Firstly I want to say thank you to Netgalley and The Fantastic Flying Book Club for providing me with an EARC of this book and for also inviting me to be part of the wonderful blog tour (28/02/2020). I am so grateful for this opportunity.

Havenfall was one of my most anticipated books of the year. I have not read anything from Sara Holland before but have heard so many good things about her books that I knew I needed to get my hands on it as soon as I possibly could. This opportunity has meant that I am lucky enough to have read this book before it has been released which I am so grateful for.

The first thing I would like to highlight is the glossary in the front of the book, not enough books adopt this method and I feel like it is so necessary. The amount of times I have flicked to the back of the book to look something up and been greeted with a spoiler is irritating. To find that Havenfall's glossary is at the front is so refreshing. I would like to highlight at this point that this is the setting for the EARC I have not seen a finished copy yet.

I really enjoyed that I got to learn about the separate worlds before I began this book. I feel like a lot of authors throw you in and expect you to learn along the way. This is okay but I feel like that then takes me away from the world and the characters. I liked that I was given the tools that I needed to begin with, I was given just enough to have a good understanding that I could expand on as I continued throughout the book.

I loved this world so much, I loved that the worlds were different and there were different doors that led to them. I liked the idea of the monsters and the politics that occurred within the book. I am not big on fantasy books with a lot of politics but I can assure you that this is not too heavy and adds just enough to the book to be enjoyable but not overwhelming.

I really liked Maddie as a character, I must admit it did take me a period of time to get really into her character and understand her. But once this had happened, approximately 100 pages in, I really appreciated her and cared what happened with her character. I don't think i build as good of a relationship with any of the other characters but I am hoping as the series progresses this will change and the author will build on those that maybe need a little bit more development.

Havenfall was fast paced and very much to the point, Sara Holland did not linger on unnecessary plot points of descriptions just to add to the length of the book. I think it felt like a fairly short book for a fantasy, but it was jam packed and a very good first in the series. I feel like the ending left the reader with a lot of unanswered questions which I really hope are answered in books to come.

I enjoyed this book and the finished copy has already been added to my amazon wishlist. I am intrigued to find out what happens next and am very much looking forward to seeing what happens next. I would recommend this book.

3.5 STARS


It's okay to go in wary.


If you're anything like me, maybe you've read Sara Holland's work before. I tried reading Everless, and hated every minute of it. Only the premise of Havenfall kept me from bypassing it entirely; it sounds an awful lot like TAZ: Amnesty, which I loved to pieces. An inn sitting near the boundary between worlds? Murder? Desperate attempts to foster peace between factions on the cusp of violence? Yeah, it sounded a lot like Amnesty, so I gave it a shot.

And hey, 3.5 stars isn't so bad! It was a hell of a lot more enjoyable than expected, and did some solid things with the plot that I'm eager to see a conclusion to. Plus, the mystery aspect kept me guessing even when I had some of it spooled out, and I never complain too much about a story keeping me on my toes like that! 

And when you top it off with a casually queer cast (bi lead? lesbian side character? innkeeping husbands? hell yeah!)? Plus some fun plot twists? Absolutely a fun time.

But I still think I ought to dig into the good and the bad, because what else am I here for?


More murder than magic, but there's still a healthy dose of both!


Set in the mountains of Colorado, Havenfall follows Maddie Morrow as her perfect summer at the one place she truly belongs goes horribly awry. With a murderer on the loose and her beloved uncle, Havenfall's innkeeper in grave condition, it's up to her to preserve the inn and the peace it represents for the remaining realms. 

The murder alone, I think, was the best part of the story for me. I never turn down the chance to weed out suspects one by one until I have the answers, and I adore a good plot twist that shakes up everything I know (while still making perfect sense). Thankfully, Havenfall had both of these things, keeping me attached to the page to the point of reading the entire book in one sitting. As I tend to do. But with more gusto than usual.

That single murder sets everything in motion, and manages to tangle up so many disparate threads into a core mystery. There's some degree of YA predictability that means you'll probably see pieces of the plot coming, but it's engineered in a way that remains engaging all the same. 


"There has always been war; that doesn't make us all monsters."


Possibly the thing I appreciated most, in a "this is going to be underrated" sort of way, is that Havenfall doesn't go the typical route with the expected antagonist. There are some elements of it that rubbed me the wrong way, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense that certain characters thought the way they did, while others were obviously far too prejudiced and inflexible. It made for a story line that didn't excuse past actions and perceptions, while also outlining the real antagonists.

Of course, if the characters had been stronger, this might have come across even better. As it is, most of the side characters are on the weak side, particularly the love interest. Maddie herself is interesting once you get past the initial tragic backstory, and Taya caught my attention (even if Sara Holland has written her as a terrible motorcyclist when transporting a passenger, but I'm just picky when it comes to literary motorcycle safety, thank you), but I wish other members of the cast had been more prominent. Many feel like props, and didn't lend themselves toward a fully nuanced approach of the theme.


And...where's the magic?


Like I said, the story is more mystery than magic in many ways, and I can't help feeling let down by the fact that we never see the realms that Havenfall protects. We also see very little magic (in part because of the properties of Havenfall, but still), and that disappointed me. I can't control how a book meets my expectations, but it can affect the rating nonetheless, especially in this case. Show me the elemental realm with the raging storms! Give me a better look at that frozen realm and its people! Show me the other realms that have since closed!

At the end of the day, this is what brought Havenfall down below the 4 star mark. While it made for a fun read, the characters weren't as strong as I would have liked, and it didn't quite meet expectations. Am I still too in love with TAZ: Amnesty to let something so similar into my heart? Was this just not quite strong enough to earn a spot on my favorites shelf?

Whatever the reasons, I still had fun, and I'm looking forward to the next book. Hopefully it has an equally stunning cover, as well as further exploration of the key characters and realms. That would improve on the current situation quite a bit, and shape the core source of conflict into something even more urgent and personal.


CW: violence (including gun violence), loss of a loved one, gore, underage drinking, self-harm (for magic), graphic injury, kidnapping, nudity

[This review will go live on Hail & Well Read at 10 am EST on 2/24/20.]

I finally finished reading my digital ARC copy of Havenfall by Sara Holland (thank you so much to Bloomsbury YA and NetGalley for letting me read it early!) during some of my snow down time! The concept for the book was definitely really interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. 

Havenfall 4/5 Stars

Summary from Goodreads: A safe haven between four realms. The girl sworn to protect it--at any cost.
Hidden deep in the mountains of Colorado lies the Inn at Havenfall, a sanctuary that connects ancient worlds--each with their own magic--together. For generations, the inn has protected all who seek refuge within its walls, and any who disrupt the peace can never return.
For Maddie Morrow, summers at the inn are more than a chance to experience this magic first-hand. Havenfall is an escape from reality, where her mother sits on death row accused of murdering Maddie's brother. It's where Maddie fell in love with handsome Fiorden soldier Brekken. And it's where one day she hopes to inherit the role of Innkeeper from her beloved uncle.
But this summer, the impossible happens--a dead body is found, shattering everything the inn stands for. With Brekken missing, her uncle gravely injured, and a dangerous creature on the loose, Maddie suddenly finds herself responsible for the safety of everyone in Havenfall. She'll do anything to uncover the truth, even if it means working together with an alluring new staffer Taya, who seems to know more than she's letting on. As dark secrets are revealed about the inn itself, one thing becomes clear to Maddie--no one can be trusted, and no one is safe . . .

I really liked the idea of there being an inn in Colorado that connected multiple worlds- i feel like normally when I think of places connecting worlds, I think of Europe or one of the coasts, but Colorado never really comes to mind, so that was a fun new setting. I also really liked the two other worlds that we were introduced to- Fiordenkill and Bryn. And the world we were kinda introduced to- Solaria. I feel like this book did a really good job setting the scene and making me really interested in everything that was going on, but then I felt like right when I was super invested and right when I wanted more, Sara Holland ended the book! Thankfully, there's going to be a book 2, but I'm a little worried that after reading book 2, I'm going to feel like both books should have just been combined into one book.

Even with the small complaint that I have above, I really liked the pacing of the book and the plot was super interesting and easy to follow and it definitely kept me engaged throughout. The characters/character development wasn't the deepest, but that doesn't really matter because it was a really fun book that didn't need deep characters. All in all, I definitely enjoyed Havenfall and I think y'all will too! It comes out on March 3rd, so make sure you pre-order it or request it at your local library today!

3 stars
..
A convergence and meeting place between adjacent realms, the Inn at Havenfall has long been a safe haven and sanctuary for those within its walls; a place to come together, form alliances and make trade. For Maddie Morrow, it's also the place she considers home more than any place, alongside her uncle the Innkeeper, whose footsteps she intends to follow. But this summer things at Havenfall are falling apart, and it falls on Maddie to step up and take responsibility for Inn and it's delegations long before she's actually ready to, and Maddie has no idea who she can and cannot trust.
..
I feel if you've enjyoed author Sara Holland's Everless/Evermore series you'll find more to enjoy, and if you're looking for a quick magical getaway that embraces the idea that there are pockets of magic in our own world, HAVENFALL will be right up your alley.

For me, it wasn't necessarily the case. I absolutely adore the premise of this book, however much fell flat for me. I enjoyed what world building was there, but it didn't feel like enough and I was constantly hoping for more. More descriptions. More interaction. More magic. You can tell me it's there, but I need to see (read) and feel it. Most of the world building was through dialogue, which in itself isn't a bad thing. But the dialogue felt stilted and none of it ever flowed well enough for me. I found Havenfall an entertaining for the most part, there were even some twists and turns that I thoroughly enjoyed and didn't see coming right away, but the plot itself never got into a good rhytyhm; too slow and stilted for me to really get into what I was reading. That being said, it reads fairly quickly and I never felt like I was weighed down to the point I was slugging through the book.

Thank you to Bloomsbury YA and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for review.

Havenfall is a world unto itself--an inn situated at the gateways between worlds offering neutral ground for the Last Remaining Adjacent Realms. It's also the one place where people believe Maddie Marrow when she tells them what really happened to her brother all those years ago.

Maddie knows that this summer is her last chance to prove herself to her uncle Marcus and earn her spot as his successor running the inn. She's up to the challenge. But when Maddie gets to Havenfall she realizes that things have started changing. Her best friend Brekken is a Fiordenkill soldier, Marcus is keeping secrets, and then there's the new girl--Taya--who is supposed to be temporary help for the summer but draws Maddie's attention more than she cares to admit.

When a body is found on the grounds and Marcus is attacked, Maddie is left to pick up the pieces and figure out the truth before Havenfall and the tenuous peace it represents is ruines in Havenfall (2020) by Sara Holland.

As the start of a new series, Havenfall lays a lot of groundwork introducing readers to Maddie's world at the inn and the adjacent realms Fiordenkill and Byrn as well as Solaria, a rogue realm whose portal was sealed off years ago. While the premise is interesting and offers a unique spin on traditional portal fantasies, the world building is one of the bigger problems with this book.

One of the tenets of the story is that that the porous nature of the portals between realms is part of why we have myths with magic even though Earth does not have magic of its own. Solarians--the main villain for a significant part of Havenfall--come from a world that is associated with mythology including djinn, vampires, demons, and soulstealers. This choice is problematic because djinn are also the only non-white/non-western mythology named in the entire story. It's also the only mythos associated with a specific religion/culture which, again, here is being coded as villainous.

I won't get into spoilers explaining Maddie's history with Solaria but suffice to say that her hatred of the entire Solarian race informs a lot of her character. Does Maddie eventually see the error or her ways? Yes. Are reparations being made? Kind of. Did we need to spend an entire book vilifying an entire race (which although presented as white in the novel is the only group in the book associated with a nonwhite culture)? Absolutely not. What's worst, the only notable person of color in the entire cast of characters is Marcus’s husband who is from one of the other “good” worlds.

Holland's ambitious world building never gels enough to transcend this messy foundation. Similarly, the plot never quite comes together despite ample time spent setting up the story with an incredibly slow beginning. Maddie is bisexual--a fact that is refreshingly a nonissue for her family and friends but which also hints at a love triangle that frustratingly never leads anywhere interesting.

Havenfall is a mystery wrapped in a portal fantasy setting that centers an ambitious if often naive heroine. Recommended for readers who prefer slow building suspense to quick action and are willing to overlook messy world building entirely.

Possible Pairings: Caraval by Stephanie Garber, A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer, Last of Her Name by Jessica Khoury, Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus, Mister Monday by Garth Nix, Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige, The Archived by Victoria Schwab

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*

Havenfall is a book, which brings reality and fantasy together. Havenfall Inn is ran by Maddie’s brother. Maddie is tired of life, as mom is on death row for killing one of Maddie’s brothers, but Maddie knows this cannot be right. She goes back to Havenfall Inn where she feels alive.

Havenfall is unique in that it is the safe place between realms. Many come to the Inn to find peace, but when a body is found and shadows lurk, Maddie begins to wonder how safe this escape from reality truly is! Did she make the right choice coming back to Havenfall?

Fantasy book lovers will enjoy this one! YA read
I was given and ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Picture this: a dog is being walked by its owner, who’s listening to very loud music on their earbuds. They are bopping the hell out of the music; they are fucking living. Dancing, grooving, humming, singing, all while they hold on to the leash. Now, the owner trusts their dog, so they walk swiftly through the sidewalk. The dog, however, is a very distracted one, and this fluffy being stops to sniff EVERYTHING and ANYTHING. The owner is used to it, so they just continue bopping to the music with absolutely no cares in the world. After a while, the dog continues its path, but then it stops. Maybe it’s to pee, or maybe it’s to sniff the grass or junk again. But throughout it all, the owner stays happily content, listening to their new favorite bop.

Now, replace the dog with the pacing of Havenfall, and the owner with the plot. Just like the dog I have described, this book is slow. And when I say slow, I fucking mean it. I don’t have a problem with slow-paced books at all. There’s this saying in Puerto Rico that goes “sin prisa, pero sin pausa”, and that’s how I’d describe most slow-paced fiction. Unfortunately, Sara Holland’s latest wouldn’t fall in this category, because it pauses way too much for its own good.

Havenfall follows Maddie Morrow, “just a 16-year old boring white girl” (I dare you to read that in Sophia Lillis’ voice lol) who hasn’t had the best life so far. Her older brother died when she was 5, her mother wrongfully got accused for the murder, and she became a social pariah, a reputation she still holds to this day. But at least she’s got Havenfall, an magical inn hidden in the Colorado mountains run by her beloved uncle Marcus, which serves as a doorway between the whimsical worlds of Fiordenkill, Byrn, and Haven (Earth, which has been named this way as it maintains the balance and neutrality and serves as a safe space for these worlds). The inn has existed for centuries, and once there existed a time when there were even more doors to different worlds, but due to war and conflict, they have been shut off over time.

Citizens from these places, Fiordens and Byrnisians, all have magical powers; people from Fiordenkill have the ability to heal and grow things, while the folks from Byrn are able to manipulate and handle elemental magic. And then there’s the ~super boring~ people from Haven, who have no abilities whatsoever. Bland ass motherfuckers, smh.

Anyway, Havenfall is a literal HAVEN, and every summer, the inn holds a summit to keep the peace and it’s a celebration of unity. But this year, the hat is tipped off those super high ice-capped Colorado mountains and everything goes to shit, as Marcus, the Innkeeper, is gravely injured, Maddie’s best friend goes missing, and a dead body is found.

This concept is actually really cool, and I genuinely think this is Not That Bad. From the beginning, I was very interested in the story and all the different magical worlds, but the execution just fell as flat as a pancake.

Listen, this is YA. What does YA follow? Teenagers. Teenagers are messy and dumb. They make mistakes, and that’s all part of the growth 🌈. My villain origin story is adults calling MCs in YA annoying because almost every teen is annoying, my guy, it’s fucking inevitable. Hell, even I can’t stand myself sometimes. But Maddie wasn’t just annoying, she was White, completely oblivious from the world because she was too busy thinking about herself, and yeah, she was pretty damn stupid.

I wanted to like her. So. Bad. I mean, come on, she’s a combat boot-wearing bisexual. That’s bad bitch behavior, right there. And I am sure that Holland’s intention wasn’t to make her unlikeable. In fact, she very much wants the reader to root for her, but it’s an impossible feat when we come across how naïve and self-centered she is. Yeah, she definitely evolves, but only when the conflict affects her personally and she’s forced to, which is what bothered me the most.

Her entire character is a perfect representation of caucasians not being able to acknowledge their privilege and not realizing the issues that surround them. Of course, she’s been dealing with her trauma since a very young age, which is completely understandable and valid. But she always thinks about Havenfall, how perfect and shiny and beautiful it is. How she’s gonna hang out with her friend Brekken, explore the nature, and one day, she wiLL become Innkeeper, mark her words. But when chaos ensues, when it’s finally time to take responsibility, she wants to drown, because this isn’t what she signed up for! She wanted years to prepare herself, but here’s the thing my beautiful fragile snowflakes, most of the time, chaos has always been there, you were just too distracted to notice.

Once again, she is a TEEN. They make bad decisions! Very questionable ones at that! I could’ve excused this, obviously, but she just had no logic or common sense. I’d say she has one (1) braincell, but I’m not even sure if it functions. Does this girl even go to school? Does she watch action movies or something? And a part of me knows that, yet again, this wasn’t Holland’s intention. But you know, I have no other words except that she’s stupid, kznsdndnsjdh. Case closed.

As I mentioned earlier, this was definitely interesting. It didn’t have me hooked or anything, but it was intriguing enough that I kept reading. It did feel like a mishmash of fantasy creatures, though. I don’t read a ton of fantasy though so I wouldn’t exactly call it unoriginal, just not that unique. But it was cool!

Learning about the people and the trades they made, the gems and the magic was nice. But it lacked in a lot of places. It was very info-dumpy at times, and even though we learned a lot of details, I still felt like there was a layer of depth missing.

Same with the cast of characters. They were all just there, ~lingering~ and serving their true purpose without us really getting to know them very well.
They weren’t a supportive cast by any means, as for me, they felt like they were on the sidelines and it was always about Maddie. And no matter how cool your plot is, if you can’t make me care about your characters, I can’t care about your book, simple as that.

There was not really any romance, but we kind of got a sneak peek of a love triangle that will be present in book two. It’s no secret I’m a sucker for romance, but I kinda could care less about the two love interests. For one, Taya is 19 and that my friends, is not correct. I don’t mind age gaps, but she’s literally a legal adult already, when Maddie is still a high-schooler, and if I’m doing my math right, she’s gonna be a junior after the summer. So, as powerful as this ship could be, Taya is a biker lesbian after all, I disapprove greatly. Brekken‘s nice and all, but I really don’t know enough about him to care nor does Maddie deserve him, in my opinion. It should be a glorious bisexual love triangle, but ehh, I’m not into it, bro.

I really can’t pinpoint my biggest problem with this novel, because everything was a problem? Nothing really worked, which I’m not going to blame the book for, as I feel this is a great book for people looking to get into fantasy. Plus, the writing was great and the descriptions lush and pretty. But it all became a little bit tOO much for me.

But you know what I can highlight as a problem I had? At first I felt like I was overthinking it, but really I’m just over this whole storyline of, “Hey look! Do you remember that ‘evil species’? The one that was supposedly the enemy? Haha, turns out they were the oppressed ones! :D”

I’m not saying this can’t be done, but one of the main storylines of the book is how one of the doorways, the one to Solaria, has been opened, threatening all the delegates at the inn and basically, the whole entire world, because Solarians are supposedly soul-devouring shapeshifters. Soul-devouring shapeshifters with black and blue fur. Because dark colors automatically equate to evil and wrath. How spooky. I want to believe Holland didn’t do this on purpose, but I was uncomfortable y’all, given the fact that she is a white author, ya know?

Trying to set the tone and describe the setting in a fancy way just made this drag more than it already was, as agaiN, this was super slow, building up to something that I thought would be epic, but overall, left me feeling super underwhelmed. It was like walking with no real set destination.

The real action happened in the last quarter of the book, and anybody else would’ve easily quit reading. Not gonna lie, there were some pretty cool plot twists here, but I can acknowledge that people who read fantasy often would’ve guessed them a million miles away. I’m super bad at guessing, but I guessed one of the main plot twists so uh, take that as you will.

As I said, the writing was nice, but I had a problem with the chapter endings? Or maybe not that specifically, but rather the scene transitions, which I don’t think were done very well. This is an ARC so I’m really hoping they add separators or something, but it just wasn’t done smoothly and really affected my reading experience. It was like, “Oh, you’re into what’s happening? Let me jaggedly cut this scene off with my rusty scissors and tell you it’s already sunset, hehe.”

Theoretically, Havenfall should have worked. It’s whimsical in more ways than one, has great writing and features queer rep. However, it fell flat in a lot of aspects and its execution was pretty much a failure. There’s no doubt in my mind that Sara Holland can write and is perfectly capable of crafting an entertaining story, as proven by her debut novel, Everless, but this tale was one that needed much more work. I’m sure it will impact other readers, but the lack of enchantment will probably cause me to skip the second book in this brand new duology.

Rating: 2.5 stars ⭐

Thank you to Bloomsbury YA for providing me an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review!

2.5 Stars

Havenfall has left me feeling a bit wishy-washy. On the one hand, Sara Holland’s premise is sound. The book has a solid structure, and characters that should be enticing. But I finished the book feeling more meh than anything.

This is the first book in a planned series, so maybe the author is holding back on purpose. There are a lot of unanswered questions here, including some character flaws. Because the book mostly takes place at the inn, it has an insular, almost claustrophobic feel to it. Again, this could be a choice to mimic the guests’ feelings as they end up on lockdown. Still, it made me antsy.

While Havenfall is a fast-paced read with a decent premise, I wanted more. I wanted to see the realms. I wanted Maddie to be more. I wanted Brekken to be more than a convenient plot twist. I’m curious to see if any of these things are addressed in the next book. But for now, I recommend this as a library read only.

Link will go live 2/21/2020

I am so unbelievably sad to say that Havenfall is my biggest disappointment of the year so far. Now, that doesn’t mean it’s the worst book of the year to date- I’ve read far worse books just in the past week. But I was very, very excited for Havenfall and it really let me down. I loved Sara Holland’s Everless books, they were fun and inventive. Havenfall felt like neither of those things and honestly shocked me as a follow-up to that series.

Let’s start with the writing itself. It felt so amateur, more like a bad debut than the author’s third book. There was so much dialogue, I felt like I was reading nothing but talking, talking and more talking. And yes, dialogue can be used as a great way of showing and not telling, but when the only way anything is shown is through dialogue the doesn’t it just become another form of telling? That’s exactly what happened in Havenfall and it made for a Beverly lacking reading experience. That also leads directly into my second issue with the book.

The world building was just not there. The setting might have been partly to blame, as the majority of the story takes place at the titular inn, but that feels like I’m making an excuse for poor world building. All of these magical worlds and races were supposed to exist, but even the ones directly presented on the page were hard for me to picture because the book just didn’t give me enough to go on. There was a lot of potential to build a really cool, unique setting, but instead it just felt bland and weakly written.

I’m going to go over the pacing and characters together because I feel like I linked them while reading. I never connected with any of the characters, which just added to how very slow this book felt. Again, too much dialogue. With all of the talking it never felt like anything was actually happening, which led to a very boring read and characters that I was told to care about but never actually did. Even the main character, Maddie, never grabbed my attention. She made a lot of decisions that didn’t make sense to me and seemed to only be there as an attempt to add tension and mystery to the story. Which leads me to my last qualm with this book.

The potentially mysterious story presented in Havenfall was absolutely not mysterious at all. Everything leading up to the “twists” was so heavy-handed and clichéd that I saw how it would all play out from practically the beginning. This was just another way that this book both bored and disappointed me. The stakes never truly felt high, and all tension dissipated the moment I figured out how everything would go down.

So yeah, I didn’t like Havenfall, and I’m still really sad about it. I hope that others will like it, and even though I won’t be reading the sequel I really do hope that it’s better. I would recommend it to readers who maybe aren’t big fantasy readers but want just a bit of magic in their books. It is a fast read, which might make it appealing to some. For me, though, it was overall just a very lack-luster read and not at all the quality that I was expecting.

My review will appear on NovelKnight.com on 2/28/20.

Fast-paced story set in a magical location where different worlds connect. While the story isn't completely new, it will hold readers' interests. (Book One of a series)
There are some flaws in the character development--for example, how does our main character, a regular human girl, know how to pick out weapons to fight monsters?

3.5

Is this the year of the 3's for me???!?! I don't think I've ever rated this many books a three in such a short period of time. Again, it's not that any of them have been bad, I've just been missing some kind of wow factor.

This story in particular had the structure to be great. I honestly think we'll see more of that in the next book if Maddie is able to travel to different realms, it just seems like this one spent the entire time setting up for future events and because all of it took place within the walls of Haven (or just outside of them) I really didn't feel like I could rate it any higher than a three.

There still were quite a few twists and turns that had me really guessing who the mysterious bad guy was going to be and honestly you don't get all of the details on certain things until right at the end which made the suspense more real and exciting. Along with that, I really liked the writing in general. I haven't read Holland's first series, <i>Everless</i>, yet even though I've heard really good things especially about the first book. I can't say for certain then that those of you who loved that will love this but I really think she set up for an amazing second book.

Other than more action, one thing I hope to see more of is character development from Maddie. I think she came a long way over the span of this book but it seemed like every other second she was doubting herself and being self-depreciating and just going through a LOT. Given her circumstances, I really do ~get~ it but...it was a lot to handle. I just wish she had made some better decisions a little earlier or tried to get help or something, anything really. I don't know, I'm conflicted, lol. I keep playing devil's advocate with myself to see both sides of the picture but I also can't help but feel what I feel immediately as I'm reading, ya know?

Overall thoughts, this wasn't bad but it also wasn't something that WOWED me--it was just good. It was solid. Will I still read the next book? For sure!

<i>Huge thanks to Bloomsbury YA and NetGalley for allowing me to read an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!</i>

I really enjoyed this book. The plot moved along nicely and the characters were well developed.

The story itself had several twists and it wasn't easy to figure them out - I had to wait until they were revealed, which is how it should be.

I look forward to reading more from this series!

This book was wonderful. The descriptions of the Colorado scenery were excellent. I am someone who can really picture what I'm ready well, and with such rich descriptions I loved being in my head while I was reading. My only wish is that somehow the descriptive language could stay while moving the story along at a quicker pace. The story was slow, and at times I rest felt the slow pace wasn't necessary. I'm hoping the sequel will contain more of the worlds and a quicker story.

When I read that Havenfall was a contemporary fantasy 'perfect for fans of Melissa Albert and Holly Back', I was SOLD. The Hazel Wood is one of my all-time favourite books, and let's not even get into The Cruel Prince because those books are totally not of importance right now but I could ramble on for AGES.. Did I love Havenfall as much as I love my faves? Well, no. And that's no fault of the book itself! Before mentioned books just set crazy high standards. I genuinely really enjoyed Havenfall, though. The setting is wonderful, I really liked the characters and it the plot is so interesting!

Havenfall's main character Maddie is a force to be reckoned with from page one. I don't think she's really a rule breaker, but she doesn't do what she's told, either. This trope in YA sometimes makes me roll my eyes. "WHY?! Can't you see you're creating your own conflict?" But I think we can all agree we'd rather go to a fun magical place for the summer than some boring old relative, right? Anyway, Maddie is ambitious, strong and really brave. There's depth to her character and I love how she's bi! It was a bit just a little bit too obvious when she was clearly interested in this one guy and this one girl, but I actually quite enjoyed it!

Havenfall is this magical inn that holds doorways to these intriguing magical realms. We learn a little bit of each of them at the start of the book and I couldn't wait to read even more about them in the story. Unfortunately, we didn't actually get to see as much of these magical realms at all. In the end, it felt more like the buildup for a sequel, which is fine! Havenfall's story focused more on the inn and the surrounding town itself. And guys, I LOVE this inn! It's on a mountain! And I just pictured this romantic, fairytale style house except the size of a mansion... Gahh, I can't explain it but it just felt so magical! It has a lake and a bridge and if I were to go on holiday to a book setting, this inn would be my destination. I just hope the weather will be better... hahah!

The plot revolves around a mystery and that's definitely what's kept me so interested in the book. I just had to know what happened next! If my predictions were true! It was so exciting to read. I love when things are being foreshadowed, and it was done so well! Some events felt a tiny bit predictable, but there were plenty great plot twists to make up for it. I do wish we got to see some more of the magical realms and actual magic, but I'm quite sure we'll get more of that in the sequel.

Overall, Havenfall is a great contemporary fantasy set in a wonderful location, full of interesting characters, intriguing worlds and mystery! It's a bit different from what I expected, but it remains a great read and I cannot wait for the sequel!

Havenfall combines two of my guiltiest reading pleasures, fantasy and mystery, to deliver the story about a girl tasked with the job of overlooking a safe house between magical worlds during a time of strife.

In theory, the story could be exciting: humans and two of the fantastical worlds that have an alliance come together once a year to celebrate and discuss matters of their worlds so that they may continue to live in accord. The innkeeper, our lead's uncle, is usually the one who oversees everything. But after the door to one of the other worlds opens again, which has been sealed for years due to a war that broke out where lives were lost, death comes knocking again and the innkeeper is left unconscious and unable to continue overseeing his duties. Enter Maddie, who has dreamed her whole life of having this role, feels that this is what she has been working for, and while nervous, believes herself to be ready to face whatever Haven needs in order to keep others safe.

It's an entertaining read, and I greatly enjoyed the mystery reveals that occurred. But the story fell flat for me. While it aspires to be rousing, it doesn't reach that potential. The whole thing delivered just a little monotonously, and I felt that most of the characters were sorely underdeveloped save for Maddie and maybe Taya, to some extent.

One of the elements that I always delight in, especially in fantasy novels, is the antagonist. There is so much room in this genre to make the “bad guy” anything you want him/her to be. The Silver Prince fell so short. Not only do we only see him a handful of times, but we never get to know him. What motivates him and moves him, other than the need to take over the keep and reign? Why does he want this? We're not given enough information, and while a handful of his actions are imposing enough, and he manages to brainwash Maddie fairly easily, the strength that he could have as a being is just not there.

Maddie is very believable in the doubt that she has in herself to do her job as innkeeper. She knows nothing of what needs doing and has no problems reaching out to others for help. She does have a ridiculously easy gift of trusting the wrong people, however, and keeps mentioning this throughout. It's almost as if she tells the audience “Most people I trust lie to me, here, let me show you,” while it continues to occur again and again. It's repetitive. Almost everyone in this book has something to hide, and a secret to reveal. It happens so often that we keep doubting whoever appears next in the novel. It's fantastic for what the author accomplishes as far as the story's mystery, and yet it's so ironic that our lead doesn't seem to catch up.

While there is a clear love triangle playing out between Maddie, Brekken and Taya, I was so glad to not see the usual stereotypical tug of war that tends to happen. Love triangles are one of my least favorite tropes in stories, because usually they're overdone. Sara Holland wrote it well, showing the intense attraction that is to be expected between Maddie and Brekken with the years that they've known each other and the bond that has been growing between them since they were children, as opposed to her newly developed closeness toward Taya.

Havenfall itself... I definitely got the sense of the town, and it did—as Maddie points out at one point in the story—feel like an old western type of world in which to live. It's still charming, well run down, full of vegetation and woods nearby. It does a really nice job of conveying how isolated the keep is to the rest of town and how suspicious and full of gossip others are about the place.

The ending, as I have been reading too often with books lately, came far too swiftly and easily. There is going to be a second book, surely, especially with the way that Havenfall closes. But we could have taken a little longer to see the conclusion of this one develop and play out. More time, overall, was needed with this book to expand.

Havenfall was one of my most highly anticipated releases for 2020. Havenfall follows Madeline Morrow, the niece of the innkeeper of Havenfall. Havenfall is the connection between three realms, where the peace treaty is enforced. The Innkeeper, Marcus, maintains the alliance and peace between Haven (Earth), Byrn, and Fiordenkill and plans a summit every summer where delegates can come to Haven without worrying about being seen by humans.

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. It was good, but not great. I liked the characters and the twists and turns, but the flow and pacing seemed off. By the end, I was very much into it and I will definitely be reading the sequel, but it took too long to rope me in. I wanted more from it. One thing I noticed is there is so much time spent on world building and setting the scene - even to the point of being repetitive and redundant. That may be cleaned up in edits, so I'm not holding that against Havenfall too much.

I liked the amount of twists and reveals, it seemed like more than a usual YA book. I didn't see a few of them coming, so that is always a plus for me. The ending was nice too, because it was action filled and suspenseful without leaving it on a huge cliffhanger.

Thank you Bloomsbury for deeming me worthy of an ARC of Havenfall through Netgalley. I much appreciated it.

Especially because this book was very good! I dare say memorable. Usually with books that I like I don’t always remember them. They don’t always stick after a couple days of reading, but thoughts Maddie and Havenfall will definitely linger.

First and foremost the wooorld. It was fun. Maybe I’m being a tad dramatic BUT, I personally thought the idea of an inn dedicated to peacekeeping between magical worlds was SO INTERESTING. I didn’t even mind the contemporary setting surrounding this inn. In fact I actually found that it worked quite well with the story and the characters.

Maddie used so many curse words. That’s all it took to like her. She was already fun. Brave because of the risky choices she made and her confidence surrounding her decisions. She was definitely honest an just a genuinely good person. But she cursed quite often and I loved it.

Taya was my biggest let down because we got to know her but she felt very...bland. Sadly she’s the reason I docked a star. Taya and her relationship with Maddie.

(Spoilers might appear, beware)

Now, being as this was my first F/F romance book, I expected a bit...more? I mean it could be a genuine slow-burn, or I might have heard wrong, or any other possibilities, but she spent the majority of the book with Brekken. Her thoughts—when not focused on the safety of the inn—strayed to Brekken quite often with sprinkles of Taya here and there.

And then later on in the book, after having just a few moments with Taya, though she possesses this undying BOND with Brekken, she’s just totally into Taya over him Nope. Even if he came back after disappearing, I don’t ship her with Brekken, but I need Taya and Maddie to be developed a little bit better than “let’s help each other out” or “oh why are you out this late” or “oh, you’re injured let me help” if Sara expects me to ship them.

I will say that this book surprised me with its plot twist. There were a few that I guessed, but a few that actually managed to catch me off guard.

I’m so excited that in the next book, rather than remain on boring old earth, we get to visit Solaria! Yuuus. I’m excited.


Anyways this book was super good and I can’t wait to get my sexy finished copy.

Ok bye.

Portal fantasy with teen angst- an interesting twist. Sara Holland presents a world where magic is real, but hidden, and all of our world is non-magical. In a place that bridges these worlds, known as Havenfall, a teen named Maddie has been training to be the Innkeeper of Havenfall and it's famous inn all her life. But, when danger comes to the peaceful sanctuary, Maddie is the only thing stopping her world from falling apart.
Chock full of angst and interesting characters, Havenfall is a nice break from standard YA fantasy and a quick, enjoyable read.


Thanks to NetGalley, Bloomsbury, and Sara Holland for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I had such a great time reading this book. It was just so enjoyable. I was deeply invested in the plot, characters and worlds that I never wanted it to end.

The idea of Havenfall is so interesting to me. A neutral meeting place for different realms. How cool is that!? We only got a small glimpse into Fiordenkill, Byrn and Solaria though. I’m really hoping that we get to learn a whole lot more about each realm in the next book. Fingers crossed that the characters can somehow visit each place. That would be amazing!

I really liked the main character Maddie. She has a heartbreaking past that is still very fresh in her mind. She deals with some grief, anger and survivors guilt. Havenfall is the one place that she feels like she belongs. It’s a place where she can get away from everything in her normal life. It’s so obvious how much she loves the inn. She goes above and beyond in order to protect it and all it’s people.

As far as romance goes, there is very little in this book. I mean it is there, but Maddie has so many things going on so thinking about a relationship isn’t her first priority. I can definitely see a love triangle in the works though. I am not the biggest fan of those, but in this case I don’t think I would mind it. I really like both of the love interests as of right now.

Like I said above, I had a blast reading this. It was definitely a page turner. I had to know what was going to happen. Havenfall had a few different mysteries going on. I did figure out a couple pretty early on, but the other reveals blew my mind. So yes, this was full of twists & turns and I enjoyed every second of it.

I love the way the story ended. It left me wanting more and now I am so eager for the sequel! There are a ton of questions that I desperately need answers to. I don’t know how I am going to survive the wait!

Havenfall is a fast-paced YA fantasy with excellent world-building and engaging characters. In a world where there are four realms, an inn exists as a safe place that connects the realms. What happens when that safety is interrupted in what should be a safe-haven for all? Readers who enjoyed Sara Holland's Everless series will fall in love with this vivid new world. There are plenty of twists throughout and the writing is gorgeous. Highly recommended to readers who enjoy YA fantasy.