This book reminded me of a fantastical version of Annie. An orphan longing to know their true identity goes on a journey to discover who they really are. A must read for fans of C.S. Lewis and Tolkien. My kids loved it and we can’t wait to read the next one!

I feel like the author didn't know if he wanted to write an innocent middle grade novel or a full scale horror-ish, adventure young adult novel. The descriptions of actions and paths the characters are taking, the other world world building, and character development were a bit off but the descriptions of Hamelin's childhood was nice.

This book is a good start to what I hope to be a very captivating story and adventure. I love a good orphan, chosen one story--Series of Unfortunate Events, Harry Potter, or Chronicles of Narnia anyone?--and I did enjoy book one of this series, so much so in fact, that I immediately began book two upon finishing.

What I liked:

The characters were very easy to care for. I really enjoyed the friendship between Hamelin and his two best friends, Layla and Bryan. In the beginning chapters, I liked the staff who took him in and cared for him like family.

The flashbacks to his parents and his own past was a wild ride and added a larger sense of adventure to the beginning chapters, as well as, established the evil entity within the storyline without giving away all the mystery, which I thought was quite well done.

The last 30-25% of the book really gripped me and made me want to continue reading!

What could have been better:

I'm not sure this is purely YA, at least the beginning chapters, with Hamelin being only a small child, feel more like a Middle-Grade novel. That being said, I wouldn't consider it Middle-Grade due to the violence that occurs in the flashbacks with his parents. I guess I wish that distinction would be a little clearer.

I wish the whole book could have swept me up in suspense and excitement like the last few chapters. Overall I wonder if this series wouldn't have been paced more effectively as a duology or even a longer, stand-alone novel, but I suppose I'll have to wait and see how the other two books work to see if that would be a viable option.

The last point is just a stylistic choice in writing. The writing style was just not exactly my cup of tea, it didn't make me dislike the book or story by any means, but it did trip me up once in a while when I would come across a sentence or passage that I felt could have used a bit more polishing. A few of the sentences are reiterations of sentences from the paragraph before, but the reiteration doesn't really bring any new information or add any more style to the passage, which I think could have been executed better.

At the end of the day, the tail-end of the book left me wanting more so I'm excited to see how Hamelin's story continues to unfold. If you're interested in this series you can learn more via the publisher's website (not a sponsored or affiliate link).

Stay tuned for my review of book two!

This is a well written fantasy story. Hamelin is left by his parents on the steps of a childrens home to save his life. While his parents are taken back to the other realm Hamelin is raised in this time in West Texas. As he grows up he starts to encounter strange things and at one point is taken to meet his destiny but he isn't ready to move beyond his fear. With the help of his friends from the childrens home he is able to piece together more of his past and discover what might have happened to his parents. This story really fleshed out the characters in this series and I felt really invested in Hamelin and success. The magical mysteries aren't fully revealed to us in this story but I'm hoping we learn more in future books. This is a good start to a new series. I can't wait to read about what awaits Hamelin in the other realm and whether he missed his opportunity to change things when he tried to get there the first time.

I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys fantasy and who may have liked the Narnia series.

I really liked this book alot. It had depth and emotion to it. It is for young and old both to read. I can't wait to start book 2

Wow!! What a great story!! It held me captivated most of the night and when I looked up it was daylight! I thought wow! Where did the night go lol!
But really I truly enjoyed what was happening in the book. In fact I was in the book itself! I was at the mouth of the cave right along with Ben, Layla and Hamelin and wanting to fall into it! Now that was creepy!
I immediately loved the older couple that moved into rhe children's home except that I couldn't stand the lady's sing songy voice. For some reason it grated on my nerves! I guess cause I could actually hear her doing it!! I will say she did have a heart of gold!
This series in a way reminds me of the Harry Potter series but much better!!
The author has done a great job on this book on bringing the characters to life and taking me along for the ride.
This is a young adult book but I still liked it because it was a refreshing read. I loved it too that it was told in 1st person ( I can connect better when it's told in 1st person) and not present tense. A very delicious and delightful read!
My thanks to the publisher for an early read of this book NO compensations were received and all opinions are my own.

this was a neat young adult novel, I read the three together and they were exactly how I wanted my young adult series to go. The world was built wonderfully and magically and the characters were great, The first book in the series was a good start and each book got better.