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Journey to Everland Bay
“A beautifully engaging fantasy teeming with dragons, fae, magic, and the importance of family and friendship. A joy to read from beginning to end!” –Julie Boglisch, author of the Elifer Chronicles, the Requiem of Stones series
Jemma Avalon is the daughter of a gentle part elf-fae mother and a father with fiery dragon blood, an unusual combination even in the magical world. Ten years after her mother's sudden death, Jemma is working at a major museum in DC, where magic is all but outlawed. Her father wants her to assimilate and live without magic, but Jemma is determined to fully embrace her heritage. She longs to return to Everland Bay, the enchanting world where her Grandmother Annalyn lives, and find a way to join the renowned magical research institute there, like the women in her family before her. An ordinary day at the museum takes an extraordinary turn, rocketing Jemma to an Everland Bay Institute under violent siege, where dark-arts mages threaten everything important to her. She and her companions work feverishly to overturn their foes, knowing that it may already be too late.
Jemma Avalon is the daughter of a gentle part elf-fae mother and a father with fiery dragon blood, an unusual combination even in the magical world. Ten years after her mother's sudden death, Jemma is working at a major museum in DC, where magic is all but outlawed. Her father wants her to assimilate and live without magic, but Jemma is determined to fully embrace her heritage. She longs to return to Everland Bay, the enchanting world where her Grandmother Annalyn lives, and find a way to join the renowned magical research institute there, like the women in her family before her. An ordinary day at the museum takes an extraordinary turn, rocketing Jemma to an Everland Bay Institute under violent siege, where dark-arts mages threaten everything important to her. She and her companions work feverishly to overturn their foes, knowing that it may already be too late.
- GenresFantasy
229 pages, Paperback
Published April 24, 2024
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1008 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
March 23, 2024
I want to thank Netgalley, Black Rose Writing, and Lynne Shaner for this early release copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I had hopes for this book, and wanted to finish it, but sadly only made it to 25% before I had to stop.
Things I liked:
- The setup for the world makes sense. I like a story where there’s old magic in a modern world, and I think with work this story has a lot of potential.
- I like the concept of mixed magical races, and also the family closeness (particularly the passing down from grandmother to mother to daughter) themes.
Things I didn’t like / reasons I didn’t finish.
- this book did so much telling and so little showing. I read 25% of it and it’s almost entirely conversation based. Long paragraphs with little breaking it up. It felt too much as through the author was trying to write how people talk. The “likes” and casual language threw me off and felt unnatural.
- Grammatically the writing was stiff, a lot of run on sentences, missing commas, and missed context cues in conversations.
- By 25% I don’t feel connected to the characters at all. In fact because the dialogue is so clunky and hard to follow I often forget who the main character even is. The conflict set up is predictable- the loss of magic - but I can’t even tell what the real threat is other than vague hints of magical discrimination.
- An example of some of the clunky writing, a character talking about how her family looks different than other non magical folk: “No problem in the magical lands and used to be not a problem in the woven lands and, like, just ordinary or maybe quirky-but-okay even in some of the savvier parts of the Verandalands.”
I think this story idea has a lot of potential, and I’m even curious what would have happened, but I just wasn’t interested enough to stick with it.
I had hopes for this book, and wanted to finish it, but sadly only made it to 25% before I had to stop.
Things I liked:
- The setup for the world makes sense. I like a story where there’s old magic in a modern world, and I think with work this story has a lot of potential.
- I like the concept of mixed magical races, and also the family closeness (particularly the passing down from grandmother to mother to daughter) themes.
Things I didn’t like / reasons I didn’t finish.
- this book did so much telling and so little showing. I read 25% of it and it’s almost entirely conversation based. Long paragraphs with little breaking it up. It felt too much as through the author was trying to write how people talk. The “likes” and casual language threw me off and felt unnatural.
- Grammatically the writing was stiff, a lot of run on sentences, missing commas, and missed context cues in conversations.
- By 25% I don’t feel connected to the characters at all. In fact because the dialogue is so clunky and hard to follow I often forget who the main character even is. The conflict set up is predictable- the loss of magic - but I can’t even tell what the real threat is other than vague hints of magical discrimination.
- An example of some of the clunky writing, a character talking about how her family looks different than other non magical folk: “No problem in the magical lands and used to be not a problem in the woven lands and, like, just ordinary or maybe quirky-but-okay even in some of the savvier parts of the Verandalands.”
I think this story idea has a lot of potential, and I’m even curious what would have happened, but I just wasn’t interested enough to stick with it.
May 7, 2024
I really liked the sound of the premise of this book, and I thought the writing itself was good quality. Sadly, what lets down this book is its pacing. For a short book (circa 200 pages), it seems mad that almost nothing of consequence happens for the first 90 pages! The pacing means that the second half of the story, where all the action happens, feels very rushed and isn't satsifying to read. It also means that any character introduced in the second half doesn't have a chance for any development, as the plot moves at breakneck speed to reeach the end.
The resolution to the climax felt simultaneoulsy ingenious (what can I say, I love a mushroom), and also contrived. What seemed almost insurmountable was suddenly manageable, and completed. The final pages offer no real closure, apart from what feels like quite a stitled reunion of father and daughtre.
Overall, a cool concept sadly let down by its execution.
The resolution to the climax felt simultaneoulsy ingenious (what can I say, I love a mushroom), and also contrived. What seemed almost insurmountable was suddenly manageable, and completed. The final pages offer no real closure, apart from what feels like quite a stitled reunion of father and daughtre.
Overall, a cool concept sadly let down by its execution.
partly-read
March 10, 2024A lack of contractions leads to stiff dialog, and a frequent absence of the past perfect tense makes for temporal whiplash. And then we get the worn-out and, if you think about it much at all, unlikely trope of "magic is (about to be) forbidden," and this was a DNF for me quite early on.
I received a pre-publication version via Netgalley for review.
I received a pre-publication version via Netgalley for review.
May 30, 2024
What a great first book! It took me a bit to get settled and into the story, but once there it did not disappoint! The characters and locations came alive as the plot deepened. Also, the connections between flora and fauna and the magical world just added a little something extra, and at times this seemed to be a cautionary tale of what could happen IF we do not embrace this connectedness. There is also underlying push/pull of what one might do for the accumulation of wealth - who you willingly (or not) sacrifice for that accumulation and when (if ever) you reach a point where you say no more. While this is a light read, if raises plenty of meaty questions. Bravo, I look forward to the next book in the series.
July 9, 2024
Beautiful world building and interesting magic system. Could it use an edit? Sure. Was it still keeping my attention and making me want to learn more about this magical world? Absolutely! I’m looking forward to watching this author grow and improve as this series grows.
March 12, 2024
Thank you Lynne Shaner, Netgalley, and Black Rose Writing, for this free ARC in exchange for a review.
What I liked: The dragon part had some fun whimsy. The character of Agni had nuance, when many would have written him as a one-dimensional villain.
What I didn’t like: There was far too much showing and not telling, which is the biggest problem with a lot of novels in recent years.
The book also suffered from repetitive rehashing. It seemed as if the author wanted to pad the page count, or thinks that people have poor memories in general, and need reminding. It’s condescending towards the reader, and also boring.
An example of telling instead of showing, in a way that’s unnatural for people to speak:
More unnatural dialogue:
People don’t talk like that. Why bother saying something when you know the other person already knows it? In an emergency situation, where time is of the essence, no less. A natural way to speak would be to update the other person with information they don’t have on the situation, and discuss solutions.
This un-compelling writing style made it difficult to pay attention, to the point where I got 46% in and realized I was barely even able to pay attention to what was happening, so I quit.
What I liked: The dragon part had some fun whimsy. The character of Agni had nuance, when many would have written him as a one-dimensional villain.
What I didn’t like: There was far too much showing and not telling, which is the biggest problem with a lot of novels in recent years.
The book also suffered from repetitive rehashing. It seemed as if the author wanted to pad the page count, or thinks that people have poor memories in general, and need reminding. It’s condescending towards the reader, and also boring.
An example of telling instead of showing, in a way that’s unnatural for people to speak:
”This ceremony, which was , as you know, is just the routine, final ceremony that acknowledges the new Director.”
More unnatural dialogue:
”We are, and Overland Bay is, in great danger, as I know you know.”
People don’t talk like that. Why bother saying something when you know the other person already knows it? In an emergency situation, where time is of the essence, no less. A natural way to speak would be to update the other person with information they don’t have on the situation, and discuss solutions.
This un-compelling writing style made it difficult to pay attention, to the point where I got 46% in and realized I was barely even able to pay attention to what was happening, so I quit.
July 7, 2025
From the Amazon review: "A beautifully engaging fantasy teeming with dragons, fae, magic, and the importance of family and friendship. A joy to read from beginning to end!" -Julie Boglisch, author of the Elifer Chronicles, the Requiem of Stones series
From the synopsis: Jemma Avalon is the daughter of a gentle part elf-fae mother and a father with fiery dragon blood, an unusual combination even in the magical world.
Ten years after her mother's sudden death, Jemma is working at a major museum in DC, where magic is all but outlawed. Her father wants her to assimilate and live without magic, but Jemma is determined to fully embrace her heritage. She longs to return to Everland Bay, the enchanting world where her Grandmother Annalyn lives, and find a way to join the renowned magical research institute there, like the women in her family before her.
An ordinary day at the museum takes an extraordinary turn, rocketing Jemma to an Everland Bay Institute under violent siege, where dark-arts mages threaten everything important to her. She and her companions work feverishly to overturn their foes, knowing that it may already be too late.
Definitely for young adult readers, this feels like a Harry Potter spinoff with elves and dragons and fairies instead of just human kids with magical abilities. The dark mages/wizards are a lot like He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named's henchmen and this kind of through me off. I did like the storyline but the characters really didn't 'grab' me.
From the synopsis: Jemma Avalon is the daughter of a gentle part elf-fae mother and a father with fiery dragon blood, an unusual combination even in the magical world.
Ten years after her mother's sudden death, Jemma is working at a major museum in DC, where magic is all but outlawed. Her father wants her to assimilate and live without magic, but Jemma is determined to fully embrace her heritage. She longs to return to Everland Bay, the enchanting world where her Grandmother Annalyn lives, and find a way to join the renowned magical research institute there, like the women in her family before her.
An ordinary day at the museum takes an extraordinary turn, rocketing Jemma to an Everland Bay Institute under violent siege, where dark-arts mages threaten everything important to her. She and her companions work feverishly to overturn their foes, knowing that it may already be too late.
Definitely for young adult readers, this feels like a Harry Potter spinoff with elves and dragons and fairies instead of just human kids with magical abilities. The dark mages/wizards are a lot like He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named's henchmen and this kind of through me off. I did like the storyline but the characters really didn't 'grab' me.
July 5, 2024
I was really taken with the fantasy world Lynne Shaner constructed. It's basically our own world, but re-cast as a magical realm, with Everland Bay roughly analogous to Door County, Wisconsin, and The Verandalands, which correlates to Washington, D.C. and everything south of it. It's a fascinating world.
The main character, Annalyn, is a bit like a female Harry Potter, except that she wants to go to a magical college rather than a magical boarding school. She and her two friends (tell me if you heard that one before) have dreams about attending Everland Bay institute. But those dreams get waylaid as the Institute itself falls under attack by dark mages.
If I were Lynne's editor, I might take issue with certain phrasings. Also, the cadence is not that of a more polished professional writer. The plot structure has an adversary with a murky motive of corporate greed which seems ill-defined to me, and Annalyn somehow takes it into her head to rush headlong into danger without really having a clear reason as to why. But there are no glaring gaffs like typos or formatting errors, and anything else I take issue with is assuaged by the setting being truly wonderful.
All in all, four stars easily, and an excellent first effort on the part of a budding writer.
The main character, Annalyn, is a bit like a female Harry Potter, except that she wants to go to a magical college rather than a magical boarding school. She and her two friends (tell me if you heard that one before) have dreams about attending Everland Bay institute. But those dreams get waylaid as the Institute itself falls under attack by dark mages.
If I were Lynne's editor, I might take issue with certain phrasings. Also, the cadence is not that of a more polished professional writer. The plot structure has an adversary with a murky motive of corporate greed which seems ill-defined to me, and Annalyn somehow takes it into her head to rush headlong into danger without really having a clear reason as to why. But there are no glaring gaffs like typos or formatting errors, and anything else I take issue with is assuaged by the setting being truly wonderful.
All in all, four stars easily, and an excellent first effort on the part of a budding writer.
March 30, 2024
I feel like this book has some potential. but it just didn't deliver. In a world where we have a huge discrepancy regarding how are mages perceived, the story of Jemma, a fairy-fae-dragon mix seems quite boring, until she is requested to go urgently to Everland Bay. And then the book takes a turn for the worst in my opinion.
The main idea of the story is interesting, and the characters are not too bad, but the way the book is written and how it jumps from action to action makes is hard to follow sometimes. The pacing is all over the place, and there is a lot of saying instead of doing. Some actions can not be explained (and while the characters are giving some for of explanations, for me it doesn't make sense).
*SPOILER*
If you manage to get past that, you get a pretty story where the MC and her friends save the day and the ending is trying to give some redemption for her father (but he'll need to prove more imo)
Disclaimer: I received a free copy in exchange for my honest opinion
The main idea of the story is interesting, and the characters are not too bad, but the way the book is written and how it jumps from action to action makes is hard to follow sometimes. The pacing is all over the place, and there is a lot of saying instead of doing. Some actions can not be explained (and while the characters are giving some for of explanations, for me it doesn't make sense).
*SPOILER*
If you manage to get past that, you get a pretty story where the MC and her friends save the day and the ending is trying to give some redemption for her father (but he'll need to prove more imo)
Disclaimer: I received a free copy in exchange for my honest opinion
March 20, 2024
I received a free copy in place of a review via NetGalley.
I try to give books 30-50% before I DNF. I struggled to get to 34% before deciding to DNF, I wanted to read more and be a good ARC reader, but just could not.
Why did I DNF? This book needs more editing, focused on grammar and conventions to a small extent. In addition, the flow was off and would jump around way too much with no smooth transitions - it was so significant that I was getting frustrated. As a result, more beta or early readers with more critiquing skills should have been used. Finally, I love urban fantasy and dragons, etc, so the premise was interesting but within that 34% I was not connected to any if the characters and was not really caring.
I try to give books 30-50% before I DNF. I struggled to get to 34% before deciding to DNF, I wanted to read more and be a good ARC reader, but just could not.
Why did I DNF? This book needs more editing, focused on grammar and conventions to a small extent. In addition, the flow was off and would jump around way too much with no smooth transitions - it was so significant that I was getting frustrated. As a result, more beta or early readers with more critiquing skills should have been used. Finally, I love urban fantasy and dragons, etc, so the premise was interesting but within that 34% I was not connected to any if the characters and was not really caring.
May 19, 2024
I enjoyed my “journey,” and I am definitely looking forward to where this series will travel next! I am not typically a reader of the fantasy genre, and yet I found this book very compelling. There was an underlying spiritually to the story line and Jemma’s continued work to deal with her own grief and healing around her mother’s death which, for me, made this a “deeper read”. I expected just a “fun action story” but found a commentary on many of today’s issues such as corporate greed, environmental change, and growing discrimination against those who are different from others. But I have to admit that I loved how magic and nature joined forces for the greater good. For me, this book was both entertaining and thoughtful. I really hope that Book Two arrives soon!
April 25, 2024
If there a cozy fantasy genre? If so, Journey to Everland Bay would tuck nicely into that category, along with the pocket faeries and mini portal books that animate this charming novel. This is an endlessly inventive, engrossing read. I found myself looking out the window to see if I could spy an iridescent dragon stretching its wings in my garden. For those who enjoyed House by the Cerulean Sea and the Mirror Visitor Series, Journey to Everland Bay offers a lovely escape to a mystical land without leaving your couch.
April 25, 2024
Journey to Everland Bay by Lynne Shaner is a delight. This book will be one of my go-to comfort stories when I'm having a bad day and need to remind myself that there is kindness and magic in the world. The characters are strong but kind. The setting is alive with magic, and the story is steeped in gentle humor that will warm your heart. Most of all, it is real. I feel like, if I just turn down the right road, I can find Everland Bay and meet the people there. Meet them, then enjoy a good cup of tea while we swap stories. Read this book! It will make you feel better.
April 27, 2024
Loved this book! I felt like I was on the journey with Jemma as she learned more about herself, her magical abilities, her family and friends, mentors, employers, and nature. The author has created a fantasy world that despite the dark forces and individuals attempting to control it, offers hope. It’s a welcome relief from the dystopic worlds found in many fantasy novels. It shows the importance of loving and caring relationships, all with a creative writing style and intermixed with whimsy such as portal books and flutewood trees.
February 10, 2025
An interesting take on a magical world.
Jemma, a fairy-fae-dragon mix, (how creative is this!) shines as the protagonist with determination to learn her craft and save the Everland Bay Institute from the rogue mages threatening the future of the institution.
If you love beautiful descriptions of magical creatures and the world they live in, you will love Journey to Everland Bay. I enjoyed the pocket fairies and the adorable luminescent dragon and would have loved more of her. Perhaps in the future books that are yet to come.
Jemma, a fairy-fae-dragon mix, (how creative is this!) shines as the protagonist with determination to learn her craft and save the Everland Bay Institute from the rogue mages threatening the future of the institution.
If you love beautiful descriptions of magical creatures and the world they live in, you will love Journey to Everland Bay. I enjoyed the pocket fairies and the adorable luminescent dragon and would have loved more of her. Perhaps in the future books that are yet to come.
September 22, 2024
Shaner's imagination shines in this enchanting fantasy blending magical heritage with a modern-day struggle. Jemma Avalon, conflicted between her elf-fae and dragon-blood lineage, yearns to return to her mystical roots in Everland Bay. But in a world where magic is forbidden, an unexpected incident forces her to make decisions that could alter the future of "her kind" forever. With vivid world-building and high-stakes action, Shaner weaves a thrilling tale of good versus evil.
April 6, 2024
ARC Copy...hate to give an indie read a poor rating but...although the fantasy ideas promising at the start it felt messy and weak "narrative meat wise" as the story went.
April 30, 2024
A charming book and the world building made me want to visit Everland Bay!
December 15, 2025
Totally awesome book 📖!!
May 25, 2024
I love this book- it is an utter delight and is a masterpiece of descriptive writing! I was totally captivated all the way through- the writing is tight, the characters well-developed, and the plot is compelling and oh-so-fun to read! There are feats of derring-do, a mischievous dragon 🐉, pocket fairies 🧚♀️, a capering, recalcitrant unicorn, a Battle-to-end-all- Battles, a sly touch of current events, and it even passes the “Bechdel Test”!!! I won’t say any more, as I want every reader to be as surprised and excited as I was when I first read it!! I am now eagerly awaiting Book II of this amazingly awesome story!!!!! Go get this book now, get cozy, and settle in for a most enjoyable reading experience!!!!!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews