The Friday Review - Aisling by Carole Cummings

As a teen I'd often wait until the family had gone to bed, then I'd switch on my bedside lamp, reading late into the night. If I'd been recently busted for being up after lights out, I'd hide under the covers with a favorite read and a flashlight. The worlds created in the pages of books transported me to another place and time. Sweeping epics carried me away, and before I knew it, I'd stayed up much too late. Again.

Fast forward a few years. Okay, a lot of years. The words are viewed through bifocal lenses now, but the same all-consuming urge to stay up all night and read has overtaken me again. I've become engulfed in a world so foreign, and yet so familiar, that has pulled me in completely. I couldn't stop reading, and had to force myself to put this book down or else be late for work, thanks to the incredibly talented Carole Cummings. 

Aisling Book One is a young adult novel that introduces us to two very opposite men. Wil, living a life of fear and yet so determined to be free of those who'd enslave him; Dallin, whose stoic, analytical mind must bend to accept what he's previously believed to be myth. Thanks to very descriptive writing and a perfectly paced plot, I found myself in the shoes of both men, living in their world, and came to care for these two unique individuals and the allies they meet along the way. (I'd also like to hurt anyone who dares look at poor Wil with ill intent!) And while the book ends with our heroes yet to form a bond, the lead-up is riveting. 

Fabulous world-building and characterizations make this a must read. I cannot recommend it highly enough. I envy this author's way with words.

Want to get away from it all? Why not take an epic adventure vacation with Aisling.