Title: Etania’s Worth
Series: Daughters of Tamnarae (#1 in the series)
Author: M. H. Elrich
Genre: YA Fantasy, Christian Fantasy
Rating: 4/5 stars
FTC Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to leave a positive review. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.
Overview
I was delightfully surprised by this book. I didn’t know what to expect going in, other than that there were a bunch of different cultures with cool names and that the cover was pretty. I certainly didn’t expect a sweet story about developing a relationship with Jesus, discovering your worth, and understanding true love.
Characters
Etania was a good, relatable character who has lots of doubts about her worth. While she follows the typical trend of female characters—that is, being somewhat annoying at the beginning before becoming likable by the end—she’s a great character with lots of depth.
Keyel was fantastic. I got a little frustrated with him always doubting his worth (because seriously, this man is fantastic), but it was great to see him grow up throughout the story.
Content
The story is quite clean. There’s no language at all (always nice!).
Romance-wise, Etania and Keyel like each other. Their relationship is a great example of honor and purity! Couples kiss. Two characters were conceived out of adultery.
There are several scenes of fighting, and characters are sometimes injured, but there’s nothing graphic. Definitely a PG story.
Characters have Neuma, which is basically magic allegorically representing spiritual gifts.
Writing
The story flows quite well, hitting all the plot points at just the right moments. It never dragged, and the ending was especially riveting. I did feel somewhat detached from the characters, and it was hard to really feel with them. But the worldbuilding is excellent. I especially enjoyed how each culture’s nomenclature comes from a different language; that added to the feel that these are unique people groups.
Summary
This was an enjoyable read that allowed me to turn off my brain and just enjoy a good story. I loved Etania and Keyel’s relationship, and the allegory about finding your worth in Christ was beautiful. I’d recommend this to fantasy readers aged 12+.