Isolt’s Enchantment: the beginnings
Daughter of Light Trilogy #0.5
By- Heidi Garrett
Genre- YA Fantasy/Faerie Tales
Long before the half-faerie Melia was born in the mortal world, the god Vulcan married Isolt of the Waters. When she betrayed him, the seeds of a great war were planted in the Void.
In Idonne, a young scholar studies Isolt’s story, along with tales of dwarf magic and the birth of a malevolent entity in the Void, Umbra. The stories awaken his dream of a life filled with adventure and heroism.
MY TIDBITS
I read this book as the first in the series (although I'm guessing from the .5 that it was later added on) but in a way, I wish I would have read it later on. In Isolt's Enchantment, the main characters are somewhat introduced along with the missing holes of their backgrounds--and what interesting backgrounds they are!
We meet Ryder's mother (the scholar who studies Isolt's story) and the tragic story behind his birth as well as up-bringing. Through nicely placed re-tellings, which he is forced to study as a priest, Isolt's story comes to life. The author does a great job weaving these ancient myths in, and although we only get them through Ryder's studies, the characters still come to life. I think I was even more excited than him to find out what would happen next.
Ryder's part in the story felt more jarred. Although he is the main character, and we learn about everything that will drive him in the later story, his story feels a little incomplete. He is a very intriguing character, and it's easy to feel for him as he struggles against what he wants and what those around him want for him. Still, this first book leaves him hanging a bit, and since book 1 doesn't pick up with him for several chapters, this left me wishing to learn what happens with him sooner. In other words, this book is simply not a stand-alone, and if the reader goes into it knowing this and remembering this, all is well and good.