Elements of Cadence 1 – Rebecca Ross

Book 2 is available: A Fire Endless

Title: Book 1 – A River Enchanted

Author: Rebecca Ross

Genre: Fantasy

Plot: Jack is finishing up at a musician’s school and hopes to get a job as a music teacher on the mainland when he gets a letter to return to his island of Cadence from the laird. When Jack returns, he learns some of the young girls on the island have been disappearing. The laird and his daughter need help finding them. Jack uses his gift with music to summon spirits who might know where the missing girls are. The spirits say the other clan on the island has them. But the other clan talks of peace. Are the talks of peace true? Can Jack and his clan find the missing girls? Or will the girls remain hidden? Who is responsible for the kidnapping of the girls?

Rating: 4.2 – an interesting take on Scottish/Irish lore

Opinion: This was a great book. I loved the different take on fantasy, spirits, and magic. The magic system is different from what I’m used to. The magic in this book has a high costs and can’t be used as much as most other magic systems. I enjoyed the mystery of the book. The characters figure it out earlier on but it’s not confirmed until later on. I like the fact that the characters still took the time and planed out how to get the girls back. There was no heroic charge into enemy territory to get them. It was refreshing to see. It was also nice to see that the two younger characters had a slow build to their relationship instead of just jumping into bed together right away. Nothing was easy for the characters. They faced every challenge and worked through it together. I really enjoyed the Scottish and Irish lore woven into the book. It made the book unique and made it more interesting and more enjoyable to read. This was a different kind of book and I really enjoyed it. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves fantasy.