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Ortus #1
The Elixir Vitae Adventures
Life is an adventure.
That’s what their mother always told them. However, thirteen-year old Abigail Link and her ten-year old brother, Quinn, haven’t had much adventure in their lives. They’ve never traveled anywhere. They’ve never done anything thrilling or dangerous…until now.
Abigail and Quinn are forced to leave their home, move in with a grandfather they barely know and enroll in a new school – the prestigious Belvedere Academy.
Then, the adventure really begins. Abigail and Quinn find themselves in a world of mysteries, riddles and danger – traveling across the United States, searching for hidden clues and uncovering family secrets.
That’s what their mother always told them. However, thirteen-year old Abigail Link and her ten-year old brother, Quinn, haven’t had much adventure in their lives. They’ve never traveled anywhere. They’ve never done anything thrilling or dangerous…until now.
Abigail and Quinn are forced to leave their home, move in with a grandfather they barely know and enroll in a new school – the prestigious Belvedere Academy.
Then, the adventure really begins. Abigail and Quinn find themselves in a world of mysteries, riddles and danger – traveling across the United States, searching for hidden clues and uncovering family secrets.
346 pages, Paperback
Published June 28, 2017
1 person is currently reading
277 people want to read
About the author
Stacey Horan
10 books16 followersStacey Horan writes about things that scare her, and her goal is to keep writing until nothing scares her anymore. Stacey is the author of the Old City Mysteries, an adult paranormal mystery series set in St. Augustine, Florida. Additionally, she has penned seven young adult novels, including two paranormal thrillers and an adventure/mystery series. Stacey also hosts The Bookshop at the End of the Internet podcast, which is dedicated to helping book lovers discover new authors. You can learn more about Stacey at her website (www.staceyhoran.com) or on social media (@staceyleehoran).
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 23, 2017
This was a Goodreads giveaway win.
This book was AMAZING! My first thought as I was nearing the end was "how long will I have to wait until the next book is released?"
Brother and sister Quinn and Abigail Link are still mourning the loss of their mother a few months before, as they are shipped off to live near their grandfather and attend a new school, Belvedere Academy. They expect to be completely disappointed in everything in the future, especially without their mother's smile to move them along.
Their grandfather, Professor Larson, works at Paladin College across the street from their boarding school. He also is friends with the headmaster, allowing the children the special privilege of visiting their grandfather at the college when necessary. It becomes more and more necessary as the novel progresses, while the children become further involved in their grandfather's strange and mysterious adventures.
What are they searching for really? Will the find it? What did their mother have to do with this in the past? And what kind of danger will they need to avoid? These questions will be answered in this amazing novel.
Please don't wait too long for the next in the series to be released... it will be torture waiting!
This book was AMAZING! My first thought as I was nearing the end was "how long will I have to wait until the next book is released?"
Brother and sister Quinn and Abigail Link are still mourning the loss of their mother a few months before, as they are shipped off to live near their grandfather and attend a new school, Belvedere Academy. They expect to be completely disappointed in everything in the future, especially without their mother's smile to move them along.
Their grandfather, Professor Larson, works at Paladin College across the street from their boarding school. He also is friends with the headmaster, allowing the children the special privilege of visiting their grandfather at the college when necessary. It becomes more and more necessary as the novel progresses, while the children become further involved in their grandfather's strange and mysterious adventures.
What are they searching for really? Will the find it? What did their mother have to do with this in the past? And what kind of danger will they need to avoid? These questions will be answered in this amazing novel.
Please don't wait too long for the next in the series to be released... it will be torture waiting!
May 29, 2019
Mostly I think I was expecting a different book than the one I got. It seemed written for a younger audience than I expected, which made the writing simpler and the plot less realistic than I wanted. It also suffers from "plot advancement via people finally explaining things they could have explained dozens of pages ago", which is a personal pet peeve that you may have no problem with. For all that, though, I absolutely stayed interested in the story from beginning to end and while I'm not going to seek out book 2 of this story I'd definitely be interested in checking out a more adults-oriented story from this author.
October 23, 2017
This book is well written with believable characters. Some of the story was slow and repetitive. I look forward to the continuation of the series and hopefully more excitement.
September 9, 2017
While I liked the premise of this book, it left something to be desired in the execution. The writing felt dry, like a diary entry which just recounts the basic information of what happened each day. I wished for more character development and a view into their psyches. There were also significant errors in the editing. It sounds like it could be a fun story and series, and I hope that the author steps the writing up a notch for future books in the series.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews