The Onyx Bridge by Sofia Malamas

The Onyx Bridge:
It is not a peaceful time in the Four Kingdoms. War is imminent, but all fear the coming of the human child, whose arrival, it is foretold, will aid in the resurrection of the terrible Dark Lord Coriol, a being with the power to destroy them all. Nothing extraordinary has ever happened to Evelyn Leighton. That is, until the day she turns seventeen and is transported through a Monet painting into a fantastical world where humans are thought to be extinct. To stop an ancient prophecy from coming true and save the world she has learned to call home, Evelyn must set out on a quest to find a legendary weapon: The Sign of the Four. Reluctantly, she accepts the aid of Jerris, an enigmatic, irresistibly attractive male descendant of the Water Kingdom with sapphire eyes as dark as his past. With her life on the line, Evelyn finds herself battling more than vicious trolls and mythical lion warriors. She must also battle her own heart; a battle she cannot afford to lose.

While fantasy is not one of my most favorite genres, The Onyx Bridge by Sofia Malamas was an intriguing novel that was filled with adventure, and a great beginning to a new series. Sofia blended original characters within a world very reminiscent of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia; and while it did take me a little while to really get into the story, once I did it was hard to pull myself away from it. There were a few times that I became confused about the point-of-views; Sofia would completely change perspectives with little-to-no notice. Evelyn’s character tugged on my heart-strings while Jerris had the ability to make it skip a beat—despite his standoffish façade he hid behind. The use of descriptive paragraphs told me more about the surrounding world rather than showing me, but despite that I visualized the setting with ease.

Evelyn’s life becomes forever changed when she is mysteriously dragged into a magical world that is very different from her own. She is immediately set upon by strange creatures who wish to use her for their own gain. Jerris comes to her rescue, and for someone that trusts no one, Evelyn is forced to put her trust in him or perish in this new world. It is quickly revealed that Evelyn is no ordinary human girl, and that she is the one a prophecy has foretold. But alongside Evelyn’s entrance into this magical world, a bridge has opened allowing a dark army to enter the realm. As Evelyn traverses the roads on her quest with Jerris and new allies by her side, she must learn to believe in herself in order to obtain her true power and find the courage to stop the Dark Lord from taking over her new world.