Series: Havenfall #1
Published on March 3, 2020 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
ISBN: 9781547603794
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 308
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
A safe haven between four realms. The girl sworn to protect it--at any cost.
Hidden deep in the mountains of Colorado lies the Inn at Havenfall, a sanctuary that connects ancient worlds--each with their own magic--together. For generations, the inn has protected all who seek refuge within its walls, and any who disrupt the peace can never return.
For Maddie Morrow, summers at the inn are more than a chance to experience this magic first-hand. Havenfall is an escape from reality, where her mother sits on death row accused of murdering Maddie's brother. It's where Maddie fell in love with handsome Fiorden soldier Brekken. And it's where one day she hopes to inherit the role of Innkeeper from her beloved uncle.
But this summer, the impossible happens--a dead body is found, shattering everything the inn stands for. With Brekken missing, her uncle gravely injured, and a dangerous creature on the loose, Maddie suddenly finds herself responsible for the safety of everyone in Havenfall. She'll do anything to uncover the truth, even if it means working together with an alluring new staffer Taya, who seems to know more than she's letting on. As dark secrets are revealed about the inn itself, one thing becomes clear to Maddie--no one can be trusted, and no one is safe . . .
As the first book by Sara Holland that I’ve tried… Havenfall wasn’t a promising start. It reminded me a lot of the YA fantasies I used to love in middle/high school but what worked over a decade ago doesn’t work now and the book fell entirely flat.
I think the book tried to be a mystery but ended up failing because the protagonist, Maddie, isn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. She spent more time waffling about what to do and lamenting about her lack of preparedness while also wanting the very role she ends up in that I couldn’t take the internal monologues anymore. Maddie makes so many bad decisions and maybe that’s resembling of the teen experience so it will appeal to the intended audience? But I don’t know because I’ve read a number of pretty amazing YA fantasies that manage to make bad decisions work without their characters coming off as a one-note brain cell. This just wasn’t one of them.
Which I realize sounds harsh and may not be entirely reflective of my feelings about Havenfall because… I don’t really feel anything. I started it and the story moved quickly. It’s a fast read, I’ll give it that. But I never gained enough of a sense of the setting to really imagine anything. The characters were all pretty flat. And the dialogue was everywhere and a bit of a mess. I grew bored with the plot and… that’s it. After a while I finally just decided to let it go and move on.
It’s a shame because Havenfall has such an interesting premise and all the pieces are there, but the execution just struggled along from start to finish. I even made it farther than I expected, hitting the 68% mark before calling it quits (usually I just finish the book at that point).
Here’s hoping her other books are better, I was planning on reading them but this one makes me hesitant.
About Austine
I'm a 20-something research proposal developer with a background in the life sciences and education. Reviewer of books since 2011, amateur photographer by day, and aspiring author by night. I believe animals (and books) are better than people.
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