Review: Lichgates (The Grimoire Saga #1) by S.M. Boyce

When Kara Magari uncovers a secret door in the middle of the forest, she discovers (and trips through) a portal to a hidden world full of terrifying things: Ourea. She just wants to go home, but the natives have other plans for her…

Kara is a teenager who one day decides to go for a hike in the woods and encounters a secret door, or lichgate, in the middle of the forest. This lichgate is a portal that takes her to the land of Ourea, an underground world of unique races, monsters and magical creatures.

I want to start by pointing out what I liked about this book. Fantasy books are probably the genre that requires the greatest amount of creativity, and in that part Boyce did a fantastic job. She spent a significant amount of time creating an entire world full of mythical and magical creatures, dragons, shape-shifters, portals and demons.

What I did not like about this book was that it felt a little too long and redundant. I understand that being the first book in a saga there will be a lot of introduction to characters and descriptions. Unfortunately, at times, the transition was choppy. The character of Kara, the protagonist, the heroine, is rather dull and a bit too naive. I didn’t really empathize with her at all. The other character in the book is Braeden Drakonin, a dark prince with a dark secret and who doesn’t get along with his dad–the big evil king. I was hoping for more romance than just the platonic thing that went on between Kara and Braeden. Maybe that will be developed in other books. Overall, Ourea is a complicated world. It is full of details, and kingdoms and species, and although the author did an excellent job at creating this mythical land the rest of the story did not feel well developed.

Lichgates is book one of the Grimoire Saga, and I’m hoping that more of the actual story and characters will be developed in future books. I’m not giving up on this series, and I’m looking forward to book number two.

I’d like to thank Story Cartel for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Book Details:

Title:Lichgates /Author:S.M.Boyce/Genre:Fantasy/YA / ISBN:9781939997067/Publisher:Acorn Valley Press/Rating: 3-Stars/Read:June, 2015.

Author: Anna at awondrousbookshelf

Besides being an avid reader and running a monthly book club, I enjoy writing book reviews. I really like reading a vast array of book genres. Most of the books I review are fiction, fantasy, women’s fiction (chick-lit), mystery/thriller and young-adult. View all posts by Anna at awondrousbookshelf