BOOK REVIEW: THE JOURNEY by VERITY A. BUCHANAN

Hellooo everyone! Today I have something super fun for you: a book review!

I don't think I've done a book review in a while now... and wonder of wonders, I'm not just blindly rambling my way through all my thoughts this time! xD Oh, there will still be plenty of rambling. I can assure you of that. BUT I think I've organized my thoughts in a way that makes some kind of sense. Lol. *literally rambles about not rambling*

ANYWAY. I was sent an eBook copy of The Journey by Verity A. Buchanan (thanks so much to the author for sending me a copy! :D) a few months back, and I finally read it a week or so ago. (Read it in one day, actually.) It was a delightful adventure and- get ready- A SIBLING STORY! Yep. There just aren't enough sibling stories out there, so I was very much excited when I realized that this one was!

Now, to avoid further rambling, I'll just drop the synopsis here and then move on to the review!

Fred Thorne must shoulder the full care and protection of his sisters after a fire leaves them homeless and friendless. He sets out to follow the last advice given to him by his great-aunt: Take the girls to Menevace, to the refuge home. But the road to Menevace is fraught with bandits, famine, and unknown dangers.

The Journey follows the three Thorne siblings through rejection, captivity, and an increasing downward spiral of guilt as Fred fails time and time again to protect his family from the dangers of a hostile world. Can the Thornes find a place of rest and safety? Will their journey ever end? Dangerous cities, breathtaking creatures, and an incredible adventure awaits in this debut novel by Verity A. Buchanan.

THE PLOT

So- as explained by my very messy words- basically this story is about three siblings who are forced to go on a journey in search of a new beginning when tragedy strikes their lives. Oh, and they also have a bunch of siblings who disappeared in different ways years ago and are still unaccounted for. YEAH. Intense stuff. 

From the start, I was super invested in these characters' stories and what would happen to them. I mean... almost from page one they go THROUGH it, y'all. MY POOR CHILDREN. I just wanted to hug them. :( (and yeah... it kind of just gets worse as it goes on. eheheh.) 

Now, to be completely honest, I kind of lost the plot at some point. I just remember stopping and realizing... I have no idea what these guys are doing. xD BUT that's not entirely the book's fault, because that happens to me quite often when I read. Oops. #payattentionEmily And since I was reading on my phone, I didn't want to scroll back to catch up and lose my place, so that's on me, too. Hehe. ANYWAY. All that being said, I did go back after and skim over the part where I got lost, and as it turns out, I'm pretty sure I was just overcomplicating things in my head. It's pretty cut and dry what they're doing. xD 

Overall, it was a pretty simple plot (which makes me wonder how I managed to lose it xD), but well done! I wasn't bored for a second, and like I said, I was very invested in where this was going to end up.

THE SETTING

Okay, so here's possibly the biggest qualm, if you would call it that, that I had about the whole book. I went into it thinking that it was fantasy, and I do still believe it's meant to be. And while it definitely has that medieval/adventure vibe (SWORDS), I... think there's really only one fantastical element in the whole book? And even that one thing kind of came up out of nowhere.  We've already established that I don't pay attention, so I could ABSOLUTELY be overlooking something super important. BUT regardless, there was definitely a serious lack of fantasy for what I assumed to be a fantasy book. It's very likely that it picks up more in the second book, but I definitely would have liked more inklings in book 1. 

That aside, I enjoyed the setting quite a lot! I think I saw a Goodreads review that compared it to Middle Earth, and I totally get what they mean. Throughout the journey (no pun intended) in this book, the characters go to a lot of different places that give you the feel of a whole world that you want to learn more about. Also... did I mention swords??

THE CHARACTERS

Now on to the best part: the characters!! There aren't a whole lot of characters to speak of (at least without spoilers ;)), but oh, how I loved the ones that there were!

Fred- I LOVE THIS BOY. He was the SWEETEST big brother! He cares so much for his sisters and wants desperately to protect them, even if it means putting himself in danger. At the same time, he's unsure that he's capable of protecting them like they need, and feels like he's failing them because of that. He just needs a big ol' hug. (also fun fact: his birthday is September 1 which is my blogiversary hehe)

Sandy- I didn't really connect with Sandy at first. She was just kind of your typical tomboyish character who didn't get along with her more finicky sister, etc. But there was a point where I kind of fell in love with her, because she comes to a very relatable place that I think deepened her character a little more. I don't want to give much away, but basically she realizes that she's not what she thought she was and that she's been denying that about herself. I explained that REALLY badly, but I'm eager to see where this journey goes in the next book.

Marjorie- Most of the the finicky sisters, as I referred to her previously, are kind of irritating. I don't think I ever really got that with Marjorie? She had her moments of conflict with Sandy (which is always annoying because WHY CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG), but for the most part I think she really just wants her family to be okay. She's a very sweet character and, again, I look forward to seeing more of her in the future.

Overall, I loved these siblings! There was this cute little unspoken competition of sorts (at least, Sandy seemed to think it was a competition xD) between the sisters to be Fred's "favorite" and get his attention. Sandy loved to make her brother smile and it made her smile to be see him happy and that made me smile and IT'S JUST THE CUTEST THING. 

OTHER THOUGHTS

I can't really say much about this point because major spoilers... but there was something that occurred in the book that held a tad bit of unbelievability. Basically, one big game-changing discovery led to another, which led to another, at which point it just felt... kind of unrealistic. Like it was more for convenience, you know? I wouldn't mind this if there were some sort of explanation as to how happened that way... but this way just felt a bit forced. (If you've read the book and know what I'm referring to, I definitely want to know what you think!)

Also, I'm kind of assuming this is geared more toward the YA audience, since the main characters are in their upper teens and early twenties. However, it's a pretty short book, and it felt a bit more like a middle-grade. So, I'm not entirely sure where it falls audience-wise? It would definitely be enjoyed by middle-grade readers and YA readers alike, though! 

ALL RIGHT. I actually feel this review was pretty well-structured and thorough, unlike pretty much any other review I've written ever. xD Long story short: if you like sibling stories and adventures (and SWORDS), you should DEFINITELY give The Journey a read! It warmed my heart and made me smile so many times, and I can't wait to see what's next for the Thorne siblings in book 2, The Village!

Overall rating: 3.5-4 stars! (I'm really bad at rating things, guys xD)

Have you read The Journey? Or are you running off to add it to your TBR now? ;) Who else loves sibling stories as much as I do??