The Golden Orb

by Amanda Cook

25-year-old Gabby's normal human existence became anything but normal when she took the job as Fae Agent for Top Hat in the Fae Realms--magical lands full of wonder and adventure...and danger. When she agrees to find a missing magic artifact for the king of Ouestfold without Top Hat’s knowledge, her secret mission sends her on a journey of discovery that leads her to more than she’d ever bargained for.

"The Golden Orb" is a modern fantasy for young/new adults that blends aspects of high fantasy, similar to Tolkien or Robert Jordan, with elements of fairy tales and mythology. It is both a love letter and an homage to stories and storytellers alike.

Gabby spends her time on the Earthplane hiding behind glamours and the anonymity of her IT job while living a double life as a Fae Agent in the Fae Realms. Her mad Fae employer, Top Hat, tasks Gabby with finding magical items he can hoard in his mansion. After becoming a hero to the citizens of the Fae Realm, Ouestfold, Gabby receives an e-mail from the king asking her to find his missing artifact, the Golden Orb. She runs into a co-worker, Lucas, along the way, and together, they battle an imposter, a mermaid, goblins, and even a vampyre in order to get the Orb safely home. Gabby’s strange family history comes back to haunt her as she tries to work out her feelings for Lucas as well as accept the fate that’s been dealt her. "The Golden Orb" is a fantasy full of adventure and romance with danger lurking around every corner.

Genres: Fantasy

324 pages, Paperback

First published April 12, 2014

About the author

Amanda Cook is a stay-at-home-mom and writer living in the rolling hills of southern Indiana. When she’s not caring for her family or obsessing over punctuation, she can be found helping out at her sons' school, catching up on her Goodreads list, playing (and sometimes winning, but mostly losing) board games with her friends, crying over her favorite PBS programs, or creating yet another cosplay for the local gaming/pop culture convention, where she’ll probably lose at even more board games. The Golden Orb, her first novel, was published in 2014. When We Were Forgotten, her second novel, was published in September, 2017. It won the Bronze Medal for Best Sci-fi/Fantasy/Horror E-Book from the Independent Publisher Book (IPPY) Awards in 2018.

Reviews

[Lilly Cannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book with adventure and villain's and people willing to do the right thing, no matter the cost. I did feel like it dragged a little in places and i found myself wanting more action, i also figured out the bad guys pretty quickly and i was a little annoyed with Gabby at times. Overall this was a good book, something different and unique to me. I wanted the ending to be a little more... crazy, like non-stop stuff happening, i would of been happy with an epilogue, something that maybe signals a new book on the horizon?

Notice: This book was sent to me as part of a giveaway, it does not affect my review.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A magically delightful read. Main character , Gabby, is a quick study. Her love of adventure, solving puzzles, along with the thrill of the hunt motivates her existence. She is young, loyal and good hearted. She is mindful of her sage superiors advice...seeks their guidance yet listens to her heart. It is not always easy to know what is truth. I admire the authors knowledge and depth of defining Gabby's struggles with loneliness, anger, confusion, along with her episodes of seduction versus sincere affection , all the while being expected to do the right thing.

[Michelle Huss · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, light fantasy read. I really enjoyed the way the author tied in little bits and pieces from classic fairy tales into the story. While the plot was relatively simple, I found it an engaging read that left me wanting more. I look forward to seeing the author develop her writing style through further novels. All and all, a pretty good premier novel in my opinion.

[Peter · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got this book for free as a goodreads giveaway, so I kind of feel bad complaining about it, but here goes:

The characters are boring, the plot is full of done-to-death cliches, and the setting/world falls flat. I didn't like the inclusion of/allusion to fairy tales (Little Red Riding Hood as well as Jack and the Beanstalk) as they didn't add anything to the story or help frame the world at all. They seemed like little Easter eggs thrown in without any subtlety.

The thing that bothered me most of all, though, was how most of the magical artifact details were explained after everything finished. All of the questions were answered with what felt like a shrug and a hand wave.

There's more that I could complain about (cover, map, plot holes, etc.) but I feel like this is already too negative.

I just really didn't like it.

[S.H. Marr · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book suffers from "unnecessary prologue you forget about promptly," "whiny and unlikable MC" and "MC who is perfect an amazing at everything." At one point early on, Gabby herself claims that she's mastered skills her instructors said it should have taken her years longer to master...but "it's not a big deal, I just have a good memory, right?"

On Amazon, Ms. Cook has a note about how writing fantasy novels is "freeing" because she doesn't have to do any research. This is a ridiculous notion, and it shows. Nothing the main character, Gabby, does makes any kind of sense or follows a logic that is discernable.

Gah. I think this book was self-published for all the wrong reasons....as in, no one else wanted anything to do with this one.

[Luna · Rating 4 out of 5]

i feel bad that i wasn't able to write a review for this book soon i had read this book a few weeks back but was not able to write one till now. I really liked this story the main character Gabby is a very smart young woman with a good heart and quick mind. Gabby spends a lot of the book dealing with the struggles that she’s facing as well as the evils that are going on in her world this fantasy book tends to remind of a little of the fantasy world of J.R.R. Tolkien the writing style was well written and engaging all in all the book is really worth the read.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read, I really enjoyed this book. The author obviously enjoys and knows her fantasy genre as there are some parallels with the likes of Tolkien and some references to some well know fairy stories. The book itself revolves around Gabby and her struggles with her good heart and the evils that surround her. A well written read and one that deserves more recognition.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free as part of the goodreads first reads giveaway. This was fun and imaginative book that is full of colorful characters and excellent plot twists. My only issue with the book is that I wish there were more background information on the world of Ouestfold and the peoples and creatures within it before I got into the story, rather than reading about it as I went, it took me out of the story at times. I would recommend this book to fans of fantasy.

[Rissa]

Since I won this in a GR Giveaway, I promise to find it a good home. Could not connect with this one at all, but hopefully someone else will!

(Also, I won't be rating it, since I didn't make it very far.)

Thanks to GR and the author for allowing me the opportunity to read this!