The Pariah Child: Serafina’s Return

Good evening from a stormy Eastern England. How are you today?
Today, I’m reviewing The Pariah Child, Serafina’s Return by Fantasy author, Natasha D Lane.

Story

The Pariah Child: Serafina’s Return, by Natasha D Lane is a fantasy sequel, following young Serafina as she returns to her beloved alternate world, Lyrica. It’s been two years (Earth time) since Sera last entered Lyrica and now, sixteen years later in Lyrican-time, the world of Lyrica is at war.

While on Earth, Sera has her own troubles, such as a mother who proclaims her a devil child, and vicious high-school bullies, these are nothing compared to the troubles the Lyricans now face a the hands of human intruders.

Finding herself back in Lyrica by chance, Sera must risk her life to try and help the mythical beings to fend off the cruel humans.

One thing I noticed while reading was the increased amount of bloodshed, working to stress the terrible nature of the war between mythical folk and human beings. The story progressed quickly and had a satisfying ending, although I’m hoping there’s a book three, because I can’t wait to see what might happen next.

Characters

Of all the characters explored, my favourites were Serafina, and Jacob

As usual, Serafina is adventurous, quirky, and un-apologetically herself. Her bright and intuitive nature help her to navigate through many difficult situations, with her sheer determination to help her Lyrican friends seeing her able to take life if deemed necessary.

Jacob, a fallen angel was a difficult character for me to trust, at first. His allegiance seemed to lie with multiple groups, all with different, conflicting goals. As the story progressed, he had to make some very difficult decisions that had me emphasizing with him on a much deeper level. Overall, he was a kind and heroic character, with many secrets that once revealed, devastated the main cast.

Writing

Lane’s style moves the story along with every sentence. Hers is one of my favourite styles as she explores Serafina’s emotions and thoughts in depth, alongside the gripping action and general description of the lush world of Lyrica. Every detail builds on some previous, important piece of the story puzzle, gradually fleshing out the world more and more. I found this sequel to be well-structured and emotionally moving.

Quotes

The following quote really spoke to me.

‘People fear what they don’t understand, but what is not understood is not inherently bad.’

There are many things in the world which we may not understand. Often, this lack of understanding leads to fear, confusion, and at times, rage. In order to overcome these reactions, further information is often needed, so that the lack of understanding can be resolved.

I don’t find the news to be helpful in regards to this as their general fear-mongering leads people to become divided, fearing those different to them. There’s a lot of this in the world at the moment, especially when we look at the current political climate.

Although there were other hard-hitting quotes in this book, this one had the largest impact on me. Hopefully, it will leave you thinking- about our lack of understanding of each-other, due to our various differences.

Overview

Overall, Serafina’s Return was a delight to read. It showed the damage of one type of being imposing their views of what is right on others, leading to widespread destruction, division, and death as the lyricans fight for survival.

This is the third book of Lane’s I’ve read and it certainly won’t be the last.

My Rating? 5 stars.

Would I recommend this?
Definitely, to lovers of fantasy stories with alternative worlds and mythical beings.

About the Author: Natasha D Lane

Natasha D. Lane is a friend of most things caffeinated, a lover of books, and a writing warrior to her core.

As a big believer in the idea that “the pen is mightier than the sword,” she graduated from Juniata College in 2015 with hopes of becoming a journalist. Instead, her path took her on a different route and Natasha found herself digging up a manuscript from her childhood.

This dusty stack of papers would become “The Pariah Child & the Ever-Giving Stone.” With one book under her belt, Natasha went on to release”The Woman In the Tree: The True Story of Camelot” and most recently “The Pariah Child: Sarafina’s Return.”

If there were a single piece of advice Natasha could give to young writers, it’d be this: Write your way through life.