Book Review: Arvia: Heart of the Sky, Tales of Arvia Book 3, D.H. Willison
Young Adult/Fantasy Arvia: Heart of the Sky, Tales of Arvia Book 3, D.H. Willison
Blog Tour May 10, 2023
Darin, a young adult dreaming of adventure, finds himself pulled away from our Earth into the magical world of Arvia, a world of mythical monsters and very different people. There he meets the woman who becomes, well, it’s a bit hard to explain.
Rinloh was born and raised in Arvia. She is a harpy. A small harpy. Miniscule as far as harpies go. Considered a far-below average hunter, Rinloh does have two advantages. One is her sense of “auralocation,” the ability to feel the lifeforce of animals and people from a distance. Darin shares this talent with her, but his is nowhere as strong as hers is. The other is Darin, who himself is not particularly big or strong for his species, but is clever and talented. Rinloh loves her Darin. However, even this tiny harpy is roughly 10 meters tall which does make their burgeoning relationship a bit awkward.
That, and the fact that consorting with harpies is illegal for humans. And consorting with humans is frowned upon by the harpies. Interspecies relationships, though not uncommon in Arvia, simply did not occur between gigantic monsters and puny prey.
There is trouble brewing, though, that requires a joint effort between humans and harpies–and merfolk as well who are also quite a bit larger and more powerful than the Earth legends would have them. A poison from under the ground is spreading across the land, killing game animals and people and destroying the land. Part magical, part physical, this darkness threatens to destroy the lands shared by harpies and humans. The species had come to a precarious balance, a truce that had lasted over 100 years. But can any peace survive when survival itself is in question?
D.H. Willison loves to wrestle with difficult questions and curious characters. Rinloh is very much a young woman in love. Darin is very much a young man in love. Their relationship, impossible and forbidden as it may be, definitely centers the book. Much of the book is exploring how possible it is for species to connect and communicate, not just between two people who love each other but also between those who barely tolerate the other. Arvia is full of multiple species, some of which are quite willing to snack on others. Is it possible to coexist peacefully with predators if you are their prey? Can trust ever be earned when a breach of trust might not just lead to death but to becoming the main course.
Our thanks to The Write Reads for our copy of Arvia: Heart of the Sky, provided so we could write an honest review of the book. The opinions here are solely those of Scintilla. For other perspectives, check out the other bloggers on this tour.
Book Review: Arvia: Heart of the Sky, Tales of Arvia Book 3, D.H. Willison
Thanks so much for taking the time to review!
Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!