Everlasting by Valerie Cotnoir

The Synopsis:

Long ago, the world was filled with creatures of all kinds, and divided into two kingdoms: Memiana, ruled by the humans, and Orutia, ruled by the fairies. Over time, the humans came to resent the fairies, and gradually took away more and more of their land until the fairies were relegated to a small section of the kingdom. But when Zechariah was crowned king of the land, and married Crystal, the beautiful queen of the fairies, together they vowed to restore peace.
All that changed when Queen Crystal died, not long after the birth of their daughter, Mertia. The king’s brother, Sebastian, filled with jealousy and malice, put into motion an evil plot to get rid of the king and the princess, and take over the kingdom for himself.
Years later, amid rumors that Princess Mertia might still be alive, young farmer Malachi Thatch sets out on a quest to find her and bring her back to the castle. His search results in much more than he had bargained for, and soon he joins a motley band of creatures on a mission. Together they are caught up in an exciting and dangerous adventure, as they seek to restore the rightful king to the throne and finally usher in an era of unity and peace.

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

Review:

A quest that started out as a selfish endeavor, became the binding threads of best friends and the beginning of a kingdom’s legacy.

Everlasting is an epic fantasy adventure. We travel all over the kingdoms of Mermania and Orutia meeting new creatures who will prove to be friends, and others who will be bitter foes.

Malachi is a wonderful main character who we watch change from a young boy willing to do anything to save his family’s farm, whether his means be less than reputable or not, to a young man faced with choices that will impact the entire kingdom. He handles the situations realistically, often times with many doubts, and he makes mistakes that will haunt him. He’s definitely not perfect, but he’s certainly a memorable character.

The story is a roller coaster ride of emotions! It has a bit of a slower beginning, but I believe this is due to the fact that we are spending a lot of time learning the history of the two kingdoms and trying to get our boundaries. As the plot progresses, we then hit the roller coaster and it doesn’t stop until “The End”! Just as we think they’ve accomplished everything, something unravels and they must start over with a new plan, so it is a book with surprises and feels!

It is a very clean novel, with no cursing, no gore, and very little romance (only one kiss).

I really enjoyed Everlasting and I encourage readers who love quests to pick this one up! I give it 4 out of 5 stars!