portal fantasy

Review: Eye of the Ouroboros by Megan Bontrager

~ megs14malloy

Eye of the OuroborosEye of the Ouroboros by Megan Bontrager
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars rounded up**

💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙

Eye of the Ouroboros is one of those rare books that I picked up on a whim. I knew nothing about it, had heard no buzz, but did notice it on a graphic of April 2024 Horror releases.

There was just something about the cover that called to me and then the title, I was intrigued by that as well.

We follow Theodora Buchanan, who goes by Theo. She’s a park ranger for NPS. More specifically, she’s part of the Search and Rescue team and patrols the forests surrounding her hometown of Mill Creek, West Virginia.

No one knows these woods like Theo. She’s been searching them most of her life, looking for her little sister, Flora, who went missing years ago.

The Buchanan family has never received answers on what happened to Flora, and Theo, who was watching her on the day she disappeared, has been riddled with guilt ever since.

While she has been able to maintain her job, the rest of Theo’s life is a bit of a mess. She’s numbed her pain with alcohol for way too long to be healthy and everything just seems completely out of control.

At the beginning of the book, we follow along with Theo as she searches for a little girl, who went missing while camping with her family. Of course, on every search Theo is also looking for clues as to what happened to Flora.

After the girl is found, some evidence pops up in the aftermath that leads you to believe, these aren’t regular woods. There’s something much deeper and more mysterious here than in your average mountain range.

This had such an intriguing start, by 10%, I was hooked. Theo was someone I wanted to learn everything about. I’ve mentioned before that I’m sort of a sucker for MCs that drink too much, and Theo definitely fits that bill.

Her family dynamics, following the disappearance of her sister, they’re an absolute disaster. I really felt for her, as I felt like if her parents had handled it differently, perhaps Theo could have dealt with it better herself, instead of letting it overtake her life.

After Theo starts noticing really strange things in the woods, she begins going in more and more. It’s like when you think you see something, but you’re not sure if it was real, and you try to recreate what you were doing at the time to see if it will happen again.

This whole aspect, I was so into it. I needed to know if those things were real as well. I felt like I was investigating right alongside her and it was creeping me out.

The vibes of this made me think of T. Kingfisher’s The Hollow Places, which I loved. If you were a fan of that, I feel like this one could really work for you as well.

It definitely takes some unexpected turns, and I adored the characters that are introduced to help Theo in her investigation. Eventually it turns into a kind of Found Family situation, with Theo’s best friend, her ex-girlfriend, and a high profile conspiracy theorist, all joining in the fun.

Part The Gunslinger, part Men in Black, the concluding portions of this book had me flipping pages so fast, I’m surprised my fingers didn’t catch on fire.

Oh, and the baddie in this, Sator, I was totally picturing Agent Smith from The Matrix for him. Every scene he was in, Agent Smith was in my head. Sator was really well done, a super convincing antagonist.

Overall, for a book I picked up on a whim, this couldn’t have gone better. It was SO WEIRD and SO GOOD.

Never in a million years would I have guessed how swept up into this I would become. It may have thrown off my monthly TBR, but I regret nothing.

A Portal Fantasy Horror story with fantastic characters, gripping action, believable baddies and emotions to boot! I’m so glad I took a chance on this one.

Thank you to the publisher, Quill & Crow Publishing, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I will definitely be picking up more from this author!

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Review: Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands (Emily Wilde #2) by Heather Fawcett

~ megs14malloy

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands (Emily Wilde, #2)Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**4.5-stars**

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands is the much anticipated sequel to Heather Fawcett’s runaway Cozy Fantasy hit, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries.

I was swept away by the first book and was beyond ready to be back with Emily, Shadow and Wendall Bambleby on another cozy, magical adventure!!

In this story, Emily and Bambleby have returned to Cambridge, and to their roles at the University. Emily’s Encyclopaedia has come to fruition and she’s currently working on a new project, a map of the Otherlands.

In the wake of their time in Hrafnsvik, Emily now knows the truth of Bambleby’s heritage. Summarily, that he’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother, but he also is desperately searching for a door back to his realm.

When magical assassins arrive at Cambridge, and attack, looking for Bambleby, Emily is swiftly dragged into another fae-filled adventure.

They set their sights on a picturesque destination, the Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they will finally be able to find the portal. They hope they’ll be able to set Bambleby free, once and for all from his mother’s menacing grip.

They’ve brought along some additional traveling companions this time, Emily’s niece, Ariadne, and Department Head, Dr. Rose, which added to the fun.

But if you’ve read the first book, you know Emily, she’s not exactly a people person, so let’s just say, these new additions may be more by folly than gracious invite.

Nevertheless, along with the ever faithful Shadow, all these individuals, with vastly different personalities, make for a humorous and greatly-engaging traveling group.

While I still loved the adventure and the cast of characters, this one did lose some of the feel of the cozy atmosphere that the 1st-book captured so well; at least for me.

Obviously, the setting is very different, so that was the main culprit, but also the stakes were a lot higher. It felt more dangerous and at times I was at the edge-of-my-seat with worry for these characters, particularly, Bambleby.

The way this kicks off, it happens very quickly. There’s no quiet build like in the first book. This felt more like being shot out of a cannon in comparison.

Even so, in the context of the story, it does make sense. The setting of Cambridge is more dynamic, just in its general nature, and there’s a lot happening for our characters in the aftermath of the first book.

We also have a larger cast of characters affecting the narrative. I did love our new additions though. Both Ariadne and Dr. Rose grew on me greatly over the course of the story and I loved seeing Emily’s reactions to their presence change over time as well.

In fact, IMO, Emily does soften a bit over the course of this story, which actually filled my heart to see. She’s still the same feisty, determined woman she’s always been, but perhaps with a bit more room in her world for others.

With all this being said, I loved watching this story evolve and I came to a realization by the end, it was still Cozy. This time however, the coziness came from the relationships, not the setting as much, and I thought that was brilliant.

I absolutely recommend this series. If you enjoyed the first book, you need to pick this up. You’ll walk away even more in love with these characters than you were before.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Del Rey, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I am looking forward to more adventures with Emily Wilde!!

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