Book review: The Grimoire: Lichgates by S.M. Boyce

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Description:
The Grimoire turns its own pages and can answer any question asked of it, and Kara Magari is its next target.

Kara has no idea what she's getting herself into when she stumbles across the old book while hiking a hidden trail. Once she opens it, she's thrown into Ourea: a beautiful world full of terrifying things that want the Grimoire's secrets. Everyone in this new world is trying to find her, and most want to control the new-found power the book bestows upon her. Even if Kara does escape, Ourea will only drag her back.

Braeden Drakonin grew up in Ourea, and all he’s ever known of life is lying. The Grimoire is his one chance at redemption, and it lands in his lap when Kara Magari comes into his life. He has one question to ask the book—one question that can fix everything in his broken world—and he’s not letting Kara out of his sight until he gets an answer.

There’s no going back now.

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Review:
The Grimoire: Lichgates is the first book in a new fantasy series by S.M. Boyce. Most of the story takes place in a world called Ourea, and the main character, Kara, stumbles into that world from ours.

It took me a while to get into the book, probably because it starts in our world and returns to it for an important scene near the beginning. As a result, I found that I couldn't submerge myself in the world of Ourea and its characters until about a third of the way through the book. It's tricky for fantasy novels to explain the universes that they take place in, especially when those universes are populated with non-human races and magical creatures.

Once I got used to Ourea and the story moved along, however, I found myself enjoying it. I zipped through the middle part of the novel, which is a good sign that I've lost myself in the story. By the end, I wished that it wasn't over.

If you're a fan of fantasy, I recommend this book to you. The story is engaging once it gets going, and the world of Ourea is populated with diverse and interesting creatures. Now that I'm familiar with the universe and the characters, I'm looking forward to the second book, which will be published later this fall.