Portal

by N.M. Howell

A broken portal, fading magic, and a hunger to reclaim her world.
After five years in hiding, Raina Raeylle, heir to the light fae court, returns to New York City to try and salvage her fading magic. But with the portal to her world destroyed, and the city overtaken with the evil dark fae who would kill her in an instant should they discover who she is, she has little hope of finding solace.

Determined to discover if her people and her world are still alive, Raina conceals her identity and joins the Dark Fae Academy built over the remains of the portal to try and uncover the truth about her realm's demise.

Will raina succeed before the dark fae discover her true identity? Or will she succumb to the same fate as the portal to her world?

Genres: Fae, Urban Fantasy

242 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 29, 2017

About the author

N.M. Howell is a USA Today bestselling author and all-around nerd from the Pacific Northwest. She has an obsession with coffee, spicy food, and the rain, and she absolutely hates sleeves. (Seriously, they're like little fabric prisons!) When not locked away in her writing cave, you'll likely find her either wandering the world, lost in the woods, or fighting with her micro-wolf pup over who gets the best spot on the couch. Hint: the dog wins.

Reviews

[Miki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yay! Lots of Magic!

This is the beginning of a wonderful new series. I really like the descriptions of the people and places. I could even imagine one of the monsters clearly! This story has layers. It's taking me places. Not a cliffhanger on this one yet so many possibilities!

[etherealfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kindle Unlimited e-book

[Edna Staples · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am going to do this review different, I am going to use a quote that I found in the book and the quote comes from Chapter 4 and the quote as follows, " Ever since the portal fell, people have gone a little Fae, it seems like now everyone's a Glow-Gutter, a moth-boy or a Farie Mary. I havent been able to buy a drink for myself. I guess it goes to your head when you're the flower of the month".
This Author is brand new to me and the portal is my first read from from N.M. Howell. Portal is an awesome read and I would highly recommend this book to everyone to read. The characters are perfectly in this book. N.M. Howell pulls you right into this book from when you see the cover to right to the end of her book. There are way too many characters. I had to only pick one because this character means alot...
Raina is the boos and everyone kmows what needs to be done and they don't question her either. She is the one that keeps everything in order to keep everyone happy and such. In everyday life it's hard to find that one person that can keep their business running without any problems know a day you find business that truly dont care about their workers and that their workers can get hurt when they are at work.
I cant wait to see the next book in this series.

[Elda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A totally unique take on the Fae world. This is an action filled unique story about how a bright Fae, who's powers have faded, tries to search for a way to restore the portal to her fae world. She needs the portal opened before her powers completely run out. Along the way she makes friends who help her and discovers something shocking about who she really is and what she truly means to her fae world. I truly enjoyed this totally different take on light and dark fae. Ms Howell has a unique talent and imagination for writing and this story reflects that. Her world building is clearly written as well as her character development. I found it hard to set this story down for even a short time. I would have given this five stars if it weren't for the unique names for the types of spells that are used that have no clear definition. I would have liked to have seen a more complete explanation for what these spells meant. All in all I enjoyed reading this book and wouldn't hesitate to read more from this author.

[Jemimah Decker-Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this to be an enjoyable read with an interesting story line and plot. I thought it was a very different take on the fae from anything ive read before and i really liked that.
There's a strong mystery going throughout the book with just a tiny bit of that resolved in this book, however that has then led to more mysteries for us and that main character to uncover together. It's exciting and that's what I look for when I'm reading, something which will transport me out of my everyday life into an exciting world, and that's what I got with Portal.
This is only the first book in what is sure to be a great series and it really has me excited as to what's coming next, and I can't wait to find out.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an entertaining story to read. It has lots of action that will keep you turning pages to find out what's next. It has Dark Fae, Light Fae, magic, dragons, suspense, danger, and battles and a secret revealed. Five years ago, the Light Fae introduced themselves to humans, set up a portal in New York, and Raina took the position of chief spokesfae of humans-fae media relations. The Dark Fae bombed the portal, destroying it and Raina's chance to see her parents, home world and the ability to recharge her magic. Can Raina survive against a group of Dark Fae after her, evade the dragons trying to kill her and find a way to open a portal? I can't wait for the next book!

[Fleur · Rating 4 out of 5]

We start this book 5 years after the portal to Raina's home and family was destroyed, she finally returns to New York City to try and find a way back to her family. I really enjoyed how I connected with Raina straight away and how the other characters including Derek, Trini and Jax really grow on you as you get to know them. There were some great surprises and twists I didn't see coming and these were the icing on the cake and now I need to know what happens next!

I was given a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Krystyna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Returning home is only one objective

A different look at the fae. A battle between dark and light fae where the dark are not only winning but have the human population rooting for them. Can she revive the magic and regain some to prolong her life and return to her home? I found this slow in places and frankly it really isn't for me. The plot was slow moving and the characters I found to be slightly two dimensional.

[Amy Naylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great series from an amazing author! I love fae books and this one didn't disappoint. This series will eventually be a RH. Can't wait for the next one!

[Dawn Staples · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was awesome. I LOVED this book, i so can not wait for the next book. the magic was inventive and everywhere. Loved the whole Dark verses Light analogy for racism.

[The Mysterious Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

NM Howell has become a "must read" author for me, and Portal, the first book in her new Arcane Realms series, is a perfect example of why. I'm not going to summarize it as the kindle blurb is excellent (and that way there's no risk of my being a spoiler) but I will note that the heroine here, Raina Raeylle, is a perfect lead. Strong enough but not all-powerful, smart enough but not all knowing, lucky at times and unlucky at others, she knows what she needs to achieve and does her best to get there despite the odds against it. Set in an urban fantasy world that works beautifully and with a back story that makes great sense, at least at first, this novel also benefits from the author's willingness to portray her world as one that's not pure black-and-white but has complexities and surprises in it. A world where even some of one's enemies (the dark fae in Raina's case) can include good people seemingly worth befriending.

An excellent story. Highly recommended.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was super good fist book with no boring bits you won't won't to put it down looking forward to more books in this series and other books by this author 🙃