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Strike the Match
Enya should have died. Trapped outside during a blizzard with no home to go back to, her thirteen years of life seemed to be at an end. Then she lit a match and her world changed forever. Escaping her fate thanks to the portal opened by the matchsticks, she managed to find a new home and a new family at Lady Ella's Memorial Hospital. That happily ever after is threatened, however, when Don Thomas Tucker, small lord of the Southern Kingdom, demands the hospital staff pay their debt early. If they cannot collect a thousand gold pieces in one month, they will lose everything.
To save her new home and strike back at the don, Enya hatches a daring plan to steal the money they need from the corrupt lord's own treasure vault. But with magical defenses surrounding the palace, her matchsticks alone won't be enough. To succeed, she must venture across the Seven Kingdoms and beyond to reunite a notorious band of magical thieves who fell apart after a previous attempt on the don's palace. With such a daunting task ahead of her, as well as an army of guards and trolls defending the vault, Enya can't shake the feeling that maybe the whispers from her past are right. Maybe her story has no happily ever after.
To save her new home and strike back at the don, Enya hatches a daring plan to steal the money they need from the corrupt lord's own treasure vault. But with magical defenses surrounding the palace, her matchsticks alone won't be enough. To succeed, she must venture across the Seven Kingdoms and beyond to reunite a notorious band of magical thieves who fell apart after a previous attempt on the don's palace. With such a daunting task ahead of her, as well as an army of guards and trolls defending the vault, Enya can't shake the feeling that maybe the whispers from her past are right. Maybe her story has no happily ever after.
319 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 20, 2024
2 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 20, 2024
This is the kind of fairy tale, heist mishmash I would have loved as a pre-teen (although there are parts that feel much more adult than middle grade). The ending was a little anti-climactic, but overall pretty good.
July 23, 2025
Having gone to college with the author, Brian is certainly somebody I would expect to bring a good story to life with vivid characters, excellent worldbuilding, and description. His book is a fantastic example of what cohesion with words and imagery in each syllable is all about when telling a story.
If you are a fan of Tolkien and J.K. Rowling, you will absolutely love this book!! It says a lot about a novel that has the same writing style as they do (not a fan at all of Tolkien or J.K. Rowling), but Brian does it in a way that engulfs you into the story as if you were there with the main character, Enya, as her sidekick, without bogging you down with overly done description. Even reading the first two pages, I "felt" the cold in the outside world, and the stakes at hand. Just two pages in and I'm fully immersed. Nicely done. It was a shame when I finished it, because I was left wanting more!
If you are looking for a fun, engaging read that's vivid, felt, and fantastical in ways that immerse you in wanting more, I highly recommend you give Brian's "Strike the Match" a chance!
If you are a fan of Tolkien and J.K. Rowling, you will absolutely love this book!! It says a lot about a novel that has the same writing style as they do (not a fan at all of Tolkien or J.K. Rowling), but Brian does it in a way that engulfs you into the story as if you were there with the main character, Enya, as her sidekick, without bogging you down with overly done description. Even reading the first two pages, I "felt" the cold in the outside world, and the stakes at hand. Just two pages in and I'm fully immersed. Nicely done. It was a shame when I finished it, because I was left wanting more!
If you are looking for a fun, engaging read that's vivid, felt, and fantastical in ways that immerse you in wanting more, I highly recommend you give Brian's "Strike the Match" a chance!
September 20, 2024
With a unique magic system and a fun magical heist, it's everything you want from an early YA / late MG crossover novel. I got the audiobook ARC of this, and it was an entertaining read. Check it out!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews