Great coming-of-age story of a girl coming into her inherited family trait of earth magic. It's respectful of the topic and the main character is delightful. It's not marketed specifically for young adults, but it would be perfectly suitable for them. Recommended!

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I have had this book to read for quite some time. It ended up being a very well done fantasy and I enjoyed it a lot.

Things were peaceful until the werewolves came, reeking havoc in the small village Sun Return. Then young Allie learned that she had special powers. All of her relatives and the other close magic practitioners were called in to decide how Allie would receive her training. Allie's mother and father were the first to train her, but as her powers grew it was time for her apprentice to her Aunt Marta. Allie and Aunt Marta now travel the land and fight the evil creatures that lurk there in an effort to protect the common village folk from the dark.

The whole story takes place in an alternate sort of America. Slavery still exists but a king and queen rule in Washington. Additionally fantastical creatures and magic are well known throughout the land.

The book starts out a bit slow and moves at a fairly deliberate pace. The first half is dedicated to Allie finding out she has a special gift and starting to train it. The second half reminded me of The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney. Allie and her mentor travel around facing evil creatures of the night and protecting the villagers from them.

I really enjoyed the herbalogy throughout, it's very intricate and detailed and fun to learn about.

I also loved Allie's character; she is so matter of fact about things and eager to learn and help. In fact I loved the majority of the characters in this story, even the side characters are very well done. By the end of the novel I was very engaged and attached to both the world and the characters here.

Overall this was a very well done fantasy novel with a historical paranormal feel to it. It starts out a bit slow and is pretty deliberately paced. However, I ended up really enjoying the world and characters. I would recommend to fans of classic fantasy who don't mind a historical paranormal theme to their fantasy.

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