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Sonder
When a small town painter leaves her home to escape a past she would do anything to change... She could never have imagined what was going to happen to her next.
Plummeting feet first into her destiny, Elara has reason to fear when she discovers who she truly is. Half-dark fae and half-light, she struggles to hone her powers and understand parts of the world she didn't know existed.
As Elara follows her true nature, her actions could risk her very life. While discovering her powers, so do those who are hunting her. Will her abilities help her, or bring her more trouble?
In S. L. Horne's fantasy debut, Elara travels across time and through portals to protect her secret.
WHAT HAPPENS IN THE NEXT BOOK, SIRE, COULD CHANGE THE ENTIRE COURSE OF THE FAE.
This title deals with physical and sexual abuse and is not recommended for readers below the age of 18.
Plummeting feet first into her destiny, Elara has reason to fear when she discovers who she truly is. Half-dark fae and half-light, she struggles to hone her powers and understand parts of the world she didn't know existed.
As Elara follows her true nature, her actions could risk her very life. While discovering her powers, so do those who are hunting her. Will her abilities help her, or bring her more trouble?
In S. L. Horne's fantasy debut, Elara travels across time and through portals to protect her secret.
WHAT HAPPENS IN THE NEXT BOOK, SIRE, COULD CHANGE THE ENTIRE COURSE OF THE FAE.
This title deals with physical and sexual abuse and is not recommended for readers below the age of 18.
220 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 4, 2019
2 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 4, 2019
Imagine you are a talented amateur painter and your mind swirls with imaginative and somewhat bizarre stories about the inner lives of the faceless characters on the drawing. Now, imagine that you are not an ordinary young adult trying to recover from PTSD after all.
Early into the story, Calista is insanely ahem... trusting with strange men she hasn't met before and after a rock concert, she invites a guy to her home and she is unfortunately raped. Now, this scene is crude and these kinds of scenes make many people automatically DNF books, but the scene is the catalyst that spurs Calista to move to another state, change her name to Elara as a means to cope with her haunting experience, and on the side, visit hospitals in order to locate information about her biological parents.
Meanwhile, there is a lake in the town she currently inhabits that seems to be calling her, and she isn't sure if she is going crazy or not...
The first thing that can be a hit or miss with readers is the fact that this book is purposely written in the present tense. Many readers don't mind, others hate it. I am still in the middle ground where as long as the story pulls me in, I won't be too bothered by it.
For better or worse, this is one of those books where very little action happens in the first 50% of the book, whereas the remaining has tons of increasingly weird stuff going on. The side stories of the paintings are the real draw for the beginning of the story that serve as a nice contrast to the dullness of Elara driving her used car around to work a waitress job and other mundane tasks. I suspected the painting scenes to be more than a figment of Elara's imagination, but I don't wish to spoil in what sense.
I think the story really picked up when we meet sweet Denton. I really do not wish to spoil much about him because it would ruin the weirdness ensued from the second half of the novella. I do however wish to point that there are some things about him that I felt to be plot holes. Sadly I can't say much about why I say that here due to spoilers.
The book had a lot of really good points, but the really slow start made it hard for me to connect to Elara (I never really got to like her much at all during the course of the story). I think the huge amount of plot holes and lack of explanation about the other world Denton is a part of, plus the "Time Travel Paradox" issues that the book triggers are things that made me hyper aware during the story. I do sincerely think the story has a lot of good pluses, despite its flaws and will likely end up reading any sequels sometime when they come out.
Early into the story, Calista is insanely ahem... trusting with strange men she hasn't met before and after a rock concert, she invites a guy to her home and she is unfortunately raped. Now, this scene is crude and these kinds of scenes make many people automatically DNF books, but the scene is the catalyst that spurs Calista to move to another state, change her name to Elara as a means to cope with her haunting experience, and on the side, visit hospitals in order to locate information about her biological parents.
Meanwhile, there is a lake in the town she currently inhabits that seems to be calling her, and she isn't sure if she is going crazy or not...
The first thing that can be a hit or miss with readers is the fact that this book is purposely written in the present tense. Many readers don't mind, others hate it. I am still in the middle ground where as long as the story pulls me in, I won't be too bothered by it.
For better or worse, this is one of those books where very little action happens in the first 50% of the book, whereas the remaining has tons of increasingly weird stuff going on. The side stories of the paintings are the real draw for the beginning of the story that serve as a nice contrast to the dullness of Elara driving her used car around to work a waitress job and other mundane tasks. I suspected the painting scenes to be more than a figment of Elara's imagination, but I don't wish to spoil in what sense.
I think the story really picked up when we meet sweet Denton. I really do not wish to spoil much about him because it would ruin the weirdness ensued from the second half of the novella. I do however wish to point that there are some things about him that I felt to be plot holes. Sadly I can't say much about why I say that here due to spoilers.
The book had a lot of really good points, but the really slow start made it hard for me to connect to Elara (I never really got to like her much at all during the course of the story). I think the huge amount of plot holes and lack of explanation about the other world Denton is a part of, plus the "Time Travel Paradox" issues that the book triggers are things that made me hyper aware during the story. I do sincerely think the story has a lot of good pluses, despite its flaws and will likely end up reading any sequels sometime when they come out.
June 8, 2019
This needed better editing, but wasn't terrible, the ending managed to take me by surprise, which was nice.
May 28, 2019
Calista is a small town girl whose choices lead to a horrific incident that forces her to change her name and move to pastures new in the hope of rebuilding her life. Solace comes to her when she’s painting, but she is drawn into a deep mystery that will reveal who she really is. Desperate to escape the trauma of her past, Elara, as she’s now known, must embrace what’s she’s become in order to have any chance of surviving.
I bought this book after being recommended it by the author herself during #IndieApril on Twitter. I read the book in its entirety because I feel it’s important to do so for independent authors and to also leave a review—and reviews carry little weight if the reader does not complete the book. This is the kind of story that some readers might devour easily and think is great. But for me, unfortunately, there were too many flaws and Sonder was a novel that I simply could not get in to.
I bought this book after being recommended it by the author herself during #IndieApril on Twitter. I read the book in its entirety because I feel it’s important to do so for independent authors and to also leave a review—and reviews carry little weight if the reader does not complete the book. This is the kind of story that some readers might devour easily and think is great. But for me, unfortunately, there were too many flaws and Sonder was a novel that I simply could not get in to.
May 22, 2019
A fine tapestry
Sonder is, at its core, a story about stories. Presented at first as poignant vignettes artfully used to give history to art, they span a range of fantasy tropes. Only through the fullness of the novella are these vignettes explained in a delightful weaving of human myth and legend with a woman's search for her own identity. A wonderful afternoon read. Highly recommended.
Sonder is, at its core, a story about stories. Presented at first as poignant vignettes artfully used to give history to art, they span a range of fantasy tropes. Only through the fullness of the novella are these vignettes explained in a delightful weaving of human myth and legend with a woman's search for her own identity. A wonderful afternoon read. Highly recommended.
June 6, 2019
I picked the book up because I was looking for something different and the story certainly gave me that.
I loved this and read it in one sitting. The way it comes together is excellently portrayed.
Will admit that the imagery created in the short stories, used as descriptions for the paintings, within the book were as exciting as the story itself (maybe I liked them a little more 😁). Looking forward to the next book in the series.
Great story and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I loved this and read it in one sitting. The way it comes together is excellently portrayed.
Will admit that the imagery created in the short stories, used as descriptions for the paintings, within the book were as exciting as the story itself (maybe I liked them a little more 😁). Looking forward to the next book in the series.
Great story and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
January 16, 2025
A little different
The storyline was a bit different from other sci-fi or fantasy books that I’ve read over the years. I appreciated the way the author kept me guessing, where is this going? There are too many loose ends that didn’t have a conclusion. It’s probably because this is the first in a series.
The storyline was a bit different from other sci-fi or fantasy books that I’ve read over the years. I appreciated the way the author kept me guessing, where is this going? There are too many loose ends that didn’t have a conclusion. It’s probably because this is the first in a series.
April 24, 2019
I have to admit that the author has built an impressive world in this book. I read fantasy on and off and usually like to find something like a hidden gem. I have found one here. Well done! Couldn't put it down!
November 7, 2019
Love Elara
What a wonderful fantasy. I want to find a portal, too. I've read other books about fey/fairie types and this one was well written, a fast-moving tale and a great loss of a few hours reading. Well worth every second. Kudos on a magnificent story.
What a wonderful fantasy. I want to find a portal, too. I've read other books about fey/fairie types and this one was well written, a fast-moving tale and a great loss of a few hours reading. Well worth every second. Kudos on a magnificent story.
February 16, 2019
Loved it ,well written ,started a little slow but quickly built up momentum and didnt slow down again ,cant wait for the rest of the series
May 6, 2019
An author friend told me about this book. I am happy that she did. I really enjoyed it. Looking forward to reading more from this author. Can't wait for the next book.
May 22, 2019
Amazing!
The author did such a wonderful job delivering a magical story! I highly recommend this book! Such a wonderful read!!
The author did such a wonderful job delivering a magical story! I highly recommend this book! Such a wonderful read!!
February 16, 2019
With her new Rise of the Omni series, S.L. Horne shows fantasy fans that a masterful new author has entered the field.
Sonder is a wonderfully woven story that leaves you wanting more, and I, for one, can't wait to see what happens next!
Sonder is a wonderfully woven story that leaves you wanting more, and I, for one, can't wait to see what happens next!
February 17, 2021
Sonder is a wonderfully woven story that leaves you wanting more, and I, for one, can't wait to see what happens next!
With her new Rise of the Omni series, S.L. Horne shows fantasy fans that a masterful new author has entered the field.
With her new Rise of the Omni series, S.L. Horne shows fantasy fans that a masterful new author has entered the field.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews