OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Eva Roblins and the Enchanted Gate Book One Return of the Princess" by Eva Roblins.]

Eva Roblins and the Enchanted Gate is written by Eva Roblins. Eva became completely deaf because of an illness when she was a little girl. She had to learn to overcome her deafness and being bullied because of it in order to become a CIA Agent. One day, on her twenty-ninth birthday, she turned into an elf. All of a sudden she was the princess of an ancient Isle that supposedly disappeared underneath the sea centuries ago. This land is filled with mysterious legends, magic, beauty, strange creatures, and invisible beings. However, there is one creature that threatens the land. The Evil One wants to conquer the world and everyone in it.

As Eva starts to become a part of the Isle, she meets new friends who, like her, has to deal with specific challenges. She has a friend who is blind, one who is voiceless, one who has to be in water or she will perish, and one that walks slower then a human at night. They meet others who possess unique and bizarre powers. Together, they face the evils of the land. Their enemies are smart and cruel. Some of them want Eva to stay alive, and some of them couldn't care less if she was dead. Eva and her friends use magic and spells to fearlessly fight their enemies.

One of the things that I liked about this book was how creative it was. There were all kinds of different creatures, magical beings, and it is easy to picture the beautiful Isle of Spardom. The author blended the real world with a fantasy world very well. There was some new danger in every chapter. What I liked most was the message that it portrayed. Eva and her friends all learned to work together as a team, and they learned how important friendship is. Every page was filled with adventure and the characters were always facing something new. This is not normally the type of book that I go for, but I was pleased with it. Considering I was trying something different, this book did not disappoint me. I liked how the author made every scene easy to envision. There was a simplicity to it that made it fun and different to read.

This book has been stated to be for preteens, but there are some cuss words in the book that I don't find suitable for young teens or children. I think that this book could have been easily made for children as well. If it weren't for the cuss words, I would say that this book would be perfect for children because of all the excitement, fun characters, and it has a good message that children should learn at a young age. That is why I think this book is probably more suited for older teens and adults. That is the only thing I can think of that I didn't care for though. This was a very unique and exciting book. It is a good book for people who are into sci-fi or are just looking for something different to read.

I give Eva Roblins and the Enchanted Gate 3 out of 4 stars. I didn't give this book a lower score because it was very creative and fun to read. I haven't read anything like this since I was little. I didn't give it a higher score because I think it could have been easily made to suit all ages, but I don't believe that children and young teens should be reading cuss words. For the reasons I have mentioned above, I would recommend this book.

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Eva Roblins and the Enchanted Gate Book One Return of the Princess
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It's great that you include the age range for this book. This book definitely sounds different but interesting! Nice review!

Great review!!

Wow, I love books where physical defects become empowering.

What up with the cuss words? The movie Garden State would be one of my all-time favorites if it weren't filled with the f-bomb, every two seconds. Is this author dropping that one, or less heinous words?

Thanks for the nice review. As far as cuss words go there are no "F" bombshells. Never would I allow that! I did include a couple of very mild cuss words that are heard in everyday conversation, similar to those that appeared in the Harry Potter series. They were inserted for emphasis. If they appear in HP books pretty much verbatim I guess I can't lose *smiles* In fact, if memory serves me correctly, two words are used two to three times - nothing more. In a 126K word book, they're buried, deeply and obscurely. It's nice to focus on the story and not on the 6 or 7 mild naughty words. Thanks again, Eva.

I'm sorry. I did not mean to compare your book to one filled with the f-word. I'm glad your book is cleaner than that!!

Thank you Jesska6029, zeldas_lullaby, and eva_roblins for responding to my review. eva_roblins is right they were pretty much mild cuss words, which I guess I could have put into the review. Sorry. Even though I didn't think those words would be suitable for young children, others may have a different opinion. I didn't know that the Harry Potter series consisted of mild cuss words. I have never read them, but I plan to soon. The story itself, as eva_roblins said, is very unique. I would recommend it for people who are looking for a good adventure story. I hope I didn't offend you in any way eva_roblins. I promise you that was not my intention. It thought it was a good and well written book, and I apologize for not specifying more in my review as far as the cuss words go. Thanks again to all of you that responded to my review.

This sounds like a very creative and fun book! I love stories with lots of fantasy elements in them.

Looks good. Yet another to add to my want to read soon pile.

This is the best review I have ever read.

But I am curious. How do you overcome deafness?

Thank you Rachaelamb1, zanderlyrose, and Thesaurus Rex for responding to my review. I am glad that you enjoyed it. There are ways to get around deafness. I am not saying that it would be easy, but you can use sign language to communicate with people, and you can also learn to read lips. A lot of deaf people can learn to talk as well. I know some people who have hearing problems, and this is the type of of things that they do. Hearing aids are another option as well. This is what Eva Roblins did in the book too. It takes a little bit of time, but like anything, you can learn to live with it if you try. Thanks for the question, I hope this helps.

Great review! Like you, this is not the sort of book I would generally pick up but I am going to give it a read. It sounds fun and creative. And I do like the fact that the main character has the disability of deafness. My sister-in-law is a hearing impaired teacher and through her, I have met many of her friends and students who suffer from hearing loss. They are wonderful people who refuse to be defined because of a disability.

Hello! Thanks again for a fine review and interest by all. The novel's major focus (and in sequels being penned) is to portray the wonders, courage, friendship, and intelligence of youngsters. Eva (a 29-year-old human turned elf) is deaf. One youngster is blind, one is voiceless, and one walks slower than a crawl at night. Another, an elf mermaid, must replenish her core every few days or she will perish. Despite limiting physical characteristics all have unique powers and unparalleled drive. All creatures on Spardom are below the age of 18 but have lived centuries (secret revealed in book two). Being deaf dishes out day to day challenges indeed. ASL (American Sign Language), lip reading, and even speaking "normally" (with a DHH (deaf & hard of hearing)) accent allows the DHH to integrate fully into the "hearing" world. The marvels of text messaging and email are godsends! Being born able to hear then going deaf is much easier to cope with than being born deaf. Many hugs and thanks, Eva

I absolutely agree with eva_roblins. All of these creatures having physical disabilities really make their powers even more unique. I found that to be quite interesting in the book. Ealasaid also made a great point. It's really amazing to see how people can cope with disabilities now, no matter what they are. I am happy that people with disabilities or an illness can go to school, have jobs, and do many other things as well. I guess sometimes you don't really know what you are capable of until you are faced with specific challenges.

Wonderful review, csimmons032. This sounds like the type of book I would enjoy reading. I've taken many ASL classes and have always enjoyed learning about Deaf Culture. I think a book that features characters that turn their "weaknesses" into something more sounds very interesting. Also, working as a team is always a good thing in scifi/fantasy novels.

~Thimble

Thank you Thimble for responding to my review. I hope you enjoy eva_roblins book, if you decide to read it. It is an encouraging story that I would recommend to others. Like you said, I also enjoyed the teamwork as well.