The Invitation by Katie Webster
On the island kingdom of Meta Emery, a young queen, Abigail, wakes in the middle of the night to a terrifying realisation; hostile wizards from the rival kingdom of Archmond have finally done what they've been threatening to do: bring a girl, Lucy, into this world to destroy the queen and all she has worked for.
Hundreds of miles west, in Archmond itself, a great feast unfolds in the castle to celebrate Lucy's arrival. Soleman, one of the wizards and a co-ruler of Archmond, has spread the news to his people that Lucy is the heroine an ancient prophecy predicted; he promises that the discord throughout their world will soon be over. But his fellow ruler Ronald remains dubious that this apparently meek and troubled girl could really overthrow Abigail, or whether she is ever likely to want to.
This highly imaginative and original novel is the first in an exciting new fantasy series, 'Lucy's Crypt'.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Katie Webster is an Australian lawyer, born in Queensland's DaintreeRainforest. She has worked in both criminal and international law. She has published academically, but this is her debut novel.
Review
I really enjoyed this tales of wizards, realms, magic, talking bears all wrapped up in a coming of age story.
This is an easy read for someone just entering the fantasy genre as the world isn’t too over complicated and the characters are well developed. There are plenty of twists and turns in the story as well to keep one’s attention.
The fact that the story started in Scotland meant I was drawn in from the beginning (totally biased I know!) and the home life that Lucy comes from was not what I was expecting when I picked up the book. It shocked me actually. But the subject was tackled in a way that was sympathetic to Lucy’s character. I can totally understand the hiding under the table scene having done it myself once growing up. I enjoyed seeing Lucy’s character evolve as the story continues, begins to question what’s around her and the people in it.
Lucy find herself dragged into another world, that of wizards, magic, and an evil Queen. Lucy is the person a prophecy has spoken off, it will be her that will defeat the Queen and restore peace and harmony across their world. But Lucy is only 17, very shy and has no knowledge at all that could help her here. What is she meant to do?
This is the first book of a planned trilogy and I would say it left the story at a great point. They has been a huge revelation and there is still a long way before she can think about managing her quest. The idea of a talking teddy bear does freak me out a bit so I try not to visualise him I’m afraid. But Lucy is well formed in my conscious and I want to find out what happens to her after this book.
