~ NEW RELEASE AND REVIEW ~ Entombed In Glass ~ by Stacey Rourke

Title: Entombed in Glass

Series: Unfortunate Soul Chronicles #2

Author: Stacey Rourke

Genre: YA Fantasy, Fairy tale retelling

Release Date: March 29, 2018

Mirror, mirror on the wall.

What’s behind that fated call?

He’s the seer of present, future, and past,

Yet remains a nameless face entombed in glass.

Raised as a servant in the underwater kingdom of Atlantica, Alastor worked his way up to a regal member of the Royal Guard. Only as a decorated soldier did he stand a chance of winning the hand of the woman he’s loved since childhood … Poseidon’s only daughter, Princess Vanessa.  But, when the war against humans rages, dark magics are evoked to give the mermen a fighting chance. Temporarily granted legs, they charge from the sea into a doomed battle.

Doing the bidding of his masters as a trusted pawn,

The claims of his loyalty couldn’t be more wrong.

Waking on land, with bodies all around, Alastor’s lone goal becomes returning to the ocean and the only life he’s ever known. A plan that is quickly diverted when Hades, Lord of the Underworld, appears with a twisted agenda all his own. Cast to a land far from the lapping comforts of home, Alastor’s sole companion is a troubled misfit named Sterling that soon comes to depend on him. Trained to be a hero, how far is Alastor willing to go to return to the woman he loves? And can he live with the sacrifices he's forced to make?

Each day he schemes to break free from their thrall,

and honor a self-made vow … to kill them all.

~ 4 Out of 5 Stars ~

Before I started reading the book, I expected it to be more of a continuation of what happened to those underwater – the first book being solely underwater, and all. However, from the very beginning, it starts on land, where the last book left off, and we never make it back to the water. I was not disappointed by this at all. It was a very interesting story to find out what would now happen to Alastor on land and with legs. He is immediately forced to make difficult choices, and every choice he makes is in the hopes of getting himself back to his love – in the water. One unexpected twist to both reader and Alistor himself is that his decisions become increasingly complicated by his unexpected growing friendship with the seemingly not-all-there Sterling. He finds that he not only needs to meet his goal of returning home but protect Sterling as well. I really liked the adventure that both Alistor and Sterling end up on, and the people they meet along the way, however, there were many times where it became a bit too distracting to the story. There are around 5 different versions of other fairytales mixed into the story, which DO fit in well, however, I found myself often distracted by which fairytale land we’re reading about now, how each one ties together, and when we go back to the original story, it gets confusing who the underwater characters are that are spoken about close to the end, and the story they’re telling (did I learn this in the first book and forget? Is this a new addition to the story? Who is this person and what is their importance again?). Overall, the story was very good, and a very interesting twist in how each character evolved, but for me, it was a bit too many different stories in one book. Although it still held my interest very well, I think it would’ve been even stronger had it been fewer fairytales mixed into one story. However, I will still definitely read book 3, as I would very much like to see what happens next.

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RONE Award Winner for Best YA Paranormal Work of 2012 for Embrace, a Gryphon Series Novel

Young Adult and Teen Reader voted Author of the Year 2012

Turning Pages Magazine Winner for Best YA book of 2013 & Best Teen Book of 2013 

Readers' Favorite Silver Medal Winner for Crane 2015

Stacey Rourke is the author of the award winning YA Gryphon Series, the chillingly Legends Saga, and the romantic comedy Reel Romance Series. She currently hard at work on the Unfortunate Soul Chronicles, and additional literary projects. She lives in Michigan with her husband, two beautiful daughters, and two giant dogs. She loves to travel, has an unhealthy shoe addiction, and considers herself blessed to make a career out of talking to the imaginary people that live in her head.

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