BOOKS | Review: Between by L.L. Starling

 Name: Between

Author: L.L. Starling

Publisher: Wicked Fable Press

Date published: October 2020

Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, adventure, romance

Pages: 737

Rating: 5/5

A bewitching, fiendishly funny cautionary tale about the perils of gatecrashing fairy tale kingdoms - particularly ones with drunken unicorns, bored dragons, and sorcerers in tight, leather pants.

Sasha Pierce hasn’t had a single dream since she was a child…

... until she accepts a substitute teaching position in the charmingly witchy village of Old Middleton. Her first dream in twenty-five years ought to be enchanting, but her wonder quickly turns to shock when she realizes that it’s not a dream at all, but an entirely different sort of magic. Catapulted into the fairy tale kingdom of Between through an ancient portal, Sasha’s astonishment is swiftly upgraded to panic when she accidentally performs a supposedly impossible feat and is declared the True Queen of Between… and betrothed to its infuriatingly handsome sorcerer-king.

Lorn, Shadow King of Between, is desperate to break free from Between’s clutches. Magically tethered to the ramshackle kingdom, he wages a daily battle to save his disreputable subjects from rampaging magical creatures, sinkholes, and catastrophes of the distressingly lethal variety. To avoid an early grave, he needs an escape plan, not a wife... until he learns that this magicless mortal holds the key to his freedom.

Unwilling to leave her world to accept the crown - or the husband - Sasha must race against the clock to disentangle herself from this fairy tale. But her empty throne leaves a dangerous rift between their worlds. As dark forces descend upon Old Middleton, the two must make a choice: work together or unleash fairytale chaos upon their realms.

Between is the spellbinding first novel in The Chronicles of Between fantasy series. Filled with feisty, fairytale-savvy heroines, swoon-worthy sorcerers, slow burn romance, morose minotaurs, and bawdy witches it’s a laugh-out-loud fairy tale romp.

- From Goodreads.

I completely adored this book. The sense of humour was just wonderful, the adventure and magic in the story were just brilliant, and the characters were immediately loveable. I was so excited to keep reading and sad when it was over because I just wanted more of this story and the characters, even though the book was already over 700 pages. Between was just fantastic and I smiled the whole time I was reading it.

I enjoyed both of the two perspectives. The first half is from Sasha's perspective and the second half is from the Shadow King's perspective, and since Sasha is from the human world and her perspective is first, it makes it easier to learn about the world and to understand what is happening because you as the reader are learning along with Sasha. That means that by the time you reach the king's perspective you already have a basic understanding of the events so reading what happens from his viewpoint is not overwhelming or confusing.

The illustrations were magnificent, drawn in such a unique style, and were a brilliant addition to the story. They really brought the scenes to life and made each moment they illustrated even more delightful.

I really loved each moment between Sasha and the Shadow King. They had such a fun dynamic and the two of them beginning to grow to care for each other was so compelling to read about. I am really looking forward to reading about the development of their relationship and their continuing journey together in the next book.

This was just a truly brilliant book that just made me so happy. If you liked the movie Labyrinth or Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, then I think you will really love this too. It has humour, whimsy, and heartfelt emotion and I think it has easily become a favourite of mine.