| Title | : | Havenfall (Havenfall, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1547603798 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781547603794 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 305 |
| Publication | : | First published March 3, 2020 |
Hidden deep in the mountains of Colorado lies the Inn at Havenfall, a sanctuary that connects ancient worlds—each with its own magic. 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 firsthand. 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...
Bestselling author Sara Holland pulls readers into an enchanting world where both power and peril lurk behind every door.
Havenfall (Havenfall, #1) Reviews
-
im not a fan of novellas, so no one is more surprised than me when i say this would be better as a novella and serve as a .5 prequel to a main series. and heres why i think that:
- while the plot and world-building is definitely unique, i dont feel the high-stakes intensity that should accompany some of the more ‘life altering’ situations that occur in this. i do think that will come later on in the series, now that an introduction has been made to how the world works, why it is what it is, and the appropriate players have been all set up. and while this is all good information to have, it doesnt feel crucial at this point in time.
i mean, overall, this isnt a terrible book. it lays a pretty decent foundation and promises to be a pretty interesting series. there just isnt enough substance to this to merit a full-length novel, in my opinion.
- the characters have no depth to them. like, i can tell you their names and where they come from, but thats probably it. there just really isnt any in-depth characterisation present. the focus is definitely on the world-building, and while that is important, i just couldnt connect with any of the characters.
- the pacing is glacial. oh my goodness, its so slow. this is told in first person POV and its constant internal monologue. i would say its a 60/40 split between internal narration/description and dialogue (respectively). and as someone who prefers dialogue, this just seems to drag on and on.
↠ 2.5 stars -
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DNF @ p.55
This was kind of intolerable and read like self-insertion fic. Maddie was such a Mary Sue. When I was a teenager, it was really popular on Quizilla for people to write about characters who had these totally messed up home lives who were then spirited away to this alternate world or dimension where they were the chosen one and (of course) there was a really hot guy.
Well, this book has all of that. Maddie's uncle is the owner of this hotel in Colorado that's a way station for a magical world. Maddie goes there without telling her father because she needs to escape from her life and the fact that her mother is on death row. Oh, and of course the hot faerie guy she likes hangs out around there, too.
WHAT A SHOCK.
Here's the thing-- even though the writing is okay, the story-telling is not. This author annoys me for the same reasons authors like Emily A. Duncan, Sarah J. Maas, and Maggie Stiefvater annoy me. If you like those authors, you might like this. But if you're tired of Basic Girl YA and the formulaic tropeyness that seems to be a rule in fantasy... WELL.
If you want to read a better story about a magic hotel that serves as a fantasy way station, read Ilona Andrews's Sweep series. And if you want to read a better chosen girl story about a hapless girl from our world who ends up in a dark and interesting fantasy world of the author's own design, read Clive Barker's Abarat.
Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!
1 star -
I love the cover, this one and the author's Everless duo. Reading this book, one thing stuck out was the constant reminder of Maddie's unhappiness that resulted from what happened with her brother. She seems to have a lack of confidence, at Havenfall and even less at home in Sterling. The love was pre-existing so there wasn't any flirts or banters. I don't enjoy following Maddie's thoughts so much so I feel the narrative was lengthy. With these characteristics to start the story out, I become less invested in the book. Also, Brekken was surprised by the horses this summer even though he came to Havenfall every summer for the past 10 years. That just doesn't make sense.
This book started with a prologue, told in the third person point of view following Marcus as he read an age old book promising to keep everyone safe as a new portal keeper. The start of the book also summarizes each of the 4 realms and its characteristics, where one of four is the enemy. Then the story began, told in the first person point of view following Madeline aka Maddie, 16. She is Marcus' niece and has been spending her summer at Havenfall, (earth is one out of the 4 realms) since she was 6 and is aiming to inherit the Inn Marcus has been running. The Inn has access to all 3 realms and has a bit of magic where the rest of earth doesn't. The start of summer already go wrong when her uncle fall unconscious and someone is dead.
Havenfall is a diversity book where the main character is a bi and her uncle is gay. I like the mystery of the missing keys and its consequences. I love the twists at the end with Nate, Maddie's friends, and the villain. Havenfall and the mirror lake sounds pretty especially on top of the mountain. One thing I realized is the nice twist to this ya fantasy where this book is a murder mystery. If you are looking for a book that gives the test of a big responsibility to someone who wants it but have little confidence to handling it, then this book is for you!
I rate it 3.5 stars!
xoxo, Jasmine at
www.howusefulitis.wordpress.com for more details
***Many thanks to Bloomsbury for the opportunity to read and review. Please be assured that my opinions are honest. -
I said once long ago whilst reading the sampler that if the hot motorbike girl Taya wasn't the love interest, I would be politely demanding answers because there were strong sapphic vibes.
So it is with great delight I can confirm that yes, she is totally a love interest (along with some handsome guy; okay, there might be a love triangle in future but you cannot deny that the heroine harbours some major crush on her and later books have a high possibility of f/f.)
In addition, YES, the heroine is a short-haired, Doc Martens-wearing bisexual. This book serves LGBTQ+ rep in a very casual, nonchalant way. (Perhaps this can be attributed to the marketing, as it was never marketed outright as LGBTQ+ - which seems to be the Bloomsbury way, as no one realised Priory was f/f until reviewers mentioned it.)
But genuinely one line Taya says is: "Girls are so distracting, don't you think?". Okay, look, I have to make this clear: I would lay down my life for Taya, the hot motorbike girl with massive gay energy.
Besides my new obsession with Taya, HAVENFALL has lovely scene-setting. The idea of an inn in these beautiful, scenic mountains had me drooling. I loved the different worlds and hope we get to see more of them, and I really enjoyed the plot. The villain, similarly, was really good! He actually gave me Darkling vibes - he's mysterious, enigmatic, incredibly powerful and clearly knows how to manipulate people. But he's not a love interest so there's nothing like Alarkling, guys, sorry.
HAVENFALL works really well as an opening novel, luring readers into the wider world. I am very very invested in book two and dearly want to know what's going to happen next asap! I can't believe it's only going to be a duology, though? It feels like it has the potential for a trilogy or even longer, I'll be honest. And I'd be up for that, because it's the most engaging and original YA novel I've read in a while. (I'm glad someone's finally done the magical inn on the borders between worlds idea finally tbh). I loved the characters and I didn't see changes in the plot coming from a mile away (bar one).
It's not gothic, though. In the early marketing materials/the PW acquisitions release, the word gothic was used and that got me really excited. But there is fantasy, murder and mountains so it's all good, really!
> 4.2 stars
*
things I really like:
- the gothic genre
- the fantasy genre
- murder
- mountains
things I really need:
- this freaking book!!!! -
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Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury YA for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are mine.
Havenfall combines two of my guiltiest reading pleasures, fantasy and mystery, to deliver the story about a girl tasked with the job of overlooking a safe house between magical worlds during a time of strife.
In theory, the story could be exciting: humans and two of the fantastical worlds that have an alliance come together once a year to celebrate and discuss matters of their worlds so that they may continue to live in accord. The innkeeper, our lead's uncle, is usually the one who oversees everything. But after the door to one of the other worlds opens again, which has been sealed for years due to a war that broke out where lives were lost, death comes knocking again and the innkeeper is left unconscious and unable to continue overseeing his duties. Enter Maddie, who has dreamed her whole life of having this role, feels that this is what she has been working for, and while nervous, believes herself to be ready to face whatever Haven needs in order to keep others safe.
It's an entertaining read, and I greatly enjoyed the mystery reveals that occurred. But the story fell flat for me. While it aspires to be rousing, it doesn't reach that potential. The whole thing delivered just a little monotonously, and I felt that most of the characters were sorely underdeveloped save for Maddie and maybe Taya, to some extent.
One of the elements that I always delight in, especially in fantasy novels, is the antagonist. There is so much room in this genre to make the “bad guy” anything you want him/her to be. The Silver Prince fell so short. Not only do we only see him a handful of times, but we never get to know him. What motivates him and moves him, other than the need to take over the keep and reign? Why does he want this? We're not given enough information, and while a handful of his actions are imposing enough, and he manages to brainwash Maddie fairly easily, the strength that he could have as a being is just not there.
Maddie is very believable in the doubt that she has in herself to do her job as innkeeper. She knows nothing of what needs doing and has no problems reaching out to others for help. She does have a ridiculously easy gift of trusting the wrong people, however, and keeps mentioning this throughout. It's almost as if she tells the audience “Most people I trust lie to me, here, let me show you,” while it continues to occur again and again. It's repetitive. Almost everyone in this book has something to hide, and a secret to reveal. It happens so often that we keep doubting whoever appears next in the novel. It's fantastic for what the author accomplishes as far as the story's mystery, and yet it's so ironic that our lead doesn't seem to catch up.
While there is a clear love triangle playing out between Maddie, Brekken and Taya, I was so glad to not see the usual stereotypical tug of war that tends to happen. Love triangles are one of my least favorite tropes in stories, because usually they're overdone. Sara Holland wrote it well, showing the intense attraction that is to be expected between Maddie and Brekken with the years that they've known each other and the bond that has been growing between them since they were children, as opposed to her newly developed closeness toward Taya.
Havenfall itself... I definitely got the sense of the town, and it did—as Maddie points out at one point in the story—feel like an old western type of world in which to live. It's still charming, well run down, full of vegetation and woods nearby. It does a really nice job of conveying how isolated the keep is to the rest of town and how suspicious and full of gossip others are about the place.
The ending, as I have been reading too often with books lately, came far too swiftly and easily. There is going to be a second book, surely, especially with the way that Havenfall closes. But we could have taken a little longer to see the conclusion of this one develop and play out. More time, overall, was needed with this book to expand. -
1.5**
This book had a really interesting set up and the first 50 pages I was kind of intrigued...but I found the rest just didn’t deliver. There wasn’t much world building and it was difficult to empathise with the characters. There was a romance which I don’t think added anything to the plot. As well as a MC who was frustrating and naive / made stupid choices consistently.
Overall I just didn’t enjoy this one with most things making me eye roll. -
"to everyone who's ever felt like they don't have a place"
the summary
Havenfall follows Maddie Morrow, a teenage girl who helps her uncle at an inn every summer. The inn, Havenfall, is a meeting point for people from four different realms to congregate.
"The centre of everything, the heart. A home for people from all the worlds."
The inn is Maddie's safe space, away from her troubles at home, and she hopes to one day take over from her uncle as innkeeper. But one day, a door to a previously sealed world cracks and a monster may have been unleashed. The peace shatters, and Maddie is thrust into the forefront of political intricacies, allegiances, betrayal and a murder mystery.
the atmosphere
by far one of my favourite parts about this book was the atmosphere and world building. The inn is found amongst the misty mountains of Colorado, and the setting allowed the story to be filled with an air of mystery and magic. From the moment I opened the first page, I was transported to Havenfall, and felt like one of the delegates living in the inn.
I love stories about doors and other worlds. It may sound odd, but take
The Ten Thousand Doors of January as an example. There is something nostalgic and whimsical about travelling to different realms, and Havenfall really captured that feeling for me. I loved the idea of one world we were introduced to in particular- Fiordenkill. A world of ethereal icy beauty, auroras and stars.
So, I was a little disappointed when teased with these mentions of magical worlds that we never got to explore them. Compared to the beauty and allure of Fiordenkill, boring old earth just couldn't hold my interest. I wasn't as invested in Maddie's human problems because I was just itching to hear mentions of the other lands.
the characters
The characters were where the story started to fall a little flat for me. Because Maddie has been coming to Havenfall for years, she already has pre-existing relationships with the delegates, such as her childhood best friend Brekken. Because of that, we don't get to see much development, we are just told about their past. Maddie herself was probably the weakest character to me. Despite this story being largely told through her own internal dialogue, I didn't feel like I knew her that well. I was more intrigued by other characters, like Brekken, Taya and the prince from Byrn. That being said, I really appreciated the diversity in this book. We see people from all different worlds, so it makes sense that they will not all act or look like we do. We even have an LGBT+ love interest at the forefront!
the mystery
This book felt quite Agatha Christie in the idea that all of them are trapped in an enclosed space, and a killer is amongst them. I really liked the intrigue that came from the almost claustrophobic setting, and was constantly theorising about who it was. A few plot twists were thrown at us throughout the book, and some were quite predictable. However, while I was fixated one plot point that seemed obvious, something else would fall through the cracks that I would miss and be shocked at.
the verdict
A slow moving, atmospheric fantasy- Havenfall was an intriguing first book of the series. I am really excited to see how the follow up builds upon the plot and characters, as this story has potential to evolve into something larger.
★★★☆☆ 3.5 stars
thank you to Bloomsbury Australia for providing me with a finished copy of this book! -
BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED FANTASY WORLD
Rating this book took me a while, because there were things I liked and things I disliked and I couldn't figure out which weighed the most for me. So, in the end, I settled for a 3 star rating.
👍 WHAT I LIKED 👍
Universe: Havenfall is the neutral passageway between the different world, where Earth is one of them. I really liked this concept, this idea, and I felt like it was well crafted and thought out world with a rich history, that I look forward to getting into more in the next book.
Maddie: Our female lead, Maddie, was a relatable and sympathetic protagonist. She was insecure and vulnerable, which I really enjoyed. She felt real.
👎 WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE 👎
Plot: The plot was large and had many tangents all over the place - in my view, too many. It made the story feel busy and messy. Luckily, it all came together in the end, but the getting there was rough.
Twist: There were some major plot twists in this book that were probably supposed to be real shockers. However, they were not, they were so transparent.
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review -
3 STARS ★★★✩✩
This book is not for you if…
⤐ ... you consider it a drawback when the 'high stakes intensity', as
jessica puts it so beautifully in her review, is not felt by the reader.
From the very beginning on I had trouble connecting to the thrill that came with the meeting at Havenfall and the chaos that ensued
⤐ ... a book is too short even if a hundret pages more could have made it that much better
⤐ ... plot twists, as crucial as they are to the story, do not touch you emotionally
⤐ ... you dislike multiverses
⤐ Additionally.
This story does not do the over justice. The book is such a beautiful piece of art, yet the story lacks in crucial ways. I did like the idea of multiverses eversince I first came across them. It is exactly what drew me to this book in the beginning (next to its beautiful cover). I like the world Sara builds in her novel in general but am greatly disappointed by the execution.
⤐ What’s happening.‘You have more happy memories than scary ones, don't you? Why give the scary ones so much space in your head?’
spoiler alert: The bad memories are justified considering they involve the abduction of a brother and the almost-annihilation of several worlds.
_____________________
3 STARS. Decent read that I have neither strongly positive nor negative feelings about. Some things irked me and thus it does not qualify as exceptional. -
i swear all the characters shared a single brain cell
quick thoughts:
• The twist that Taya’s brother was Nate and adopted got me - it got me good – but the other twists were obvious.
• The fact that Taya was Solarian was extremely obvious. I mean, she shot the ‘monster’ in the shoulder but didn’t put two and two together when she immediately found Taya with a fucking bullet wound in her shoulder. How dense can you be?
• She conveniently forgets about Brekkan for the majority o the plot. She assumes, for no good reason, he has betrayed her. Her keys went missing and someone – a suspicious someone – sees him heading to the tunnels before disappearing. Ooh, how nefarious. Don’t, you know, look for him or anything. Jump to a conclusion instead
• I don’t understand the significance of the difference between her relationship with Brekkan and Marcus’ marriage to Graylin. It’s just because he’s a soldier but surely, it’s still a ‘bias’ either way. It’s not like they’re going to stop being loyal.
• The whole shift in beliefs about the Solarian was too quick.
• I wanted portalling between the worlds.
• Why the hell did Marcus not train Maddie? What if she died? There would have been no heir, no one to take over. Surely losing the neutral leader would cause panic and war? How is leaving her in the dark with no real idea how anything works better than training and preparing her for the responsibility? At least, Graylin could have been a temporary backup. I understand the ‘bias’ thing, but they should have stripped him of his nationality or something – make him swear allegiance to Haven instead?
• Speaking of which, what the ever-loving fuck do they mean that Marcus is ‘being turned Ferjorian’? How can you become a different race?
• I would have liked this book better if it had been from Taya’s pov. Like a girl trying to find her long-lost missing brother gets drawn to this mysterious magical inn in a mystical mountainous town with a cool fortune-telling lake where strange people walk the streets and magic is hidden just below the surface? She could have been investigating the creepy noises and the mysterious people at the inn while blacking out and discovering her magic and the blooming relationship – but not really because it’s too incestuous for me – with Maddie and learning about her heritage and like that sound so much better?
• … so why did Brekkan disappear?
• Why did she trust the Silver Prince at all…?
• The description of the world was monotonous and repetitive. I get the Byrians do elemental magic, teach me something new
• The whole Heiress thing. Dull.
• I hated the writing style.
• It was just so dull. I didn’t feel like anything really happened or maybe I just didn’t care for the characters enough to get invested.
• How old was Maddie because they let her serve the bar – I get it's magical, but I mean, just, okay – and Taya was nineteen, but the tone was so juvenile. We need more of both – lower end YA (13-15yo) and more upper end (18-20yo) but the combination didn’t do it for me.
• I think this will be my last Holland book because both of her series so dar have had the same bland, forgettable, tropey mess that isn’t my cup of tea
• I do need to address the point that I genuinely believe it’s super important for queer teens to have the tropey ya fantasies everyone got growing up and I hope this series can be that for a lot of readers.
• Just not my cup of tea, basically
➸ Trigger warnings for .
▷ Representation: Maddie (mc) is bisexual; Taya (sc) is a lesbian; m/m side couple.
Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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“We all want to believe the best of intentions in others... But it's not always the truth.”
representation: bisexual MC, lesbian side character, m/m side relationship.
[trigger warnings are listed at the bottom of this review and may contain spoilers]
✧·ﾟ: ✧·ﾟ: 4 s t a r s :·ﾟ✧:·ﾟ✧
YOOOO THIS WAS SO GOOD. I did not expect the bi, lesbian & gay rep and it was so nice to see! I loved everything about this, except for the fact that it was super predictable, but it was still so much fun! I also highly recommend the audiobook, it was superb!
Random things I love in books that this has:
➽ a magical inn
➽ elemental magic!!!
➽ portal worlds!
➽ diverse characters without their diversity being the centre of the narrative
Just... yes, yes and YES!!!
“There has always been war; that doesn't make us all monsters.”
trigger warnings: death of loved ones (in the past), incarcerated loved ones, history of living in foster care, blood, gore, kidnapping, near-drowning.
Thank you to Bloomsbury Australia for the review copy! -
Surrounded by dozens of capable adults our teen leading gal ends up running a whole inn that houses three different species (including humans) from three different worlds (including Earth). If you’re thinking; wow this girl is a special snowflake isn’t she? You’d be bang on. She’s also dumb as a post. Sara Holland brings up an interesting set-up and story; but unfortunately it is plagued by teen tropes, a clueless heroine, and a really skewed view of mental health.
Dumbest Girl Ever
I don’t even know how to be nice about this. Our leading gal, Maddie, is just so dumb. At every corner she is given tons of knowledge, help, and clues; yet somehow she still manages to remain clueless. Albeit she’s only a teen but even a five-year-old knows not to trust random people they don’t know. Especially when it’s known that danger and strangers lurk around every corner. The worst of it is that because our heroine stays clueless the reader has to be strung along, painfully, until she ‘discovers’ things for herself. Havenfall is much too predictable in both it’s story and leading gals actions.
Mental Health
Holland may win the award for having the most offence line in a book I’ve read in 2020; and that includes Harrow the Ninth and other gruesome, gory stories.
”You have more happy memories than scary ones, don’t you? Why give the scary ones so much space in your head”
Only someone absolutely ignorant to PTSD, flashbacks, night terrors, and reactive anxiety would even consider saying this. To me this is like saying ‘just be happy’ to someone with depression. If it were that easy we’d all have done it by now!! I just about put this book down at this point because I was so frustrated. Who would ever think that someone whose mind is struggling with disturbing topics would dwell on them on purpose?!? My guess here is that Holland has literally never been down a dark alley and been concerned for her life; never mind feared for it. Even the average teenager, by 18, has had at least one incident in their life that was intense or terrifying. Apparently Holland is a super special snowflake, just like her leading girl, and has never, ever had nightmares (never mind night terrors), a traumatic incident that brings on PTSD or PTSD-like symptoms. If only we were all so lucky *drips with sarcasm*.
Overall
The world building here is very interesting; and the ending has some real potential for the future story. Unfortunately the actual writing, execution, and leading gal are subpar at best. There are just so many better teen/YA books out there that I can’t in good conscious recommend this one unless you are desperate or really, really like the idea or Holland’s writing from her previous books. Otherwise I would be confident in saying this is a series to pass over; especially if, like me, you have a huge TBR.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review. -
wow what a ride. i definitely recommend this book for fantasy lovers. specially for those who love reading about different worlds, different abilities and magic. it wasn't like, the best fantasy book ever written but it's definitely worth to pick up. i connected with all the characters in this book, felt Maddie's fear, rage, love, faith —literally everything and after reading this i feel so damn proud of her, developing herself into amazing inkeeper 😭 the romance in this book is slight enough to forget about it lmao so whoever doesn't like too much romance in their books, this one is for you.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
i know there's gonna be a 2nd book to this and i really can't wait for it. can't wait to come back to Havenfall, home to anyone who needs it, with its doors open wide 🖤 -
There is a lot that worked for me in this book, but more that didnt or just not enough. Full thoughts to come.
-
2 chapters sample provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I am completely hooked! These 2 chapters made me want to read this book so so much! I have no words, though I feel like I am full of them! It passed such a long time since I got this fast involved in a book! I am 90% sure that this one will be my top 10 for 2020! March, please come faster!
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"You're strong enough to make hard choices in service of the greater good."
Sara Holland is back with another beautifully written world that combines a lot of fantasy and mystery elements together. I would be 100% lying if I said I didn't fly through this and read it in two sittings. And despite the fact that I did give it a three star rating there is a lot in here that I think readers will fall in love with. Plus, can we all just agree that the over of this is STUNNING, like, totally gorgeous! It's also one of those cases where the further you get into the story the more the details on the cover make sense aside from it just being super pretty.
What I Liked
✍🏻 Writing. It's no surprise that I fell in love with Sara's writing in this book. She has a way with words and building worlds that makes everything so lush and vivid that it jumps off the page. From the minute I picked this up I was instantly sucked into Holland's new world and even though I didn't love everything about this book, her writing still had me flying through this in no time.
✨ Magic system. The magic system/worlds in this was well written and thought out. I loved that in the very beginning of the book we get a breakdown of the magical worlds behind each doorway, the powers their people have, and the history of the way the worlds came together during the war and after. Having all of this information before the story even started made for an easy time piecing people/magic together and I think overall let the story flow at a faster pace without confusing readers.
👨👩👧👦 Side characters were the stars. For me...I loved the side characters more than our main character. They all added so much to the story and I was more invested in Taya, Brekken, Graylin, Marcus, and The Heiress than I was Maddie. I was rooting for them all to get whatever answers they needed on top of solving who the villain was throughout this. And I have to say I would absolutely lay my life down for Taya, no questions asked.
🏳️🌈 LGBT+ friendly. I am loving that we are getting a lot more representation in books nowadays. Although we definitely still have a ways to go and there is always room for improvement, this book does have LGBT+ rep that is so casually placed in the story and feels so right. We love to see it.
So, why three stars?
👤 Another bland MC. One of my biggest issues with this story was Maddie. It's not that I didn't like her, but she just didn't do much for me. Now, I'm not trying to take away from the fact that Maddie is dealing with a whole lot in this story. Her plate is full and she struggles throughout this book with the responsibilities of running the inn while her uncle is sick, trying to figure out who the bad guy is, finding out secrets from her family's past, and working through her feelings for Brekken and possibly a new love interest. So yeah, definitely a lot going on but at the same time she just wasn't as fleshed out as I would have liked and I was more interested in who the bad guy was rather than rooting for Maddie to succeed with everything else going on.
😴 Predictable at times. Some of the bigger plot twists in this book like who was the bad guy, what were the secrets of Maddie's past, and Taya - the newcomer's secret, were all kind of painfully obvious. For me it felt like the author was trying to dangle information in front of readers and distract us before flipping the story around towards the end. But in the end it was something I felt coming from a mile away making the shock factor pretty minimal. I will admit though, there was one plot twist in the story that really got me.
🤡 The bad guy. I figured it out pretty early on thanks to my sleuthing skills and honestly, just a lot of context clues. I'm not disappointed on who it was necessarily but we get little to no answers on the why part of it. Maybe we'll find out more in the next book but it was just odd that Maddie and the side characters go to great lengths to catch the villain and then they just...go home? Kind of weird in my opinion and I definitely would have liked a little more clarity on that whole topic.
All in all, even though there were parts of this that didn't work for me I still had a pretty good reading experience overall. Havenfall ends on a note that makes me feel like the next book should be promising and I'm definitely going to check it out!
Thank you Bloomsbury for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for a honest review!
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"There's a very specific kind of splintering feeling that comes with seeing the people you trust fall short or fall apart."
*3 Stars - Thank you to Bloomsbury for proving an ARC for an honest review*
A captivating contemporary fantasy full of deadly mysteries and political pressures.
SUMMARY
Deep in the mountains of Colorado is the Inn at Havenfall, the mortal way-station between magical realms. Every year, the Summer Summit commences, and delegates from the adjacent worlds arrive for two weeks to discuss trade, law, and politics. The Inn Keeper, the mortal ruler of Havenfall, is the neutral party and head delegate of the summit, tasked with keeping peace between realms.
Maddie Morrow has been studying all her life for the chance to be her uncle's successor, the next Inn Keeper, and this is her final summer to prove her worth. But when the someone defies Havenfall laws and a dead body appears, Maddie must step up or risk losing Havenfall forever.
REVIEW
It took a while for me to become invested in this story, at least 120 pages. So even though the back half of this novel was stellar, having to push through the beginning is the reason why I couldn't give this book a full four stars.
I had a lot of fun trying to guess what was really going on. Following Maddie as she uncovered the lies and awful truths hidden at Havenfall had me frantically flipping the pages. From the very start there was a character I was suspicious of, and I had a blast following that character's actions and trying to figure out their motives (I guessed it correctly!). There are multiple plots in the novel that tend of patter off into tangents, which could frustrate a lot of readers. However, I was invested in the multiple mysteries Maddie was unraveling, and cannot wait to see what Holland spins in the sequel.
While there were times I found Maddie utterly frustrating and bland, she felt very real. Too often fantasy heroines feel a lot older than their age, but Holland did a phenomenal job at portraying Maddie as a seventeen year old girl. While Maddie made a lot of mistakes, I probably would've done the same in her situation. So even though it took a while for me to warm up to her, by the end of the novel all I wanted was for her to be happy. ALSO, Maddie is bisexual and has two love interests: New Havenfall employee, Taya, and childhood best friend, Brekken. It does not feel like a love triangle, and I was very thankful for that!
I was surprised at how political this novel was. Sure all the politics are fantasy based, but I could see contemporary parallels. You can tell that a lot of work went into this novel and weaving the four realms together. Since each of the realms are distinct, it wasn't hard to remember the individual lore and laws that governed them. It shows a lot of strength in Holland as a writer to construct such an intricate world without leaving the reader confused.
One of the biggest issues is that this book is plot-based, so a lot of the characters have surface level development. You learn about these characters through the mysteries unraveling and not from the characters themselves. As a primarily character-driven reader, this proved to be an issue for me. I hope we get to see more development of the cast in future novels!
I am excited to continue on with the sequel, and cannot wait to see what mystery Holland cooks up next. -
Havenfall is the first book in the young adult fantasy series by the same name from author Sara Holland. I loved Havenfall. I think it has such a unique premise, and it was that setup that had me dying to read Havenfall. And I have to say, Sara Holland did a fantastic job with this world. Reading Havenfall completely lived up to it's initial premise, and I am super excited to read the next book in the series.
In Havenfall we meet our main character Maddie. The highlight of Maddie's year is the summer, when she gets to go visit her uncle who runs the Inn at Havenfall. Sounds pretty ordinary, doesn't it? It is anything but ordinary. The Inn is kind of like a neutral sanctuary for all kinds of ancient worlds. There used to be many, many worlds, but over time some of the worlds were destroyed for one reason or another, and now there are four worlds- Byrn, Fiordenkill, Solaria, and Earth aka Haven. The inn houses doorways to each of the worlds, and each summer there is a summit that takes place between each of the worlds.
Maddie's uncle is the gatekeeper of the doorways between the worlds, and Maddie has always longed to take over for his uncle. This summer is the start of our crazy adventure at the Inn at Havenfall. I loved the setup of the world. At the start of the book, Sara Holland does a fantastic job describing all of the worlds, and the people that inhabit those worlds. It never felt info-dumpy, all of it flowed well and was very useful in setting up the rest of the story. I really enjoyed Maddie and the journey that she is kind of abruptly thrust into.
Sara Holland does not hold any punches with Havenfall. This book made me fell a whole spectrum of emotions, from happy and excited to totally devastated. And the twists! Some of those twists took me completely by surprise, and the ending made me so anxious for the next book in the series! I need it right now. If you are a fan of young adult fantasy and love a unique world, Havenfall is a book you need to check out. I have purposefully been vague with the events of the book because going in kind of blind was a big factor to how much I loved this story. I think you will really enjoy it as well. -
⠀⠀✧ • ° . ◦ *⠀┊ three and a half stars.
⠀for me, there is no question this book is 3.5 stars. to my understanding this will be a series and i will most likely continue with it. ( * i feel as if the majority of my gripes will not continue in the second book based on what has happened in this book). with that said, i rolled my eyes far too many times and swore this book wouldn’t receive a rating higher than 3 stars for 75% of the novel. the last fourth of the book really saved it for me.
⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀and here’s why. . .
⠀⠀⠀⠀❥ ┊ the beginning was extremely slow. i don’t mind if a novel takes a hot minute to get to the main story as long as what we are reading isn’t, well, boring and seemingly useless. if i hadn’t sat down with the intention of diving into the majority of the book, i’m not sure if i would have picked it back up. for what it’s worth, i’m glad i did.
⠀⠀⠀⠀❥ ┊ between the introduction to the adjacent worlds and our main character’s inner monologue, the repetition was honestly outrageous. obviously, world building takes time and inherently calls for redundancy but sara holland seemed to repeat the same bits of the world and magic systems. the main character repeated her trauma over and over, but hardly added anything to it.
⠀⠀⠀⠀❥ ┊ our main character’s inner monologue was borderline insufferable for the majority of this book. between moaning about her trauma, trust issues, and the guy she was in love with, it was a wonder she never had any friends! she didn’t strike me as the “i’m not like other girls” type, but she is still a “i’m different” type that you may find in fanfics. she refers to herself as a freak (because of the trauma that was entirely out of her hands) and uses her short hair as an example for that. let’s not talk about the doc martens and leggings every day (girl, i do it too. you aren’t special).
⠀⠀⠀⠀❥ ┊ i found some of this rather predicable. i don’t necessarily have a complaint with this, but any “twists” i saw dozens of pages before hand. i’ve also gotten used to how jkr implants hints throughout her books so i’ve been trained to look for important things, haha.
⠀⠀⠀⠀❥ ┊ the good news, kind of, is that there is lgbt+ rep in this. with that said, it was just there and never impacted the story—which is fine in some cases. sara holland, however, seemed to include subtle remarks hinting to sexuality every so often and then just left it. our main character is bi and we see her confess her feelings about a guy and occasionally flirting with a girl. this girl is a lesbian, a fact only given to us in sly hints. her uncle is gay and married to his partner but... if you read this... you will understand, lmao. i don’t knows, it almost came off as tweaking character’s sexuality for inclusion points.
⠀⠀⠀⠀❥ ┊ this was my march book of the month book so i solely went of the description that they provided. as a warning for other readers, this was a bit more frightening and thriller - like than i anticipated. it is no secret this novel deals with murder, but that wasn’t the scary part. this is partly on me because i didn’t think to look too far into the scare factor (mainly because i don’t care) but i was more “scary” than expected.
↠ botm hardback
↠ 03.27.20 — 03.29.20
↠ annotated? yes
↠ readathon? n/a -
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This was one of two books I read at the same time, that I found difficult to finish because I was just so incredibly bored (the other one was Girl, Serpent, Thorn). Originally I thought that this may because we've just hit the Coronavirus epidemic, but after finishing the books I realised that they both have major issues that affected my reading.
If I told you that this was an Agatha Christie style murder mystery at a magical inn with guests from different worlds, with fantasy creatures, this sounds exciting, yes? If I now tell you that this is a book about an inn with magical doors that leads to different worlds, but we never get to see those worlds, you now feel a little cheated, right?
That was the problem I had with Havenfall. I am a Christie fan so I picked up on that vibe quickly and guessed who the Bad Guy was pretty much as soon as they turned up. That was, when we finally got past the 100 page constant infodump. The first third was rougher than a dog's backside with sandpaper taped onto it. I couldn't really enjoy the story because Maddie kept dragging me back to past events that I didn't really care about.
So, what we have here is a confusing murder mystery, the most random hidden secrets ever that took so long to get to I no longer cared and a character that disappears for most of the book, makes a reappearance later on and really doesn't give a satisfactory answer as to why they vanished, except Plot Reasons.
I would read the second book because God Damnit I want to finally visit those other worlds, if we ever do. If we do not, I'm giving the sequel 1 star and calling it a day. -
Havenfall
An Inn hidden on a mountain with spectacular surroundings and view. Who doesn't want to stay there. I definitely would. I sounds like a magical place to be.🌲
"A home for everyone who needs it, with her doors wide open." -
Special thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing for sending me the set of arcs as well as a finished copy of Havenfall for my review.
When I received my finished copy of Havenfall from Bloomsbury Publishing a week and a half ago I knew it was a sign that I absolutely needed to start this amazing new series as soon as possible which I’m very glad I did.
Havenfall is set amongst the mountainous ranges of Colorado where the inn at Haven holds a special secret. For years Haven has served as a neutral point of delegation for people of four adjacent realms, Fiordenkill, Byrn, Solaria and Earth . The story follows Maddie, niece to the innkeeper, who is also bisexual #birepresentation, who wishes to take up the role when he passes it along.
However, this summer is different and when a brutal murder triggers series of unprecedented events Maddie must step up to protect those, she loves against those who wish to unsettle the steady balance that Haven holds.
Personally, I really enjoyed Havenfall as it gave a sense of nostalgia to the YA genre by exploring magical realism and the idea that our world is not the only world to exist, something that as of late has not been explored very much in current YA fantasy.
I found the first quarter of the book to especially interesting the world build the way Holland explores Maddie’s hardships and her connection to Haven. I will say that the first half of the book does have moments were the story can feel a little slower, however, I found this very easy to move through as it is the first book in a new series and thus does require some deep world building that at times is required in place of the action.
Throughout the books there were moments where I believed that I was fully aware of all the exciting twists and turns only to be build sided by other exciting revelations. The way Holland writes allows you to feel as though you know exactly what is going on, only to be throw off by another sneaky twist. I found this especially exciting, with some yelling out moments arising from this, especially since I usually am so acutely aware of the hidden twists it was fun to be surprised.
There is definitely something extremely inviting and stimulating about reading a new series, exploring new worlds, plots and possibilities which I believe makes Havenfall, and its sequel to come, extremely interesting!
I would definitely recommend Havenfall to fans of The Raven Cycle, The Cruel Prince and A Curse So Dark and Lonely as each of these books have similar elements to mystery/fantasy style with hidden twists and turns as well as new and exciting worlds to explore.
Finally, a song to sum up the mood of this book!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ebEV...
• Madness, Ruelle -
Seriously this might be my favorite cover of 2020! It's just stunning. And the book is fun and a very quick read, but readers should know what they are getting.
Havenfall is a contemporary YA fantasy set in the mountains of Colorado. It would make a fantastic CW show and definitely feels targeted at teens (as opposed to more of a crossover story for a mixed audience). It's very fast-paced and surprising number of plot threads are pulled together in this relatively short book. There is teen angst and recklessness, a sort of love triangle, shapeshifters, political intrigue, doors to other worlds, family secrets, and more. It's a good time, as long as you realize what you're getting. I suspect some readers have been hoping for a different sort of book and thus might be disappointed. This isn't a new favorite for me, but I did enjoy it.
Maddie is the main character and she dreams of becoming the Havenfall Inkeeper (responsible for overseeing peace delegations between worlds) when her uncle retires. She is determined to prove herself capable, but things go very wrong. Maddie is kind of bland as a character, but she interacts with a lot of interesting side characters and the plot has a lot going on so this never lost my interest. One thing that could have been better is the queer elements of the book. Maddie is bisexual and has both a male and female love interest. However, while I bought the passion and romance with the male character, the female one read more like a friend. I think if you are going to try for a f/f romance plot, you need to go all in and make it feel believable.
The highlight of the book for me was definitely the setting. Havenfall is beautifully described and feels like a magical place I would love to visit. The mythology and lore are interesting as well, although I was definitely left wanting to know more. Hopefully book 2 fleshes that out further. While this wasn't a perfect book, I really enjoyed my time with it and do plan to read on when the second of the duology is released. I received an advance copy of this book for review from the publisher. All opinions are my own. -
WOW - 4 out of 5 stars.
I thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed this. Havenfall is a safe haven between four realms, one of which has been sealed closed in order to protect all the other 3 and maintain peace amongst them. Maddie is the niece of the current Haven Inn Innkeeper, the human responsible for ensuring peace between the realms and stability at Havenfall. Maddie aspires to be the Innkeeper - and this summer, she gets to.
This is one of those fantasy novels that’s just easy and fun to read. I managed to guess a few of the plot twists that were coming, but some other parts kept me completely on the edge of my seat.
Sara Holland creates in Havenfall a world that’s so unbelievably beautiful that it’s made me wish it was real, so I too could go spend a summer at the Havenfall Inn.
This had all the elements of a fun well crafted fantasy with a slight touch of the who done it murder mystery trope. All the characters give you reasons to be suspicious of their actions and all the twists and turns the story takes will leave you feeling like you ant trust any of them. And that’s the beauty of it.
I really recommend this book to any fans of light fantasy stories mixed with surprises and twists. -
I was provided with an ARC and finished copy of Havenfall, and to be a part of Bloomsbury's blog tour for this exciting new title! However this has in no way influenced my thoughts, my review is my own.
Sara Holland's first duology Everless was my absolute favourites when I read it last year, so I could waste no time when it came to having Havenfall in my hands - I started this book with immense expectations.... and it was exactly what I wanted it to be!
Maddie wants to become Innkeeper at the Inn of Havenfall, a role she has been yearning and learning for every summer for years from her uncle. The Inn acts as a gateway to the realms, only two now being accessible within Havenfall after the treaty made between Byrn, Fiordenkill and Haven (earth). Solaria was a part of that treaty too, but a feud between the worlds had their doorway shut off. Now they are seen as evil bloodthirsty beings that are able to shape-shift.
Every year the most important of the realms come together at the Inn for a period of celebration and negotiation to ensure a repeat of Solaria's attack will never happen again.
After only a few short days of being back at the Inn, Maddies uncle falls ill in a coma after a mysterious attack, not only that her maybe-boyfriend has disappeared and her keys have gone missing... everything now falls on Maddie to make sure the negotiations and meetings go ahead as planned and at the same time make sure no harm comes to the people in the Inn or worse, earth. Maddie soon realises that she is in over her head and her dream of inheriting the Inn at Havenfall isn't everything she thought it would be!
Sarah is queen of duologies, but I am scared that only having two books to contain this story will leave a lot of unanswered questions, already we are introduced to the four main worlds in this young adult adventure but that being said there wasn't much world building along the way as humans are not able to survive in any other world but Haven. The potential this has to be an epic fantasy so large I am a little disappointed already knowing this wont be.
“You have more happy memories than scary ones, don't you? Why give the scary ones so much space in your head?”
I found the characters to be like-able but once again not massive amounts of character building, Sara gives you enough to leave you charmed but no real emotional attachment. For me there were two characters who I enjoyed reading the most: Taya & The Heiress.
Taya nearly runs over Maddie on their way to Havenfall, immediately we are told she is lesbian and there is even a little touch of romance starting to bud between the two, but nothing too intense. I loved how mysterious she was and I always felt all along that she was up to no good but didn't think she was a deceitful character.
The Heiress is a lady I aspire to be in the future! That old lady is full of sass and class, I literally love that nobody knows her actual name and just her nickname, I think she will have a great character arc in the next book.
I adored this story so much all I want to do is visit the Inn at Havenfall myself, the idea of having adjoining realms fascinates me, there is so much I want Sara to give me with this world she has created now that I have been introduced to it. I can only hope we get to spend more time in Byrn, Fiordenkill and not forgetting Solaria! This was a perfect fantasy book to settle into your reading-nook with and be absorbed!
4.5 stars -
It took me three days to read 58 pages. I've been off work those three days, so I should have been able to finish this book in one day. The premise sounds interesting and it could have been a fun read, but the storytelling is so damn boring. I just can't continue. Sorry.
I really enjoyed Everless and Evermore, but this book does nothing for me. In those 58 pages, nothing happens. It's mostly worldbuilding with some info dumping and a few scenes with boring dialogue. If I had finished the book and it didn't get better, I would have given it at most, two stars. -
Welcome to the Inn between worlds, Havenfall, where creatures and people gather all together.
The strong point of this book is definitely the world building, beautifully crafted, in wich you want to dive since the beginning. The first 3 chapters are a bit boring; you just learn a lot about the worlds and the Inn’s work; and after them you just jump into the story and you can’t stop reading till the very end. It’s short, it may have been longer, but at the same time I appreciate that the author didn’t put futile things just to make it longer.
I enjoyed reading about the main character, Maddie, because I think she is a lot like me, curious, loving and brave. Unfortunately, I couldn’t for the life of me comprehend her continuous comparing other’s age to her brother’s (oh my, she is 20, my brother would have been 20), like, there’s a lot to analyze. I didn’t like Brekken nor the Silver Prince, but I loved the Heiress, Taya and Willow, their relationships with Maddie and their courage.
There is mystery and I loved how the author played around, giving clues and hints, I was able to foresee the plot twist at the end, but it actually didn’t ruin my read.
Final vote: 3,5/5 -
I received a sample copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.
The sample copy of this book is great! The beginning gives a small amount if information as a build up to setting the scene for the story and I enjoyed what I read and will definitely read the rest of the book when I can get my hands on it. -
Loved the sample from Netgalley and the publisher, thank you💕 A female lead, murder, magic, multiple worlds, portals and a snarky new girl in town - what’s not to like?! Looking forward to its 2020 release date 🥰 #Havenfall #NetGalley
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ARC received from Bloomsbury in exchange for an honest review.
"Havenfall might be dangerous, but I am equal to it. I'm part of it. I belong here, more than anywhere else."
Summary
Maddie Morrow spends every summer with her uncle at the Inn at Havenfall, a way-point that connects ancient worlds together. She has spent her summers there to escape from the tragedies of her life - such as her murdered brother and mother on death row. The inn is where she fell in love with her best friend, a solider from Fiordenkill named Brekken, and where she hopes to one day take over as the innkeeper and oversee the peace negotiations between the different worlds. This summer, however, all chaos breaks loose. A dead body is found at the inn, Brekken goes missing, her uncle is injured, a monster is on the loose, and the delegates are at each other's throats. Suddenly, Maddie has to juggle a lot more responsibility than she ever thought to try and undo the wrongs of her predecessors.
Review
Havenfall is a refreshing contemporary fantasy full of political intrigue, mystery, and romantic tension. I really enjoyed reading about a place in our modern world that was the intersection for other fantasy worlds, and the different types of characters that allowed the author to introduce. I found that this novel was really well balanced between the world building, character development, and romance!
There are three different worlds that connect at Havenfall. There is Haven, or Earth, with no magic. Then there is Fiorden, a snow laden world with healing and natural magic, and Bryn, a storm ravaged world with elemental and weather magic. One hundred years ago, the delegates from these three worlds came together to seal off the door to Solaria, a world with a shape shifting people. There is a lot of tension and strife between the people of different worlds, as they constantly accuse each other of treachery and are distrustful. The mystery of the Solarian monsters was really well developed throughout the novel, and one of my favorite threads to follow.
Maddie has so much to deal with in this book oh my gosh. Not only is she a young girl that has to deal with the traumatic past of her brother's murder, but she has to unexpectedly take over as innkeeper and balance the power struggle as leading the neutral zone between two worlds trying to grab for power. She's young and inexperienced, and realistically struggles in this role. I liked that she was written as a flawed leader, because it was realistic to how a young person in this situation would act. Yet she still has determination to do what's right, born out of the love she has for Havenfall.
The side characters all had well fleshed out story arcs and there was a lot of intrigue that slowly unravels throughout the novel! I ended up loving them all - Brekken, Taya, The Heiress, Graylin, and Marcus. It was so fun figuring out the mysteries that threaded through the plot.
The romantic tension throughout this novel is delicious. There are two main love interests - the motorcycle riding new employee, Taya, and Maddie's childhood love, Brekken (yes - this novel is LGBTQ+!). I thought that there was a really great interplay between longing for a longtime friend and intrigue of a new romantic figure.
Havenfall is a really smart novel that brings together contemporary fantasy, mystery, romance, and intrigue. I really enjoyed reading it and I'm looking forward to where the story goes!
