Insolo: Book One of the Eclipsis Trilogy

by Tatum E. Carrington

Azaraya Alvanshia is the second born princess of Wyveria, she’s second in line for the crown, and waiting desperately to finally have her own power, just like her sister before her. Only, it’s taking too long, and Azaraya is still powerless, confused, and the kingdom is growing restless. On an adventure with her best friend, to the border dividing her world from Vandahlia, Azaraya meets someone, and he’s not from her side of the century-old border. A duel of ability and wit ensues, and Azaraya realizes she might not be as powerless as she thought. But her unique weapon isn’t from Wyveria. It’s Vandahlian, and now she has a long line of family secrets and betrayal to unravel. Why would a princess develop a foreign power? Contact with Vandahlia has been long forbidden. This shouldn’t happen. A series of discoveries leads Azaraya down a path of twisted lies, betrayal, self discovery and rebellion as she fights to learn who she is and who she’s meant to be.

349 pages, Paperback

Published November 20, 2024

About the author

Tatum E. Carrington has been writing for as long as she can remember, driven by a passion for storytelling and a love for literature. Insolo is her debut fantast novel and the first installment of the Eclipsis Trilogy. She aspires to write many more books in the future, and especially enjoys creating controversially strong FMCs, to hopefully resonate with younger generations and empower women worldwide.

Reviews

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

(For the sake of transparency, please note that I was a beta reader and editor for this piece. I know the author personally but am by no means being paid to write a positive review.)

This book is an adventurous fantasy with a cast of strong-willed teenagers at its heart. The fantasy world is modern but very unique and intriguing, portraying a variety of magical abilities that I personally found very fun and interesting. The plot contains timely and thoughtful political and social commentary that is easily accessible for the reader and not overly-complex.

If you’re looking for a fun fantasy with lots of intrigue, suspense, action, and a little hint of what could become romance, this book might be for you!

Carrington clearly has a natural knack for storytelling that comes through in her writing. She’s definitely a young author to keep an eye on. She’ll be doing big things in the future!

[Pierce Samuel ✞︎ (My Girlfriend's Ver.)]

PRE-REVIEW: Chat the fan art I’ll be making for this book in like a week is gonna be crazy… Tatum said I’m the official artist for the book trust, I am actually SO excited to read this, I’m jumping up and down. LOOK AT IT?? It’s so coolllllllll 😼

Editing this since I'm like halfway through rn: This is actually so good. And I'm not just saying that 'cuz I'm friends w/ the author. I have aphantasia and can't visualize things in my mind, therefore I usually steer clear of fantasy. Carrington describes the settings and emotions in her book SO well, I can actually understand what is going on w/o visualizing it.

[Taylor Rich · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I am a reader, not a writer. I do not claim to have any skill in writing fiction, but I do know what makes a book compelling, engaging, and well-crafted. Unfortunately, this book is none of those things.

I’ve been struggling with how to write this review for a while. My mom, who has followed the author on Instagram for some time, bought me this book for Christmas, and since I just got Goodreads, I thought I’d leave my honest thoughts here.

Let me start by saying that I fully understand this is a debut novel by a teenager. I get it. Writing a book is difficult. But if you’re going to put something out into the world, charge money for it, and expect people to spend their time reading it, it has to be ready. And this book is painfully, obviously, not. It reads like a first draft—riddled with grammar mistakes that are impossible to ignore, dialogue that feels unnatural, and pacing that is all over the place. The characters are shallow at best and unbearably cliché at worst. Every trope is recycled without any originality, and the plot is so generic that it feels indistinguishable from every other mediocre fantasy book out there.

The main character, in particular, is insufferable. I have never struggled to get through a book as much as I did with this one, and I’m usually the kind of person who can finish a novel in a day or two. With this? I could barely get through a few pages at a time before I needed to put it down out of sheer frustration. It wasn’t just boring—it was exhausting. The only remotely redeeming quality is the cliffhanger, which would have been effective if it had been attached to a book that was actually worth reading. Instead, it feels like an attempt to trick readers into continuing a series that doesn’t deserve their time. I honestly have an incredibly difficult time believing that any of the 5 star reviews are honest and not just from the authors friends pitching in to help out.

Now, I wasn’t planning on being this blunt in my review. I usually try to be more considerate, especially for debut authors. But after looking through the author’s Instagram, I was genuinely appalled. The sheer amount of negativity, self-inflicted drama, and public call-outs is embarrassing. It’s one thing for an author to use personal experiences as inspiration—it’s another thing entirely to openly admit to writing people they dislike into their books just to paint them in a bad light. That is not only unprofessional but also incredibly petty and immature. Writing should be an art, not a tool for airing personal grievances in the pettiest way possible.

Frankly, after seeing that, I can’t say I’m surprised that the book turned out the way it did. If an author is more focused on internet drama than honing their craft, the results speak for themselves. I wouldn’t go so far as to call this the worst book I’ve ever read, but it is absolutely up there. I cannot in good conscience recommend it to anyone unless they’re looking for an example of how not to write a book.

[bookreviewsbyz · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was one of the best books i’ve read so far this year.
if you’re looking for a story with a slowburn that will make you go crazy and an insanely detailed world building, congrats you just found yourself an amazing book.

[b · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book. I came in optimistic and gave every benefit of the doubt that I could, but it still fell unfortunately flat for me. The characters felt rather one dimensional, more as if they were on puppet strings being dragged through the scenes rather than characters with agency. Motivations and attitudes seemed to change on a whim (Such as Azaraya's father). The worldbuilding was undeniably modern, but without the care to properly interweave the existence of magic to make it feel whole. I can tell the author enjoyed writing the book, but I can only wish I did the same while reading.

[AnxietyReader · Rating 1 out of 5]

I fully applaud this young indie author for following her dream to write but unfortunately i can't even begin to like this book. It could've been a good book but it really just fell flat. It was such a struggle to get through it. The dialog was very immature at best, pacing was all over the place, and the characters were very flat. The FMC was insufferable with her badly portrayed angst teenager. The world the author was trying to build would've been great had she tried to weave the modern aspects with the magical aspects but unfortunately they felt like two completely worlds.

[irmiller (reader) · Rating 5 out of 5]

**minor spoilers**
I want to preface this by saying the author is one of my absolute BEST FRIENDS. I love her to death, but I will still try to keep this review as unbiased as possible.

Even as I say that, I do need to say, this book was FANTASTIC. I binged this in one night.

There were the occasional grammar mistakes and typos that I’d noticed, and only a couple minor plot inconsistencies; however, these rarely take away from the story, so let’s dive into all the AMAZING things about this book.

Let’s start by talking about the worldbuilding. There were only a couple instances where I was left confused—however, by the end, almost everything was cleared up and explained. We got information on the gods, why the two kingdoms of Ivia (Vandahlia and Wyveria) were separated, why certain characters were important to history, and even details that I’m certain will lead to foreshadowing for the rest of the series. The way magic is handled in this world is so fun—each side having its own set traits of magic, while exceptions are still very much possible. I love all the names for the different kinds of magic (small, I know) and how the separation and history of magic plays into the world, even going as far as to separate how the magic first reveals itself amongst residents of the two kingdoms.

Second, the plot. We get into the conflict of the story quickly, and while there is a bit of a slow point in between, once you’re past that, you reach an epic, magic-filled new world that reveals the first conflict was actually a smaller part of a significantly larger conflict. The way that small details overlap to weave together and make this story is so well done—no detail feels unnecessary.

Next, the characters. I’ll talk about them as a whole and then dive into two in particular: Azaraya, our protagonist, and Waryn. All of the characters here have such a wide range in appearance, personalities, culture—it truly felt like a diverse story from all different ages.
But, let’s take a second to focus specifically on the teens. A lot of books tend to make teens act like young adults, or even fully grown adults, but these characters act a LOT more similar to their age (being around the 14-17 age range). They’re petty, they’re immature, their emotions and logic don’t always make perfect sense—which is AMAZING because these are TEENS. They’re not SUPPOSED to be fully logical and emotionally mature yet.
Azaraya: the protagonist of our story, and the one that we hear most of the story from. She’s 16, nearing 17, and is very sarcastic and aggressive towards her parents. She doesn’t like feeling her emotions and tends to misinterpret them or see them as a negative thing. She’s snarky and isn’t the easiest to get along with. But she’s still lovable, because even with these seemingly negative characteristics, you see her grow and change, particularly with the help of Waryn and Fiara.
Waryn: I had a hunch Waryn would be one of my favorites the moment he was introduced, and I was correct. As an autistic person myself, I could see a lot of similarities in him and I, from the socially awkwardness to the fascination with seemingly average things. He’s arguably the most mature of the main group for the first half of the book, but it also makes sense, given his backstory (which I won’t spoil here). He can go from kind and caring to disconnected from violence in the matter of moments, but it doesn’t seem unnatural. They can coexist. He is such a great juxtaposition to Azaraya, and their relationship ebbs and flows as any relationship does.

Speaking of relationships, let’s talk about character dynamics.
As most teen girls do, Azaraya hates her parents—particularly her dad, the king. When given in the context of the story, however, you learn that it goes much beyond a simple teen-parent quarrel. Along with that, you see Azaraya deal with internal conflict as she realizes just how difficult her father’s past is, going back and forth between blaming her father and blaming herself.
Along with that hatred, we also see lots of confusing relationships that are common amongst teens. Azaraya and Vay, her polar opposite, absolutely DESPISE each other in the petty teen way, though for no solid motivation other than they annoy the hell out of each other. It doesn’t help that Trellan is placed in the middle of it, being Azaraya’s best friend and Vay being in love with him. However, Trellan and Azaraya’s relationship becomes much more complicated early on, though I won’t spoil what happens. Needless to say, we don’t like Trellan anymore.
Azaraya also makes new friends with young Fiara upon her realization of her abilities. The two bond well and have a close connection, but something big later on strains it, showing Fiara was much more important than previously thought.
And, of course, there’s Azaraya and Waryn. These two originally fight against each other (think unstoppable force meets immovable object), and they have amazing banter and adorable moments throughout the book, though their relationship certainly ebbs and flows throughout as more discoveries are made.

I could go ON AND ON about this book, I’m sure, but this review is long enough. Needless to say, I will be yelling at Tatum for the next year or so in awaiting the next book. From one teen author to the next, I am so, so proud of her <3

[Bella ❤ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book right away. I got to read an arc amazing. Loved

[Vil N. Melling · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. It's written by a young, ambitious indie author, so all the praise to her for pushing through with this dream, but in the end, I had more problems with the book and the story than I had praises to sing.

It was difficult for me to care about the events of the story, because the main character (Azaraya) lacked internal conflict and agency. The story's driven by the plot and the things that happen around her, rather than her choices and beliefs. The entire plot happens because her best friend randomly wanted to show her a place. It doesn't feel like it matters more to Azaraya than it would to anyone else in her situation. There were good moments where it DID feel like she had a say in things, but they were sadly few and far between.

The dialogue didn't captivate me either. To me, it lacked personality and nuance, and it felt like the characters had a pre-determined amount of things to say in each conversation, so they said that rather than what they naturally would say. Overall, the writing came off as juvenile to me, without much depth or nuance, and with far more telling than showing.

This book REALLY needed another few rounds of proofreading and line editing, and maybe another round of beta readers, because as it is, it is NOT ready for publishing. It's crowded by mistakes like extra spaces, missing spaces, missing quotation marks, extra full stops, different apostrophes, hyphens/double hyphens (--)/en dashes in place of em dashes, and uncapitalized starts of sentences. One of the chapters wasn't justified like the others, one chapter title is different than what it says in the table of contents, and after chapter six, the page numbers the chapters start with no longer add up with the ones in the table of contents. A VERY common problem was that commas were used in place of full stops. For example, this is a sentence from the book: "Let's listen to them, we both need somewhere to stay, this might be our only option for a while. That's three sentences, not one. This specific mistake has always GREATLY annoyed me, so it unfortunately affected my enjoyment quite a bit.
All these things combined makes the book read more like a fanfiction than a published novel, and because of that, I can't rate it higher than a two.

But with all that said, there were a few things I did like!
Like Vasren. His internal conflict was really interesting to learn about, and I really enjoyed finding out more about him and his past. Some of his interactions with Azaraya were also fun. Their growing friendship was very nice :)

I also really liked Wynn-Dinn. I wish we could've gotten to see more of him, because he was an ICON.

The world building is also really fun! It's not often you see a fantasy world with magical powers and kings and queens and wars that's set in a modern environment. They've got modern trains, phones, TVs and lots of other modern technology in this world, and that was a really interesting way to explore a fantasy world! I found it quite well-explored too :D

I also gotta highlight how the teenagers actually act like teenagers. Part of the story follows four teens going on an impulsive, ill-planned road trip adventure, and that was my favorite part for sure. It felt like such a teenager thing to do, and every move they made just made it better. I wish the part with Azaraya, Waryn, Fiara and Vay on their fantasy adventure would have lasted longer, because it was SO FUN!

Overall, this book had fun moments, and you can see the potential in Tatum and her writing and storytelling, but ultimately, it fell flat for me. The lack of internal conflict, overabundance of telling about the characters' intentions and feelings, and the frequent issues with the writing and formatting shot this book in the heel.

[Susie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slight spoilers ahead

Insolo was a very enjoyable read!
I always struggle to get through the first 50 or so pages of a book, as it's hard for me to wait for the story to pick up. However, this was very fast paced and kept me interested most of the time. In fact, I read the last 60-70 pages in one sitting. The plot was very interesting! The rivalry between Azaraya and her father added lots of excitement to the beginning of the book, and her escape had me invested. The characters are very believable teenagers, with the way they talk and act. Throughout the book, it was fun to watch their personalities become more clear and gain more depth. I also really enjoyed watching the relationships form between characters. My favorite was Azaraya and "Waryn." The tension between them felt VERY real and also slightly awkward, as it usually is in real life. I like their dynamic, Waryn being from another kingdom and getting confused when Azaraya talks about things he isn't familiar with. Overall, I could see a friendship of sorts forming between the main characters as the story progressed, which was fun and felt believable.
I'm excited to read more about the backstories behind the kingdoms in the future books, as I was left a little confused after finishing the first. I'm generally a little slow when it comes to understanding backstories, though. I have a few small notes, none that heavily affect my review, but that did stick out to me when reading.
1. there were a few grammatical errors and misspellings here and there, but none that affected my enjoyment of the book.
2. some of the relationship aspects felt SLIGHTLY forced- one being Azaraya and her father. I've seen it in many books, so it's not a huge deal, it's just a SLIGHT personal annoyance of mine. I feel that the "horrible father" thing was a little forced, not that he wasn't portrayed as an awful person. However, that was the problem. I didn't get much of a chance to read into his character and figure out for myself that he was a bad father- it was directly mentioned multiple times throughout the book. Again, this may just be a personal preference of mine, but I usually like to be able to see the character's actions and understand on my own time that they are a bad person.
3. I usually have no problem with cursing, but it was quite frequent throughout the book, so much so that it was distracting at times and it eventually felt a little unrealistic.
Just a few small notes, they didn't bother me much at all, just putting them here to give a little feedback!
Overall, I really enjoyed reading Insolo, and I look forward to the next book of the trilogy.

[Catherine Khaperska · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tatum, darling, I can't believe it took me almost 6 months to get to reading Insolo, and yet, here I am, finished and ready to review.

Witty, sarcastic, and devoted Azaraya, the Wyverian princess. Secretive, thoughtful, and caring Vasren, the Vandahlian prince. Both make up a cunning duo that I cannot wait to see grow into their power and flourish.

The worldbuilding of Ivia is realistic and easy to comprehend -- a feat not many debut fantasy authors achieve! I can see where real life inspired certain features of the world as well. The plot was easy to follow, and there were quite a few notable twists that I definitely did not see coming.

However, some aspects of the novel broke my immersion, and I found myself able to predict at least one major event.

Tatum, I have no doubt you will go far with your writing. I look forward to seeing your work go far and I'm so honoured to be someone who was there from Chapter One -- so to speak 😊

[M. N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a sucker for some good fantasy, and Insolo puts a fresh spin on magic systems and mystical powers in a way I haven’t seen enough of in fantasy books. The worldbuilding concepts of gods, powers, prophecies, and culture (bonus points for the wisteria trees and grapes— read the book to find out what that means) made the storytelling come alive and left me wanting more. Also, this is probably the first time I’ve ever particularly enjoyed a variant of a YA ‘bed trope’. I’m looking forward to what Tatum E. Carrington publishes next!

[SeUnGmIn In ThE bUiLdInG&#x1faf0; · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the best books I’ve ever read and I read it in a very short amount of time, like less than a day. Honestly this was the best book I read in 2024 it had an interesting plot and the main character was amazing I loved her. The slow burn was amazing for being a debut and I was left on one of the best cliffhangers I’ve ever read. Great job on the debut Tatum!

[Nihi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Tatum for sending me a copy of your book to read and review - all I have to say is AHHH I need book 2 asap!!!!

If you love a good “growing into your shoes”/discovering yourself journey, with a strong magic system - Insolo is the book for you! Think The Empyrean meets Powerless vibes, and with a diverse character set!

[Audrey Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book for Christmas because I am best friends with the authors sister. I am not leaving five stars because I know the author personally, I am leaving five stars because this book was amazing and I am not afraid to say it.

[Jordan Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written. This young author impressed me.

[Elizabeth Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Want a fantastic storyteller. Very impressed and cannot wait to see what comes next.

[Alisha Konkle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely some plot twists that I did not anticipate. The book took me through all realms of emotion. Great work by a first time teen author!

[Meghan Akers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun and modern fantasy! So proud of this young author! ❤️

[Kelcie Rivera · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great debut novel for a young author! I am not much into fantasy, but this was a easy and exciting read. I am looking forward to book 2, as this one left on a serious cliffhanger!

[Naomi D]

I will give this a proper review when the updated edition is released 🫶

[Becca Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was captivating from start to finish! Through incredible storytelling and a compelling narrative, Carrington makes you fall in love with all her characters, and takes you to a whole different world. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in an exciting YA fantasy adventure!

[Ritika · Rating 4 out of 5]

𝙄 𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙤𝙣 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙠𝙮, 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚.
..............
Ever wondered what future era will look like? I've always loved reading all the imagination about it and this book was one of those.

You'll fell in love with this book with every page you read. Azaraya and Waryn both are so different yet perfect for each other. Azaraya did seemed a little bit immature, throwing unnecessary tantrums but honestly that's how a teenager in reality is and I love the fact that Author chose to show that.

Author being a teenage, I admire how beautifully she plotted the whole story line. It was impressive and admirable.

It's a trilogy and the ending had me desperately need the second book asap.

You're definitely gonna enjoy reading this one. It'll break your heart , yet make you laugh too💞

[Ava Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alrighty, oki-doki, lock in Lucy-lues.
Keyboard warrior status activated.

This book was a great introduction to younger readers. I myself, enjoy both YA and more adult books. This was a fantastic stepping stone into a magical world gor younger readers who need a little time to acclimate themselves to a fantasy world. Tatum does that perfectly.
She’s not shoving every major detail in your face in the first hundred pages -cough cough, some really major authors do that and we the people kindly ask them to stop- but overall? It was super fun! I enjoyed the energy and the chapter titles even had my dad chuckling (good job Tatum 👏)

Now, I do know Tatum personally. I know she is incredibly talented and hardworking. This book was made with a lot of elbow grease and love. Her character is outstanding and I really, really hope she goes to events later on where her personality shines through. She’s so easy to talk to, and I am very happy and proud to call her one of my closest friends.

[skye · Rating 4 out of 5]

𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐒
started: august 30
ended: august 31
— e-book

Tatum. Tatum. !! oh my god ! what the hell can I say? This book was so well written and executed; I absolutely loved the way Tatum told the characters and their unique stories along with their individual personalities.

Az & Vasren were my favourites to read and figure out their story, but Vasren (imo!) definitely is in love with Az; I can definitely see it !!

But overall, for my final read of August, it was a spectacular read and I need the second book in my veins right now !!! 💛💗