Seeds of Discovery by Breeana Puttroff
Quinn Robbins wasn’t the kind of girl who had adventures. She wasn’t even the kind of girl who got invited to parties at Bristlecone High School. And she definitely wasn’t the kind of girl who would follow a boy she knew nothing about over a broken bridge into a mysterious alternate universe.
Until the night she did.
Seeds of Discovery is the first book in the beloved Dusk Gate Chronicles. Find out for yourself why readers are falling in love with Quinn, William, and the rest of the Rose family.
Fully feeling the weight of her stupidity, she climbed the four crumbling stone steps toward the end of the broken-off bridge. This time, she did not hold back or hesitate. She closed her eyes and stepped forward. Expecting only a loss of balance and the resulting short drop into the cold water below, she was surprised when it didn’t come. There was solid stone underneath her right foot. Maybe she had missed. When a second attempt with her left foot also failed to produce an icy-cold plunge into the stream, she opened her eyes.
This book (this whole series!) is very fun. The plot is simple, but it still makes the characters struggle. The romance is very sweet and clean. The premise boils down to: Quinn watches a boy disappear over a Colorado bridge. When she follows him, she finds herself in a new world. I quite love the other world, Eirentheos. The magic is basic and not overused. Some questions went unanswered for the next books (Why is the valoris stuff important? What does Tolliver want? Has Quinn been here before?). I like the mistiming of the worlds and all the implications of it. Ten days pass in Eirentheos every time one day passes on Earth (Colorado). Do the characters age differently if they spend time in another world? This book really emphasizes the importance and joys of children. Quinn’s siblings, Zander’s siblings, Will’s siblings, the village kids. All were delightful, and Quinn and the others all treated the kids with fun and care. Few fantasy books spend time with children under 12, let alone time with six-year-olds and others in diapers. These kids feel real, too. They have sticky fingers, constant questions, and annoying habits, but they’re still adorable. This book is solidly in the noblebright category because of the how the characters treat each other (except for Tolliver, but he’s just slimy). They may lose their temper, but they’ll apologize. They trust and care and love and laugh. Quinn just about loses her mind when she learns she’s stuck in Eirentheos (ah, didn’t you know she’d get stuck?), and the other characters are all really sweet about helping her cope (especially Will!). If you like sweet stories about a curious girl who gets trapped in a fantasy world inhabited by caring people caught in trouble, read the Dusk Gate Chronicles! (Indie published and reasonably priced, too.)
This guest post was written by Denae Christine. She is a Bible-believing Christian who lives in Colorado and teaches math at an alternative high school. She has a brown belt in karate and listens to audiobooks at double speed. She spends her energy volunteering with her local church’s children’s ministry. Denae has written the Royal Deception trilogy, which is an epic fantasy retelling of the Lion King featuring a world with blade shifters and animal shifters. She also published a companion novella that follows the adventures of the trilogy main character, who is a prince who can shift his arms into swords. Denae is an avid reader and reviewer. Find her on Goodreads here.
