I have nothing against elves but unfortunately I found this book impossible to get into. The characters were so hieratic and the plot so stilted it failed to engage my interest.

The premise, high fantasy world where elves are fleeing a mainland being overrun by human hordes in search of a legendary or even mythical island chain where other elves had supposedly gone before, had promise. Unfortunately I personally did not feel like it delivered.

I can see how it would appeal to others; the scope of the story, crafted history and mythology, breadth of characters, and a life or death struggle. I felt like it missed the mark for me, the prose was awkward and cumbersome in places and it felt like it was missing a coherent overall storyline (easily explainable by undertaking the monumental task of turning years and thousands of hours of table top RPG into a novel) which made the book immensely "put-down-able". I kept plugging away, hoping that I would reach a breakthrough where I would find myself engrossed, but instead found myself seeking other things to do instead and feeling like cheering when I finally reached the end.

I would give the concept 4 stars, but sadly execution is only 2.

While I really wanted to like this book it was confusing. There were so many similar elf names and changes in location early in the book that I was totally confused. I got the gist of what was taking place but after the first 100
pages or so I just didn't care. I think I might like it better in an audio version but was unable to finish the NetGalley version. Thank you for the opportunity.

An Act of Faith by C.A. Oliver is the first book in her series Songs of the Lost Island. I'm not going to lie. I really struggled with this one from the first page. I typically enjoy fae stories which is why drew me to the story originally. However this one didn’t work for me at all. After slogging through the first 15% I skimmed to see what would happen. After skimming more than half the book, I concluded it just wasn’t for me. It’s written in a formal dialect, and I struggled keeping the characters straight. The chapters are also mini stories unto themselves. While I don't mind the longer chapters, I couldn't stay focuses on what was happening long enough to enjoy it.

I was looking for something new and thought I would give this a try. Big Mistake on this one. The storyline had potential about elves and a quest involving sailing the oceans, but the author's writing style just did not resonate with me. I found the book overall rather boring and easy to put down. In looking at the reviews later on Goodreads I noted that one of the reviews was a 5 Star review by the author. Always a warning sign. This book may appeal to some readers, but for me I am finished with this author.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook  page.

What a wonderful fantasy saga! I loved the intricate Elvin world, the language. A very inspiring story. I was completely immersed in it. Looking forward to the next books.

An act of faith
CA Oliver
The elves challenge to find safe haven was never so difficult as to pass beyond your knowledge your endurance or your peoples trust. The Magellan of the elves world where magic and feats of bravery are beyond imagination.

Breathtaking cover - absolutely stunning!

DNF - I'm so sorry but I really struggled to get into this book, so I decided to put it down quite early on. The writing isn't bad, it's just very 'heavy' and it takes work to read. I absolutely love elves, they may be my most favourite mythological creature. I like ships and the pirate style setting, I like epic fantasy worlds, so I thought this would be for me but unfortunately the writing was a bit too much.

I really appreciate and am impressed by the amount of time, effort and research the author put into creating this world and bringing their childhood game to life. I was so excited to read that this universe was slowly built up over the many years of playing it as an epic RPG - wow! But anyone who is familiar with those games knows how greatly complex they can be. Then putting that into novel form without simplifying it for your readers, at least a little, especially in the beginning (or first book), I'm afraid a lot of people are going to become overwhelmed and lost.

You can tell the writing style is most definitely influenced by Tolkien, but when I am pressed for time, I personally prefer to consume his work in movie form (especially when I'm feeling tired and/or lazy), and I think this book falls into that same mesh. I'd happily watch a movie adaption of this book! Especially if they were able to make the characters look as beautiful as the art on this cover. I'd honestly buy this book just for the cover and display it on my shelf. So, I might try this one again in the future when I'm not under a time constraint and can casually stroll along at my own pace.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for the early copy!

I did not connect with the main plot/writing so decided to put it down.

The world building is lovely. If the world building is acutely detailed I often am softer on the story. Maybe my multi cultured background makes me more forgiving of the weird names. Those who get lost in details should like this

To the lovers of Lord of the Rings:
This one is for you epic fantasy fans out there. An act of Faith takes its sweet time building the world in which the events are to occur but you wouldn't miss the building story as well. For me, personally, flashbacks kept jogging me back and forth but they are an integral part of character building. Characters sometimes fell short and more to be desired but seeing as this is a series of books, I sure hope there will be some great development to look forward to.

Over all, C.A. Oliver did a tremendous job with this novel but beware that the complexity and rhythm of the story is not for all. But this series is sure to find it's hardcore fans out here!

I wasn't a huge fan of this world. It was hard to get into the plot and really connect with the characters. So I ended up giving this one 2 out of 5 stars. I did make it to the end, but it wasn't anything that I would continue on with .

I’m sorry to report that this title was one of the few that I have permanently put aside. The summary seemed totally up my alley. However, the over abundance of characters, many confusing and lengthy asides, and lack of strong plot development combined to discourage me from investing more time.

The element I always love the most in a fantasy book is the world building, but I have to say that even though this book does an amazing job creating a believable culture, strong traditions and mindsets, my favorite aspect of this story were the characters: everyone, without any exception, was so well-written, so real and flawed I thought I was reading about real historical figures.

An Act of Faith is the one of the most well-balanced stand-alone fantasy book that I've had the pleasure of reading. From its convincing worldbuilding and awe-inspiring magic to the intensely epic action scenes and the quiet, contemplative moments, and most of all, its stellar character development. Throughout the entire novel, there was not one moment which did not matter, and a palpable tension permeated every turn of the page.

I will not elaborate on the plot as the book's synopsis did a great job of revealing just enough without any spoilers. This is one of those books I feel like you need to go in blind. I do want to quickly mention the writing style took me a bit getting used to but once you settle in, it's becomes hard to put down and you get swallowed in the authors raw emotions.

I had a really hard time following the story! I dnf'd this around 40%. The writing was too wordy, with a lot of descriptions. That's a writing style that isn't really for me.. i think this was an "it's not you it's me" book.. i think that if more time was spend around building the characters and plot instead of the world, this would have been a hit for me for sure.

An act of faith was written with care. I read the Author's blurb and was even more interested in the book when I found out that it was a story that started years ago as a tabletop RPG with him and his friends. So, naturally, the world-building was excellent. The characters were interesting and unique. This D&D-type fantasy is a type of fantasy that I will never stop loving. I'm excited to read the other books in the Songs of the Lost Islands series!

I had a hard time getting into this book and following the story. It was maybe overly detailed but flawed in the characters. I've read other types of books in this type of genre that just pulled me right in. Not so with this book. I had to shelf it but may come back to it again later and see if it captivates me or not.

Excellent book with incredible artistic annexes. i loved the main characters illustrations which are so vivid. I am definately a fan of the Irawenti elves: progressists, humanists and braves. The gods save Arwela!

I started the book and just couldn’t get into it. I just didn’t enjoy the writing. It’s possible that it improves later on but I have so many other books to read that I just couldn’t do it

Like Tolkein, this book is very long on description. It was a gorgeous tale, but took its time getting there. I liked it, but hope the following books move quicker.