Looking for Dei by David A. Willson

The Synopsis:

Fifteen-year-old Nara Dall has never liked secrets. Yet it seems that her life has been filled with them, from the ugly scar on her back to the strange powers she possesses. Her mysterious father refuses to say anything about her origins, and soon, she and her best friend must attend the announcement ceremony, in which youths are tested for a magical gift.
A gifted youth has not been announced in the poor village of Dimmitt for decades. When Nara uncovers the reason, she uses her own powers to make things right. The decision sets her on a path of danger, discovery, and a search for the divine. In the process, she learns the truth about herself and uncovers the biggest secret of all: the power of broken people.

I received this book from the author for the purpose of this review. All comments and opinions are entirely my own.

Review:

The answer to a prophecy. Tender to those around her. Deadly to her enemies.

Looking For Dei is a different type of Fantasy novel that allows us to watch the story unfold from all directions. We switch between the point of views of Nara and Mykel primarily, but there are a few scenes from their enemies’ point of views (yes, multiple enemies) which I thought really heightened the tension. We were able to feel dread for what we knew was to come, even though where they were through most of the story didn’t require a tight grip on the book.

The characters were incredibly developed and though I loved each of the protagonists, I was especially impressed with the villains of the story. Each was so unique and evil in their own ways that I found their motives and strengths very fascinating to read about. It also made Nara and Mykel’s story that much more impressive to be able to handle confrontation with these characters.

I did find the book to be a little slow in the middle. We began the story with much action and ended with a phenomenal action scene, but the middle would have been almost uneventful if not for the point of view switches to the villains on their exploits. But regardless of the slower pace, there was much character development taken place and lots learned.

There was absolutely no cursing and no sexual scenes (only a few comments), but the action was decently high. Torture, abuse, fighting, and magic are all involved and some readers may not like this content.

Overall, it has been a long time since I’ve read a fantasy book that was this good! I give it a full 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it to fantasy lovers everywhere!