PRISM BOOK TOURS – BOOK REVIEW : ESME’S WISH (ESME SERIES #1) BY ELIZABETH FOSTER

TITLE : Esme’s Wish (Esme Series #1)

AUTHOR : Elizabeth Foster

GENRE : Children’s Fantasy, Middle-Grade, YA, Teen Fantasy

FR RATING : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4.5 Stars)

DATE OF PUBLISHING : 30 October 2017

FR REVIEW

DISCLAIMER : Thank you, Prism Book Tours for providing me with an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Esme’s Wish by Elizabeth Foster is the first book in the Esme Series. This is a vividly original and imaginative story of Esme. Esme is a teenager who goes on to find out the reason behind her mother’s disappearance. On this journey, she gets transported into the magical world of Aeolia where she discovers new things that make her question everything she had known about her mother’s life. As she gets pulled into the enchanted world she finds new friends she could rely on and new things that cause her to wonder if she knew her mother well. Esme goes onto retrace her mother’s steps leading her to the discovery of a new world that fills her life full of wonder and awe.

Esme is a great character. We see her at first objecting against her father’s new marriage wanting to be loyal to her mother. She feels alone in her grief at losing her mother. Her pain in losing her mother is eclipsed by her need to figure out the mystery regarding her mother’s disappearance. While everyone around her is happy with accepting the fact that her mother is lost to the sea, she feels there is more to the story and wants to understand why no one else is trying to find out what happened to her mother. Her father has become more and more distant leaving her no choice to discover the truth for herself. She hates the changes happening to her life and doesn’t want to be complicit in forgetting her mother without proper investigation. I found her to be very strong and determined. Her commitment to finding out the truth is admirable. I loved Esme so much.

The story and the pacing are slower than I anticipated. While it might be a slower read taking us through the world and creations in it it’s not boring at all. I enjoyed learning about the creation of the enchanted world of Aeolia and the myths and lore that were built into it. The magical creatures, the gifts all were wonderful to read about. The characters were all likable. Good friendships and adventures all made this creative story stand out. I loved how art played a major role in making this story come to life.

The story is a strong start for a new series. This will be an awesome read for the higher range of middle-grade to early YA age range. This was a fun, enjoyable, and amazing reading experience. I loved the story and gave it 4.5 stars. I highly recommend checking it out if you love stories of enchanted worlds, magical creatures, and good friendships. The younger YA age group most certainly will enjoy this book.

SYNOPSIS

When fifteen-year-old Esme Silver objects at her father’s wedding, her protest is dismissed as the action of a stubborn, selfish teenager. Everyone else has accepted the loss of Esme’s mother, Ariane – so why can’t she?

But Esme is suspicious. She is sure that others are covering up the real reason for her mother’s disappearance – that ‘lost at sea’ is code for something more terrible, something she has a right to know.

After Esme is accidentally swept into the enchanted world of Aeolia, the truth begins to unfold. With her newfound friends, Daniel and Lillian, Esme retraces her mother’s steps in the glittering canal city of Esperance, untangling the threads of Ariane’s double life. But the more Esme discovers about her mother, the more she questions whether she really knew her at all.

Winner of a Purple Dragonfly Book Award for best fantasy.

“A fresh new fantasy of an enchanting world.” – Wendy Orr, New York Times best selling author of Nim’s Island.