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cozysabie 's review for:

Emerald Anvil: Journey to Hada by Gregg Hale
3.75
adventurous challenging emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
 
"Because science is magic. Only real."

"Its easy to get lost in the directionless flow of time — to let the gravity of endless possibilities drag us into chaos from which we would never escape."


GENRE: Fantasy
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐.75/5 - rounded to a 4 on platforms with no half stars rating
FORMAT: Physical Arc

Review:
This is a gripping fantasy tale, with high stake adventures and keeping you on your toe, on the edge of your seat as you read through the adventures of Morgan and Orion. Personally, I'd consider this a middle-grade high fantasy book. This is perfect for those who enjoy high stake adventures, rising and saving the world from an evil being.

This is a story of not belonging, of believing something about your own family that everyone arounds you believes to be false and tries to beat the belief out of you. It is a story of adventure, of winning against an evil being, yes, but in the core of it, it is about finding a place you belong in this world and a place where you can fit in and find your footing.

We start the book in the human world and get to know Morgan and Orion in that setting as two siblings who have lost their mother (she is rumoured to have ran away), have a father who is in a psychiatric institution due to sticking to that belief and have to balance feeling like a black sheep amongst others AND on top of it, being a middle schooler as well! (I hated middle school, so I can heavily relate to Morgan in here as she says:)
"I'm not, and never have been, 'normal'. Whatever that is. Not my sense of humor. Not my hobbies. Not my taste in music or movies or even pets. Not my compulsion for drawing and journaling and making lists of random crap to help keep stuff straight in what can be a kinda 'noisy' brain. Not the half dozen mental health professionals I've been through since I was four."

Morgan, the older sibling, the one who remembers her mother, struggles to adapt to a world after losing both her mother and father. Right in the beginning of the story, she is compared to Archidamia, a Greek mythology mention as she is a Spartan Queen who helps gain victory in a war through being smart rather than being strong or having physical strength. Morgan, in a sense, is like Archidamia:
"I dreamed...I was Archidamia, dressed in Spartan armor, holding a fearsome sword. The trumpet of a war-elephant exploded in my ears and I was ready to battle."

Another strong theme in the book is the grief and loss both siblings and the father feel towards their mom/wife. Not only is the grief towards who they loss but also because they never get a closure. They do not know what happened and how they lost her. Both Morgan and her father have to accept that what they saw and know of the disappearance is not something accepted by the world and Morgan does her best to shut it down but after going through the adventure she does, it becomes validating to her despite all the danger she faces:
"More than shared dreams or puzzle door or fairies flying on wings of light — seeing the Portal made the rest of my life make sense. My mom had been taken by a fairy. My dad wasn't crazy. My family was connected to this place. In an instant, I knew in my very core that there was more to living than trying to please my abuelos or dealing with 8th grade pettiness — there was meaning. There was purpose. I had purpose.


And perhaps, those of us who are also older siblings, who are the strange ones in the family can relate to Morgan and her journey of self growth throughout the book. She learns what is means to be a grown up and in Hada, her age is not a barrier to achieving what she wants. Her tone shifts from wanting to be taken serious to realising she was having an impact on the world around her.

Oh, and she learns the real impact of politics:
"Politics was like warfare, but without the weapons and the killing."

Also, I always have to mention any story that points toward Grandmothers. If you have been reading my reviews, you'll know I loved mine and lost her about 2 years ago. She was like a second mother to me and seeing Mimi take care of Morgan and Orion made me miss mine and remember her fondly:
"She cooked for us like a chef, mended our clothes like a professional tailor and ruled the house like a benevolent tyrant."

I cannot wait to read book two and this book had me rushing through it to get to the end and figure out what all the mysteries are. Like all epic/high fantasies, there are alot of things we do not understand yet but I am sure we will get to them in the next upcoming books and I, for one, cannot wait to see where we will go with it.

Thank you to the Author for the physical Arc in exchange for my honest review.