Jack Adams owns a second hand shop. One day after having an old oak table delivered amongst some other items of furniture, he notices a message carved into the surface of the table. After closer examination he realises that this is the first clue to a quest, which after being copied down magically disappeares.
He later meets a dwarf named Trobate, who tells him that he, his granddaughter Abigail and her best friend Ethan will have to leave their world and enter his world called Xenitha. Once there they must help Trobate, with the aid of Driskoll, Erskine and Finbarr, who are Forest Dwellers and an ingitia bird named Ezra, to find the enchanted gown that belongs to the goddess Ophelia, who once ruled Xenitha before she was cursed turning her to stone.
They have to travel far and wide meeting new friends along the way and also do battle with the yarkas and bazelfangs. They are up against Morgana the evil sorceress who put the curse on the goddess Ophelia. Only Ophelia's enchanted gown can save her, but Morgana will stop at nothing to get her own hands on the gown, as she believes it will give her the ultimate power to rule over Xenitha.
Professional Reviews
Review for Xenitha by Bella Smyth
The story was brilliant, the plot was fun and the character’s were brought to life. The gillyweasels were my favourites and ,you can imagine what they all would look like in real life. It was very gripping from start to finish. Just from the first couple of chapters, I knew that I was going to be hooked and boy was I?! (just as my poor other half knew, who had to sleep with the light on as I couldn’t put it down)!
My kids aged 3 and 12 enjoyed me reading this to them, so as for age group recommendations for this brilliant book, I’d say anything from 8 till 100. It’s a brilliant book to read and I promise you won’t get a better adventure than this. I so wanted to be there in the group, but am unsure if I could do as well as them.
I will definitely recommend this book to everyone I know. I even had a cry at the end! I’m now going to look out for the 2nd book as soon as I can. I’m also off to make gillyweasel cookies (don’t ask!) for my children, as they want them so much. In summary – wow, get reading it now!
Book Review for Xenitha by Yasmin Chaudhari aged 14
My Favourite Part:
I thought that the plot of the story was very interesting and personally I enjoy adventure stories such as this one. I think that the idea of a quest seemed to attract me to this book when I first looked at the book. I think that the first chapter was the most moving and hooked me into wanting to read more of the book. However I think that the way in which a lot had happened in the first chapter - felt a bit too fast!
Recommended Age Group:
Although I enjoyed reading the book, I would however, recommend this book to a slightly lower age group, ranging from about 10 years to about 12 years, as they would enjoy reading about fantasy worlds and adventures.
Visual Side:
Considering the age group I have mentioned above, I think illustrations and other complimentary art work would capture the imagination of the audience for this book, also giving a picture to the many magnificent scenes that are detailed throughout the story would captivate interest.
Overall:
The story was very catchy and I have enjoyed reading this book.
This review is for Xenitha by Mehajabeen Farida aged 12
Xenitha is overall a pretty good story with a fairly strong plot and good description.
There are many lovable characters but personally, as a child, I think I would have preferred the book if the grandfather was not in the story so much. Maybe, he could have had the shop and while Ethan and Abigail are exploring they come across the writing on the table - because like Harry Potter, the main characters, if aimed at children, should pretty much be children/ teenagers, because more could have happened without him there. For example, Ethan could have expressed he liked Abbie as more than a friend (a good story has comedy + adventure + romance + tragedy).
Some of the characters are similar to some in Harry Potter. For example, kibblekytes remind me of hippogriffs and the gillyweasels are a bit like elves. However, pretty much all the characters have strong, unique personalities.
On the contrary, the characters are not memorable, even if they are enchanting, and I had, at parts, trouble remembering who was who.
In my opinion, you have named too many characters. For instance, Antwan did not need to be identified as Antwan: he could easily have just been known as a resident of Glaxton or such.
The plot is very strong and quite gripping however the writing style is slightly weak and jerky. Personally, I think there is too much dialogue in comparison to other books which have more description/ action rather than the action being conveyed through speech.
It is, however, very gracefully written as not to frighten the younger audience yet keep then enthralled all the way through.
Xenitha is a charming book, written by an aspiring author, whom one day, I am sure will be right up there amongst Rowling and Morpurgo, and I look forward to purchasing the second book of the series.
The Rise of Lord Belmundus is the first book in the fifteen book series, The Adventures of Lord Belmundus, a remarkable tale of others worlds, strange customs, beauty and warfare; and, in its grips, lands a young celebrity, who has the chaps to play
