I recived this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was thrilled to recive this ARC just by reading the synopsis because it's just so unique. It had my favorite components mystery and multiple worlds and they did not disappoint. They mystery and little clues had me reading late into the night just so see what was next. The aspect of different worlds was so fun. I enjoyed the world building and the side effects of staying to long. I was a little disappointed however that we didnt get to see more of those worlds or atleast visit them via maddie but the details about them kept me happy and where some of my favorite aspects.
What can I say about Maddie, our main character. She was a breath of fresh air. I loved that she was a sweet determined character in a world of moody main character just waiting for the adventure to happen to them and not actively making things happen. Then her sexuality was an even better surprise. I love LGBTQ representation in her and other characters. I love that as a bisexual character she had romantic interests in both genders. It was a fantastic representation.
The story was well paced with the most of the action happening later in the book, I still enjoyed the set up in the start of the book. The ending was well placed and not to rushed. I loved how all these little hints lead to a great plot twist and all came together in the end and I definitely gasped in surprise with that plot twist. Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was well paced and exciting and I think it was a great entry into YA fantasy and a breath of fresh air. Definitely a five star read for me and one I would be happy to put on my shelves!!.

I really enjoyed Sara's debut duology, Everless. So when I learned that she was going to be publishing another YA fantasy duology, I was super excited. Havenfall captivated me from page one and has me flipping the pages as fast as I could to see what was going to happen next.

All Maddie wants is to become the innkeeper of the Inn at Havenfall, the neutral space between three different realms. Summer after summer the Inn at Havenfall has been Maddie's escape from the reality of her mother facing death row, her brother's death but it's also been the only place she gets to spend the summer with Brekken, a Fiorden solider that Maddie is falling for. But Maddie's summer begins to fall apart the moment she arrives at Havenfall, the door to Solaria, a world that was closed off generations ago has opened, someone is dead, her uncle is gravely ill and unable to run the inn and Brekken is missing. With the help of Taya, one of the mortal helping hands at Havenfall, Maddie must become the innkeeper in her uncle's absence and make sure that this years summit doesn't fall apart. But, what happens when darker forces are at work?

I really enjoyed the world building in Havenfall. Sara used a contemporary backdrop to create a captivating and lush fantasy world, that comes alive in front of your eyes. Though I have many questions about the different worlds mentioned in Havenfall, Sara gave us enough world building to get and overall idea of the world and its culture and it's importance to the story line. But I am excited to learn more about Fiordenkill, Byrn and Solaria in the next book (and possibly even get to visit one of these worlds!) In her debut series, the world building was one of the aspects that I did have issues with and I am glad to see that in this series it isn't an issue.

I really enjoyed Maddie's character. A lot of the time in fantasy characters act older then there actual age. In Havenfall, Maddie actually felt like a seventeen year old to me. She made mistakes, she was overwhelmed and she looked to others for help. When she was a child, a Solarian broke into her house and killer her brother and her mother, trying to protect Havenfall took the blame. Through out the novel we see Maddie struggle with survivors guilt and how if she had called for help and didn't climb into the cabinet, how things might be different.

We learn pretty early on in the story that Maddie is Bi, so when Taya was introduced I suspected that there would be a love triangle. I want to say that there is a slight love triangle, it is nothing crazy and it isn't overwhelming in the slightest. I can see Maddie ended up with both Taya and Brekken. But, with how Havenfall ended I am intrigued to see how the romance aspect is going to play out.

Overall I really enjoyed Havenfall and I can't wait to see what book two is going to have in store for Maddie, Brekken, Taya and the rest of this cast. Sara's sophomore series is one that shouldn't be missed and has the potential to appeal to both fantasy and contemporary readers alike.

**may contain spoilers**

Thank you Netgalley and Bloomsbury for an arc of this book for an honest review!!

Ok.. I’m honestly having trouble with what I want to rate this.. I’m at a 3⭐️ Right now.
There were parts in the books that were intriguing.. and parts that just fell short..

I liked the overall idea of this story. The Inn that was the magical meeting place for all the different worlds, Maddie being the next in line to run the inn after her uncle, and the back and forth with who to trust. All these kept me going. I really wish there was more about the worlds themselves. And not just the idea of them in the background.

The love interests troubled me. Brekken was there from the start.. so of course.. swoon.. but then enter Taya.. the vibe I got from her and Maddie together just felt like a forced love interest. They became friends and I think it would have been a lot better if their bond was more of a strong friendship rather than she’s pretty and oh we talked I think I like her. Considering the build up with Brekken and how they’ve been friends since they we little and last year she saw things possibly becoming more.. I felt the Maddie thing shouldn’t have gone in that direction.

With all that being said, it just fell short for me. The idea and world building is there.. just didn’t come together like I hoped.

I enjoyed this book a lot. I previously read a sneak peek and was very interested. I really liked Sara Holland's Everless duology, and the description of Havenfall sounded so unique!

I really liked the characters; Maddie was determined while also being very kind. She's also bisexual, and has potentially romantic situations with both a guy and a girl throughout the book. Her uncle, who is the Innkeeper of Havenfall, is gay and married to a man. The other characters were all very complex and exciting to read about.

I also liked the different worlds, especially Fiordenkill (which is mentioned to have a resemblance to Narnia), but I did wish that it was possible for Maddie to go into the other worlds. It's stated multiple times that members of one world can't stay in another for more than a few days without getting sick and dying, except at Havenfall. So, while there were many descriptions of the different worlds, Maddie (and therefore the reader) never sees them for herself, and presumably never will be able to.

The plot twist at the end involving Taya was completely unexpected for me, and I loved the way clues were subtly dropped throughout the book before the reveal. However, for the first 70% or so of the book, I felt like nothing was really happening, and then I felt that there was too much happening in the last 30% of the book.

Ever since hearing about this book earlier this year I have been waiting to read it but this was a disappointing read for me.

Maddie has dealt with a lot when it comes to her family. Even though her father wants her away from the inn, she is drawn to it since she also wants to take over after her uncle retires. My problem with Maddie was that she was very indecisive. She also pined over another character throughout the whole book and even when she was finally near him, it still wasn't good enough and then she was worried about someone else. She was never happy.

There was never a connection formed between me and the characters either. All of the minor characters were pretty flat and I just can't deal with that. I needed more from them and never got it.

As for the plot, it revolves around a mystery. It did keep me engaged for the most part but that was well after 30%. The beginning, besides the prologue, felt slow and a lot of information was thrown around about the inn and its other-realm doors. Besides all the information about the doors and some characters that were not from Haven, little else is known about the other realms. They really didn't play a huge part and I think that's why for me the fantasy element lacked a bit. Hopefully there will be more from those realms in the next book. I also guessed a few of the plot twists and the ones I didn't lacked the surprise I enjoy.

Overall, it was an interesting concept for a book but it was executed well enough for me. I'm hoping that book two will have better character development and more to do with the other realms.