The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Title: Forestborn

Series: Forestborn #1

Author: Elayne Audrey Becker

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Rating: 4.5 stars

Review:

TO BE BORN OF THE FOREST IS A GIFT AND A CURSE.
Rora is a shifter, as magical as all those born in the wilderness–and as feared. She uses her abilities to spy for the king, traveling under different guises and listening for signs of trouble.

When a magical illness surfaces across the kingdom, Rora uncovers a devastating truth: Finley, the young prince and her best friend, has caught it, too. His only hope is stardust, the rarest of magical elements, found deep in the wilderness where Rora grew up–and to which she swore never to return.

But for her only friend, Rora will face her past and brave the dark, magical wood, journeying with her brother and the obstinate, older prince who insists on coming. Together, they must survive sentient forests and creatures unknown, battling an ever-changing landscape while escaping human pursuers who want them dead. With illness gripping the kingdom and war on the horizon, Finley’s is not the only life that hangs in the balance. -summary from Goodreads

This book came out of nowhere and was so good! I am completely shocked this book isn’t more popular than it is! It was really, really good!

Forestborn did take some time to get into, and at times, it was a little slow. It took me a minute to get used to, but once I did, I realized this slightly slower pace matched the story perfectly. There was also a lot of information you needed, and this pace helped you absorb that.

The magic alone is fascinating, albeit a little confusing at the beginning. There are three types of magic people: whisperers who can communicate with animals, forest walkers who can control plants, and shifters who can turn into any person they have ever seen and into three animal forms they gain over their lifetime. Along with the magic users there is a rich lore involved with this magic, that was super fascinating. There was also a magic land, filled with magic animals, that our characters got to traverse through.

I really enjoyed the characters of this book. All of the characters felt like you have seen them before, but slightly off, especially Weslyn, but I’ll come back to him. Rora is our main character. She was flawed and realistic, carrying a lot of grief and guilt. I actually really enjoyed her, which is something that I don’t usually find with main characters. I especially loved her relationship with her brother, Helos. Rora thinks Helos is this perfect person and spends most of the book trying to live up to him. I loved the progression where she realized that her brother isn’t perfect and is human and also realizing that that is okay. Through this she also realizes that she isn’t as awful as she thought she was.

Before I get to Weslyn, I want to talk about the family dynamics. I am really big into finding positive family role models in media, as that is something missing. While most of the parents were dead in this book, the one parent we see alive was very kind and understanding. The biggest thing I noticed was the sibling relationships. I am so used to books that have royalty where the siblings don’t get along. This book was an exception. The royal siblings: Violet, Weslyn, and Finley all got along and loved each other dearly. It was nice to see that in a book. And we got Rora and Helos, and Violet, Weslyn, and Finley all being siblings. I hope for more scenes between the three royal siblings in the next book, because the few times they were together were so fascinating to me. I liked the small pieces we saw of Finley and Violet, and can’t wait for more!

Okay, now it’s time to talk about Weslyn. Weslyn reminded me of a lot of main male characters, but he also had a very distinctive air that I have never seen before. It’s hard to describe, but Weslyn was all his own. He started off as very stand-offish and stoic, but slowly grew into this sweet, shy character that I adored. I loved seeing his character progress and am very excited for what happens with him next!

The romance throughout this book was subtle- very slow burn. On one hand, I felt it could have developed a little more, but on the other hand, it was kind of perfect and there is still a lot of time for development. I hope these two characters get a more time together and have some serious conversations.

I liked Helos, but he felt distant, maybe. Does that make sense? Rora described him as so perfect, but I wasn’t necessarily getting that. But that was one of the great things about this book- was the realization that people aren’t perfect. In the next book I hope we see more of Helos and are better able to get a clear picture of him.

I really enjoyed the adventure part of this book. It was interesting and fun to read, and it kept my attention, which is known to wander during intense adventure scenes.

There are some heavy things dealt with in this book. For the most part, it isn’t described in too much detail, but there were parts that were detailed.

Forestborn is an excellent start to a young adult fantasy series, with intriguing magic, wholesome sibling relationships, adventure, and unique characters! I’m looking forward to future installments in this world!