Havenfall (Havenfall #1)
Author: Sara Holland
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Release Date: March 3rd 2020
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
A safe haven between four realms. The girl sworn to protect it--at any cost. New York Times bestselling author Sara Holland crafts a breathtaking new contemporary fantasy perfect for fans of Melissa Albert and Holly Black.
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 . . .
Sara Holland takes the lush fantasy that captured readers in Everless and Evermore and weaves it into the real world to create a wholly captivating new series where power and peril lurk behind every door.
Havenfall reads like a murder mystery in a mythical place that combines different fantastical worlds. I loved both the magic and mystery element to it.
Havenfall is such a cool idea. It’s an inn that resides on Earth and It’s the only realm that doesn’t have magic and so it’s considered a neutral zone. This is why Earth is called Haven by other worlds. There are many doors leading to other realms but most have been closed due to either the world dying out or disagreements. One in particular is Solaria which is what a lot of the story is based around. I really like how the magic system works. Although for some reason I kept mixing up the two worlds that were open even though their names are nothing alike it was really interesting. I’ve always loved when you get to have different fashions and cultures in a fantasy world.
I don’t want to give away the plot because there are lots of twists and turns. Not all that I was expecting, some I probably should have seen but didn’t. There are hints to things and there were points when you knew certain things were connected but not exactly how. I liked it, I think a mystery always keeps a story moving.
I feel bad for Maddie. There are things that she has to deal with, with her mom that I feel like if someone had just told her the whole truth might have relieved some parts of it. Not all of it. She is very resilient though, she always pulls herself up again. Even if she would rather just curl into a ball. She kept moving because she needed to.
So there is a little bit of a love triangle but the characters weren’t all interacting at the same time. Not really so it wasn’t annoying. Brekken is the boy she’s loved forever and Taya is the new girl that brings a different element to her life. I loved the way Maddie and Taya meet because it just reminded me of some kind of old school movie.
I enjoyed Havenfall and I think it will be interesting to see where the story goes. I liked that the ending felt good. It wasn’t that there weren’t questions to be answered but it ended in a good place.
Sara Holland grew up in small-town Minnesota among hundreds of books. She graduated from Wesleyan University and worked in a tea shop, a dentist’s office, and a state capitol building before heading to New York to work in publishing. These days, she can be found exploring the city’s bookstores or finding new ways to put caffeine in her bloodstream. EVERLESS is her debut novel.
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