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Evin
Eva has never seen the Forest of Evin, but her fate and the fate of the Forest may be intertwined. Sinister forces seek to pull the Forest apart, and Eva may be the only one who can save it. Eva must travel between worlds to keep the Forest together-but the Forest of Evin thrums with power and the force tearing it apart may not be the only danger.
276 pages, Hardcover
Published August 4, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 16, 2018
What a great urban fantasy!!.Eva is a college student who has been having weird dreams about a far away place goes in search of a place called evin their she meets a panther named naezel who is trying to stop evil from taking over evin. Eva finds out from naezel that she has been reincarnated to fight to keep the evil from claiming evin. In here journey she will meet others who will help her in her fight with wraiths and other strange creature's and a evil that is very powerful!! Great storyline and characters and the cover was beautiful too!
May 25, 2017
Evin, by A.S. Crowder, is an urban fantasy, filled with action, sinister wraiths, magical daggers and mysterious portals – where good versus bad in a deadly conflict for survival. For readers of young-adult urban fantasy, this is a good read, well-written and with characters you really come to like. The story centers around Eva, a college student who starts dreaming about a strange place, a forest called Evin, a mystical realm guarded by spirits and a giant black panther named Naezel. She soon discovers from her “dreams” and discussions with the panther, that she has been living lifetime after lifetime, repeating the cycle of life and death in an attempt to save the Forest of Evin from a growing evil. This time, however, in her reincarnated life, Eva must win or the Forest of Evin will fall into sinister hands and be no more. This adventure ramps up quickly as Eva takes on her task once again, reluctantly at first, and travels between worlds, and with her team of unusual co-crusaders who have joined her along the way, they go up against deadly wraiths, strange creatures and an enemy who is more powerful than anyone even knew. This is classic good-versus-bad. The author does a nice job of integrating the concept of past lives and reincarnation, a cycle of life that goes on and on, while weaving the plot and keeping the reader going to the end of their journey to find out what happens. We gave it four stars!
This review is also available at International Writers Inspiring Change
This review is also available at International Writers Inspiring Change
February 16, 2019
Evin was a cute story, i loved the characters and the use of animals and spirits. It was a very neat story in which a good guy might just be the bad guy. In a sort of Star Wars death Vader esk type, different but similar. The animals and always the pressure of failing made it more enjoyable and risks made your heart stop at times worried that something could go wrong. I loved how Eva could sort of interact with past lives but not. I loved how that part was winded into the story. I was taken away to another world(s) and it was intriguing and fun and quite an adventure.
October 20, 2017
*This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review*
Eva has always been a shy, quiet, introverted person and hopes that going to college might help her to get out of her comfort zone a little. She has her cat The Abyssinian and her friend Ge to help her settle in. Over the next few days she starts to dream about a young girl who is killed in this strange forest. She’s never seen the girl or the forest before and has no idea what her dreams mean. There also seem to be shadow creatures who are looking for her and trying to kill her by any means necessary while she sleeps, which The Abyssinian has helped in protecting her. While at a party, she is attacked again and she somehow magically transports herself, Ge, and The Abyssinian to the Forest of Evin. A giant panther named Naezel explains that the Forest is a spirit realm and her dreams are of her past lives. There is something evil that is trying to take over and split apart the spirit and the human realms. He explains that Eva, along with two other reincarnated people that she has to go on a mission to find, are their salvation. If they fail, the shadow creatures will kill Eva and her companions, and the evil forces will destroy the spirit realm completely.
There were parts that I thought were ok, but what I didn’t like was that there were so many characters. There were some that had similar spelled names so for some parts I was confused as to who was who, and wasn’t completely sure what was really happening. There were main characters, then their past lives, then spirit creatures, then their spirit protectors, it just got to be too much at times. The story as a whole was good and I did like idea of reincarnated characters but this one was just a little too confusing for me.
***Review has been done in conjunction with Nerd Girl Official. For more information regarding our reviews please visit our Fansite: www.facebook.com/NerdGirl.ng***
Eva has always been a shy, quiet, introverted person and hopes that going to college might help her to get out of her comfort zone a little. She has her cat The Abyssinian and her friend Ge to help her settle in. Over the next few days she starts to dream about a young girl who is killed in this strange forest. She’s never seen the girl or the forest before and has no idea what her dreams mean. There also seem to be shadow creatures who are looking for her and trying to kill her by any means necessary while she sleeps, which The Abyssinian has helped in protecting her. While at a party, she is attacked again and she somehow magically transports herself, Ge, and The Abyssinian to the Forest of Evin. A giant panther named Naezel explains that the Forest is a spirit realm and her dreams are of her past lives. There is something evil that is trying to take over and split apart the spirit and the human realms. He explains that Eva, along with two other reincarnated people that she has to go on a mission to find, are their salvation. If they fail, the shadow creatures will kill Eva and her companions, and the evil forces will destroy the spirit realm completely.
There were parts that I thought were ok, but what I didn’t like was that there were so many characters. There were some that had similar spelled names so for some parts I was confused as to who was who, and wasn’t completely sure what was really happening. There were main characters, then their past lives, then spirit creatures, then their spirit protectors, it just got to be too much at times. The story as a whole was good and I did like idea of reincarnated characters but this one was just a little too confusing for me.
***Review has been done in conjunction with Nerd Girl Official. For more information regarding our reviews please visit our Fansite: www.facebook.com/NerdGirl.ng***
January 16, 2019
I received this book for free through Voracious Readers Only.
Eva starts having disturbing dreams about the forest of Evin, where children are being killed. Then her cat The Abyssinian takes her to be introduced to a giant panther, an ancient spirit protecting Evin, who tells her it's all real. For thousands of years evil spirits have tried and succeeded in murdering Eva's previous incarnations, to stop her discovering her destiny. Eva and The Abyssinian are connected to the panther and Evin. So far each time time she reborn has ended in her being killed when she was young, before discovering her true destiny. This time, she has to hope the outcome of her quest will be different.
Evin is a horror/fantasy novel. It has decent prose and the concept of the story is promising, but I couldn't get invested.
Neither of the main characters seem to have any motivation. Eva is immature and has no clue what she's doing or why. When a magic panther in a dream invites her to go on a quest that will almost certainly get her killed, she doesn't hesitate to go. Her friend Ge tags along, though again it is not clear why.
Most of the backstory is told in dreams and visions, which the characters take for truth without hesitation. Neither of them questions anything. The pacing is slow and the stakes remain unclear, so for a long time there is no sense of tension or purpose. Only in the last 20% of the book does the story pick up with a flurry of action, turning dark and gory in the process.
If I had to compare this to anything I'd say it's like The Chronicles of Narnia meets Lord of the Rings, but without most of the depth, rich backstory, interesting characters, allegories, humour, or sense of wonder.
Eva starts having disturbing dreams about the forest of Evin, where children are being killed. Then her cat The Abyssinian takes her to be introduced to a giant panther, an ancient spirit protecting Evin, who tells her it's all real. For thousands of years evil spirits have tried and succeeded in murdering Eva's previous incarnations, to stop her discovering her destiny. Eva and The Abyssinian are connected to the panther and Evin. So far each time time she reborn has ended in her being killed when she was young, before discovering her true destiny. This time, she has to hope the outcome of her quest will be different.
Evin is a horror/fantasy novel. It has decent prose and the concept of the story is promising, but I couldn't get invested.
Neither of the main characters seem to have any motivation. Eva is immature and has no clue what she's doing or why. When a magic panther in a dream invites her to go on a quest that will almost certainly get her killed, she doesn't hesitate to go. Her friend Ge tags along, though again it is not clear why.
Most of the backstory is told in dreams and visions, which the characters take for truth without hesitation. Neither of them questions anything. The pacing is slow and the stakes remain unclear, so for a long time there is no sense of tension or purpose. Only in the last 20% of the book does the story pick up with a flurry of action, turning dark and gory in the process.
If I had to compare this to anything I'd say it's like The Chronicles of Narnia meets Lord of the Rings, but without most of the depth, rich backstory, interesting characters, allegories, humour, or sense of wonder.
April 25, 2019
This novel hit all the marks I look for when I'm reading:
- solid plot development
- good world-building
- good pacing
- character development
- development of some sort of spiritual component
- good editing
This was an enjoyable read, but it didn't really grip me.
Upon reflection, I think I wanted more from the set up and characters than the author provided. I found that the characters were vague enough to be archetypal (which may have been intentional on the author's part - there is nothing inherently wrong with that, although I think it would have been more successful if there had been a stronger moral theme at the centre of the plot). I also wished that the spiritual element had been more clearly defined: why do the spirits even bother speaking to people? How do people even forge a connection with them? I think there is a lot of room for development in this area that would have really enhanced the world, but this is an element that is often neglected, so I am very pleased that it was addressed.
Objectively, this is a well-written and interesting take on the hero's quest and, while it didn't have the emotional resonance I was looking for, it certainly was a good read and I would be inclined to read more from this author.
I received a copy of this book through Voracious Readers Only.
- solid plot development
- good world-building
- good pacing
- character development
- development of some sort of spiritual component
- good editing
This was an enjoyable read, but it didn't really grip me.
Upon reflection, I think I wanted more from the set up and characters than the author provided. I found that the characters were vague enough to be archetypal (which may have been intentional on the author's part - there is nothing inherently wrong with that, although I think it would have been more successful if there had been a stronger moral theme at the centre of the plot). I also wished that the spiritual element had been more clearly defined: why do the spirits even bother speaking to people? How do people even forge a connection with them? I think there is a lot of room for development in this area that would have really enhanced the world, but this is an element that is often neglected, so I am very pleased that it was addressed.
Objectively, this is a well-written and interesting take on the hero's quest and, while it didn't have the emotional resonance I was looking for, it certainly was a good read and I would be inclined to read more from this author.
I received a copy of this book through Voracious Readers Only.
November 11, 2016
I loved this book. I loved Eva and I loved her journey that she set on to save the forest. She's a brave person
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews