by Victoria Hanley

Main Characters:

Torina - red hair, sea-colored eyes, ability to see past/present/future in a seer's crystal

Landen - a dark haired boy who grows up to be a great hero

Story: Torina is just a child when her father returns from conquering the legendary Bellandra and brings for her a crystal ball and the young former prince as a slave. Knowing it is wrong to keep a slave, she immediately sets the boy free, and Landen ends up getting to train with the other boys to learn to fight and defend.

As Landen adjusts to his new life, not taking long to make enemies, Torina learns more about how to use her the crystal. In it she can see important events from past, present, and future. The friendship between Landen and Torina grows through the next few years, and he teaches her in secret how to use a bow.

Things seem a little rocky but in general like they will be okay, that is until the king is murdered. Landen has heard that this would happen and that the real killer intends to put the blame on him. He warns Torina and flees, leaving Torina in a world of trouble that neither of them expected.

The plot grows more intense as the story goes on. The book shows readers Landens point of view just as much, if not more, than Torina's, but there is still enough of Torina for me to include this book on my page (and even if there wasn't I'd still find a way to include it).

Remarkably exciting!

Main Characters:

Maeve - 17 with blond hair and blue eyes, born into slavery and discovers she may be a Dreamwen, comes into possession of the Dreamwen stone, a powerful magical tool

Jasper - 18 and dark haired, follows his instinct to join Maeve on her journey, risks his life and freedom to help her

Saravelda (Sara) - 16 and dark haired, daughter of Torina and Landen, has the talents of a Firan, Spirit Warrior - a gift that has been unheard of for generations

Dorjan - tall with dark hair and skin, Sarah's schoolmate and Maeve's half-brother, a Dreamwen (a person who can travel through dreams and into other planes of existence)

Story: When Maeve and Evan, an 8-year-old boy, are sold to the cruel Lord Morlen, Maeve's dying mother reveals to her the name of her father and how she might find him. Maeve steals Evan before escaping, and the two set off to find the Dreamwen stone and then head towards the sea in the hopes of leaving Sliviia forever.

Meanwhile, something has gone horribly wrong at the Healer's Keep, and only Sara and Dorjan seem to sense the danger. One night, the two of them realize they must leave. They journey toward the sea in the hopes of traveling to Sliviia, where Dorjan can find his sister and the Dreamwen Stone.

Main Characters:

Bryn - 15 with brown hair and goldenbrown eyes, has always see visions

Kiran - a tall red-haired young man who communicates with animals

Story: Bryn, a stonecutter's daughter, has always been viewed as a dreamer. So, when the High Priest Renchald choses to bring her to the Temple of the Oracle, Bryn hopes that she is about to find more people like her and a place where she truelly belongs.
She begins to have doubts when, on their way to the temple, the entire procession ignores a young woman in the desert begging for water. And when Bryn offers her own water to the woman, she is forced to go without water for the rest of the journey.
Bryn arrives at the Temple questioning the identity of the young woman and the ethics of the high priest. As a handmaiden (the name for young women hoping to be bird-chosen and become priestesses), Bryn is assigned to work in the stables with Kiran, a young man befriended by animals.
Temple life for Bryn gets very complicated very quickly, as she begins hearing a voice no-one else hears and recieving powerful visions. Something is amiss and someone is in danger.