Review – Meara

Title:

Meara

Series:

Author:

Anya Wylde

Genre:

Fantasy

Blurb:

Meara lives an ordinary life with her eccentric grandmother and three siblings in a small Georgian house in Dublin. On her eighteenth birthday, her little sister is kidnapped by an incredibly powerful man, and her entire world turns upside down.
A whisper of someone like her being born has been discussed for aeons by the gods. The question is, who is she, and where is she?
Meara lives an ordinary life with her eccentric grandmother and three siblings in a small Georgian house in Dublin. On her eighteenth birthday, her little sister is kidnapped by an incredibly powerful man, and her entire world turns upside down.
Long hidden family secrets tumble out, and supernatural beings suddenly surround her. However, she thinks she is a side character, the hero’s friend and the heroine’s sister. After all, her nature is more girl-next-door than a tortured soul with ninja fighting skills.
Her only desire is to get her sister back and keep her safe but to do so, she must battle dangerous beings and reign in her treacherous heart, which has begun to beat for her family’s sworn enemy, a gorgeous demigod.

Review

4stars rating
INTRO:

This was my first book by the author, and I have to say, I was very pleasantly surprised! 😀

Worldbuilding:

The book’s setting is really interesting, going from a pretty mundane world to a supernatural one with different pantheons going at each other because it’s time for a change (and as you may know, I looooove mythology!). That said, forget everything you know about mythology since the book doesn’t go into it much but instead uses it to create the setting and characters.
Scenes and environments were well written with enough details to ensure a good immersion into the story.

Character development:

Meara, our book’s main character, is just an ordinary Irish girl. With parents fully engrossed in their work across the world, she lives with her grandmother, brothers and little sister and has just finished school. The story starts on her birthday, which her family has forgotten… again. When they arrange for an impromptu birthday party, things go seriously wrong: a brother gets shot, her sister gets kidnapped, and that is just the beginning. Slowly but surely, her eyes are opened to the supernatural world around her.
Meara just wants one thing: save her sister and keep her protected. She (very grudgingly) eventually accepts Kamraans help, and I have to say, I love the interaction between these two, even though Kamraan tends to go from hot to cold a lot. Both have a lot to learn, about themselves, each other and their feelings. That said, the romance isn’t overpowering. So even if you’re not all that excited about romance, this can still be a good fit for you!
There are many characters to unpack, and each has their own agenda, fears and wants. They all feel real and believable, very well written!

Pacing & Flow:

The pacing and flow were excellent. It was pretty much smooth reading from start to finish. I read it in one session as I just wanted to know what would happen!

The book itself:

The book was well written with no (noticeable) errors.
It has 487 pages, spread over 71 chapters and is written in 3rd person.

Final Thoughts:

The author reached out to me about this book, and I decided to download a sample chapter. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand I was hooked and just read the whole thing in one go 😀
So yeah, this book really was a pleasant surprise! It is a great coming-of-age story. It has drama, romance, humour and, yes, a lot of facepalm moments. I hope we get to see more of Meara and Kamraan soon!