Dante Silva

Elias, the middle of three brothers, leaves the family farm to meet some distant relatives he's never met before and to see if he can figure out his future. Along the way, he becomes entangled in the concerns of a wandering vagabond and a destitute young widow and his future heads in directions he had never anticipated.

This isn't one of those fantasy stories concerned with vast, world-saving actions. This is more of an individual's story, as it follows Elias' adventures on his journey, with personal dangers that crop up and send the main characters in new directions. The beginning had a feel to it of those fairy tales about the three siblings off to seek their fortunes - except here two seem already well on their life paths. The gentle pace of the story fit Elias' journey of discovery and picked up in all the right moments when peril threatened.

While mostly well-written, the book contained some typos and the occasional patch of almost too-flowery language that at times drew me away from the story being told. Some abrupt point-of-view changes - even within a paragraph - sometimes made it hard to keep track of who was talking.

Despite these few issues, overall, I enjoyed the story. It's an easy read with likeable characters, some magic, a sweet romance with a little heat, and plenty of adventures.… (meer)