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The Alonthiel Chronicles #1
Portals of Water and Wine
Naya lives in chaos. Her family is shredded, with only bare threads of her long-dead mother and her absent father still lingering in her house.
And then she hears the name -- Alonthiel -- spoken as a promise of freedom and escape, if only for one fleeting summer. And so she goes, hand in hand with her two best friends, allowing herself to slip into a new world of ancient origins, magical and sacred.
Inside the gates of the hidden Fae city, Naya finds more than she could have ever dreamed. So much is waiting for her: magic, strength, and answers to the secrets kept from her since the death of her mother -- all lingering mere miles from her doorstep.
But when a dark force threatens to raze her newfound home, leaving only rivers of blood in its wake, she must harness her fire -- or watch Alonthiel fall.
And then she hears the name -- Alonthiel -- spoken as a promise of freedom and escape, if only for one fleeting summer. And so she goes, hand in hand with her two best friends, allowing herself to slip into a new world of ancient origins, magical and sacred.
Inside the gates of the hidden Fae city, Naya finds more than she could have ever dreamed. So much is waiting for her: magic, strength, and answers to the secrets kept from her since the death of her mother -- all lingering mere miles from her doorstep.
But when a dark force threatens to raze her newfound home, leaving only rivers of blood in its wake, she must harness her fire -- or watch Alonthiel fall.
244 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2014
6 people are currently reading
423 people want to read
About the author
Rae Fisher
2 books63 followersRae Fisher has been writing since she knew what a pen was. She wrote her first book at the age of six, and while it didn't take off beyond her mother's box of treasures, it lit a fire in her for writing books and telling stories.
Her non-fiction work has appeared in such locations as The Kitchn, Literary Orphans, WearYourVoice, The Perpetual You, and SheLoves Magazine.
She lives in between cornfields in the middle of the Midwest. She resides with her darling husband, her four children, two blue heelers who don't have the sense God gave a grown goose, and a pile of "to-read" books a mile high.
Her non-fiction work has appeared in such locations as The Kitchn, Literary Orphans, WearYourVoice, The Perpetual You, and SheLoves Magazine.
She lives in between cornfields in the middle of the Midwest. She resides with her darling husband, her four children, two blue heelers who don't have the sense God gave a grown goose, and a pile of "to-read" books a mile high.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 6, 2015
A faerie tale with dazzling descriptions and abundantly charming characters
What I Loved
R.L. Haas had my mouth watering at sumptuous lasagna, Each Uisce, and a Dreadlocked Faerie King. The strongest weapon in her arsenal by far are her breath-taking proseful descriptions, from showing us ugliness in the human world (Derrick, anyone?) to battling iron clawed Fae armies of old, to the sensuous breaking of bread between a woman and a Fae King, which to myself seemingly paralleled a woman and her lord coming into an intimate sacred communion with one another. I loved every morsel of adventure, truly. I also found it exceedingly easy to leave the real world behind in favor of joining the Alonthielien realm, alongside Naya - a young woman who lives in utter chaos after the death of her mother - and an equally charming cast of four-factioned fae characters. M'lad Harris has an exceedingly special place in my Irish and fae-loving heart, too, as he is an insanely loving, jovial, and charming individual with a flare for fashion, and oddity, that would rival Alice In Wonderland's the Mad Hatter, if I dare to say so. Watching Naya release the chains of her past that had bound her for so long throughout the novel, in favor of boldly staking claim of her own freedom and the fire within her, was a thing of beauty to behold. Irena is the fae-princess best friend that everybody wants in their life, and Tian - strong, valient, quiet, poetic, Fae King Tian. Sigh. As you can see my love for these characters runs deep.
And that ending. I'll zip my lips, but I'll confess that I nearly screamed.
What I didn't love:
*Trigger Warning* There are a few scenes in the first half of the book that honestly made me squirm a bit due to the abuse that Naya experiences. There is cursing throughout this faerie tale, as well, which may prove to be a turn off for some readers, however, I was not offended by the cursing. I did notice a few grammatical and punctuation errors as I read through the book - not enough to make me stop reading it, but they were distracting on occasion.
Overall? I love the Fae world that R.L. Haas created in Portals, as it is one where you start to see the characters slowly start to break out of their mundane molds, in favor of finding the fire within themselves to face off the rising malevolent force, [which shall remain nameless.] I'm looking forward to the next installment in the portals trilogy!
If you love books by Maggie Stiefvater, Cassandra Clare, and Madeleine L'Engle then I'm sure you'll fall for this book too!
What I Loved
R.L. Haas had my mouth watering at sumptuous lasagna, Each Uisce, and a Dreadlocked Faerie King. The strongest weapon in her arsenal by far are her breath-taking proseful descriptions, from showing us ugliness in the human world (Derrick, anyone?) to battling iron clawed Fae armies of old, to the sensuous breaking of bread between a woman and a Fae King, which to myself seemingly paralleled a woman and her lord coming into an intimate sacred communion with one another. I loved every morsel of adventure, truly. I also found it exceedingly easy to leave the real world behind in favor of joining the Alonthielien realm, alongside Naya - a young woman who lives in utter chaos after the death of her mother - and an equally charming cast of four-factioned fae characters. M'lad Harris has an exceedingly special place in my Irish and fae-loving heart, too, as he is an insanely loving, jovial, and charming individual with a flare for fashion, and oddity, that would rival Alice In Wonderland's the Mad Hatter, if I dare to say so. Watching Naya release the chains of her past that had bound her for so long throughout the novel, in favor of boldly staking claim of her own freedom and the fire within her, was a thing of beauty to behold. Irena is the fae-princess best friend that everybody wants in their life, and Tian - strong, valient, quiet, poetic, Fae King Tian. Sigh. As you can see my love for these characters runs deep.
And that ending. I'll zip my lips, but I'll confess that I nearly screamed.
What I didn't love:
*Trigger Warning* There are a few scenes in the first half of the book that honestly made me squirm a bit due to the abuse that Naya experiences. There is cursing throughout this faerie tale, as well, which may prove to be a turn off for some readers, however, I was not offended by the cursing. I did notice a few grammatical and punctuation errors as I read through the book - not enough to make me stop reading it, but they were distracting on occasion.
Overall? I love the Fae world that R.L. Haas created in Portals, as it is one where you start to see the characters slowly start to break out of their mundane molds, in favor of finding the fire within themselves to face off the rising malevolent force, [which shall remain nameless.] I'm looking forward to the next installment in the portals trilogy!
If you love books by Maggie Stiefvater, Cassandra Clare, and Madeleine L'Engle then I'm sure you'll fall for this book too!
March 5, 2024
When somebody tells you they're self-publishing a novel about Faeries, you don't expect it to be good. Or, at least, I don't. But when my friend and fellow Storyteller R.L. Haas was looking for beta readers to offer feedback on the unedited manuscript of "Portals of Water and Wine," something about the way the world she had created felt so palpably real to her made me say yes. And I'm so glad I did. I won't spoil anything about the plot and what happens to the protagonist, Naya, but I will share this: Everybody needs to see the magic and wonder in their lives, to think deeply about owning who they are, and Naya's story encouraged me to do just that. I can't wait to read the finished version.
January 1, 2015
So I stayed up until 1am on New Years' Eve (Day?) to finish this humdinger of a book.
I can't even put it into words the type of book it is; it has everything: magic and faeries, cooking and contemporary life, pain and love (which, really, *are* everything, yes?).
Naya is such a soul I wouldn't mind having for a friend. She is my favorite. She still grieves for her mother, she is conflicted, she is weak in a relatable way. Then she finds out she is strong in the newest, most extraordinary way. I will not spoil it for you. Read it.
What I didn't like: the profanity and scattered inappropriateness, mostly in the first half of the book. I struggled with the first half, honestly, because I found the cursing and some references/actions distracting.
Then the second half happened. I hesitate to say more for fear of spoilers, but the ending was a total shock.
I will read the sequel!
I can't even put it into words the type of book it is; it has everything: magic and faeries, cooking and contemporary life, pain and love (which, really, *are* everything, yes?).
Naya is such a soul I wouldn't mind having for a friend. She is my favorite. She still grieves for her mother, she is conflicted, she is weak in a relatable way. Then she finds out she is strong in the newest, most extraordinary way. I will not spoil it for you. Read it.
What I didn't like: the profanity and scattered inappropriateness, mostly in the first half of the book. I struggled with the first half, honestly, because I found the cursing and some references/actions distracting.
Then the second half happened. I hesitate to say more for fear of spoilers, but the ending was a total shock.
I will read the sequel!
March 16, 2017
Portals of Water and Wine, R.L. Haas's introduction to the Alonthiel Chronicles, brings fantasy into the real world. It's almost hard for me to now imagine that there isn't a magical Fae kingdom hidden in the Colorado woods. Haas's cast of characters is dynamic and lovable ... and their unbreakable bond of kinship is one I wish all people shared. Alonthiel is a carefully and beautifully sculpted world that I'm really hoping kind of actually physically exists somewhere (even if it's not filled with graceful, powerful, beautiful, wonderful Fae people). ;) A lovely introduction to the series that left me NEEDING to read the sequel.
October 30, 2014
JUST WAIT FOR THIS BOOK, Y'ALL. JUST WAIT.
September 22, 2015
Oh, my word. I loved this book. The world Haas created in Alonthiel is beautiful. Even I fell a little in love with Tian. And Harris - oh my god, Harris - he is my spirit animal. A magically crafted story. I even used an excerpt from it in my wedding. Absolutely DYING for book 2!
February 22, 2017
A gripping read
This story will keep you hooked. The magical world of Alonthiel is beautifully constructed. The twists and turns are just frequent enough to keep you engaged and coming back for more. The only slight critique I have is in the editing as there were several places in the story where a misspelling was not caught. I'd suggest the author take some time to correct this. It does not detract at all from the story or enjoyment of the book, however, and I highly recommend that you check it out!
This story will keep you hooked. The magical world of Alonthiel is beautifully constructed. The twists and turns are just frequent enough to keep you engaged and coming back for more. The only slight critique I have is in the editing as there were several places in the story where a misspelling was not caught. I'd suggest the author take some time to correct this. It does not detract at all from the story or enjoyment of the book, however, and I highly recommend that you check it out!
December 16, 2016
I have to admit that I was actually really excited to read this book despite knowing almost nothing about it. I will tell you what I did know before picking it up: I knew it was about fairies and I knew the woman who wrote it. This is R. L. Haas's debut novel and it has been really excited to see her chase her dreams and make them come true.
I want to do this review justice, and because I respect the author, I want it to be honest. I mostly loved this book and actually found myself wishing there was more - more to sink my teeth into of this beautiful world Haas created and more of the relationships to flesh out between the characters. Her writing is dramatic in the best way possible and the girl made me feel like I should at least attempt to learn how to cook with her ah-mazing descriptions of Naya cooking. Really - it was mouthwatering to read about Naya's lasagna and homemade bread, and since when is cooking sexy?
Anyway, I digress.
Her characters are lovable, a bit gritty, and endearing. Sometimes the plot felt a little predictable, but then I would get sucker-punched with a turn I never saw coming. It is also really important to me to tell you all that I actually had to put this book down a couple times because of Haas's eloquent, and frighteningly accurate descriptions of grief. It brought emotions to the surface in me that I rather not feel and I feel like that is an extraordinary talent.
Now, I do like my endings all wrapped up in a bow, but since this is Book 1 of a trilogy, I did not get that. Haas actually ripped out my heart, stepped on it, and then left me with a thread of hope for the future books at the end.
And, actually, I would like that sequel now please. I would definitely recommend this book and give it a 4/5 - As a debut novel, I feel like it is the first stone thrown into a lake and it is just going to keep rippling, spawning more fantastic stories and I look forward to that.
I want to do this review justice, and because I respect the author, I want it to be honest. I mostly loved this book and actually found myself wishing there was more - more to sink my teeth into of this beautiful world Haas created and more of the relationships to flesh out between the characters. Her writing is dramatic in the best way possible and the girl made me feel like I should at least attempt to learn how to cook with her ah-mazing descriptions of Naya cooking. Really - it was mouthwatering to read about Naya's lasagna and homemade bread, and since when is cooking sexy?
Anyway, I digress.
Her characters are lovable, a bit gritty, and endearing. Sometimes the plot felt a little predictable, but then I would get sucker-punched with a turn I never saw coming. It is also really important to me to tell you all that I actually had to put this book down a couple times because of Haas's eloquent, and frighteningly accurate descriptions of grief. It brought emotions to the surface in me that I rather not feel and I feel like that is an extraordinary talent.
Now, I do like my endings all wrapped up in a bow, but since this is Book 1 of a trilogy, I did not get that. Haas actually ripped out my heart, stepped on it, and then left me with a thread of hope for the future books at the end.
And, actually, I would like that sequel now please. I would definitely recommend this book and give it a 4/5 - As a debut novel, I feel like it is the first stone thrown into a lake and it is just going to keep rippling, spawning more fantastic stories and I look forward to that.
December 17, 2014
I'm always hesitant about reviewing a book when the author is a friend and first-time novelist. I want to be honest with my opinions without hurting anyone's feelings.
I love R.L. Haas' blog writings and am inspired by her poetic words, so I was intrigued by her debut novel.
And let me say this as far as stories go: this is a gripping tale of identity, giftings, and community, among other things.
I don't normally read a lot of fantasy books, and this one features human-like creatures called Fae, who are somewhat like fairies but not really. Haas' imaginative giftings are on display in this book, and I was drawn into her created world of Alonthiel.
Naya is a likeable and relatable character and her interactions with people are realistic. I kept wondering what she was going to do with her newfound knowledge. Thrust into a world she didn't know existed or know she was part of, she's forced to make some dramatic decisions.
And it's fascinating throughout.
Now, I have to say this: there are editing mistakes and some inconsistencies in the story, enough that I was often distracted from the story and somewhat annoyed. I get it that no book, no manuscript is perfect, but I'm hoping this story gets another read-through and an update. Because it's worth enduring the minor mistakes to get to the end. (And I hear there's a sequel in the works. Yay!)
Also, there's a fair amount of swearing in the book. I was warned about this before I read it, and while I'm not necessarily a purist about stories not containing swearing, a few instances in this book made me uncomfortable. There was more swearing than I expected and I didn't always see how it added to the story. That's a personal preference.
I would still give this book a recommendation. I'm eager to see Haas develop as a novelist and look forward to reading more from her!
I love R.L. Haas' blog writings and am inspired by her poetic words, so I was intrigued by her debut novel.
And let me say this as far as stories go: this is a gripping tale of identity, giftings, and community, among other things.
I don't normally read a lot of fantasy books, and this one features human-like creatures called Fae, who are somewhat like fairies but not really. Haas' imaginative giftings are on display in this book, and I was drawn into her created world of Alonthiel.
Naya is a likeable and relatable character and her interactions with people are realistic. I kept wondering what she was going to do with her newfound knowledge. Thrust into a world she didn't know existed or know she was part of, she's forced to make some dramatic decisions.
And it's fascinating throughout.
Now, I have to say this: there are editing mistakes and some inconsistencies in the story, enough that I was often distracted from the story and somewhat annoyed. I get it that no book, no manuscript is perfect, but I'm hoping this story gets another read-through and an update. Because it's worth enduring the minor mistakes to get to the end. (And I hear there's a sequel in the works. Yay!)
Also, there's a fair amount of swearing in the book. I was warned about this before I read it, and while I'm not necessarily a purist about stories not containing swearing, a few instances in this book made me uncomfortable. There was more swearing than I expected and I didn't always see how it added to the story. That's a personal preference.
I would still give this book a recommendation. I'm eager to see Haas develop as a novelist and look forward to reading more from her!
January 21, 2015
I was acquainted with author R.L. Haas through author Elora Ramirez, and prompted by my friend's exuberant review I decided to check it out. Portals of Water and Wine is Haas’ first novel and before I was half way through I was ready for the second book. I didn’t need to get to the end to know I was going to need more of Naya and her Fae friends. I know I will be re-reading this one!
March 19, 2015
There are questions I would like answers to, but even to ask them would be to give spoilers which would simply spoil things tremendously, and I refuse to do that. Simply put, she wrote in a way that made me want to be Naya and I think that is a sign of good writing and story. I would pass this on to friends, easily, knowing that as they opened the first page they would be entering into a story with heart, bravery, romance, and just the right amount of mystery and surprise.
For those who need to know: small amount of cursing but not overt
For those who need to know: small amount of cursing but not overt
January 16, 2015
Haas does an amazing job in her debut novel of taking readers where they've definitely never been with fairy/fae stories.
With refreshing spins on classic attention-getters and characters who are well-developed, intriguing, and satisfyingly self-aware (hello, protaganist who self-identifies as feminist) POWAW had me cheering out-loud for the characters as well as for the writer and genre. This is a story you haven't read before. From an author you wish you could read more of.
With refreshing spins on classic attention-getters and characters who are well-developed, intriguing, and satisfyingly self-aware (hello, protaganist who self-identifies as feminist) POWAW had me cheering out-loud for the characters as well as for the writer and genre. This is a story you haven't read before. From an author you wish you could read more of.
October 30, 2015
From the opening lines to the surprise finish that has me on the edge of my seat not-so-patiently waiting for the sequel, this book held me captive. This amazing author can spin a tale so involving that when you finally look up to see what time it is, you realize two hours have passed since you last looked. I cried, I laughed, I loved, I was taken away to a world filed with words that make dreams come true.
December 22, 2014
I love the unpredictable plot twists and the beautiful descriptions. But mostly, I love these characters. Their reveal is gradual and honest, and in a sea of novels in which character descriptions too often read like resumes, R.L. Haas lets the reader get to know them like they're real people. Love it.
July 2, 2015
I read POWAW months ago and I still think of this story often. The characters are realistic, with history, hopes and dreams, and it's easy to relate to them. I am so excited to see what happens next. When I finished the book, all I could think was "Whaaaat!?!" In a good way. :) in so excited to see where the story goes from here. And now I want lasagna.
December 8, 2014
Full Disclosure: I was a copy editor for Portals of Water and Wine.
Rachel is a master storyteller who has a way with words that leaves me breathless. She created characters of depth and heart. She created a magical world and drew me in from the very first sentence.
This is a remarkable book. I cannot wait for the sequel.
Rachel is a master storyteller who has a way with words that leaves me breathless. She created characters of depth and heart. She created a magical world and drew me in from the very first sentence.
This is a remarkable book. I cannot wait for the sequel.
January 4, 2015
My heart was pounding near the end. And now I want to read more of Naya's story because after that ending? I'm just as confused and curious as Naya is. WHEW. Man.
January 4, 2017
So beautiful. The imagery, the relationships, everything! is so rich. I cried for love of these characters and I can't wait for the sequel.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews