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[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Amber Isle" by Ashley Capes.]

The Amber Isle is a fantasy adventure novella and the first in a series about the character of Never.

Never is a cursed man. Well his brother Snow seems to think it's a gift, but how can a gift where a person's blood is able to siphon another's blood from their body not be seen as a curse? Never is on his way to the Amber Isle to find out the origins of the curse when he is met by treasure hunters who seek a mythical jewel. Armed with a secret map, Never must team up with the treasure seekers to battle sea creatures, booby-trapped passages and jewel sentinels to find the treasure they seek. Never's treasure is the answer he desires, but will the journey to find the answer come at too great a cost?

I thoroughly enjoyed this novella. Never is that kind of anti-hero who even as he is committing some criminal deed you are secretly hoping he gets away with it. He is a charming rogue and scoundrel with a wicked sense of humour, but deep down a man of morals and kindness. The description of the island with the dangerous sea creatures and glittering jewel sentinels was vivid, and I loved the way the author fed you bits of information that made you question certain deeds, knowing that the answers will probably remain tantalisingly out of reach.

I would have liked the story to be a bit longer, but obviously being a novella I'm just going to have to get my hands on the next one to carry on with Never's story. There were one or two typos in the book but overall the editing was very good. I was disappointed that a character like Elina was introduced and seemed to be about to take a big role in the story, only to have her story peter out. I really hope that she is reintroduced later. I also thought that Never was an interesting name for a character but can be confusing in the beginning when as I was reading, and especially at the start of a sentence, I was never (no pun intended) sure if it's him being referred to or the normal usage of the word.

This was a fantastic novella as a fun, light-hearted afternoon read and I would recommend it for young adults and up. I look forward to the rest of the series but due to the fact that it was so short and I was unable to really get deeply into any of the characters I rate The Amber Isle 3 out of 4 stars.

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The Amber Isle
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Like Jax14's review? Post a comment saying so!

Sounds like a very interesting book with an intriguing character. If you want to read more, it means the book is really good. Great job on the review.

Jax14 wrote:He is a charming rogue and scoundrel with a wicked sense of humour, but deep down a man of morals and kindness.

Sounds like good character development! Characters with layers and depth like that are always preferable to flat characters who are either good or bad. (Captain Jack Sparrow, anyone? )

Sounds like an interesting story. Thanks for the review!