Hello Blogging World!

Jonny

Did someone say portal fantasy?! *Pulls out emergency vacation luggage* When do we leave?

Iseult

I’m ready to go adventuring *gathers up dog and cat traveling companions*. Let us journey forth to the kitchen of never ending food!

This buddy read and rant is for A Door into Evermoor (The Unbound Realm Book 1) by Kent Wayne.

Blurb:

Jon is a well-off kid with a stable future. But he can’t shake the feeling that he’s destined for something more—something different and strange, drawn from the stuff of dreams and fantasy. After a fateful encounter with a mysterious stranger, he gets more than he wished for.

Jon stumbles into a fantasy realm, filled with Wolven and witches, goblins and gargoyles. Along the way, he befriends a thief and a Wayfarer, a High Taire Duelist and a half-Elf princess. Wyverns and dragons, wizards and spirits…these are just a few of the wonders that appear on his journey.

As a great author once wrote: “There are other worlds than these.”

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***Brief disclosure***

Jonny is an Amazon affiliate and earns a tiny commission for purchases made through the Amazon links in this post. It’s a great way to help him keep things running on his blog if you’re already intrigued enough to make a purchase. 

Buddy Read Book Rant:

Iseult

There was so much good stuff in this novel. A portal to another realm, dragons and elves, some series nerd references. However, it took me a while to get into the world, the character of Jon, and the style of writing. How did you find it?

Jonny

I agree. There really were a lot of great elements to this novel. I’m a huge fan of portal fantasy and parallel dimensions, and that element really satisfied my wants. I also liked how Jon’s POV kind of watered down the more complicated aspects of high fantasy and made it more accessible to the everyday reader. I don’t read a ton of high fantasy anymore, so I really appreciated that.

There were parts that weren’t quite as seamless as I would’ve liked. Like you mentioned, the intro to the world did take a minute to get used to, but I think once we got into the knitty gritty of things it found its flow.

Iseult

It really came together for me once they reached Elerica. I loved the depiction of magic like bombs and bullets, and the group gelled for me once they started fighting together. I also thought that Jon became a stronger character once he started interacting with the others more. He seemed to exist in a sort of a vacuum before then.

My favorite character was Gyrax. I also loved the giant cat people they met. How about you?

Jonny

Oh okay, that’s a fair bit into the story, so I can see how that affected your experience. I did feel that the pacing/flow would be a bit off in small bits, but it would always correct itself and get back on track.

Yeah, I loved the action scenes. Very well done, and I liked the group dynamic. They worked as a cohesive machine after a bit, and Jon really started to come into his own. His abilities were intriguing and different from the others, which was refreshing. Nyanti was definitely my favorite as far as abilities and powers go. She was so cool! Lucky could get on my nerves, but the bard/thief types often do (especially from my days of D&D), so I wasn’t surprised by that.

You know I love me some kitties, so I was so glad the giant cat people were introduced. Can I have one for a roommate? Haha!

Iseult

Yes, I know you have one of those awesome cats living with you!

Nyanti was a great character. I can see how Lucky grated with you. Thief types do tend to get under your skin. I think they like ruling people up intentionally.

Jon was my least favorite character. I got to like him at the end, but at the beginning he seemed to exist in a vacuum and he was obsessed with how horrible a 9-5 job would be. I found his objections to that a bit repetitive.

I found some of the imagery really beautiful near the end of the book. I loved how the inter dimensional travel was described.

Jonny

Haha, indeed I do!

Yeah, Nyanti was great, and although we didn’t get to see a ton of her personally, we got enough to keep us intrigued, plenty more to explore in the next book. Oh, for sure! I’m more of a rigid go by the rules person and thieves like to be mischievous and get into trouble any time you aren’t watching them. They definitely liven up the adventure that’s for sure.

As far as Jon goes, I feel that his character was likable, but he wasn’t my favorite. He is integral to the story though, so I understood that. Yeah, he was very anti-corporation, and while I am too, the mentality could’ve been reduced a little bit. I will say I really loved how nerdy and clumsy he was. It did make him a bit more believable, although he read a little bit older than he was supposed to be in my opinion.

I loved how the element of water was explored in terms of interdimensional travel. That part definitely worked for me. Oh, and don’t forget that magic stove with all that pizza. Talk about temptation!

Iseult

I agree. Oh, that kitchen sounded wonderful! I don’t think I’d ever leave it. Just as well I don’t have access to it.

I thought the book finished very well. It left me intrigued to find out what happens next, and I’m interested in continuing the adventure. Will you return to Evermoor?

Jonny

Right? I’m a huge foodie so I don’t need a constant pizza temptation, not to count all the other things I’m sure it can make.

Yeah, I agree. The ending was nice and I liked the twist. It really left things up in the air without being too much of a cliffhanger. I would happily continue this adventure in Evermoor once the next book is out. I think that now that things have been established in this series, there may be less issues in the next one.

Iseult

I agree, this book had a lot on its shoulders. Setting up the characters, the world, and the magic system. The following books will be able to have more fun.

Thank you so much for reading this book with me, Jonny. As always, it was great fun to read and rant with you.

Jonny

For sure! I can’t wait to see what happens and if Jon can find the Unbound realm.

Very welcome friend, and thank you too! I know we weren’t expecting to do a buddy read so soon, but it was a ton of fun. Until next time!

That’s A Wrap!

Thanks for joining us on our buddy read and rant of A Door into Evermoor! We had a lot of fun, and hope you did too! We will definitely be doing some more buddy reads in the future, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, why not check out Iseult and Jonny’s other fun buddy reads?

Buddy Read & Rant: The Haunting of Trinity House

Buddy Read & Rant: Dark Waters

Buddy Read & Rant: The Ten Thousand Doors of January

Buddy Read & Rant: Until Summer Comes Around

Buddy Read & Rant: The Upheaval

Buddy Read & Rant: Thornhill

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