Lauren Howell - ROWAN

Rowan
Kelly Foster

by Lauren Howell
Paperback Available through Amazon

Product Description (From Amazon)

Jake, a dragon who wears orange Chuck Taylors, shows up in Kelly Foster’s living room disguised as a human. When he starts going on about a lost sword, a magical pendant and Stonehenge being the gatekeeper to the lost city of Atlantis, Kelly feels a little more than skeptical. But when Jake tells her it could all be the key to finding her father, Kelly doesn’t hesitate to jump on board. Swept away to the world of Rowan, she picks up a band of followers along the way, Henry, Tyler, Sky, and Caesius. Will they help her find her father or will someone more sinister cause their paths to go in opposite directions. Will Kelly do what she came to do then go home? Because the fate of Rowan is up to her.

O.Scarlett! REVIEW by Rachel

 I found the story to be exciting enough to read it from beginning to end in a very short while. The story itself was good - and I enjoyed it.

The idea of a girl suddenly being asked to join a boy on an adventure who claims to be a dragon caught my attention - add in Atlantis and a magical world, and I was willing to give it a shot. It was a fun story that hummed along at a good pace so you stayed around in spite of the many grammar errors and abrupt scene changes, unless you really get offended by editing issues .... such as the dwarves going to rescue the dwarves (instead of the elves).

There were also a lot of spots that left me shaking my head ... she got dropped into the ocean in the middle of a storm and still had her back pack with the dragons shoes when she woke up on the shore? Wouldn't it have drug her under and drowned her? or maybe have been dropped to the bottom of the ocean?  

I never really figured out the scenes with the tree houses with Sky either ... it needed more, or maybe less.  I was unsure where people were going or coming from, Sky had washed up the island alone many years before when her parents were lost in a boat during a storm.  She learned to use some kind of magic force to survive and create an elaborate tree house complex.  During the time she was there, many others were marooned on the island with her.

There was also a lot of repetition of comments ... they get to a stream, and one gets a drink and then the next one gets a drink and then the next one, and then they all get a drink.... .... there are several spots like that.

But the ending left me with a frown ... I didn't mind the abrupt ending or the sudden shift to weeks after (although shifts like that should have had a chapter break - or a page break – or dots - to warn us that a scene change or time jump was coming - I could sometimes get several pages of confusion before I finally tripped on a clue that made me realize that we had changed scenes.  Perhaps this is a Kindle formatting issue.... )  BUT ... they are setting up for a big war and the whole battle is so anti-climatic ... Like being excited to go to a hot air balloon show and finding out the balloons are not going to get off the ground.

It has a lot of potential. It is a great story, just needs a tad more polishing for readability.

Notes:

This is a light hearted fun tale that makes an excellent rainy afternoon book.  Most young teens will find this a great adventure read that inspires the imagination and provides more than one hearty laugh or gasp of fear.

Genre/Theme:   Fantasy – Dragons, Atlantis, Parallel Demisional Travel
Reading Level:   Teen
Profanity:  Low
Sexuality:  Mild

There is some attraction between two characters who turn out to be brother and sister.  From reading other reviews, this did bother some people.

Later, two of the characters are caught “making out” and there is a lot of focus on the hurt feelings afterwards.  There is “teen drama” in this book.  There is also a nod toward the green agenda and all religions are roads to God philosophy.