different outcome every single time! Even though I compared the story to the aforementioned stories of my childhood, this book definitely stands out on its own and will be loved by children for generations to come! The world building and character development were spot on for this age group and will be enjoyed by adults as well!
I look forward to reading this with my own children and would recommend it to anyone who loves adventures and likes books that have morals! Just like with Narnia, there’s a slight underlying religious aspect to the storyline but you don’t have to be religious to enjoy this book because it is not an overt gesture to draw you into any one faith. At the center of the story, the reader can learn how choices affect your outcome in life and that every adventure will help you glean knowledge to help you prosper in the world around you. ! I am now a huge fan of this author and will continue to read anything they yield.
Thank you, Lion Hudson LTD and NetGalley for allowing me to experience this book in exchange for an honest review!

A nice book that reads like a fable or a parable without sounding outwardly religious. Teaching without preaching .

The Mirror In The Mountain Is a fantasy book that pulls out all the stops. It has connotations of Biblical proportions covered in the undertow of the theme of the book. In the book you get to have fun - you have elve's, dwarves and dragons. The story really pulls at you and boy do you enjoy it. It gets you thinking and I like that and cannot wait until the next one comes out because the imagery is out of this world.

This book is about some children that get transported through a magic mirror into a fantastic world not their own. With all the usual fantasy races.

This book has amazing world building and characters, it's so descriptive and fantastic and could be totally mesmerising.

I couldn't get into this book at all... I got about a third through it before I gave up.

I couldn't connect with any of the characters and I found the main characters incredibly immature. I think I would have loved it had I been a lot younger.

It's an absolute shame since it was so well written.

I’m really grateful I got accepted to review this book, it was so lovely in every way.
The story is fantasy driven and follows 2 friends who fall into a mirror and find themselves in a magical kingdom and need to find their way back home.
They go on a great adventure to find the King, who has been lost for many many years.
Along the way these children spread determination and wisdom to the people and creatures they come across one being Khoree the dragon.

This book was wonderfully beautiful and lighthearted. Most ideal for children to read and sets a lot of good examples along the way.
A lovely quick read in what I would consider a familiar fantasy world containing dragons, elves and dwarfs.
Brilliant book bursting with adventure.

The Mirror and the Mountain is a parable book about two children who journey by accident through a passageway into a land filled with with dwarves, elves, and a dragon. It was a relatively quick read with a couple blaring lessons to learn. Whether a reader is Christian or not, there is no matter. The book is a good read with simple truths. Definitely a fun and adventurous book for young readers!

This book was interesting, but not something that utterly captivated me. The story line follows two young children along their quest. Yes, there is magic and dwarves and even a dragon. Yes, the storyline is fun and light, while still providing some life lessons. The book is appropriately written for it's targeted age group, and I think that the younger generation of readers will appreciate the magic. I'd recommend this for teachers who are looking to hook a potential reader into the realm of fantasy. Overall, I wasn't blown away, but it's still a good read for middle grade readers.