"The Forest of Fallen Stars is a story of friendship and magic. We follow Alura, a shy but stubborn sixteen year old, as she tries to navigate a dramatically changing world. Following her village’s tradition, Alura is forced to participate in a ritual that doesn’t turn our quite as she had planned. Finding herself on the run, Alura is rescued by two mysterious girls, who request her help in protecting their village from Eslanda; a young woman seeking revenge for her abandonment. Alura, along with her new friends Kara and Loria, must fight against magic, enemies and nature itself to restore peace to their homes. But are they aware of the sacrifices they must make?"
Pages: 224
I received The Forest of Fallen Stars by Elfie Riverdell for free in exchange for an honest review as part of a blog tour for Booktamins. If you're interested in becoming a tour host and reviewing great books like this one, then check out their website!
Make sure to check out all of the other awesome bloggers who are also on this tour!
Trigger warning: Mild violence
Genres: Children Books, Fantasy, Young Adult
In The Forest of Fallen Stars we join our main character, Alura, as she is getting ready to participate in the town's ritual where they send children into the woods to gain their animal companions - a sacred gift from the Goddess herself. Together they must overcome the dangerous obstacles that the forest has to offer along with the cursed knowledge that not everybody makes it back. This concept was so intriguing and definitely gave me a Hunger Games vibe!
During the ritual Alura discovers that she has a great and unusual gift which eventually forces her to leave her village and embark on a new journey to defeat a powerful foe alongside her new friends. I loved the friendship between Alura, Kara & Loria. It was so sweet and they were such interesting characters.
Alura is curious, brave and a quick learner. She adapts quickly to her new surroundings and also has great empathy. The fact that she has been thrown into a crazy situation and everything she knew has been turned upside down yet she still has the capacity to be understanding and supportive of everyone is really admirable! She truly is a great and strong female lead that the reader can look up to.
Plus, I really don't want to spoil anything but I just have to say that Alura's power is so cool and unique! It is definitely a power I would love to have. Although to be fair the other characters also have some pretty epic powers that we get to explore, the group definitely reminded me of the X-Men!
The Forest of Fallen Stars was very intriguing with a quick pace and a lot of mystery! It was an easy read and I really enjoyed going on this fun adventure with Alura.
Thank you for reading my thoughts, let me know what you think of The Forest of Fallen Stars! You can find me on my Twitter and Instagram! Let me know if you have any recommendations of what I should read next.
Thank you again to Booktamins and Elfie Riverdell for this opportunity! The Forest of Fallen Stars is currently available to purchase on Amazon (US) and also make sure to check it out on GoodReads!
About the Author
Elfie Riverdell is a middle grade and young adult fantasy author from the UK. She is currently studying English Literature and Creative Writing, and lives with her family, two dogs and four chickens. Elfie’s debut middle grade novel The Forest of Fallen Stars was published on June 1st 2019.
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ElfieRiverdell
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/elfieriverdellauthor/
Bookstagram - https://www.instagram.com/balletandbooks_/