A Review for Amulet of Elusion (The Lost Amulet Chronicles #1) by Katie Lynn Johnson

Posted by Melanie
Release Date: June 1st, 2013
Finished Date: December 15th, 2013

Publishers: Self Published
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasty, Adventure
Source: For Review

Format: Kindle
Pages: 376

Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US

Alexa Costa has a life-altering secret…only she doesn’t know it yet.
Confined by law to the kingdom of Alvair until the age of eighteen, Alexa has lived a sheltered existence under the watchful eye of her sword-wielding guardian, Ivy. Her love interest, Caleb Whitman, is exactly the opposite. A merchant sailor and seeker of rare artifacts, Caleb has lived a life of adventure in nearby San Lucero, the long-time rival of Alvair.

After her eighteenth birthday, Alexa’s quiet existence becomes tumultuous, and she realizes she does not need to seek to find adventure. Myths become real, legend becomes fact, and Alexa discovers that she possesses rare abilities which make her a target for both sides in a centuries-old struggle for power. She must use every resource available to her—including her talents with the supernatural Amulets— to help her friends, rekindle her romance with Caleb, and save her island home from destruction.

The Review: Amulet of Elusian was decent read, I enjoyed the story & characters but I did struggle with the content and pacing for the first 50% of the book but saying that…. The last 50% was great and had some good potential.

As the synopsis tells us, Alexa Costa is turning 18 and the law keeping her in the kingdom of Alvair will no longer apply to her and she can come and go as she pleases… exciting stuff for Alexa but not for her guardian Ivy who raised her following the deaths of her parents and sister eleven years ago in a fire, hopefully she has trained Alexa well for what will await her in adulthood but she never prepared her to protect her heart and when Alexa falls for Caleb Whitman, merchant sailor – Ivy is not happy…. If only that was all that would befall Alexa, for she is about to have her world turned upside down… some truths are about to be told, things thought myth become fact, secrets come to light and a prophecy is about to unfold with Alexa standing right in the epicentre.

So, I mentioned that I liked the characters… Alexa is a very sweet girl just about to blossom into womanhood and find her first love. She has an innocence about her that is endearing but also a stubborn determination about her that will help her throughout the book. I thought her relationship with Caleb was lovely, they fit well together and I thought it progressed beautifully, giving her some rays of happiness in her constantly changing world, he becomes her rock and together they become a couple you can really route for.

The storyline was good, I liked the whole history of the island and how it became broken into two kingdoms, I like the amulets and their history, what they can do, who can unearth them, how to unlock their magic, what is given to the wearer, how people want to use the amulets for themselves which becomes the issue of the book…it all is good and interesting, then when you add to that a prophecy…well that grabs my attention again, even down to the different continents, people, pirates, scholars even secret books…. so all of the elements are there for a great fantasy – but….

I did struggle for the first 50% of the book and I suppose the content and pacing were to blame, it was slow, the pacing was slow, there wasn’t enough reveals to keep me interested –yes we did get some hints and clues but nothing of major value – and I had to make myself read on, which isn’t a good sign…. But….. I hit the 50% mark and BAM!!! action, reveals, battles, chases, secrets, near death experiences, magic, treachery… you name it, it was there and I really liked it! It totally changed the book and showed some great series potential, I only wish that the first half of the book had been the same, so as I said, it was a decent read and based on the first 50% I would have given this 2 stars but the latter 50% would have gotten 4 stars so I’ll split the difference and give it 3 stars.