The Origin Stone by Kathryn Rossati – Book Review

Thank You to Kathryn Rossati for an ARC copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Also, apologies to Kathryn for taking so long to review her book.

Synopsis

Emily Renzi thinks she’s going crazy. After her parents move to a quiet village, she senses that something is off about the house they’re living in. Dreams of strange creatures invade her sleep, and mysterious shapes appear in the garden. Confiding in her older brother, Ru, they research the house’s background and find that a scientist disappeared there during World War II. Afterwards, sightings of strange creatures were whispered around the village. Could the creatures in Emily’s dreams and the ones rumored about be the same? And if so, what do they want from her?
As she struggles to piece together the truth from the fiction, she finds out that beasts aren’t always monsters – humans, however, are a different matter.

My Thoughts

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As I was reading this novel I felt that it is split into three definitive parts. The first half is set in Emily’s home, where she lives with her family and pets and as the story gently unfolds we get an introduction to the Renzi family I really enjoyed the family characters of Mum, Dad and Ru and I loved how the parents were a little eccentric. It’s refreshing to see a mother as feisty as Emily’s.

The second part is where we are gently introduced to the creatures (Krobats) and Emily begins to uncover her powers and what she is capable of. The Krobats are a really clever creation and are described in a vivid way that makes them come to life. As the story of the house’s history comes to light, we begin to learn about the origin stone and it’s powers.

The final part is Emily’s journey to Egypt to find and fight for the stone. This is where most of the action takes place and suddenly the story becomes really pacey. We are introduced to new characters and new concepts and I did have to re-read a few parts which I think is due to the fact that I’m not a fantasy reader so not used to taking in new worlds and creatures. The action comes thick and fast as Emily focusses her powers to solve puzzles and defeat the enemy.

Kathryn Rossati has developed a world where the unbelievable becomes believable. I have to say that the development of the creatures in this book is simple unique and written in such detail that you are completely sucked in.

A really enjoyable forray into fantasy for me.

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