The Hummingbird’s Tear – CM Kerley

Pages: 318
Released On: 20/03/2020

In the high towers of Castle Kraner, the King has chosen to hide away, leaving his kingdom undefended, open to attack from men, monsters and magic users. His loyal son Prince Orren, despairing of his father’s wilful ignorance, is doing all he can to gather the men and women he believes can help him avert the war before it starts, to save his land before it needs saving. Brennan and his young brother Calem find themselves drawn to Kraner; as their innate powers begin to manifest and they are woven into the mad schemes of rules and invaders, they must decide what to believe, who to trust, and how far they are willing to go to fight an enemy they cannot see.

*****

Thanks to Caroline for sending me a copy of her book to review.

Caroline has created such a believable world, background, history, and characters. The details of the world she has created is fabulous. You can tell she’s walked through this world in her mind to ensure everything perfectly matches up, and it does. I would love to see her create a map of her world with all the details in; I think it would be beautiful and fascinating.

The characters are all so brilliantly rounded. They’re all individuals with their own flaws and aims and abilities and reasons for getting involved in this epic adventure.

Underneath the fantasy elements, there is a real human heart. There’s philosophical and moral questions, and real friendships and relationships. It’s clear that no matter what you’re going through – real or fantasy – friendships are vital. It also poses questions about family; what would you do for your family, and whether blood really is thicker than water.

In my opinion, this deserves to be up there with the other fantasy greats like Harry Potter or The Chronicles of Narnia. I can’t see anything they have that this doesn’t have. More people need to be reading and talking about this.

It is clearly a fantasy, magical, mythical book – but it’s steeped in so much reality that it feels genuine. I would say this is one of the best developed and written fantasy books I’ve read in a long time and I cannot wait to read the next chapter in the series.