Spellbound

Chronicles of Aronshae #1

by J.K. Barber

Spellbound is about the adventures of two young people, twin sisters who have known community and family their entire lives. Along the way, they befriend a mysterious stranger who has been alone for as long as he can remember. After strange events touch all their lives, the three find themselves drawn together and then embroiled in a plot to overthrow the Kingdom of Illyander by an ancient enemy long thought dead. As they journey through the world of Aronshae on their quest for answers, even more questions are raised as they find out more about each other, themselves and their strange emerging powers.

Genres: Fantasy

368 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 15, 2009

About the author

Jay and Katie Barber combine their names to write under pen name, J.K. Barber. The couple lives in Roswell, GA with their children, Maya and Gabe, as well as their four rescue cats. Jay graduated from The University of Georgia with a BA in English Literature, and Katie graduated from The University of Colorado at Boulder with a BA in English Creative Writing. They combine their educations, writing together as a co-author team for projects such as the "Chronicles of Aronshae" and "Mervidia."

In addition to their collaborative work, they also have individual titles: "Hidden Path," a prequel to their trilogy written by Jay, and "Fallen," a post-apocalyptic angel novel written by Katie. The Barbers enjoy being parents, table top gaming, reading, mixed martial arts, reading, riding motorcycles, and PC gaming.


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Reviews

[Becky Albertalli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book - richly imaginative world building and interesting characters with lots of depth. I especially loved the fact that many strong female characters play pivotal roles in the story. Highly recommended for those looking for a fun, immersive epic fantasy read!

[Seth Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This sword and sorcery fantasy adventure was a great read. It's characters were incredibly well written and the story was compelling. From the beginning of this book where we see a siege against a small arctic fortress to the end where a violent battle rages beneath the royal palace, this book kept me anxiously turning the page. I cannot wait to read the next thrilling volume in this great fantasy series.

[David Teachout · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well done sword and sorcery, with strong female characters though invariably there's a potential love triangle that threatens to derail any nuance to the plot. Time will tell how this is taken care of. The supporting characters are more than cut-outs, though there are clearly a great deal of ideas taken from other authors. Still, if you like a D&D adventure brought to life, this is certainly entertaining.

[Mark Boyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this book 3 stars based solely on the story and the character development. I truly enjoyed the story but the number of grammatical and typographical errors really slowed the pace. At times I found myself focused more on the careless editing than the plot. I doubt if I will struggle through the next book. A shame really.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very slow start, but the story finally picked up and held my attention about 1/3 of the way through.

[Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the hunter's magic system, but never got into the characters. Descent but not good enough to read the next book.