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Surviving Serendipity
The most that June expected for her 21st birthday was a night of fun with her friends, and maybe some flowers and a CD from her fiancé. She certainly didn t expect to come home to what should have been a dark, empty apartment, to find her destiny waiting for her...wearing bright purple pirate pants. Kidnapped by a sinister stranger and whisked off to a far corner of the galaxy, June discovers that her life on Earth has been a two-decade long lie, and that her true home is the troubled kingdom of Prendawr, on the planet Thallafrith. As if that wasn t enough to chase her back under the covers, June is informed that her duty, as princess and sole surviving member of the royal family, is to use her newly discovered magical abilities to save the planet from impending doom. Accompanied by Halryan, a sorcerer with a questionable agenda, and Koen, Minogan, Errigal, and Feoras, members of a vanishing race of blue warriors, June has no idea that she is about to embark on the journey of a thousand lifetimes, one that will surpass both her wildest dreams and her most terrifying nightmares.
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First published January 31, 2007
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About the author
Jacquelyn Sylvan
2 books166 followersBefore Jacquelyn Sylvan became a writer, she worked as a waitress, video store clerk, trail-riding guide, and veterinary technician, among other things. She’s a few inches shy of five feet tall, which means she’s sometimes mistaken for a child when she rides her bike, and often looked at suspiciously by amusement park ride operators. When she’s not writing, you’ll probably find her watching Vampire Diaries or trying to warn people about the impending penguin apocalypse. Jacquelyn lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, two cats, and two very large dogs. Her YA novel, Blind Study, a supernatural thriller, comes out August 20, 2013.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 11, 2008
Publishers Note:
I loved this book. After meeting the author at a conference in Pennsylvania, I was charmed by her sense of humor and her enthusiasm for life in general.
In this fantasy novel geared toward young adults, Jacquelyn Sylvan sends a young woman into a world that is not only totally unfamiliar to her, but is on the brink of destruction. The bad news is, she is the only one who can save it.
This book has adventure, it has creatures that readers will recognize and many they won't, which makes it even more fun.
The best part about this book is that the main character, June, is just like any twenty-one year old young woman.
I guarantee, if you read this book, you will love it. I know I did.
I loved this book. After meeting the author at a conference in Pennsylvania, I was charmed by her sense of humor and her enthusiasm for life in general.
In this fantasy novel geared toward young adults, Jacquelyn Sylvan sends a young woman into a world that is not only totally unfamiliar to her, but is on the brink of destruction. The bad news is, she is the only one who can save it.
This book has adventure, it has creatures that readers will recognize and many they won't, which makes it even more fun.
The best part about this book is that the main character, June, is just like any twenty-one year old young woman.
I guarantee, if you read this book, you will love it. I know I did.
May 17, 2012
I absolutely loved this book! The author does an amazing job of building a new world without needing 12 pages to do so. I love all the characters especially Koen. The relationships are endearing and once you start reading you won't be able to stop. I highly recommend. There were never any slow/boring parts, it read like a movie. I re-read the last couple of chapters 3 times because it was just so perfect.
June 18, 2009
Reviewed by Candace Cunard for TeensReadToo.com
June has faced her fair share of hardships in life, including the death of her parents, but when this story starts, life is going pretty well. Her best friends are taking her out to celebrate her twenty-first birthday, and although her hardworking fiancée is gone on business, he's just a phone call away. Everything seems perfect, until she comes home from a night out with the girls to discover a man dressed in strange clothes standing in her living room - a man who transports her to a world she can't remember, a world he tells her was once her home.
According to Halryan, June is the lost princess and powerful sorcerer of the kingdom Prendawr on the planet Thallafrith. Within a few short hours, she learns that her parents were not really her parents, and that her appearance itself has changed since she has returned "home."
June also learns that she's the only one who can engage in a quest to save the kingdom and the rest of the world from destruction by the insidious Eid Gomen, strange and menacing inhuman creatures with powerful control over magic and the ability to suck a world's life-force out of it if they are left unchecked. The only problem is that nobody asked June if she wanted the job of saving a world she's never really known.
After much explaining and convincing, June decides to go along with Halryan and his four companions, blue-skinned men from a race known as the Valforte, but that doesn't mean she has to be happy about it, and she's not the sort to keep quiet about something that's bothering her. Her no-nonsense attitude was sometimes frustrating, sometimes endearing, but always refreshing: here is a woman who takes things as she sees them, who has both the stubbornness to stand her ground and the grace to admit it when she might have been wrong.
For me, the personal turmoil caused by the events she must go through was the core of the story; the typical fantasy quest plot paled in comparison (although Sylvan puts a nice twist on the typical quest that I certainly didn't expect).
I also enjoyed Sylvan's portrayal of June's Valforte companions. Each of the four men gained a personality of his own, and whether they served the role of antagonist, helpmeet, informer, foil, teacher, or love interest, they played important roles in the story while still seeming like real people. I also appreciated the way that Sylvan dealt with racial tension between the Valfortes and the majority race of Andrians, instead of ignoring the potential for such conflict as many watered-down fantasies do.
While the start was a little slow for me, by the time I got through the first few chapters I was interested enough in the characters and their interactions to keep going. When the author dropped a bomb about a hundred pages in, I felt entirely justified in the impulses that had led me to read so far. Although this book follows a lot of genre clichés, it twisted enough of them in just the right ways to make this an interesting and believable read.
I'd recommend it to anyone interested in fantasy, but also to anyone who appreciates characters who prove their strength in the face of great obstacles.
June has faced her fair share of hardships in life, including the death of her parents, but when this story starts, life is going pretty well. Her best friends are taking her out to celebrate her twenty-first birthday, and although her hardworking fiancée is gone on business, he's just a phone call away. Everything seems perfect, until she comes home from a night out with the girls to discover a man dressed in strange clothes standing in her living room - a man who transports her to a world she can't remember, a world he tells her was once her home.
According to Halryan, June is the lost princess and powerful sorcerer of the kingdom Prendawr on the planet Thallafrith. Within a few short hours, she learns that her parents were not really her parents, and that her appearance itself has changed since she has returned "home."
June also learns that she's the only one who can engage in a quest to save the kingdom and the rest of the world from destruction by the insidious Eid Gomen, strange and menacing inhuman creatures with powerful control over magic and the ability to suck a world's life-force out of it if they are left unchecked. The only problem is that nobody asked June if she wanted the job of saving a world she's never really known.
After much explaining and convincing, June decides to go along with Halryan and his four companions, blue-skinned men from a race known as the Valforte, but that doesn't mean she has to be happy about it, and she's not the sort to keep quiet about something that's bothering her. Her no-nonsense attitude was sometimes frustrating, sometimes endearing, but always refreshing: here is a woman who takes things as she sees them, who has both the stubbornness to stand her ground and the grace to admit it when she might have been wrong.
For me, the personal turmoil caused by the events she must go through was the core of the story; the typical fantasy quest plot paled in comparison (although Sylvan puts a nice twist on the typical quest that I certainly didn't expect).
I also enjoyed Sylvan's portrayal of June's Valforte companions. Each of the four men gained a personality of his own, and whether they served the role of antagonist, helpmeet, informer, foil, teacher, or love interest, they played important roles in the story while still seeming like real people. I also appreciated the way that Sylvan dealt with racial tension between the Valfortes and the majority race of Andrians, instead of ignoring the potential for such conflict as many watered-down fantasies do.
While the start was a little slow for me, by the time I got through the first few chapters I was interested enough in the characters and their interactions to keep going. When the author dropped a bomb about a hundred pages in, I felt entirely justified in the impulses that had led me to read so far. Although this book follows a lot of genre clichés, it twisted enough of them in just the right ways to make this an interesting and believable read.
I'd recommend it to anyone interested in fantasy, but also to anyone who appreciates characters who prove their strength in the face of great obstacles.
Read
November 8, 2018June knew that her life would change when she turned 21, but she could never have predicted just how much. June is an edgy but likable character. She has an earthiness to her that allows readers to relate to her, despite her royalty, and the author does a great job drawing this out.
To read our full review, go to the Reading Tub.
To read our full review, go to the Reading Tub.
April 13, 2011
If you're a Pierce fan this is a book for you!
July 31, 2013
I loved this book! I wish there was a way to give 4.5 stars, but anyway. Very imaginative, many elements of Narnia and LOTR... two things I love! Hope more books are on the way!
May 14, 2013
An excellent first novel. I CANNOT WAIT to see more from this author.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews