Thank you L.A. Myers, Champagne Book Group and Netgalley for this free ARC in exchange for a review.

This novel mostly kept my attention, so I would consider reading another by this author.

The one thing that was distracting was the mc having two love interests and how distracting she found them. I consider them both to be within that tired old instalove trope, as we don’t understand her attraction aside from the physical. It’s more of a pet peeve than something which was a huge distraction from the novel. This book only loses one star, as the instalove trope is worse in a lot of other novels.

This was a great start to the Doorways series, it had a great introduction to the world and characters. L.A. Myles was able to create a great story that had that feel that I was looking for in this type of book. It left me wanting to read more in this series and from L.A. Myles.

splintered realms is my first 5-star fantasy read this year. this book was everything i love in the „girl gets whisked away into a fantasy world“ - please read it!!

things i loved:
- i cannot stress how much i loved taylen. she’s relatable, authentic and smart. her emotions made sense to me and were understandable at any point in the story.

„The sparkle of jewelry caught her eye. She leaned over to pick it up but hesitated over the intricate twisted necklace laying near the skull. Disturbing the dead did not seem like a good idea.“

when i tell you i damn near CRIED. thank you for not being unbearably stupid taylen, you are a true breath of fresh air in the world of fantasy fmcs. the abilities she had were realistically depicted and explained (ex. the bow and arrow lessons at summer camp). her drawing was a part of her character that seemed natural and was not only mentioned to add flourish to certain scenes. to me, her being an artist and the connections of her art to the world she entered were entirely believable.
- the writing and vocabulary. this is a huge factor to me personally that usually forces me to give 4 stars to books that would have otherwise gotten 5. L.A. Myles‘ clean and beautiful style are delightful. i am so glad i didn’t have to read the word „smirked“ 5 times per page. the use of „'tis“ wonderfully kept my imagination in the medieval fantasy world.
- the pixie cut. we have all felt that sense of dread after looking into the mirror at the hairdresser after getting something we definitely didn’t ask for. but -

„Whatever she thought of the cut before this world, it‘d proven easy to care for and a style most men didn’t like.“

so real of you taylen. i love it.

things i didn’t love:
- the cover
- that’s it

can’t wait for the sequel!!