The Paths of Cormanor

by Jim Breyfogle

Amara is a young woman of Cormanor, a household whose womenfolk have the ability to transform into cormorants to fly and dive for fish. Kellen is the youngest prince of the realm, a seventh son of a seventh son, and wishes to see these remarkable women for himself. During the pageantry upon the lake, Amara’s cousin falls into the water and is spirited away by the Grimly, a malign creature of the elder world! Kellen braves both water and monster to rescue the boy. However the Grimly manages to trap the prince’s soul and mark him for death! Amara tracks the Grimly to her lair, slays the wicked beast, and restores life to the young prince... but a piece of Kellen’s soul is trapped within Amara! The death of the sinister Grimly is just the beginning—Kellen must find the means to recover his missing piece of soul, while Amara and her family are haunted by the vengeful offspring of the monster she had slain! Kellen and Amara each must undertake their own harrowing journey, meeting delightful friends and dastardly foes, along the Paths of Cormanor! Jim Breyfogle’s beautiful new novel of fantastical romance is inspired by Eastern and Northern European myth and fairytale and sure to delight readers of all ages.

Genres: Fantasy

236 pages, Paperback

Published November 2, 2021

Reviews

[David Freas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Up front, I will state Jim Breyfogle has been a friend for many years.

As a rule, I am not a fantasy, sci-fi, or horror reader. Something in me refuses mentally to accept the overarching tenets of those genres. But Jim tells the kind of story that, while set in the fantasy realm, would work in any genre.

And his way of telling a story is a bit different. Each chapter here (and in his other books) is a story unto itself. Yet each one builds on the chapter before and leads naturally to the one that follows. Put them all together in sequence and you have a novel.

A warning here: There is death here – several deaths – including one that (to me at least) was a bit upsetting, yet is not gratuitous and done just for shock value.

A second warning: One character here has got to rate as one of the greatest asshats of all time in my opinion.

So, while I am not a fantasy reader, I enjoyed The Paths of Cormanor immensely and will read anything else Jim writes.

Great job, Jim.

P.S.: Goodreads, if you can post the cover for the Kindle edition of this book, why can't you post it for the paperback and hardcover editions?

[S.E. Reichert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breyfogle is a beautiful writer, and builds his world really well. With just enough detail to bring the world alive but not so much that I ever felt bogged down by it. I haven't gotten to read a lot of fantasy lately (too much editing and my own writing to do) but Jim made me remember why and how much I love the genre. His characters were interesting and surprising. I loved the micro stories of all the different characters that cumulated into the larger picture. I can tell as a writer and author how much time and detail he put into this book. Over all, I would absolutely recommend and I look forward to reading more of his work.