I don’t think I’ve ever done two separate blog tours for books in the same series, so I’m really excited to try this out! I mean there’s always a first time for everything, right? Thanks again so much to Rachel for thinking of me for this blog tour, and I can’t wait to have you guys see what I thought about the second book in the Starchild series!

A gripping forest adventure full of mystery, betrayal and courage.

When a new sealer boy joins the journey, Mai, Long, and Akra are confident their challenges have come to an end.  But as they embark on their journey once again, they find themselves having to escape from the clutches of dangerous enemies.

They travel to Naroan – the forest lands of the soulbankers, the regulators of life and death. Against the backdrop of rules and suspicion, the children are challenged with unravelling the mystery of the Silvershade, which has been calling to Akra from the moment he arrived in the forest city. But Long is tormented by his doubts – he must face a deadly power from the Underworld before it takes him into the darkness. 

Will the dark pebble take Long along a road of no return? Or will his friends find a way to help him?

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Vacen Taylor is a children’s author with a portfolio of screenwriting and stage play achievements.  A selection of her poetry has been published in Art and Literature Journals. One of her plays was selected to be part of the Playwrights Program 2017 and then directed and performed as a performance reading at HOTA (previously the Gold Coast Arts Centre).

Her feature film script received a special commendation for Best Unproduced Screenplay titled Grandfathers at the British Independent Film Festival in 2018.  The logline can be found under Special Commendations for Unproduced Screenplays here.

Her TV pilot for a series (teleplay) was selected as a semi-finalist in the Hollywood Just4Shorts Film and Screenplay Competition in Los Angeles, CA. This pilot was listed in the top 50 for the Cinequest Screenwriting Competition in 2018.

She presented the first mental health panel at OZ Comic-Con in 2017. This panel was a fantastic opportunity to discuss openly and honestly about artists and their mental health to help support wellbeing, foster connectivity and provide a culture of support.

In 2018 she presented the panel, ‘An artist’s guide to creative happiness: How to strengthen your creative performance’ at Oz Comic-Con in Brisbane. Her panels are extraordinary opportunities to explore ideas with people who are currently working in the industry. She aims to discuss subjects like individualism, the community, mental health, wellbeing, happiness, creativity, co-creating and self-awareness which often leads to interesting questions from the audience.

What else does she do? Vacen is also a creative workshop facilitator and proficient in, teaching, speaking and concept creation. Guest Speaker. Workshop Presenter. Creative Panel Facilitator. Mentor. Support Worker. Counsellor. Social Welfare Advocate.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources and Odyssey Books for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

I’m actually really glad that I took a chance on this series because it was pretty cool! This was a really great middle grade fantasy novel, that honestly felt like I was reading a Young Adult novel that I just felt like I was coming home? It was an interesting feeling. I don’t even know how to explain it well, but hopefully you get it.

I loved seeing this group in another story, on another journey that just seemed like it was even more intense than the first book and I’m so glad that I got to go through it with them. I still think Mai is my favorite character so far. I mean I gotta root for my favorite character from the get-go, and she has not disappointed me at all. Honestly I don’t think she could, but I’m getting ahead of myself right?

Also I can’t really say much since this is a sequel, and it’s so hard sometimes to write a good review without spoilers on a sequel or a continuation of a series that needs you to read the books prior to the one you’re reviewing, so I guess all I can say now – after that super long run on sentence – is that you you should totally try out this series, but start with the first one of course.