Crosswinds

by A.E. Maxwell

In a nation caught in the throes of war, Rider Satara Lians fights every day for the safety of her people. But when a leader’s betrayal causes Satara to be accused of treason herself, she is plunged into a desperate quest to clear her name and save her country from imminent defeat. Hunted by those she once called friend and hounded by enemies yet unknown, Satara will either save her people…or prove to be the key to their total destruction.

347 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 9, 2013

About the author

A.E. Maxwell a.k.a. Hailey Woodward


Hi, I’m A.E. Maxwell. By night, I’m a fantasy writer. By day, I… who am I kidding, I’m never awake during daylight hours. Anyway, I write stories about courage, friendship, self-discovery, adventure, kindness, and people willing to do the impossible because it needs to be done.

Enjoy exploring, and feel free to leave a comment letting me know what you think–I love hearing from my readers!

Reviews

[Christie Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast paced adventure

Enjoyable read. Fast-paced adventures with interesting twists. The action takes precidence over character, but there is some interesting growth. I was worried about having a steep learning curve with lots of proper nouns to keep track of, but I managed. There were a lot of characters but I followed along fine.

[Devin Christensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crosswinds is a very clever fantasy thriller, focusing mainly on one elvish warrior named Satara and her companions as they seek to save their country from an enemy nation and, worse, a traitor in their midst. The story hooks you very quickly and keeps the thrills and twists coming, with the pace of the novel and suspense only getting more and more intense as the novel goes on. The characters are all very well-written and relatable—in fact, just about any of them feel interesting enough to be the lead protagonist of their own novel. Both the moments of tension and understanding between the characters feel natural, and the back-and-forth dialogue between the characters is filled with a lot of great lines. And if you’ve ever felt that there are not enough strong female characters in fantasy, this novel should be especially pleasing to you—it’s packed with them. The action is also great, especially the inventive aerial fights between the roc [think giant eagles]-riding Satara and her wind-viper [think dragons]-riding foes.

There is some jumping back and forth in time during the early chapters which was a little confusing to me as I read but it all comes together and makes sense pretty quickly. One major plus to the novel is that it is a self-contained story—all the major plot threads are resolved at the end (though I would really like to see more stories set in this world).

This is a very entertaining, solid debut novel and I am eager to read whatever A.E. Maxwell puts out next.

[Birgit · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well written fantasy story, with a good plot, great characters and villains, and a very fluent and enjoyable narration style. I would not mind reading a lot more of this author, and although this book did not end on a cliffhanger, I do hope this story is continuing - I'd love to know how the characters fare in the future.

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read, full of adventure that keeps the pages turning. Characters are extremely realistic and their troubles are overwhelming, yet amazingly they come out on top. Loved it, would recommend it to any fantasy reader.