Book Spotlight – BEYOND THE FOREST by Kay L. Ling

Novel: Beyond the Forest

Author: Kay L. Ling

Genre: Urban Fantasy / Epic Fantasy

How I found this book: Beyond the Forest was up for nominations in the Kindle Scout program at the same time that I had my first novel (Love, Lies & Clones) in the program. Seeing the story so much, I just had to read it!

Amazon book description:

Lana can draw arcane powers from gemstones, but she’s no match for a gem master like Sheamathan, brutal ruler of the gnome world. The oppressed gnomes of Shadow long for a better life, and Lana agrees to study their native gems to find a solution. But when she goes through the portal, she discovers her gnome guide has a different agenda. He takes her straight to Sheamathan’s castle through a land full of mutant insects, intelligent flying serpents, and other horrors. There, he forces Lana to make a choice–turn her back on the gnomes and go home, or brave Sheamathan’s goblin-like servants to find the throne room and deliver a warning. Only someone very brave or very foolish would risk enchantment, the dungeon, or death, but the gnomes’ conflict may spill over into her world if Lana refuses to go.

What’s not in the blurb: I’m a sucker for any story that has a little clean romance…and this one does. It snuck up on me, which was a pleasant surprise.

As I writer, what I really enjoyed and appreciated: Kudos to the author on her grasp and description of the fantasy world. I struggle with world building and really appreciated Kay L. Ling’s amazing grasp of the world she created. Her creativity and descriptions of the giant flying insects had me shivering in repulsion. Bravo! In addition to the fantastic world building, I appreciated the humor she brought in with the giant talking rats. Giant rats? You’ll have to read the story. 🙂

Who’d enjoy this book: Lovers of both epic fantasy and urban fantasy who want to read something more positive and uplifting.

My overall impression: Beyond the forest took me to another land with a main character (Lana) that followed her heart. There was the right amount of humor (sometimes, even silly, which I love) to keep me entertained. I defiantly cheered for Lana and her crew of gnomes and other fantasy creatures. The whole time I was reading this, I kept thinking how it reminded me of Lord of the Rings. I will definitely be watching for the second novel in this series, Shadowglade.

About the author: Kay L. Ling began writing fiction at an early age. In grade school, her stories evidenced a sense of wonder and love of adventure. In one, mythical creatures lived and traveled inside a rainbow, and in another, a bored sixth-grader turned her teacher into a maroon sofa and then teleported herself to London. As she grew up, Kay never lost her ability to imagine strange and wondrous peoples and places, and now she would like to share her unique fantasy adventures with others.

Where to find this novel:

• Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M6AIPYX
• Amazon UK : https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01M6AIPYX

Other books in the series:

• Shadowglade (Coming in spring.)

My disclosure: I hate star ratings. Honestly, I think these are so subjective and sometimes reflect the reader more than they do the book. Because this is my blog, and I can do anything I want, I’m not using them.

I think ANYBODY who puts the time, effort, and dedication to write and publish an entire novel deserves 5 stars anyway. Also, when I read indie authors, I realize they operate on a shoestring (non-existent) budget and don’t have a team of college educated professionals helping them fine tune their novels.