The Wreckening by Jayel Gibson

In a cavern beneath the island of Réverē, Brengven the Feie stumbles upon a horde of stone soldiers known as the G’lm. Anyone in control of this army can easily take over Ædracmoræ. To prevent this from happening, Yávië, Queen of Ædracmoræ seeks to destroy the heard shards of a Great Wyrm, which give life to the stone armies. Unfortunately, sending one of her Guardians would be too obvious and cause certain evil characters to search for the shards too. Their only hope lies with Cwen, the rebellious daughter of the Guardian Nall.

As Cwen is very stubborn and independent, she is reluctant to accept the quest. However, she does, and she along with her friend Talin, a thief Caen, and the feie Brengven soon embark on an epic adventure in search of the thirteen Wyrm shards. During this quest, Cwen encounters old enemies, fights other unsavory characters, finds new allies, and even falls in love. There is no shortage of excitement or adventure throughout this long novel.

While the beginning of the story is a little confusing with the unfamiliar place names and characters, the reader soon becomes accustomed to them as the most important ones are repeated often. I was pleasantly surprised that a story this long continued to hold my interest the entire way through. The ending was a little abrupt, but I look forward to a partial continuation of Cwen’s story in later novels.
I appreciated the extensive characterization of Cwen, who shows herself to be more than an arrogant and headstrong girl, and how the insight into the other characters’ minds was not overdone.

On the surface, The Wreckening appears to be a fantasy adventure, but it is so much more. Jayel Gibson is a truly talented writer. Though it is long, it never becomes too confusing with the plot and subplots. This is the second book in the Ancient Mirrors fantasy series. It can stand alone, but I do recommend reading the first book in the series, Dragon Queen, before reading The Wreckening as it does make the story easier to understand.

Rating: 4.5

Review copy from Phenix & Phenix Literary publicists