- Long and immersive, Lyons' debut novel delivers a well balanced story that keeps the audience engaged through strong character building layered over a fantastic, storied world.
Starlight Jewel: Gifts of the Auldtree, Book One
Stuffed with an innumerable number of characters, Starlight Jewel follows Axly, a hybrid of sprygan and human descent, as she navigates love and loyalty through the immersive fantasy world that Lyons has created.
The novel is vast and edited immaculately – it constantly world-builds, introducing the lore of the past, and doesn’t shy from treading into the violent but engaging histories of the people that populate the land of Norge. Axly explores the different landscapes within, encountering new characters and those familiar to her, and this keeps the novel moving forward.
Lyons‘ story is quite heavy on the dialogue; one might say it character builds more than world-builds, as there are swathes of the novel where the plot somewhat lags, whereas interactions are plenty. This can be enjoyable, but may have benefited from a little more creative repositioning to keep the audience engaged. As well, there are times where the story introduces a lot of characters quite quickly, which can be somewhat overwhelming.
The names of characters, places, and concepts is truly seamless – one can’t help but believe in the world Lyons has created, and this serves the novel well. Definitely recommended for those that enjoy long fantasy where the characters and their interactions are the central focus.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Regent University. She’s worked as a pool manager, beauty department manager, relief counselor at a youth shelter and as a live-in caregiver. She hopes to finish her next novel from a loft overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains.
