Adalithiel

by Andrea Rose Washington

Sasha lived a simple life until her mother's secret came to light. Now, at the age of sixteen, Sasha learns that, not only has everything to that point been a lie, but now there's a hit squad after her. To escape their attackers, Sasha's mother, Jasmine, sacrifices herself so her daughter can escape. With her best friend Cassie in tow, and her mother branded a traitor to the crown Sasha must seek out the aunt she never knew for the protection she now needs. She hopes with the help of her aunt, she can unravel her mother's history and prove her innocence. Though the more she digs the more she wishes for this to be a terrible dream. As she uncovers her mother's greatest lie she is faced with a decision that will not only change her life but also the entire kingdom. Adalithiel is a modern magical coming of age story for your not so typical teenager.

Genres: Fantasy

244 pages, Paperback

Published December 30, 2016

About the author

Andrea fell in love with writing and world-building from a young age; she would spend hours of her day writing short stories from whichever ideas caught her eye.

She did not take the leap to publish her work until 2016 with the release of her book Adalithiel! She has since published Elendil - 2018 and Ahmentree's Magic 2020.

When she is not writing, Andrea spends her time reading the work of her favorite authors and perfecting her craft.

Reviews

[Christina McMullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd read and reviewed a previous incarnation of this book which I'd enjoyed quite a bit, but it was clearly a first in series leading to something bigger. Well, the author decided to pull the book and rewrite the story, which became Adalithiel. Since I'd read the original, I was given an advanced copy of the changed draft. This is my review of the new version.

I'm glad she decided to expand upon the original idea. This book is vague as to whether or not it will lead into a series or stand on it's own, but it can do both. The story remains a light adventure/quest fantasy, but takes place in an interesting world that has both magic and modern technology. I rather like this aspect. Too often fantasy worlds are steeped in medieval folklore or magic is brought to our world. This is a nice change of pace.

Sasha is likable character and is also real. Instead of stepping heroically into the role of chosen one, she does what any rational teenage girl would do when she finds out she has magic: she freaks out. And, you know, finds her heroic side along the way. A great read for teens and adults alike.

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me start off by saying I met this sweet, gorgeous author at Awesome Con.

So the book is full of twists and turns and it’s awesome. Moves fast and keeps you on your toes. I need a sequel because the second epilogue left me angry and speechless if the prisoner is who I think he is then we need justice dammit.

Four stars because the book needs editing, there’s a few grammatical errors.

I would love a book like this tailored for adults just so I can feel like it’s me 😂 but also the fact that the main character is a POC makes me so happy! Curly heads ftw also!!!!

[Lissibith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sasha was living a quiet life with her mother -- until everything got upended and people began to accuse her mother of heinous crimes. As Sasha tries to figure out who and what to believe, she's also finding she has to create a new place for herself in the world.

This was a great, enjoyable read. It's a self-published book, but it feels like I could have grabbed it off the shelf at Barnes and Noble. The characters are interesting and well developed, and the world is complex and deep but that complexity stays mostly in the background, which allows us to enjoy the characters and their journeys without getting bogged down in a million places, alliances and histories. It's a solid and enjoyable novel.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been reading a lot of self-published authors lately in an attempt to help independent artists. I bought this book at Baltimore Comic Con from the very, very sweet author.

It's clear that she has talent! While the "average girl is secretly the princess of a mystical kingdom" is par for the course for YA fantasy, she dresses them up with power politics and more interpersonal drama. A lot of the fantasy novels I've read in this post-George RR Martin world (self-published or otherwise) try so hard to make their universe "complex" that the story is over-complicated and impossible to follow, but Washington thankfully avoids that by focusing on one primary family. That said, I felt that the conflict was resolved a little too easily (especially considering the crimes that a certain character committed). The writing was functional, though there were typos here and there.

I'd be interested in seeing what this author can do if she frees herself from the conventions of YA fiction and maybe has a bit more revision before putting her work to print (which is not a slam on her--almost everyone creates better work after rounds of editorial scrutiny, and the relative lack of that is probably the biggest disadvantage of self-publishing).

[Kender · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5. YA coming-of-age modern fantasy. I kept forgetting who was who because the characters don't have much personality or inner thoughts. I want to hand the author a big handful of commas. Needs editing to clear up a lot of homophones, as well.

[Cassie O · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise of this novel intrigued me, a YA take on a coming-of-age magical realism story that had a character with my name? Sure! That said, the execution fell flat. The novel was far longer than needed for the story it told, with more moving elements and characters than were necessary.

Sasha is separated from her mother almost immediately, but is accompanied by her friend Cassie on a wild goose chase of information. The dialogue is stunted, occasionally using contractions and approachable language, but more often it comes off as stuffy and overly formal, not casual conversation. I struggled to look past spelling errors, inconsistent character names, and more, leading to a lower rating than I had hoped.

An additional edit through the novel may have helped to remove superfluous characters, alter phrasing, and add conciseness to the plot.

Spice rating: 1/5 (kissing only)
Overall rating: 2/5

[Marianne Reese · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story has potential, though liked the shorter chapters, the story lacked depth. There were many scenes that could have been expanded on, and some that seemed unnecessary. The three teenage boys all had similar names and were introduced around the same time, making remembering who they were a bit confusing (Danny, Devin, and Derek… all ‘D’ names and about the same ages). The ending was very rushed and anti-climatic.
There’s a mix of teenage drama—boy/girl interests, deceit, and action throughout the story.
There were several annoying typos, but nothing overly glaring.

[Megan Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this story. The twists and turns were phenomenal--especially the very, very end! (Don't worry, no spoilers!)

I'm only giving this a 4 star because of the typos and grammatical errors, but once you get past that--absolutely incredibly well done!

[Cecelia Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a very enjoyable read from a promising author. Like others, I did knock off a star because the book needed a good copyedit. But otherwise the story moved along nicely and the worldbuilding was good. Perfect read during homework breaks.

[Frankie Andriolo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This needed more editing, especially the dialogue.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story at its core was really good. It felt like most of the chapters could have been more fleshed out and detailed and that it was as if reading like someone was pushing the fast-forward button.

[pitbulls_and_prose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up from the author at New York Comic Con in 2023. I was/am looking to branch out and read more self-published and indie books. Unfortunately, this book felt very rough around the edges and not super fleshed out. I felt like the story was rushed, especially the ending. That all being said though, I think there are some really great bones of YA fantasy here! I was pretty engrossed in this fast-paced story. I liked the characters and there was even a little romance starting up that I’d like to learn more about! I predicted the cliffhanger ending, but I always assume this particular plot line in books (IYKYK). While there were some editing issues, it did not stop me from having an enjoyable experience. I would definitely read a sequel to this story.

[Bones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I NEED A SEQUEL RIGHT AWAY!

It started off slow but as it picked up I could not put this book down! This is an incredible book from an incredible author and I can't wait for the next one!